The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-01-30
Dying Gu. or the A,nerIe.s a.ee.


were collated and arranged by the officer
appointed for the purpose, will force tn,
hair of genuine nativiss, whoconsi der
, it necessary that the proseritors of al
American citizen must At least hare beer
born on American soil for three genera
sions in order to be regarded full blood
American, to stand on end. This show,
that only small fraction of the whole
population of the United Statet can lay
claim to this title of nobility. The CEN
sus officers in 1870 found in the whole
territory of the United States 3S, 5OO,-
600 inhabitants; of these 5. SCI, 229 were
bern in foreign lands. e,734, S43 per-
sons. both parents were foreigners. of
| 10, 52l 1888 the father, of 10, los, G27 per-
sons the mother was born in foreign
lands. There remain, then. only about
TWO and a half millions who, according
TO the nativistic idea, ought to control
! the destinies of the country. This phs-
nomenon is startling, and can not be So
tisfactorily explained even by the fact of
rapid increase Of population. which was
only made possible by the rapid influx
of foreign elements. For, If the people
who have lived in America since the be-
ginning of the present csntury-that is,
those who desire to be regarded as full
blood Americans in every respect, had
only increased in the same ratio az the
inhabitants Of other countries. their
number it 1870 must of necessity be
much larger than the census indicates
| This establishes as an incontrovertiblc
fact that small degree of fecundity is
one of the characteristics of the Ameri-
can. We must leave it to the physi-
| ologists to investigate. and decide whe-
Their long continued climatic influences
and modes of life, or a certain evil and
| criminal habit. which is praeticed to a
| very alarming extent in all parts of the
country, is the main cause OF This re-
markable phenomenon.
If these influences should con sinue, it
| is to be feared, that at the close of this
century there will be scarcely a few
hundred thousand persons in the coun-
try who can boast that their progenitors
were native born citizens of the United
States at the commencement Mt Of the cen
tury. Those who incline to the opinion
| that to correct understanding of our
political institutions, and in order to at
tain intelligence and necessary to main
tenance of them, the native elements
dating back to series of generations are
necessary. will deduce most ominous
predictions for our future from these
fatcs. But, then, the fears are ground.
less, for it is not the influence and ener-
ey of the older native citizens of the
United States that Americanize the i'm
| migrant and his posterlty, but rather
our institutions that place the impress Of
American popularities not merely upon
our political but also upon our social and
| business life, which possess and exert
| that mysterious power which no one liv-
! ing upon American soil can escapc, and
which in the shortest space of time i'm
perceptibly produce an entire change in
! the character and views of those who
have chosen the United States as their
| home.
Some individuals or classes may be
more susceptible of these influences than
! others; local circumstances may increase
or decrease their efficiency; but it !, in
controvertible that the metamorphosis,
rs general thing, takes place in com.
Daratively short space of time, and that
large number of the foreign born citi-
zens have better understanding of our
institutions, and better appreciate them,
than many of the native born, who by
the accident of birth, think themselves
exempt from she necessity of Investigate
/ ing and studying into their condition,
and OF understanding and opposing many
of the destructive tendencies of our pub
lie life.
A much greater danger to the future
preservation of the spirit of American
institutions than the small degree of
| fruitfulness of our genuine nativistic
| elements, may be discovered in the devs
lopmont which the. whole life of our
people has assumed in tho last decade,
and which is forcing US into the same
channel through which most of the ma
tons Of the old world passed, and which
seemed to contribute in really startling
manner to tho weakening of that mys-
terious influence which formerly seemed
to I'LL the American air and to inspire
every American citizen in every move
uient on the social, industrial, and poll
ticai field.
OF course, there are yet many factors
that work against thi. destruction of the
American spirit; for instance. the large
area of yet uncultivated lands will for
generations still continue to be nursery
of free, Independent thought, where the
settler in bis contest With virtue, and IN
affected by the corrupting influences
exerted by numerous and closely packed
masses of people, will maintain the spirit
of freedom and independence. 1t must
not DO overlooked. however, that the de-
| sire to move In CIRCUMSTANCES which are
calculated to develop this spirit of indie
pendsnce are constantly growing less,
and that as consequence our increase
of population takes place in the cities.
while the rural districts can show only
q small increase Of pop.laiion-in many
cases even positive decrease. and tha,
in the cities the means of livelihood and
the actisitiea Of opF people gre forced hy
| artificial means into channels in which al
feelings Of independence must perish
! From all these anti American induen-
ces, which are called Into being ard
cherished by an aping of the methods
by means of which European nation,
. have attained to power and an appear
ance of wealth, more is to be feared fol
| tho continuance and heue6ciepf Uork