Embassy
of the United States,
Berlin, April 3, 1897.
(Received April 16.)
No. 311.]
[Inclosure in No.
311.—Translation.]
Baron Marschall
to Mr. Uhl.
Foreign Office, Berlin, April 1,
1897.
In response to the note of the 29th ultimo, F. O. 203, the
undersigned has the honor to inform his excellency the ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States of America,
returning the inclosures therein transmitted, that the appropriate
authorities have already, in 1868, received instructions in regard
to the carrying out of article 2 of the decrees of the ministers of
justice of July 5 and of the interior of July 6, of that year of the
so-called Bancroft treaty. Later on the contents of these decrees
were again brought to their attention. As the decision of the
Imperial court of January 20, 1896 (Penal Gases, vol. 28, p. 127),
referred to by the ambassador, coincides with the principles laid
down in the decrees in question, and also with the carrying out of
the same, and as no case wherein these principles have been violated
has lately been brought to the attention of this office, there does
not seem to be sufficient reason to again call the attention of the
appropriate authorities to the instructions heretofore given. If
naturalized German-Americans were at different times sentenced for
the violation of military duty, and these cases were made the
subject of discussion, this was caused by the fact that the
authorities did not know that those persons were naturalized in
America, and the sentence was at all times revoked wherever this
fact was established.
The undersigned permits himself to add that these decrees do not
affect the rights of the local authorities to expel, for state
police considerations former German subjects who emigrated to
America at or
[Page 211]
shortly
before reaching the military age, and who, after naturalization
there, returned to their native land, whenever they make themselves
obnoxious or their presence seems undesirable for other reasons.
The undersigned avails himself, etc.
