Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, General, The Soviet Union, Volume I

811.2222 (1940)/118

The Secretary of State to the Director of the Selective Service System (Dykstra)

Washington, February 18, 1941.

My Dear Mr. Dykstra: The Department has received your letter of January 30, 1941⁹ in reply to its request for your views concerning the application of certain provisions of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 to German nationals residing in the United States. You refer to certain court decisions to the effect that the provisions of a law which conflict with treaty provisions prior in time have the effect of repealing the latter and you state that you are studying the question whether the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 should be amended to contain provisions similar to those in the act of July 9, 1918 giving an alien subject to military service the right to relieve himself of such liability by withdrawing his declaration of intention to become an American citizen. You ask for any suggestions the Department may care to make with respect to this question.

There is enclosed a draft amendment to the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which is submitted for your approval or such suggestions relative thereto as you may consider desirable. Since certain aliens residing in the United States are exempt from military service under the provisions of treaties entered into by this Government with the governments to which they owe allegiance and since certain of such foreign governments have protested the induction of their nationals into the military service of the United States under the provisions of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, the Department, which desires to give effect to the treaty obligations of this Government, suggests that the difficulties referred to may be overcome by an amendment of the kind submitted.

Sincerely yours,

Cordell Hull

[Enclosure]

Draft Amendment to the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940

Be It Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That the first sentence of Section 3 of the act entitled “An Act To provide for the common defense by increasing the personnel of the armed forces of the United States and providing for its training” approved September 16, 1940, be, and is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Provided, That any male alien residing in the United States who has declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States and who is registered under the provisions of this act shall be relieved from liability to military service upon making a declaration, in accordance with such regulations as the President may prescribe, withdrawing his intention to become a citizen of the United States, which shall be held to cancel his declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States and to forever bar him from becoming such a citizen.”

9. Not printed.