Rock Island Argus., 1911-03-25

rec attributes he brings with him |
NJ has them bred into him from the !
st day OF his conception He is fed I!
Gth them from the first day of his |
tn Fleeing from darkest Russia /
->ause of the red-handed persecu- |
n; being deprived of all the ave- /
% Of making an honorable living in |
native land; subjected to all the |
abilities and outrages of which |
ssia only, is capable of inflicting !
IN her unfortunate subjects; him !
driven from his place of birth;
q from his natural and most sacred
N that binds the human family by
" steeled hand OF the sutocratic gov
|Mment of the czar of all the Rus
s-z-as, is there any wonder that when
\ reaches this land OF the free he
"a cling to it with an unequalled te-
r x;ity, with all his heart with all his
2il and with all his might? Is there
~ wonder that he loves, obeys and
4 holds the laws, institutions and con-
luton Of this his haven of refuge?
81 itch him from the first day of his
tHding. He will get himself some
Trk, OF course. not so much for the
~.terial betterment. but for the high
and more Vital necessity and that
/;seducation. He viii. in spite OF the
A%ny difficulties. try to learn the Ian
zage, acquaint himself with the form
government and become a citizen.
comes here to remain here and,
therefor, is interested in everything
that may concern society in general.
He means to make this country his
and his childrens' future home and.
therefore, he takes an interest in To-
cal, state and national politics. He
goes to church because he likes and
believes in religion. He sends his chill
dren TO school because he likes and
believes in education; and you will
see that in a very short time he will
be an American gentleman, his wife a
lady, his girls teachers in public or
high schools and his sons successful
business or professional men. He is
the one who appreciates the American
free institutions to their fullest extent
for various reasons, but most of all
the other reasons is the one that he
is allowed to live in peace. Peace
was, is and will be his password. He
loves America because he is allowed
to practice and live according to his
religious, moral and ethical teachings.
And who will deny that they are not
one of the best worth living up to?
In short. it may be put down as fact
that the Russian Jew, because he
comes here primarily not so much
for the material but for the intellec-
tual advancement, makes as much a
desirable Immigrant as any Of the
best. The same. with very little deyi-
alton. may be said of the Russian
Pole.
AS to the question, What can be
done to help the immigrant" l would
ask to be allowed TO say that, since
they become and are laborers, they
consider themselves, and
ought to be considered as part of that
great and unlimited body of the Amer /
Ican working class and, therefore, can /
not be separated and singled out for |
any material betterment without run |
ling the risk of pauperiZing them and /
Of doing an injustice to the others. In |
fact / doubt very much whether they |
would want any help in that direc- !
ton: They are workers; they are will /
ing TO work and when they have-that /
they are perfectly satisfied. OF course |
in times of Industrial depression, as /
we have at present, it would be an ex-
cellent idea TO have a tri-city free en-
ployment bureau for them and for ev-
cry other working man who is willing
TO eat of the sweat of his brow rath-
er than to accept charity. And, 1 can
not see why the tri-cities could not .
have such a bureau? Many other cit
les have them. Expense? Most as?
suredly, It means an expense, buI
.hink what a saving this may be to
The aggregate amount of charity ex-
pended by the various charity institu-
ions in the tri-cities yearly? Wheth-
er or not this bureau will ever be in
existence | shall not undertake to pro- \
Dhecy here tonight. But / shall sug
sest, urge and beg, as l often before
lave done to help them intellectually
md mentally. This help they need; Il
his they ask and, it seems TO me, il
,an and ought to be given them. Ig
lorance is the cause of many an evil.
Ind education the best remedy for it.
4 the immigrant is not as good as We
would want him to be it should not
,e considered all his fault He never 4
lad the opportunity that We had. He
zones from q country where the
schools are not American schools. He
lad no chance to learn and, if We will
ieny him, as we have denyed him
that only chance, why then,
We must blame ourselves. Why should
lot Davenport, Rock Island and Mo-
inc have free night schools for these
men? Other cities have them. Des
doines. Cedar Rapids and scores of
'ther cities have them, why not the
ri-cities? How can We, with justice.
xpect OF these immigrants to become
Saf,tl members of aur eocial and M