The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-07-20

From the Springfield Republican.
The language question that has arisen
in connection with the public schools CT
New York city IN. strictly speaking,
local one. vet as New York city is the
great eastern gate to the continent and
our largest center of population, the
course CT the authorities and the mani
festatons of public sentiment are OF In
terest to all of us in these parts. The
issue, narrowly defined, is too petty to
engage an outsiders attention. 1t need
not concern us whether German or French
is preferred in the elementary grades, or
whether they are taught two or five hours
a week The broad question Is whetner
In the higher elementary grades of public
schools in the United States any lam
guage other than the language OF the
nation should be taught as part of the
compulsory curriculum.
The question ought not to be hard to
answer, even by naturalized citizens, pro-
yided it can be Invested of all racial or
nationalistic feeling. No one proposes to
have any language but the English taught
in the primary grades. while the English,
of course, must be in every grade the Ian
guage of general communication between
teacher and pupils. In its incontestable
primacy, the English tongue is secure
throughout the country. A recent his
torlan of the German population of the
northwestern states has shown that the
children of the German immigrants, who
an
city. have today almost lost the use of the
German language. Everywhere, even In
New York. the immigrants child learns
English and uses it constantly on the
street, in the marts of trade or in the
public school. English is the only uni
versal medium of communication and.
therefore, no one can hope to pass life
time among the American people success
fully without a good working knowledge
of the ''vernacular."
Any one who should seek to supplant
the English language by another Is
doomed so surely to disastrous failure
that his purpose could be safely ignored.
This problem has already been worked
out, II our impression is not very much
French Canadian population In New Eng
land. The parochial schools might teach
nothing but French, and the Roman Cath
Ollie priests might use nothing but French
in their religious services, until the end
of time yet every child readily acquires
English and prefers it everywhere outside
the parochial school, the church. and the
A,4
with the earning of a living compel the
children of the immigrants from Quebec
to be masters of the language of the ma
tives. Thus the newcomers are helpless.
They could not prevent the requirement
of English by their children, If they
should be so foolish as to try; nor could
they hope to establish dualism of Ian
guage that would endure generation,
were fresh immigration to cease.
The bearing of the natural forces is OBJ
vious when one considers such a ques-
ton as that now troubling the school
board Of New York So far as the primacy
of the English language, even in New
York. is concerned. there is nothing to
fear. So long as the World and the Even
ing Journal speak English our institu-
lions are safe. In this sense. even one
cent yellow journalism is performing an
enormous work in Americanizing the
hordes of immigrants. 1t really matters
very little, therefore, from a patriotic
viewpoint. whether German or some other
| foreign language is made compulsory for
a year or two in the higher grammar
| grades.
| To most children who are unfamiliar
| with the foreign tongue, the schoolroom
| instruction would be almost worthless.