Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-10-15

would not reach out it's hand, where there
were no fathers or mothers or guardians,
to bring them into the bright path which
leads to virtue and citizenship and honor.
[CheerS. If our Democratic friends are
lot in favor of saving such waits as those
then they ought to be. That is all | have
got to say about it.
THE LEGAL. LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, l come to
the other provision in this platform, which
to my mind constitutes the issue so far as
platforms and speeches make the issue be-
fore the people of Wisconsin in this cam
and duty of the state to enact laws that
will guarantee to all children sufficient in
struction in the legal language of the state
to enable them to read and write the
same" Loud Cheers
l have endeavOred with pla1nneSS of
speech and some limitation due to my
weakness and the fact that | appear be-
fore you to make deSultOry remarks, rather
than prepared speech have endeavOred
to make plain that the charges made, not
against the Bennett law but against the
Republication platform of interference
with parochial schools, and with the
right of the parent to choose the, location
and the school for his child, are absolutely
false. ICheers.
ISSUE Now what shall be said of that,
ladies and gentlemen? The Republican
party has made the pathway to citizenship
short and easy. We owe a great debt to
the compulsory system OF other countries.
They have sent us great armies of honest
and thoughtful men, educated in the Ian
guage of their country, to live as citizens
in ours. We have not asked that they do
change the law. We have not asked that
they do more than to declare, as | have
seen hundreds OF them declare through an
interpreter In court, that they renowned
their allegiance to all other pOtentateS and
powers and declare their allegiance to
our government and to the beautiful starry
flag. Cheers.l They have made, good
citizens. They have done their full part
toward building up our state into its splen-
did prosperity. But would any one of
them say that they would not have been
better equipped for citizenship If they
could have dispensed with the interpreter,
and could have read and written the legal
language of the country? Cheers NO
man would claim that ] know a little
something myself about the helplessness
which is involved in not un 1erStanding the
language of a country. l will never for
get the evening [ was dumped down I'D
Paris, some years ago. with my family.
ter | could not tell a cabman where [
wanted to go. could not make a bargain
with him. There was not dirty Paris
street gamin that was not stronger than [
in that land, whose language | could not
understand. And all over Europe had a
pleasant time, except for one thing; over
and over again. found myself deprived,
in spirit of anger, of the ineStimable
privilege of telling ScOundrel who cheat
ed me what / thought of him in the Ian
guage of the country. Laughter and
cheers. No man will deny, no man can
l>o{, bo+to ,ax,ff .lr off
zenship to be acquainted with the language
of the country than not. Now. ladies
and gentlemen, that is not the question
before the people of Wisconsin. They are
adopting this in the SOuth-an educational
test for voting in Mississlppi-and they
They do it down there for the purpose OF
guaranteeing TO the colOred man. who un-
der the constitution has the right to vote,
the privilege of not being able to vote.
Laughter. But the man who would pro-
pose such q thing in Wisconsin would not
be listened to for a moment, not one. But
l state the proposition child born IL this
country, or brought of tender years into
this country, should not be permitted by
its father or It's guardian to grow up from
childhood to manhood without having an
opportunity to learn to read and write the
ticket which, crowned with sovereignty,
he deposits in the ballot-boX. Cheers.
Is there man in the state, a father or
guardian, who IS willing to say he does
not care to have his child learn to read
and write the language-lS there parent
or guardian who is willing to say that he
60 read and write the English language as
early in life as may be in harmony with
the mental and physical strength of his
child? Not one.
A WORD TO LUTHERANS.
Our Lutheran friends, and there are no
better citizens under the shining sun than
they. in their convention declared, and
doubt not with all sincerity, that they were
not opposed to the English language, and
they are not. They teach it in their pa
rochial schools, and they intend to give
their children the best of instruction in it.
l believe, although L cannot remember the
precise figure, that in the pamphlet which
saw it was stated that out of $40 or
Whereabouts of Lutheran DarOchial schools
in this state, in 280 the English language
was taught. So they are not opposed to
giving child a chance to learn to read and
write the English language. They Will
give it themselves, they say. The, Scandi-
give it themselves; so with all natiOnali-
ties And, thank God, vast majority of
fathers and mothers, whose hearts are
filled with love for the children committed
to their care, and filled with interest in
their welfare. will, without any law from
learn to read and write the legal Ian
guage of the country. [Cheers.l But then
they turn to us and say, if you admit that
we are willing to instruct our children, to
give them an opportunity to read and
write the English language, why pass a
law requiring us to do that thing which we
are willing to do. The law is not for those
that care for their children and who give
out of affection and parental interest the
child an opportunity to learn to read and
write the English language. The law is
for those who can, but won't. [Cheers.l
just like the compulsory law in favor OF
which Democracy and everybody else is.
1t is not made to compel those men and |
women who want their children to be ed |
ucated, and who furnish them with educa-
ton, to send their children to school. Upon
all such the law rests as lightly as the
snow fake which falls in winter upon your
head. AS to all such 1t is a mere abstrac-
ton, but the compulsory education law is
for those who can and will not lCheersl. |
Now, ladies and gentlemen, some one
has said that parent has an inalienable
was MI. Mills, Of Texas, I re-
member now laughter The said that a
parent had an alienable right to direct the