Many got away without being naturalized, but made up for it when they came home again, not a few with wound stripes to reinforce their title to the new privilege. There were naturalizations even in the hospitals, where men in beds raised their right hands to take the oath of allegiance. Little doubt about their knowing what they were doing.
On the other hand, undoubtedly there were many who did not at all understand. At one of the large hearings at one of the far Western camps surreptitiously brought their certificates of naturalization to two women investigators for one of the Government War organizations, and wanted to know what they meant.
“Would you be so good as to tell us what these papers are?” they said. “We got some papers before, and had to go to court as witnesses. We had a great deal of trouble. We would like to know if these papers will get us into more trouble.”
STATISTICS OF ALIEN REGISTRATION
The total registration under the operation of the Selective Service Act, during the whole period, June 5, 1917-September 12, 1918, according to the report of the Provost Marshal General,[128] was 23,908,576. Of these registrants—roughly speaking, one-fifth of the total population of the United States—20,031,493 were citizens; 3,877,083 were aliens. Of the citizens, 1,336,967 (6.67 per cent) were foreign-born and naturalized. Of the aliens, about one in three (1,270,184—32.76 per cent) had declared intention to seek citizenship. More than two and one-half millions (2,606,901—67.24 per cent) were aliens out-and-out, still owing full allegiance to other sovereignties, and of nationality, so far as the war was concerned, divided as follows:
TABLE XXX
Allegiance of Aliens Registered Under the Selective Service Act{1}
| Number | Per Cent | |
| Total registration | 3,877,083 | 100.00 |
| Ages 21–31 | 1,703,006 | .... |
| Ages 18–20, 32–45 | 2,174,077 | .... |
| Cobelligerents (the Allies) | 2,228,980 | 57.49 |
| Ages 21–31 | 1,021,063 | .... |
| Ages 18–20, 32–45 | 1,207,917 | .... |
| Neutrals | 636,601 | 16.42 |
| Ages 21–31 | 249,034 | .... |
| Ages 18–20, 32–45 | 387,567 | .... |
| Enemy and allied enemy | 1,011,502 | 26.09 |
| Ages 21–31 | 432,909 | .... |
| Ages 18–20, 32–45 | 578,593 | .... |
note 1: Second Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War, on the Selective Service System to December 20, 1918, p. 90, [Table 23].