Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1897

Mr. Uhl to Mr. Sherman.

Embassy of the United States,
Berlin, May 25, 1897. (Received June 11.)

No. 364.]

Sir: In acknowledging the receipt of your instruction No. 386, of the 3d instant, in regard to the treatment in Germany of returning naturalized American citizens of German origin, I have the honor to respectfully refer to my dispatch No. 345, of May 11, 1897.

The origin of the press notice referred to in your instruction I am unable to ascertain, but it is my opinion that the Prussian Government has not changed its views on this subject, and that the circular mentioned merely calls the attention of local officials to the provisions of former regulations. What these views are is shown in a note from Count Hatzfeldt, dated May 16, 1885, which appears on page 417 of the Foreign Relations for 1885, and in which it is stated that—

In the intercourse of the Empire with other States, the view has been heretofore always and quite universally adhered to that by treaty provisions of this character (Article 1 of the treaty between the United States and Prussia of 1828), the internationally recognized right of every State to remove foreigners from its territory when their further sojourn in the country appears to be undersirable, upon grounds of the welfare of the State, is not abolished. This applies in a peculiar measure to the sons born in America of former German subjects, when they live with their fathers permanently in Germany, participate like Germans in all arrangements for the protection and welfare of the subjects of the Empire, and only make use of their American citizenship to avoid the fulfillment of one of the most important duties of German subjects. Continued toleration of such endeavors would necessarily lead to the formation within the Empire of a numerous group of population who illustrate by their example how it is possible, under the covering mantle of a foreign nationality, held by name only, to evade in a whole succession of generations the military duty imposed upon all.”

The same idea is contained in a note from Count Bismarck, dated January 6, 1886 (Foreign Relations, 1886, p. 316), in which he says:

If such persons [who emigrated, according to the opinion of the Prussian Government, for the purpose of avoiding military service] were permitted, after they have acquired American citizenship, and while appealing to this change of nationality to sojourn again, according to their pleasure, unhindered, for a shorter or longer period, in their native land, furtherance would thereby be given to similar endeavors and respect for those laws would be endangered upon which is based the general liability to military service.

The other press notice, referred to in your instruction, had also been seen by the embassy, but as no question had been asked in the Reich-stag on this subject, and as it has not been referred to in any way in the debates of the several legislative bodies sitting in this city, no attention was paid to it.

The dispatch from Mr. Stern had also been seen here, as he sent a copy to the embassy, and in this respect I beg to refer to the embassy’s dispatch 502, of March 13, 1896, and to inclose a copy of the embassy’s letter to Mr. Stern of April 10 last. In this connection, as it may be of interest to the Department, although it has no direct bearing upon the subject in question, I inclose a copy of a compilation made from the official publications of the Imperial home office in regard to the frequency of cases of expulsion from the German Empire, and have the honor, etc.,

Edwin F. Uhl.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 364.]

Mr. Jackson to Mr. Stern.

Embassy of the United States,
Berlin. April 10, 1897.

M. No. 8946.]

Sir: The embassy acknowledges the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant and thanks you for the copy of your report to the State Department in the case of Baruch Hirnheimer, which was therein inclosed.

The decision of the supreme court at Leipzig is of interest in this case because it confirms former decisions and is in line with the policy of the executive officials of the various governments of Germany in similar cases. Had Mr. Hirnheimer applied to the embassy for assistance, instead of to the courts, the result would have been the same, and he would have been spared the trouble of a lawsuit.

I am, etc.,

John B. Jackson.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 364.]

expulsion cases.

[Compiled from Nos. 1 to 20, inclusive, of the Central-Blatt fur das Deutsche Reich, the official weekly publication of the Imperial German home office, dated from January 8 to May 21, 1897.]

During the period covered 243 persons have actually been expelled from the German Empire. Of this number, 218 were males and 25 were females. Twenty-three persons were expelled on the strength of paragraph No. 39, of the Imperial penal code, after undergoing imprisonment for theft, etc., and 220 on the strength of paragraph No. 362, for vagrancy, begging, professional prostitution, and other so-called offenses.

Of these persons, 155 were of Austrian (including Hungarian, Bohemian, etc.) nationality, 19 were Russian, 19 were French, 17 were Dutch, 13 Swiss, 5 Belgian, 4 Italian, 4 from Luxemburg, 4 Swedish, 2 Danish, and 1 Norwegian.

Of these persons, 90 were expelled by Prussian authorities, 63 by Bavarian authorities, 43 by Saxon, 24 by Imperial (Alsace-Lorraine), 9 by Daben, 7 by Hamburg, 3 by Weimar, and 1 each by the authorities of Wurttemberg, Mecklenburg, Hesse, and Reuss.

J. B. J.