DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D. C., May 14, 1943.

Re: Almon D. Stewart and Daniel D. O'Connell v. George E. Glunt and City of Bangor, Maine, Superior Court, Penobscot, Maine

Mr. WILLIAM A. M. BURden,

Special Aviation Assistant to the Secretary of Commerce,

Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. SIR: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of May 4, 1943, requesting the present status of the above-entitled case and for any perinent data that we have in our files.

As you probably know the First Regional Office of the Civil Aeronautics Aministration, La Guardia Field, Long Island, N. Y., contracted with George E. Glunt for the erection of a watch house building at Bangor, Maine, on land leased from the city of Bangor. According to the allegations of the complaint, Glunt by contract with Stewart and O'Connell obtained labor and materials in the performance of the contract with the United States. The building was erected; Glunt was fully paid, but the plaintiff, claims a lien on the building and land to secure the amount due by Glunt and prays that the property be sold and the proceeds applied to the discharge of the lien. The United States filed a "Suggestion of interest" in the litigation praying that the bill be dismissed, insofar as it sought to assert, impress or foreclose a lien on the land and the building or to disturb in any way the possession or rights of the United States.

We were advised today by letter of May 11, 1943, from the assistant United States attorney at Bangor, Maine, that the matter is still pending before the Court and that the Attorney for the plaintiff has not requested a hearing.

Respectfully,

FRANCIS M. SHEA, Assistant Attorney General. (For the Attorney General.)

78TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session

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REPORT No. 1237

PROVIDING FOR THE NATURALIZATION OF CERTAIN ALIEN VETERANS OF THE WORLD WAR

March 7, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr.LESINSKI, from the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 4238]

The Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4238) providing for the naturalization of certain alien veterans of the armed forces of the United States, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

First. On page 1, amend the title by striking out the words, "World War", and substituting the words, "Spanish-American War, the First World War, and members of the Regular Army or National Guard who served on the Mexican border from June 1916 to April 1917". Second. On page 2, line 17, strike out the words, "date of approval of this Act", and substitute the words "effective date of this section". Third. On page 3, line 10, strike out the word "Act" and substitute the word "section".

The bill, as amended, reads as follows:

A BILL Proving for the naturalization of certain alien veterans of the Spanish-American War, the First World War, and members of the Regular Army or National Guard who served on the Mexican border from June 1916 to April 1917

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a new section is hereby inserted between sections 323 and 324 of the Act entitled "An Act to revise and codify the nationality laws of the United States into a comprehensive nationality code," approved October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1149):

"SEC. 323a. A person who was a member of the military or naval forces of the United States at any time after April 5, 1917, and before November 12, 1918, or at any time after April 20, 1898, and before July 5, 1902, or who served on the Mexican border as a member of the Regular Army or National Guard from June 1916 to April 1917, who is not an alien ineligible to citizenship, who was not at any time during such period or thereafter separated from such forces

under other than honorable conditions, who was not a conscientious objector who performed no military duty whatever or refused to wear the uniform, and who was not at any time during such period or thereafter discharged from the military or naval forces on account of his alienage, shall, if he has resided in the United States continuously for at least two years pursuant to a legal admission for permanent residence in lieu of the usual five years' residence within the United States and six months' residence within the State of his residence at the time of filing the petition for naturalization, during all of which two-year period he has behaved as a person of good moral character, be entitled at any time within one year after the effective date of this section to naturalization upon compliance with all of the requirements of the naturalization laws, except that—

(1) no declaration of intention shall be required;

(2) no certificate of arrival shall be required unless such person's admission to the United States was subsequent to March 3, 1924; and

(3) no residence within the jurisdiction of the court shall be required. "Such petitioner shall verify his petition for naturalization by the affidavits of at least two credible witnesses who are citizens of the United States, or shall furnish the depositions of two such witnesses made in accordance with the requirements of subsection (e) of section 327 of the Nationality Act of 1940, to prove the required residence, good moral character, attachment to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and favorable disposition toward the good order and happiness of the United States. On applications filed for any benefits under this section, the requirement of fees for naturalization documents is hereby waived."

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of the bill is to amend the Nationality Act of 1940 by adding a subsection, to be known as section 323a, so as to exempt honorably discharged veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I, and veterans who served on the Mexican border as members of the Regular Army or National Guard from June 1916 to April 1917, from certain of the provisions of the naturalization process. As an example, it waives a declaration of intention to become a citizen, a certificate of arrival in most instances, and also waives the prescribed residence within the jurisdiction of the court.

GENERAL INFORMATION

An identical act was approved on December 7, 1942, Public Law 791, Seventy-seventh Congress. However, inasmuch as it contained a 1-year limitation, the act expired on December 6, 1943. Repre.sentations are made that there are still a few veterans, as indicated in the bill, who have not become naturalized, and the bill is designed to take care of these few outstanding cases. All this bill does is reenact the act of December 7, 1942-now expired-for a period of 1 year from the date of the enactment of this section.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars requested the introduction of this bill and at the committee hearing a representative of the Regular Veterans' Organization appeared and endorsed the bill.

A representative of the Department of Justice appeared and explained the bill.

A representative of the Department of State testified that his Department had no objections to offer.

A letter of the Attorney General to the chairman of the committee, dated March 1, 1944, explains the bill in detail. The letter reads as follows:

MARCH 1, 1944.

Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN,

Chairman, Committee on Immigration and Naturalization,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for my views concerning a bill (H. R. 4238) to provide for the naturalization of certain alien

veterans.

By the act of May 26, 1926 (44 Stat. 655), aliens residing in the United States who had served in the armed forces of the United States during the First World War, were accorded for a period of 2 years the opportunity to become naturalized without the necessity of proving that they had continuously resided in this country for a period of 5 years immediately preceding the filing of their petitions. The time for filing such petitions was extended for 2 additional years by section 3 of the act of March 4, 1929 (45 Stat. 1546; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 392a). A further extension of 2 years was provided for by section 1 of the act of May 25, 1932 (47 Stat. 165). Section 1 of the act of June 25, 1935 (49 Stat. 395), again extended the period within which such petitions might be filed to May 25, 1937. Further extensions of 1 year to May 25, 1938, and of 2 years to May 25, 1940, were made by section 1 of the act of August 23, 1937 (50 Štat. 743), and by section 1 of the act of June 21, 1939 (53 Stat. 651; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 392b (a)), respectively.

The time was further prolonged for a period of 1 year by the act of December 7, 1942 (56 Stat. 1041). The last-mentioned act at the same time extended the benefits of the legislation to veterans of the Spanish-American War and to persons who served in the Regular Army or the National Guard on the Mexican border between June 1916 and April 1917.

The bill under consideration would, in effect, temporarily reenact the act of December 7, 1942, and extend the privilege accorded thereby for an additional period of 1 year.

The legislation is meritorious.

In the interest of clarity, I suggest the following minor amendment:

Strike out the following words (p. 2, line 17): "within one year after the date of approval of this Act" and insert in lieu thereof the following: "within one year after the effective date of this section".

I recommend the enactment of the bill with the foregoing amendment. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget informs me that this legislation is in accord with the program of the President.

Sincerely yours,

Attorney General.

The Committee after hearing the persons who appeared, and after thoroughly discussing the bill, were of the opinion that such legislation was necessary and unanimously report the same and urge early and favorable consideration.

The proposed legislation in this bill does not in any way change the existing law; it adds a subsection to the law which applies to a specific group and therefore does not come within the requirements of 2-A of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.