32 
laws, may be considered as deserters or as 
defaulters will be dealt with as hereinafter 
indicated. 
A. Deserters 
Deserters are divided into two classes, 
namely: 
(i a) Deserters before the outbreak of 
hostilities; 
(&) Deserters after the beginning of the 
war, the great majority of whom 
consist of men who did not join their 
units at the expiration of a leave to 
the United States. 
Concerning persons falling within one of 
these classes, the French Government states 
that their naturalization in the United States 
could not possibly entitle them to any special 
favor; that regardless of the date on which 
they acquire American nationality they remain 
liable to all the military obligations due to 
France; and that their situation cannot be 
determined otherwise than by a judicial 
decision. 
B. Defaulters 
American citizens of French origin coming 
within the following categories are considered 
by the French Government as military 
defaulters: 
1. Those declared delinquent prior to August 
2. 1914, for failure to respond to an order to 
report and a transportation order, whether con¬ 
voking them to fulfill their obligations in active 
service, or to serve in the reseive, or in the 
territorial army. 
33 
2. Those belonging to a class of the reserve 
or to the territorial army who were declared 
delinquent after the outbreak of hostilities 
because they failed to rejoin their regiment at 
the time of the general mobilization within the 
period prescribed by the law. 
3. Those belonging by reason of their age or 
reassigned to classes called to the colors after 
August 2, 1914, who were called defaulters 
because of their failure to respond to an order 
to report, and a transportation order, after due 
notification. 
The French Government states that in deter¬ 
mining the status of those coming within the 
above-named categories both the date on which 
such persons acquired American citizenship and 
the date on which they were declared delinquent 
will be taken into consideration in accordance 
with the following classification: 
(a) Native-torn American citizens of French 
parentage 
The Department understands that under 
article 99 of the French recruitment law of 
March 31, 1928, persons born in the United 
States of French parents will be permitted by 
the French Government to pay a visit to France 
without being compelled to perform military 
service there, provided they carry certificates 
stating that military service is not obligatory 
in the United States. Such certificates may be 
obtained from the French Embassy in Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., and French consulates in the 
United States, and also from the American 
Embassy in Paris and American consulates in 
France. 
