File No. 21158/3.

Ambassador Kerens to the Secretary of State.

No. 22.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the department’s dispatch No. 409, dated March 24, 1910, relative to the matter of the citizenship of Rudolf Warren-Lippit, residing at Thurnisch, Rann Parish, Steirmark, and of his son, bearing the same name, who was born at Thurnisch in 1890.

On April 11, 1910, this embassy addressed a letter to Mr. Warren-Lippit, in which certain questions were asked, the answers to which might have been the means of clearing up the question of his citizenship. Instead of answering the questions by letter, Mr Lippit called at this embassy this morning and was questioned in the following manner, his answers being added to each question:

  • Q. Where were you born?—A. In Vienna. My father was an American citizen and married an Austrian lady.
  • Q. Where was your son born?—A. In Thurnisch, Steirmark. But I have two sons, one about 25 years of age and the other about 18 years old. The former resides in Vienna and the latter is still attending school at Graz.
  • Q. When were you last in the United States?—A. About 30 years ago.
  • Q. Were your sons ever in the United States?—A. No.
  • Q. Do you intend going to the United States to reside therein?—A. No; I do not have any such intention.
  • Q. Do your sons intend going to the United States?—A. The one who resides in Vienna, I am sure, does not. But I can not say whether the one who is now attending school will go or not.
  • Q. Do you intend becoming an Austrian citizen?—A. I do not yet know. I had such intention, but have postponed it because I want to wait until my youngest son reaches his majority.
  • Q. As you do not intend going back to the United States, you do not care to retain your American citizenship; is that so?—A. Yes; I shall not go back, so far as I know now.

Mr. Lippit had in his possession a passport issued in the year 1879, which he would not give up, as he said he might need it. The impression gained from the whole course of Mr. Lippit’s conversation was that he did not care about his American citizenship, but that he would like to use his former American citizenship for the purpose of preventing the Austrian authorities from compelling his youngest son to enter the imperial army. Awaiting further instructions,

I have, etc.,

R. C. Kerens.