236 F. 146 | E.D. Pa. | 1916
The applicant is found to have complied with all the precedent conditions of admission to citizenship, except that he was not able to show the required preliminary declaration of intention to become a citizen. He met this with the explanation that he had in fact duly filed such a declaration, but through an error the name of Charles Summer was written as the signatory instead of his proper name, Karl Schwarz, and that the error was due to his then inability to read or write English characters, and he affixed his mark, supposing he was affixing it to his own name and not to the name there written.
To make this explanation effective, he now files his petition to have the declaration amended.
This application meets objection based on two grounds: One, the absence of power in the court to allow the amendment; and, the other, that the proofs of error are not sufficient to move the court to make the amendment assuming that it possessed the power to do so.
The record asked to be changed was made March 14, 1911. The evidence we have on which to change it is the statement of the applicant himself. The question presented in such a case is not one of the truth or sincerity of the applicant, but whether it is a wise or safe rule to change a record without requiring at least as high a measure of proof as would be required to reform any writing. Inconvenience to the applicant is to be regretted, but this consequence cannot be avoided.
Leave to amend- is, accordingly, refused.