ENEMY ALIEN PROBLEMS. In early times it was the practice of belligerent govern ments upon the outbreak of war to arrest the citizens or subjects of the enemy power resid ing within their jurisdiction, to confiscate their property and sometimes to expel them sum marily from the country. In the course of time, however, relaxations from this harsh practice began to be made and many treaties were concluded providing that such persons should either be allowed to remain in the coun try, or in case they were required to leave, they should be allowed a specified period within which to dispose of their property and wind up their business affairs. The policy of confiscat ing their property also ceased and wholesale expulsions became rare. During most of the wars of the 19th century the treattnent accorded to enemy aliens was uniformly liberal and humane. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, for example, neither belligerent mo lested the citizens or subjects of the other, so long as they demeaned themselves peaceably and their property was not interfered with in the slightest degree. When the present Euro pean War broke out the rights of enemy aliens had not been regulated by any of the great international conventions; the treatment to which they were entitled, therefore, depended upon the customary law of nations and upon particular treaty stipulations between the op posing belligerents.
The enemy alien problem of the present war has been somewhat different from that of any preceding war, partly' because of the unprece dented number of enemy aliens which were found in most of the belligerent states at the outbreak of the conflict, and partly because of the enormous amount of property held by such persons in the countries where they resided. In England, for example, there were more than 50,000 German subjects; in France the num ber was still larger; and in the United States the number of such persons probably exceeded a million. In consequence of the German policy of universal compulsory military service large numbers of them were reservists who if they had been allowed to depart would have returned to Germany and joined the army. Many of them were of course spies, for the German his torian Treitschke tells us that °in the national wars of the present day every honest subject is a spy.° The presence of such persons in so large a number in England and France, because of the close geographical proximity of those countries to Germany naturally constituted a grave danger to both countries. It was impossible in view of these circumstances to allow males of mili tary age to leave the country and it was equally impossible to leave them to remain in complete f reedom The treatment which was accorded to every alien by the various belligerent governments may be discussed under three heads: (1) policy in respect to their personal freedom ; (2) measures in respect to their property and busi ness undertakings; and (3) their right of ac cess to the courts. At the outset Great Britain accorded to German subjects a period of seven days during which they might leave, but it does not appear that any considerable number suc ceeded in getting away. France allowed than to leave before the end of the first day of mobilization, but few were able to return to their home countries. Germany and the United States did not allow any days of grace for this purpose and Germany even went to the length of arresting all Japanese subjects found in the country at the outbrealc of the war between that country and Japan. British and French nation als were summarily expelled from any German towns and cities and without being allowed to take their effects with them. On the day of the outbreak of war between France and Ger many the French government as a military pre caution required all enemy subjects to evacuate the region of the northwest, and also the cities of Paris and Lyons and to retire to other regions in the west. They were not, however, expelled. Portugal appears to have been the only belligerent country which went to the length of expelling all enemy persons between certain ages. In every belligerent country measures were early taken to restrict the liberty of movement of enemy aliens. In Eng land they were required to reside in certain °approved° places; they were forbidden to re side in certain designated regions or to change their places of residence or travel more than five miles without a permit; they were for bidden to have within their possession any firearms and various other articles such as sig naling apparatus, military maps, motor cars, etc.; they were forbidden to frequent clubs; to
see any but English newspapers, etc. In every belligerent country they were required to regis ter and were placed under strict surveillance by the authorities. In the United States they were forbidden to reside within a certain distance of any fort, arsenal, armory or similar place; they were excluded from residing near to or from approaching water fronts or wharves, and they were prohibited from remaining or residing within the District of Columbia. All enemy aliens including women were required to register, and in general they were subjected to other restrictions similar to those adopted by the British government. On account of the close geographical proximity of France to Ger many, the French government at the outset ordered a general internment of the enemy population. They were therefore removed to concentration camps located in various parts of France, mainly in the west, behind a line ex tending roughly from Dunlcirk to Nice. For some eight months after the outbreak of the war the British government did not go to such lengths, although considerable numbers of sus picious and dangerous characters were interned as a precautionary measure. In consequence, however, of various acts of the Germans, such as the bombardment of undefended coast towns, Zeppelin raids upon England, the use of as phyxiating gases as a means of combat, the ill treatment of English prisoners, and the like, public opinion in England came to demand that the whole enemy population of England should be interned, and the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 greatly intensified the popular de mand. This last act led to serious mob out breaks against the Germans in England and the dominions, during the course of which many German houses and shops were wrecked and a considerable number of lives were lost Partly, therefore, in the interest of the national de fense and partly in the interest of the Germans themselves, whom it was difficult for the pub lic authorities to protect so long as they were scattered throughout the United Kingdom, the British government in May 1915 ordered the internment in concentration camps of practi cally all enemy persons then left in England, although exemptions were granted in particular cases where internment would have worked a serious hardship without subserving any pur pose of national defense. The order for in ternment, it may be added, applied not only to enemy subjects but also to British subjects (of which there were some 8,000), of enemy origin. So far as possible work was provided in the camps for such persons; classes for instruction were organized, libraries were established, and instructors in the handicrafts were furnished. Long before the British policy of internment had been decided upon, the German govern ment, in consequence of reports that large num bers of Germans were being arbitrarily ar rested and imprisoned in England, had issued an order (6 Nov. 1914) for the general intern ment of all British males between the ages of 17 and 55. Most of them were interned in the buildings of a race course at Ruheleben near Berlin. The United States was almost the only great power which did not resort to the policy of general internment, for there the presence of enemy aliens at large did not, by reason of the remoteness of the country from Germany, constitute the same danger as it did in England and France. Large numbers of individual Ger mans whose disloyalty was clearly established, others who were regarded as suspects or danger ous persons, and still others charged with espion age and other crimes were, however, arrested and confined in internment camps in various parts of the country. The members of the crews of German merchant vessels in American ports as well as the crews of German warships which took refuge in American ports were likewise interned. Other enemy persons who conformed to the regulations in regard to residence, move ment and registration and who demeaned them selves peaceably were left at large, although they were subjected to close surveillance and were frequently warned against the conse quences of misbehavior and disloyalty.