useful purpose toward only a few Americans of Swedish origin, and it would, moreover, constitute a precedent which might prove embarrassing to this Government in the future. As the minister for foreign affairs has informed you that the improper arrests of Americans is due to ignorance on the part of local authorities of the English language, it is suggested that instructions could be given to the local authorities which would enable them to recognize the passports of this Government and to treat them as prima facie proof that the holders are American citizens and entitled to the privileges which attach to them under the terms of the convention between the two Governments. I am, etc., ROBERT BACON. REORGANIZATION OF THE DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SERVICE OF SWEDEN. Minister Graves to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Stockholm, May 21, 1906. SIR: Owing to the dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, the Government of Sweden took up last autumn the reorganization of its diplomatic and consular service, and appointed a royal commission, which has made an exhaustive study of the problem and submitted a lengthy report in two thick pamphlet volumes. This report has recently been submitted to the Riksdag, and I have the honor to transmit the same under separate cover for the use of the department. As the document is in the Swedish language, I venture to accompany this with a summary of some portions of it that may be an indication of the interesting character of the report, which will repay study as a whole. I have, etc., CHARLES H. GRAVES. [Inclosure.] Abstracts from report of Swedish royal commission on reorganization of the Swedish diplomatic and consular service, 1906. In a communication by the minister for foreign affairs to the commission is said: "It should not be necessary, in selecting persons for the diplomatic and consular service, to take into account their private fortunes; this particularly in the diplomatic service. Ability and skill should be the only basis of selection to insure the best results. As to education, great importance should be attached to the practical side, and in consular appointments, to a mercantile education. And success in other public services should be considered. More intimate connection and cooperation between the diplomatic and consular services is very desirable. "It is recommended that the commission hear the views and opinion of industrial proprietors, merchants, and shipowners to get all the light possible upon the bearing of consular service on the business of the country." The second volume of the report is made up entirely of testimony from such sources. "The objects of diplomatic and consular service have lately changed very much. Formerly, observation of events which might cause trouble between European states and negotiation of treaties and conventions absorbed attention, and slight notice was given to economical matters; but now modern conditions, quick communication, and ample press reports have made the former of less importance, though the hurry of press reports made them sometimes not quite reliable and require confirmation or correction from official sources." Other objects are now more in front, and the need is to know other nations more intimately and to be able to take advantage of their experience in affairs. Commercial politics are important and make demands on the diplomatic service greater than ever before, and for this reason quick, intelligent men, not too much impressed with their own importance and dignity, are needed. Cooperation of diplomatic and consular officers is desirable, not to mix up their functions, but to keep in touch and work together. Able men are required, and to obtain such sufficient salaries should be paid, bearing in mind that expenses are greater abroad than at home, and higher salaries are needed than for like positions at home. This matter is explained in some detail. Pensions for retired officers of the service are recommended. As Sweden has a department called the board of trade it is recommended that consuls correspond directly with that board and also with an unofficial association known as the Swedish Export Association, furnishing information and answering inquiries. The commission then takes up the diplomatic service and considers in detail the different posts, and its conclusions recommend the retention of legations, but that ministers be maintained only at "the most contiguous nations," or Norway, Denmark, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and Japan; that the legations at Rome and Vienna be united, and that at all the capitals not above mentioned Sweden should be represented by a chargé d'affaires. The minister at Paris should be also accredited to Belgium, and the minister to London should be also accredited to the Netherlands. As to the United States of America it is remarked: "The great number of Swedes who have emigrated thither and who have affairs in the home country with property, matters of inheritance, and the like, makes the diplomatic representation there more than usually important, and the legation should be maintained with a minister salaried at 45,000 crowns ($11,000), a secretary at 10,200 ($2,700), and a liberal' contingent allowance fund. The minister at Washington should have the supervision over all the consuls in the United States, and he should visit Canada to keep informed of affairs there and to inspect the consulates." SWITZERLAND. EXCLUSION OF THE DIVORCED INSANE WIFE OF AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. The Swiss Minister to the Secretary of State. [Translation.] LEGATION OF SWITZERLAND, MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: By a note of the 11th of June, 1902, this legation had the honor to have recourse to the obligingness of the Department of State in the matter of the repatriation of Elisabeth Abeldt-Fricker, born in Switzerland on the 10th of January, 1859, and married on September 3, 1892, at Abilene, Dickinson County, Kans., to Charles Abeldt, an American citizen born on August 25, 1862, in Wabaunsee County, Kans. By a note of June 26, 1902, the Department of State advised this legation that nothing stood in the way of the woman Abeldt-Fricker coming back to the United States from Switzerland, and that, being the wife of an American citizen, neither she nor her minor child was subject to the immigration laws of this country. In consequence of that exchange of notes, the woman Abeldt and her daughter were sent home at the expense of the Canton of Argovia and were to arrive in