The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-02-17
TRUE AMERICANISM
Letter of Theodore Roosevelt on
Citizenship.
Foreigners in Honor Bound to
Become Citizens.
20 REIGN POLITICS
Has No Proper Place in Our
Platforms.
FOREIGN POLITICS

ST.. PAUL, Mimi, Feb. 1.-THE Amer
lean Citizen, local weekly, published
Sin the interest of true Americanism, Z
with Incidental opposition to the "a. P. A,
IN its issue of today publishes an inter-
esting letter from Hon. Theodore Roose-
welt, Of the United States civil service
! commission. Mr.. Roosevelt's letter is as
7 follows.
q. S. CIVIL SERVICE CO1FafIssIoN, 3
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 1894
EDITOR CTTIzEN:-Dear Sir have
/ been much Interested in two or three Of
4 your editorials that have been sent to me,
notably in that wherein you oppose the
division of the school fund lit gives
Z me pleasure to write a word liz hearty
/ commentator of the spirit Of
/ true Americanism. True Americanism
is as absolutely akin to Know nothingism
as 1t is to every form Of foreignism on the
other hand.
Every foreigner who comes to this land
IS In honor bound to become an Amerl-
can citizen, pure and simple, without
any qualification. He has no business to
bring into our American political life the
questions Of European politics. ana est
pecially the religious and race rivalries
OF Europe.
He is bound not to act as an Irishman,
or German, EnglIshmans or Scandina-
Wan, but purely as an American. 1t is
conventions should insert into the party
platform planks to catch any division Of
the foreign vote, because ~ is ain outrage
that there should be any division Of our
voters who cast their votes as foreigners.
wv e have nothing to do III our political
platforms with the rivalry between Ger
many and France, with the question Ot
homo rule for Ireland, or Of union for the
British empire. We are all concerned
with the question of American politics,
every American voter should vote purely
with reference to those questions, but
when foreign born citizens come over
here honestly and in good faith, fulfill
the duties of American citizenship and
act as an American pure and simple, It is
most emphatically an outrage To OiscrImi-
nate against them in any way because of
their birthplace or creed.
T have the honor of knowing a number
of gentlemen who have been to congress
from the northwest during the past few
years and among the very stoutes1 of
them all, i could name congress men who
happened to be born in Germany,
in Sweden, or ia N orway. Tn the same
way, during the term of service in the
New York legislature w zen I came to
select the most Important committee with
which i ever had to work and when I had
to choose my four colleagues purely from
considerations affecting these subjects, Il
found that no less than three of them
were Irish by birth, or descent
Among these men with whom I was
associated ia the ew orll legislature. if
I were asked to name those whom /
thought most thoroughly Americans, as
well as absolutely honest and patriotic
in their devotion to the we'll being
Of the commonwealth, I should put
very high among their mum Der,
many of my colleagues of German
and Irish birth or parentage. One Of
them, by the way, whom ] should put
especially high, would be gentleman
now residing ia ST Paul, Hon. ST. j. Cos
teIIo. have been through the fire with
Mr. Costello and have seen him tried by
very severe tests and not found wanting.
It is always a pleasure to me to say
anything I can in behalf Of straight
Americanism In every form. ours truly,
THEODORE ROOsEvhI
Dir. Costello to whom the letter refers,
is understood to be one of the editors of
the American Citizen.