St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-17
OUR FOREIGN MISSIONS.

Nothing could have been more timely
than KNUTE NELSON'S remarks on the
race problem at the state fair last week.
He commented on the seriousness of
the present situation in this new coun-
try of ours, where there is babel of
tongues spoken by people heterogeneous
in birth, traditions and character. But
he predicted that there was a good time
coming, when out of all this there
would grow a type of man the peer of
any who has dwelt on the earth. This
man, he said, would be strong, hand
some, patriotic. would speak the En-
g!ish language and be full of devotion
to the principles of Anglo-Saxon liberty.
He did not venture to limit the time
which would be needed for his evolu-
ton, but he contributed to its hasten
ing by the picture he drew of what he
would be when his development was
complete.
The welding of the men and women
of Minnesota into an American race,
homogeneous in feeling and responsive
to the same influences, is the great
mission of the present generation, and
if it is achieved within the lifetime of
those of us who are now on the stage the
foundation will have been firmly laid for
rapid progress thereafter The first step
in the work is the elimination of the
barrier Of language which now divides
us into a score of foreign nations giving
allegiance to one king, but isolated and
out of touch with each other. The con-
ventional educational methods which
are provided will accomplish this in the
course of time if they are taken advan-
tage of by those for whom they are in
tended. But no system of compulsion
will induce them to do this. They must
be made to see that it is to their advan-
tage by progressive men of their own
race, and words of counsel and eXhorta-
ton such as those spoken by Mr.. MEL
son are OF the greatest value for this
purpose.
1t is to be hoped that men like him
Will arise as prophets Tor the other ma
tiOnalitles which are settled within our
borders. There is noble mission, for
example, awaiting some broad-minded
and able Bohemian who could appre-
elate the danger there is to our institu-
tons in the clannishness ana low grade
of living which so many of this race
maintain. During the past few weeks
veritable pesthouse of sin and I'M
natural vice has been unearthed in the
flats along the river, where there is
settlement of these people. The abuse or
neglect of children is the form in
which their vicious characters have
most recently displayed themselves, but
little investigation would probably
show that they are living among US lives
utterly unworthy the participation in
the privileges of our local civilization.
and that they are as remote from the
better influences OF the community as
though they had never landed on our
shores. TO permit a center of crime OR
depravity to exist in ST. Paul withost
an active effort to reform it is sow
ing the wind in advance of reaping
the whirlwind. The downtrodden and
worthless of the old world have been
freely admitted to our country. and if
we are to survive the contamination of
their presence we shall have to exert
ourselves for their elevation. In this
Western region our contributions for
foreign missions eau be expended with
profit a. home