the United States on the French ship La Lorraine, which sailed for New York from Havre on the 9th of August, 1902. On the 20th of November of last year the Abeldt-Fricker couple obtained from the district court of Lyon County, Kans., a decree of divorce, under which the mother was given the care of bringing up the daughter Alice, and the father was to pay the cost of her education. In December last the woman Abeldt returned to Switzerland and established her residence at Brugg, in the Canton of Argovia, with her parents. After a short while it was discovered that she was not in full possession of her mental faculties, and she had to be transferred to the insane asylum of Königsfelden. As her parents are utterly unable to meet the cost of her maintenance in the asylum, the woman Abeldt has once more become a public charge. For that reason the authorities of the Canton of Argovia find themselves constrained to ask again that the woman Abeldt and her daughter be sent to their home in the United States. This time it is no longer a mere matter of repatriation, but it would be necessary, immediately upon their landing in the United States, to send the woman Abeldt to an insane asylum and to provide for her daughter in some other way. By order of my Government, I have the honor to beg that your excellency be pleased to permit the return of the said two persons to the United States and to authorize such formalities as may be required after the landing to insure their welfare. I also beg your excellency kindly to advise this legation as to what are the authorities in New York to which the woman Abeldt and her child might be turned over. In support of my request, I have the honor to append hereto a translation of the documents concerning Charles Abeldt's marriage and citizenship, a copy of the decree of divorce issued on November 20, 1905, and a certificate from the insane asylum at Königsfelden. Hoping that your excellency will be able to give this matter your favorable attention, I beg you to accept, etc., No. 12.] The Secretary of State to the Swiss Minister. L. VOGEL. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 1st ultimo, in which you request for Elisabeth Abeldt-Fricker and her minor child permission to enter this country, the woman, who is of Swiss origin and is the divorced wife of an American citizen, being of infirm mind. It appears that Mrs. Abeldt-Fricker soon after obtaining her divorce in Kansas left the United States, returned to Switzerland, her native country, and established a residence at Brugg with her parents until, within a short time, she was removed to an insane asylum. Under the practice of the Department of State a widow or a woman who has obtained an absolute divorce, being an American citizen and who has married an alien, must return to the United States, or must have her residence here in order to have her American citizenship revert on becoming femme sole. Conversely, an alien woman who marries an American citizen and secures a divorce from him in the United States and returns to her native country must be held to have abandoned her citizenship acquired by marriage and to have intended to adopt her native allegiance. The views above expressed seem also to be in keeping with the provisions of the continental codes, which enable a woman whose nationality has been changed by marriage to resume it when she becomes a widow, on the condition of her returning to the country of origin. Under the circumstances of the present case, the department is of the opinion that Mrs. Abeldt-Fricker has lost her nationality of an American citizen; and, as the statutes of the United States prohibit the landing of insane aliens, it would seem to be impossible to allow her to land in this country. The conclusion as above expressed, with regard to the mother, would not, however, apply to the child, as the latter was born in the United States, and is, therefore, an American citizen. Accept, etc., ELIHU ROOT. The Swiss Chargé to the Secretary of State. [Translation. ] LEGATION OF SWITZERLAND, MR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I have the honor to advise your excellency that this legation did not fail to communicate to its Government the contents of the note of June 2 from the Department of State concerning the question of the repatriation of Mrs. Elisabeth AbeldtFricker and her daughter Alice." In reply to that note in which it was said that the repatriation of Mrs. Abeldt-Fricker could not be permitted, since she had lost her American citizenship by settling in Switzerland after her divorce, my Government has instructed me to submit the following considerations to your excellency: Mrs. Abeldt-Fricker was already non compos when she came back to Switzerland in December, 1905. She was sent away from the United States by her husband, Charles Abeldt, an American citizen, who defrayed the traveling expenses, as she was not then in condition to form a decision or exercise her own will. It can not be assumed that she freely undertook the voyage, intended to renounce her American citizenship, or desired to be reinstated in her citizen's rights in Switzerland, which furthermore can not be granted to her. I am further instructed by my Government to observe that the decree of divorce rendered in the Abeldt-Fricker case on November 20, 1905, by the district court of Lyon County, Kans., was, according to an express stipulation, not to take effect until six months after its date that is to say, May 20, 1906. Mrs. Abeldt, in any event, was in possession of her American citizenship until the 20th of May last, inasmuch as she was still the wife of a citizen of the United States. At that time she had been, for several months, the inmate of the insane asylum at Königsfelden and this legation had already had the honor to lay before your excellency a request for her repatriation. In view of the circumstances, I have the honor, by order of my Government, to beg that your excellency will again give this matter your favorable consideration, to the end that the authorities of this country will recognize the American citizenship of Mrs. AbeldtFricker, as well as that of her daughter, and that the request presented by the legation in its note of May 1 be granted. Be pleased, etc., No. 14.] A. DE PURY. The Acting Secretary of State to the Swiss Chargé. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 28th ultimo in continuation of the subject of your note of the 1st of May, in which your legation requested the admission to this country of Elisabeth Abeldt-Fricker, an insane pauper of Swiss origin, and her minor child. |