Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-03-26
iaopted CitiEeHs''

,s-.,ns. who for personal or party
-rrr,ses are constantly evdea'orns 70 sur up
- between the natives and the foreign
''- .;.;,,rs Of our country. To do this they
-. +bs most Of every point of difference;
a-e hold of every triie that can be construed as
.If-b, or intentional affront, On either side;
,,5 bv fat Misrepresentation, where nothing
40 will answer, strive to increase every Jeli-
and awaken animosities where none had
t.r,re existed or need exist. Thus our late
-,.-pbor the Sentinel. contained recently an
.,.5,-ste attempt to make out that the term
...ionted citizens" so commonly given to the
..--slize8 citizens throughout the country, is
"A as term Of reproach. Another demo-
LAT. IS we have helrd,i was heard to say to a
i.nocrat, the other day, that the FREE Pass
-srsr thought Of or alluded to an Irishman but
nth blame or contempt 1t would seem as If
.,sb false and absurd statements could have no
weight; but they are eagerly caught up by
--ar,. of o,, f,rei-n born citizens, and serve to
stir m il-feelinc and strife where all ought TO
no aud might be. harmony and mutual respect.
w..r.-l that those who thus strive to create and
:-..-esse class autpltlies, are doing very poor
,is,e Of service to our adopted citizens, whose
interests they pretend to serve Nor is there
auv good foundation for their assertions. As a
rule a citizen, of whatever nativity, Is honored in
this community Of equal rights, according to his
personal worth If honest, industrious, intel
gent, law-abiding, he isrespected accordingly,
zlatcyer the land Of his birth. If ignorant,
lie, and worthless, he viii be regarded accord
ingly, be he a native Yankee, or what. The
term " Adopted citizen" is always given as a
title of respect. Knowing no honor higher than
his own citizenship, the American citizen can
honor no man more than to give him the title Of
citizen; and if he is not native born the best he
can do Is to call him "aloptei, term Of
welcome and respect.
As for the FGEE Pass, We may be allowed to
say that this paper has always opposed class dis
tinctions and all that tends to foster them among
our people. We desire to see every element in
our population became thoroughly assimilatei,
that We may have homogeneous, harmonious,
intelligent, and powerful, because united people.
We have consequently never spoken with iuten-
tonal disrespeot of any class or race, among US.
We have been sorry 20 see our adopted citizens
aluding themselves together, in associations like
the late " Workingmen's Union,' under the
lead Of men who have no claim to the name Of
w5rkiurmen, and who use the association solely
for party or private purposes. If We have been
compelled to attack such organizations, it has
been not because they were composed Of Irish
men or Frenchmen or Germans, or Of all these;
hut because they have been the tools Of demago-
CUES and party wire-pullers, and because their
only effect has been to arouse Jealousy and bad
blood between our native and adopted citizens.
We fought the Know Nothing organization in It's
time, Just as earnestly and effectively, on the
same grounds.
Of course we are not asking the Irishman to
forget the Green Isle of his birth, or the citizen
from any other country to forget his fatherlani.
Blood Is thicker than water, and the ties Of kind
81 and nationality are ordained Of Heaven. Let
, sons Of Erin celebrate the day Of their patron
s4a-. as Americans abroad celebrate Fourth of
July. Let them have their St Patrick's Socie-
ties, and the Frenchmen their St. Joseph's, for
charitable and social purposes but let them
consider soberly whether it pays, to support
q" Unions" formed expressly to control their
political action, but which can accomplish nc
thing except to stir up prejudices of class and
sect The throwing open Of citizenship to our
foreign born inhabitants, in States like this
where the preponderance of one party is 50 over
Whelming that the vote Of no particular set or
class is Of consequence, shows that our welcome
to the Corners from other lands is sincere and
disinterested. Al are welcome all may become
citizens but having become such, il Is well to
beware how they sink the citizen in the Irishmau
or Frenchman. Having declared that they mean
this to be their home, let them make it their
highest aim to be true and worthy and indepen-
dent American citizens. Let them respect them
selves, look at things without prejudice, refuse
to be led or driven by soheming demagogues,
and they viii have the respect, confidence and
goodwill-as 50 many Of them are constantly
proving in their own ezperieuce-of all other
worthy citizens.
Our numerous friends OF foreign birth-ani
we have always had many such-will believe
that we offer this advice in all kindness and good
feeling. It is certainly for their interest that .
there should be full harmony and confidence F.
among our fellow citizens Of all classes, and it .
rests with them mainly, to say whether or no 4
Q low. siofI BIO