Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1918, Supplement 2, The World War

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.

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 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 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 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.