We have no figures to show how many of those aliens and declarants registered in the registration of September 12, 1918, were below the age of 21 years; therefore it is not possible to say just what proportion were available for naturalization under the special provisions of the law of May 9th. The previous registration had applied altogether to men above the age of 21, and of course all of those in the subsequently registered class 32–45 were naturalizable so far as age was concerned.
The classification of registrants under the registration of September 12, 1918, never was completed, being stopped by the armistice of November 11th; therefore the availability for service of the citizens and aliens has been reported only for those between the ages of 21 and 31. Of the 1,703,006 aliens and declarants of this age classification, a little less than one in three (538,363—31.61 per cent) had declared intention. The fitness of these for service is shown by the following analysis:
TABLE XXXI
Fitness for Service of Alien Registrants{1}
| Number | Per Cent | |
| Placed in Class I | 414,389 | 24.33 |
| Declarants | 160,594 | 29.64 |
| Nondeclarants | 253,795 | 21.79 |
| Placed in deferred classes | 1,288,617 | 75.67 |
| Declarants | 377,769 | 71.36 |
| Nondeclarants | 910,848 | 78.21 |
note 1: Second Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War, on the Operations of the Selective Service System to December 20, 1918, p. 91, table 25.
ALIENS AND MILITARY SERVICE
As the Provost Marshal General says, in discussing the intricate legal situation which the legislation of May 9, 1918, was calculated in part to meet, “it was realized that, from the point of view of international law, not all aliens stood on the same footing in this country.” He analyzed the differences as follows:[129]
(a) An alien occupying a diplomatic post enjoys immunity from military service, as well as from many other burdens, for he is the representative of a foreign country, present by consent and invitation, and is protected by a number of privileges not enjoyed by a private citizen. Diplomatic privileges do not extend to consuls, as they are not diplomatic officers, but merely representatives for commercial purposes.