Among the bills which the coming Congress will inherit from its predecessor, there is one which proposes an answer to the question: What is to be done with interned aliens? And since this is the first time that America is confronted with such a situation, it is important that legal procedure to solve the problem be adopted. An assistant to the Attorney General had this to say on the subject; "If laws empowering the Government to deport or send these aliens out of our country are not enacted, then the Government will not be justified in detaining them after the conclusion of peace, and will simply be obliged to set them at liberty. The existing immigration laws do not apply to aliens, since the status of the latter are not defined by the respective Federal statutes."

The proposed legal disposition of aliens is advocated by the Department of 2Justice, but it does not appear that it will be accepted without opposition. Senator Hardwick of Georgia, chairman of the Senate Committee on Immigration, has already declared that he will insist upon important changes in the bill. He said: "I certainly do not intend to invest one man with the authority to decide who is to be deported, and who is not to be deported. Such an arrangement may do during wartime, but not in peacetime. I would be in favor of a law which guarantees aliens a trial by jury. One-man rule appears to be undesirable under any circumstances. America is not Russia."

The Department of Justice has voiced its dissatisfaction with Hardwick's proposed jury trials. It points out that at the time when those aliens were interned, they could not be prosecuted under the laws as they existed then, and that it would not be just to enact new laws now specifically for the non-Americans who are in the custody of the Government. Apparently the bill will find more favor with the coming Congress.

According to the proposal it would be the duty of the Secretary of Labor to determine who are "undesirable inhabitants" of our country, and the Secretary 3may deport them if they have been interned under martial law, or if they have been found guilty of an offense against the Government. The fact that aliens have been interned or convicted is sufficient proof that they are "undesirable inhabitants," and the decision of the Secretary of Labor is final.

The majority of interned Germans and Austrians are in Fort Oglethorpe, near Chattanooga, or in Fort Douglas, near Salt Lake City. A large camp for interned, located near Hot Springs, North Carolina, has been disbanded. Some aliens are detained temporarily at Ellis Island, in San Francisco, and in New Orleans. It is estimated that the number of interned aliens is about five thousand--between two thousand and three thousand officers and sailors, and twenty-five hundred private persons. Many of the Germans and Austrians who are in detention are held without charge. The Government suspected them, however, and they were placed in custody merely as a precautionary measure. Those who were guilty of a crime were immediately prosecuted. But there were cases to which the existing criminal laws did not apply. People who 4disregarded the ordinances issued by the President, professional agitators, propagandists, and foreigners who had made themselves obnoxious were also interned. In some instances people were interned upon their own request, in order to protect them against threats or dangers. Only a few of those who are in Government custody are considered to be dangerous. Still the United States officials who have charge of such matters wish to deport them, because they were looked upon as decidedly dangerous during the War.

Among the interned Germans are prominent men--Adolph Payenstadt, Carl Heynen, and Hugo Schmidt, representatives of German banks; Felix Sommerfeld, former head of Villa's secret service; Doktor Karl Muck, band leader; Mr. Kuhnhardt, former director of the Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra; Max Breitung and Carl Bertling, who are accused of spreading German propaganda; and Frederico Stallfuhrt, allegedly a spy in the service of Rintelin. Stallfuhrt is seeking his release on the ground that he is a Mexican citizen. Others interned are one: Otto Wolpert, captain of a North German Lloyd ship; Commodore Ruser, commander of the "Vaterland," which is now known under the name of "Leviathan"; Harry Salaman, a New York banker; Paul Koenig, allegedly a 5paymaster of the German secret service; Max Lucke and Graf (Count) Mangelas, German journalists; Rudolf Otto, former German consul in Jamaica; Karl Neumund, New York merchant; H. A. Seebohn, manager of a chemical factory which is now operated under the supervision of the U. S. Alien Property Custodian....[Translator's note: The names of four less important persons conclude the paragraph.]

All of the interned desire to be released from their long imprisonment, and some wish to return to their native country. We hope that their wish will soon be realized. However, we would call attention to the fact that the proposed law will not be applicable to members of the crews of enemy warships, since they are subject to martial law.