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. (b) A transitory alien friend cannot be compelled to serve other than mere police duty, for otherwise commercial intercourse would be interrupted and the person might be required to aid a country in which he is a stranger. (c) An alien friend who is domiciled, that is to say, who is a permanent resident, can be compelled to serve, for otherwise he would receive the benefits of the government without sharing the burdens. An alien’s declaration of intention to become a citizen, though it does not make him a citizen, is conclusive evidence that he is properly to be considered a permanent resident. (d) An alien enemy cannot be forced to serve, for otherwise he would be compelled to fight against his own country.