Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-08

his creed. In every generation from
the time this government WINS founded
men of foreign birth have stood In til,
very foremost rank Of good citizenship
and that not merely in one but In ever,
field Of American activity, while to try
to draw distinction between the MAJ
whose parents came to this countr,
and the man whose ancestors came IL
Z IT several generations back is q me1,
absurdity. Good Americanism Is mat
ter of heart Of conscience. of lofty as
| p1ration, of sound common sense, but
not OF birthplace or Of creed. The med
al of honor, the highest prize to be wor
by those who serve in the army and
the navy of the United States. deco
rates men born here, and it also deco
rates men born in Great Britain and
Ireland, in Germany, in Scandinavia
In France and doubtless in other coun.
tries also. In the field of statesman.
ship. in the field Of business. in the
field Of philanthropic endeavor, it is
equally true that among the men Of
whom we are most proud as Ameri-
cans no distinction whatever can be
drawn between those who themselves
or whose parents came over in sailing
ship or steamer from across the water
and those whose ancestors stepped
ashore into the wooded wilderness Mt
Plymouth or at the mouth of the Hud-
son, the Delaware or the James nearly
three centuries ago. No fellow citizen
OF ours is entitled to>any peculiar re-
gard because of the way in which he
worships his Maker or because of the
birthplace of himself or his parents.
nor should he be in any way discrimi-
mated against therefor. Each must
stand on his worth as man. and each
is entitled to be judged solely thereby.
There Is no danger of having too
many immigrants of the right kind 1t
makes no difference from what coun-
try they come. If they are sound in
body and in mind and above all if thew
are of good character. so that we can
rest assured that their children and
grandchildren will be worthy fellow
citizens of our children and grandchil-
dren, then we should welcome them
with cordial hospitality.
But the citizenship of this country
should not be debased. 1t is vital that
we should keep high the standard of
well being among our wageworkers,
and therefore we should not admit
masses of men whose standards Of liy-
ing and whose personal customs and
habits are such that they tend to lower
the level of the American wagework
err, and above all we should not admit
any man Of an unworthy type, any
man concerning whom we can say
that he will himself be bad citizen or
that his children and grandchildren
will detract from instead of adding to
the sum of the good citizenship of the
country. Similarly we should take the
greatest care about naturalization.
Fraudulent naturalization, the natural
1zatlon of improper persons, is a curse
10 our government, and it is the affair
OF every honest voter wherever born to
see that no fraudulent voting is al
AS'SNt tAlQI uO LII COnneCJlOn
with naturalization is permitted. 4
In the past year the cases Of false,
fraudulent and improper naturalization
OF aliens coming to the attention of the
executive branches of the government
have increased to an alarming de-
gree Extensive sales Of forged certifi- /
Gates Of naturalization have been dis
covered. as well as many cases of nat
uralization secured by perjury and
fraud, and, in addition, instances have
accumulated showing that many courts
issue certificates of naturalization care
lessly and upon insufficient evidence.
Under the constitution it is in the
power of the congress ito establish a
uniform rule of naturalization" and
numerous laws have from time to time
been enacted for that purpose, which
lave been supplemented in few states
~ state laws having special applica-
Ion. The federal statutes permit nat
lralization by any court of record in
he United States having common law
and seal and clerk. ex-
,ept the police court of the District of /
columbia. and nearly all these courts
this important function. 1t
'esults that where SO many courts of
such varying grades have Jurisdiction
here is lack Of uniformity in the rules
lpplled in comforting naturalization.
some courts are strict and others lax.
An alien who may secure naturaliza-
ion in one place might be denied it in
mother, and the intent Of the constitu-
lonal provision is, in fact, defeated.
the certificates of mats
issued by the courts differ
widely IN wording and appearance and
When they are brought into use in for
ign countries are frequently subject
o suspicion.
naturalization Laws Should be Revised.
There should be comprehensive re-
'1slon of the naturalization laws. The
ourts having power to naturalize
Mould be definitely named by national
uthority; the testimony upon which 4
naturalization may be conferred should
e definitely prescribed; publication Of
impending naturalization applications
hould be required in advance of their
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