The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1907-11-15
FRANK Z. HOWE. Editor and Publishe
Native or Foreign?

nent Methodist cergymen in New
Hampshire, has delivered a sermon at
St Pauls church on the social and
religious conditions in the state and
defending the Rev. Edwin S. Tasker
He said:-
AT recent session of the State
Sunday school association, the presi-
dent in his annual address called at
tention to certain facts that would
indicate that the moral and intel.
lectual tone of New Hampshire had
been lowered from its past high stand
ards For so doing he has been
severely censured by certain critics
who do not question the facts that he
has produced or the conclusions he
has drawn from them, but who ques-
ton the wisdom and the propriety of
making such facts known.
What are the facts? There was a
time when New Hampshire could
truthfully boast of possessing one of
the purest of American populations
to be found in all the land Unfortu.
nately, our day of boasting is past.
Our American stock is passing away
and the alien is coming in to possess
the land. In 1870 New Hampshire
had a native population of $4,000
and population of 1882 of foreign
birth or parentage. In 1900 the ma
tive population had fallen to 243,-
600 and the foreign population had
risen to 16S,324. If the same ratio of
increase and decrease obtains in the
present decade as prevailed from 1890
to 1900, we will have $4,000 foreign
ers in our population in 1910 and 231,-
900 natives.
This will mean loss of $4,000, 10
| per cent, in our native stock in 40
! years and an increase of $4,000, 43S
| per cent in our alien population. This
| will mean a racial change of 235, 900
in our population during the present
] generation. When we remember that
the total population of the state in
| 1900 was only All 900, il is easy to
see that racially at least there has
been a most extraordinary change in
our state. This tremendous trans
| formation of our racial element has
been accompanied by equally striking
social and moral changes. Old world
customs and conditions have been
transplanted to our borders and to
very large extent have driven Pur.
itan ideals and practices from the
field"
This is right in line with what many
prominent churchmen and laymen
have been saying in this state, but do
the facts warrant the conclusion?
We have taken special interest in this
question for a term of years and have
gathered a few statistics though the
figures are not complete enough yet
| to warrant calling them conclusive.
We are convinced, however, that the
greater number of the serious crimes,
in this state, at least are committed
not by the foreign born population, but
by the deteroating native stock of
which there Is little in every com
munity.
For sixty years, beginning about
1890, good share of our best native
stock went west. The result was that in
almost every county in the state there
has been left. one or more little com
munities of physically, mentally and
morally inferior people of yankee
blood. In this county such a COM
munity existed for years in the town
of Sandgate, and another in what is
known as the east road section Of
SALISBURY. The recent Fairbanks
trial showed up a similar community
in the town of Grafton and the writer
of this knows of similar conditions in
Washington, Franklin and Lamoille
counties.
From these sore spots as centers
there have radiated weak and degen-
crate families and we believe that
much the larger half of the serious
crimes in Vermont during the past
thirty years can be brought home to
this native class. From memory alone
we might instance the Mary
Rogers case and the Mahan case here,
the Johnson case in Winhall, the Fair
banks case from Grafton, the East
wood case from Middlebury, the Bell
case from Fairfax, the Marsh-Buzzell
case from Northfeld the Caswell case
from Montpelier, the Noakes case from
Worcester, the Meeker case from
Waterbury, the Shaw case from Wind.
sor county, the Sargood case from
Arlington, the Mears case from Sand
gate, the Reed case from Rupert, the
Moon cases from SALISBURY and many
Others.
Our foreign born people are re-
sponsble, more than the native, for q
certain class of crimes. They are more
, prone to chickering's and petty rows
, AS class they are more given to in
! temperance and the misdemeanors
, resulting from intemperanct
: but when it came to felony, rape ant
murder the weakened branches Of
yankee families are alarmingly promi
: nent in the court records of the state
The Argo Red Salmon of Alaska has
. 1