Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1884-11-21
Naturalization Laws.


be looked upon as hard one. Matters nat
urally appear in different light to those
who are interested in different aspects of
the same question, and therefore on this
score, and this alone, some allowance may
be made for the trainers Of this law. But
even to any one entirely uninterested 1t
would appear that the shortening of the
required residence of five years to two, or at
most three years, would confer many more
benefits on the country that admitted such
aliens as citizens than up m the aliens them
selves.
Let us, however, briefly consider, first, the
advantages that would be derived by the
country itself by shortening the term OF res
idence for an alien before admittance as
citizen; secondly, the advantages accruing
TO aliens themselves; and, thirdly, such oh
jections as on first thought are liable to be
raised to the proposed change in the minds
of those who consider, and Justly so, that to
be a citizen of the United States is good
that every man should be proud of and
grateful for.
First then, | hold that in country like
this, that receives every year such an enor
nous influx Of foreigners, coming with the
avowed purpose of lettering their circum-
stances and of making fortunes, it would be
far more conducive 10 the country's pros
perity were there some means of shortening
that period. which might almost be termed
a period Of probation, during which the
foreigner is neither an actual member of that
community in which he resides, nor to most
intents and purposes citizen of that coun-
try that he has left behind him. The con-
sequent unsettled feeling which must exist
in the settlers mind cannot but be directly
or Indirectly injurious to that feeling OF
ri ii IL,
should pervade every community. Does it
not also frequently happen that foreigner
whom fortune has blest, and who has &C
cumulated riches in the new country, yet
feels no tie TO the land that has only been
his temporary home, without according to
him any of the advantages enjoyed by the
rest of the community, naturally enough
betakes himself and his acquired wealth
back TO the fatherland, leaving the country
the poorer in each case by an able fellow
man and the wealth he has carried away
How much better, if by the inducement of
in shorttime becoming one of great nation
such man had identified himself with the
people amongst whom he came TO live, and
had remained domesticated, thus enrching
the country pecuniarily by the capital that
he had brought with him, and morally by
the influence and power that man of in
teiect must exercise over his fellow men,
Under the existing law, men of intellect,
whose object in life is not mere money get
ting, hesitate to enter a country which
though confessedly offering vastly greater
opportunities for rising than any of the old,
yet obliges man to spend so long period
as a practical outsider before being received
as a member and citizen of the nation with
which he would otherwise identify himself
Granted that in all trade and business ev-
cry man, foreigner or citizen, is treated alike,
yet the same argument holds good, for every
alien who may rapidly acquire competence
here is more than likely TO carry his wealth
back to the land that he still looks upon as
his home, and to which he has not vet for
sworn his allegiance.
Every true patriot will admit that to fill
all public offices of power and trust, those
men should be selected who by their intel
lect and ability show themselves fitted TO be
leaders. Without for moment wishing to
raise the slightest objection to the condition
requiring every public Office holder to be
citizen of the nation, would not the in
ducement 10 immigrate that would be offered
to men of high mental powers if the natu.
ralization laws were lest stringent, bring to.
gether far larger body Of men from which
the people might select their public officers
Lastly, an additional though somewhat
sentimental argument may be urged in favor
of Englishmen. Is not England the mother
of this vast people, and should not the peo-
pie of the United States be prepared to offer
to their brothers token of their amity and
demonstrate the existence of their brother
hood by permitting those from the old coun-
try some facf4etse niizhllnnnniEsinp Themselves
with the interests of the new?
The advantages accruing to aliens by the
proposed relaxation are deducible from
much of the foregoing, and follows as a
matter of course A moral influence begins
to work the moment they receive their cit.
zenship with its attendant vote, which latter
the majority probably never enjoyed in the
old country, and thus each comes to feel
that he is apart of that great whole which
is the American nation. Materially for
eigner would be benefited by the nearer
prospect of becoming eligible tor any public
office for which his felow-citizens might
deem him fitted
Those stern patriots who maintain that
the admission OF strangers to equal rights
with themselves is an outrage to the American
nation can scarcely have looked fairly at
the matter. Allowing for the natural pref
erence for one OF ones own nationality, yet
If citizen formerly a foreigner be elected
to I'LL public position or to represent his
fellow citizens ii is evident he has been
chosen on account of some valuable quality
OF mind or intellect that he possesses
Surely even these rigid patriots will admit
itwere pity their country should altogether
lose such a man merely on account of his
nationality And if admitting him as one
of themselves at all, why force him to I'M
dergo such lengthy and dispiriting pro.
batiOn2
1t would surely be more patriotic, in the
true sense of the word, TO shorten the time
for men of certain educational qualifica-
ton than to hold out, as the law now does,
the offer of citizenship TO low class of men,
who lior the sake of gain have enlisted IN
the United States army and procured a re-
lease after two years Can any one claim
that such men are real benefit to the ma.
ton in any capacity? Such law that ad-
mits those of low stamp to privileges that
are withheld for more than twice the length
of time from men of greater social and in-
tellectual standing, would appear an out.
rage, not merely TO the American nation,
but to all those DESTROYS of acquiring an in.
terest in the welfare of the country.
The last objection that might be raised is
that the proposed change would of course
largely benefit just such a low GLASS of men
as those already spoken off but at least they
would not be favored IN preference to those
of higher qualifications, and, let us hope
they would become sensible of the same
moral influence already mentioned, and that
some, at least, calling themselves citizens,
would beimpreSsed with the duty incumbent
on every man TO uphold his country's name
and honor.