File No. 851.4054/30
The Acting Secretary of
State to the French Chargé (
De Chambrun)
Washington,
February 3, 1919.
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the
Ambassador’s note of November 7, 1918, and to previous correspondence,
regarding marriages of members of the American military forces in France
to French women.
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In this communication of November 7 the Ambassador submitted a draft of a
note, which together with the answer it called for, was proposed as the
agreement in this matter. I submitted the proposed agreement to the
proper authorities of the Army and Navy of the United States and have
received replies from these Departments from which it appears that it is
desirable to extend the proposed agreement to include within its scope
all persons in the military or naval forces of the United States on
foreign service, and all persons in an auxiliary organization
functioning in connection with the military or naval forces of the
United States while on foreign service. In order that you may have a
statement of the understanding of this Government as to what persons
will be subject to the proposed agreement and to the regulations which
will be prescribed by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the
Navy, I enclose herewith a copy of the draft of a bill which it is
proposed to introduce in Congress to empower the authorities of this
Government to enforce the provisions of the agreement.
If the changes which I have suggested are acceptable to the Government of
the French Republic, I shall be glad if you will advise me in order that
steps may be taken to prepare the agreement.
Accept [etc.]
For the Acting Secretary of State:
Alvey A. Adee
[Enclosure]
Draft of a Proposed Bill to Regulate the Marriage
of Persons in the Military and Naval Forces of the United States
in Foreign Countries, and for Other Purposes
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That for the purposes of this act, unless the
context otherwise requires,
-
Section 1. The term “person in the
military or naval forces” shall be held to include:
- (a)
- Every person, whether commissioned, warranted,
appointed, enlisted, enrolled, drafted, or serving
otherwise in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps;
- (b)
- Every person, whether commissioned, warranted,
appointed, enlisted, enrolled, drafted, or serving
otherwise in the Coast Guard, Lighthouse Service,
Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Public Health
Service, serving, pursuant to law, with the Army or
the Navy.
-
Sec. 2. The term “person in an
auxiliary organization” shall be held to include every male
or female citizen of the United States attached to and
serving with any one or more of the following, viz.:
American Red Cross, Young Men’s Christian Association, Young
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Women’s
Christian Association, Salvation Army, Knights of Columbus,
and Hebrew Welfare Board, and with any other similar, civil,
auxiliary, organization engaged in the work of aiding or
entertaining the forces of the United States.
-
Sec. 3. The term “foreign service”
shall be held to include all service outside the limits of
the United States, its territories and possessions; and the
term “foreign country” shall be held to include any country
other than the United States, its territories and
possessions.
-
Sec. 4. That every person in the
military or naval forces of the United States while on
foreign service, or in an auxiliary organization functioning
in connection with the military or naval forces of the
United States; in a foreign country, shall, prior to
contracting marriage in any foreign country, execute and
subscribe an affidavit, in such form as may be prescribed by
the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, in
duplicate before an officer of the military or naval forces
of the United States, authorized to administer oaths, in
which affidavit the person desiring to marry shall make oath
that he has attained the age of 21 years if male, or that
she has attained the age of 18 years if female, and that he
or she is unmarried, and knows of no reason why he or she
may not lawfully contract matrimony, and said affidavit
shall further contain a complete description of affiant, the
date and place of his or her entry into the military or
naval forces of the United States, or into the auxiliary
organization of which he or she is a member, a statement as
to whether he or she is a natural born or naturalized
citizen of the United States, and if natural born said
affidavit shall state the date and place of his or her
birth, and if naturalized it shall state the date and place
of naturalization; and such other matters as may be
specified in the regulations that may be prescribed to carry
into effect the provisions of this act. Provided, That an alien serving in the military or
naval forces of the United States on foreign service, shall
be subject to the provisions of this act in like manner and
under like conditions and penalties as a native born citizen
so serving. Provided further, That
the officer in command of the unit to which the person
making the affidavit is attached shall immediately after the
making of said affidavit cause the available records of said
unit to be examined and, if such examination does not
disclose that any of the statements in said affidavit are
untrue, shall thereupon certify that he believes the
statements therein to be true, and that he is one of the
superior officers of the affiant. One original copy of said
affidavit and certificate shall be filed with and become a
part of the records of the unit to which the affiant is
attached and the other original copy thereof together with a
translation
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of the
same in the language spoken in the country where said
affidavit is made and certified to be a true translation by
the officer before whom the affidavit was made, shall be
delivered to the person making the affidavit.
-
Sec. 5. All officers of the Army
or of the Navy of the United States who are now or may
hereafter be authorized to administer oaths for any purpose
are hereby authorized to administer the oaths required to be
made by this act.
-
Sec. 6. That any person in the
military or naval forces of the United States on foreign
service, or in an auxiliary organization functioning in
connection with the military or naval forces of the United
States in a foreign country, who shall contract marriage in
such foreign country in violation of the provisions of this
act, shall, upon indictment, trial and conviction thereof in
the district court of the United States in the district in
which he or she may be found, be punished by a fine of not
more than $5,000, or by imprisonment in a penitentiary for
not more than 5 years, or both, and any such person who
shall knowingly make any false statement in the affidavit
herein provided for with reference to any matter herein
prescribed to be contained in such affidavit shall be deemed
to be guilty of perjury, and upon indictment, trial, and
conviction in the district court of the United States in the
district in which he or she may be found, shall be punished
by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in a
penitentiary for not more than 10 years, or both.
-
Sec. 7. That a copy of either of
the originals of said affidavit hereinbefore provided for,
when duly certified by its official custodian, shall
constitute prima facie proof of the
fact that the statements therein contained were made,
subscribed, and sworn to by the person whose name is affixed
thereto as maker thereof, and that the person purporting to
administer the oath was authorized so to do.
-
Sec. 8. That a copy of the
certificate of any marriage contracted in accordance with
the provisions of this act when certified by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the country in which such marriage shall
have been entered into, shall, when forwarded to the
Secretary of State of the United States be by him
transmitted to the Secretary of War for file in the records
of the War Department, provided such certificate shall
relate to the marriage of a person in the military forces,
or a person in an auxiliary organization serving with such
forces at the time the marriage was contracted, or shall be
forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy for file in the
records of the Navy Department, if such certificate shall
relate to the marriage of a person in the naval forces, or a
person in an auxiliary organization serving with such forces
at the time the marriage was contracted, and a
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copy of any such
certificate so filed, shall when authenticated in the manner
prescribed by section 882 of the Revised Statutes be
admissible in any court of law or equity as prima facie evidence of the marriage
therein certified.