Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1904

Mr. Leishman to Mr. Hay.

American Legation,
Constantinople, September 29, 1904.

No. 902.]

Sir: I beg to inclose herewith for the Department’s information copy of a recent dispatch sent by the legation to the consul at Smyrna regarding a probable case of fraudulent naturalization and irregular manner in which one Stelio E. Pappadimitriou secured a renewal of his passport.

As Consul Lane has already written to the Department upon this case and has been directed by the legation to examine into the matter thoroughly and report the result of his investigation to you, it is unnecessary for me to enter into further details.

I am quite of the opinion that many citizens of Ottoman origin have secured their naturalization in an irregular manner, and as the number of passport applications have fallen off tremendously during the past year or two, owing to the reports circulated by rejected applicants regarding the strictness in the examination, that it is altogether possible that the means resorted to by Pappadimitriou may be adopted by others.

The Ottoman regulations forbid anyone to enter Turkey without having their passports properly viséed, and as a matter of control requires the officials at the place of entry, whether such consular vise-exists or not, to affix their seal or some other mark on the back of the passport. I therefore respectfully request the Department to authorize the legation to instruct all the American consular officers in Turkey not to recognize or protect, before first referring the matter to the legation, naturalized citizens of Ottoman origin whose American passports have not been viséed by an Ottoman consular officer or which do not show on the face that the bearers have reentered their native land in a regular and proper manner, it being understood of course that a regulation of this character would not apply to holders of valid passports issued by the legation.

The issuance of such instuctions to the consular officers would, in my opinion, correct the evil to a very considerable extent and would have a decided tendency to discourage this very undesirable class from attempting to secure passports in an irregular manner through their friends in America.

I have, etc.,

John G. A. Leishman.

[Inclosure.]

Mr. Leishman to Mr. Lane.

American Legation,
Constantinople, September 29, 1904.

Sir: From information received through the consulate-general it appears that one Stelio E. Pappadimitriou, professing to be a naturalized citizen of the United States residing in your district, recently obtained a passport from the Department of State while continuing to reside in Turkey, which could only have been obtained by fraudulent representation, as the Department would not knowingly issue a passport to a nonresident.

A man who would resort to this position would certainly not hesitate to take false oath, so that your suspicion that he may have originally obtained his naturalization certificate without having resided in the United States for the period demanded by law may prove to be well founded.

You should send for the man at once and put him under a thorough and rigid examination, and if you find that he obtained a passport from Washington while residing in Turkey his name should be erased from the consulate’s register and his passport taken up and forwarded to the Department, together with a full statement of the facts, including the name of his friend in New York through whom the passport was obtained.

Pappadimitriou should also be carefully questioned as to the manner in which he secured his naturalization, and if you are convinced that his certificate was obtained by fraudulent representations it should also be taken from him and sent to Washington, with a detailed report of your investigation.

The amount of fraudulent naturalization is simply appalling, and every consular officer in Turkey should use his every effort to assist the Department in the active and determined effort which it is making to put an end to the existing evil.

I am, etc.,

John G. A. Leishman.