No. 477.
Mr. Coleman to Mr. Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Berlin, November 9, 1888.
(Received November 26.)
No. 690.]
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith the
application, together with the correspondence, between this legation and Mr.
Black, our consul at Nuremberg, relating thereto, of Mr. Solomon H. Ulmer, a
naturalized citizen of the United States, for a passport, to include his
wife and minor son, Milton.
The propriety of issuing the passport applied for seems so doubtful, in view
of all the circumstances set forth in the application and correspondence
referred to, and especially in view of the strongly-expressed opinion of
Consul Black that the applicant has no intention of returning, and his son,
born in Germany, of going to the United States with a purpose of residing
and performing the duties of citizenship there, that I deem it best to refer
the case to the Department of State for its con sideration and decision.
The case of Ehrenbacher, to which Consul Black refers in inclosure No. 1,
will be found reported in dispatch No. 111, of May 10, 1875, and that of his
son in dispatch No. 555, of December 26, 1887, of this legation.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
Chapman Coleman,
For the
Minister.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 690.]
Mr. Black to Mr.
Pendleton.
United
States Consulate,
Nuremberg, November 7,
1888.
Sir: Inclosed I beg to hand you application of
Solomon H. Ulmer for a passport for himself, wife, and son Milton, aged
seventeen years. Under this cover I also inclose Ulmer’s citizen papers,
and he informs me that his old passport has been mislaid, which accounts
for its not being forwarded.
Ulmer, you will notice, left the United States in 1858, came direct to
Nuremberg, where he has ever since resided. Hisson Milton was born here,
as you see, and he has never been to the United States and in my opinion
never will go there. Ulmer, of course, has no domicile in our country,
and this part of his application he could not fill out. He declares he
desires this passport for the purpose of going to the
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United States. I am satisfied in my own
mind be does not intend going there. You can see he is a man of seventy
years of age, who has lived in Germany all his life, excepting the
twelve years he was in the United States, making enough money to return
here and reside, and it is very unlikely that he would return there at
this late date to take up a permanent abode in the midst of strangers
and leave all his friends here. The fact is, he really wants this
passport to exempt his son from the military. He told me, the first time
he came to see me about it, that his son was now coming to military age,
and he wanted to get for him a passport, as he was an American citizen
by reason of his father’s citizenship. I told him this when he signed
this paper; but he stammered out, No, he wanted to go to the United
States to put his son with Edison. I asked him when he would start; he
said he thought he would go over in the course of one or two years.
This, coupled with the fact of his claiming thirty years as a temporary
residence in Nuremberg, struck me as so absurd, that I was on the point
of refusing his affidavit; but I thought it best to refer it to you. He
was here a few days before he made this application to sign these
papers, but the gentleman whom he brought as a witness, after reading
his affidavit, refused positively to certify that to the best of his
knowledge and ‘belief the facts set forth were true, and the one,
Schmidt, who has signed it, said that he could only say as to the facts
from what Ulmer had told him.
This man is not entitled to a passport as much as Ehrenbacher, who
certainly had no claim, and who was refused one in 1875, after having
been living here but six years. He belongs to a class who in my
estimation value their citizenship only for the benefits it may bring
them, contributing nothing to the support of our Government, and
possessed of no sympathy for us as a nation or as a people.
The fee of 4.20 marks I have transmitted by postal money-order.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 2 in No. 690.]
Mr. Coleman to Mr.
Black.
Legation of the United States,
Berlin, November 9,
1888.
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication of the 7th instant, inclosing the application of Mr.
Solomon H. Ulmer for a passport for himself, wife, and minor son, and to
inform you that it is deemed best, in view of all the circumstances of
the case, to refer the same to the Department of State for its
consideration and decision.
Please inform Mr. Ulmer that this will be done, and return to him at the
same time his certificate of naturalization, herewith returned.
The decision reached in this case will be duly made known to you when
communicated to this legation.
By direction of the minister.
I remain, etc.,
C. Coleman,
Secretary of
Legation.
