Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1912-05-01


unimproved. The key to the present
situation IL the mastery Of modern lan-.
guagss. for trade goes wherever the
language penetrates. The nation that
commands the Languages Of the world,
other things being equal, will get the
trade Of the world. Germany from Its
territory bordering on Russia. Hungary.
Italy, Spain, France. England and Scan
dinavia, can send forth an army Of COM
mercial men perfect IN the dialects Of
these countries. and thus master the
languages both Of their customers and
Of their competitors. Here Americans
have lesson. For example, in South
America our commercial men should
master Spanish. the speech OF the ma
tives and German. the tongue OF their
competitors. az the Germans master
both Spanish aud English. Otherwise
they will be at disadvantage. Com
merce makes imperative language de-
mands that cannot be ignored. The
Jews are the worlds best traders Can
you find one-language Jew? Every
Jew speaks at least two languages; he
buys in one and sells In another, and
here lies his success.
What il true Of the worlds trade ap-
plies to the smallest local trade In any
foreign settlement the man who knows
the language of his customers and OF
his competitors, has better chances of
success, be he q doctor lawyer. teacher.
or merchant. The language aids in I'M
derstandlng, serving and pleasing the
people. They at once feel he better
knows them, their wants and ideals.
Many a man owes all his success in life
to the second or third language. 1t is
most natural for Germans to trade with
Germans, and Scandinavians with Scan
dinavians, both locally and information
ally. England naturally seeks and Sc
cures trade with Englishmen abroad,
Germany with Germans, Scandinavia
with Scandinavians. The key to success
is the language. This argument is now
appealing powerfully to Americans, and
it is apt to do so more in the future
In the present rush for commercial and
industrial expansion it may be in place
to consider If either can be complete by
being circumscribed within small limits
by a one-language educational basis
The command of two languages for one
only seeking position often has q COM
mercial value.
Aids Social Life Of Homo and Settle
mont.
Fourth, we should study and speak
the language of the home and settle
ment for the sake of their domestic and
social life. This argument is seldom
mentioned, yet it is very important for
Ia new unpeopled country like America
without fixed culture. 1t is the par
ent and social argument and deserves
equal consideration with the discipline.
literature and commercial arguments.
Among all social institutions the home
ranks first and the school second: both
are centered in the child. They together
labor for it's highest welfare. The chill
dren have the future and in them we re-
incarnate ourselves. That is the reason
the work Of parent and teacher are so
interesting and should work in perfect
harmony. Parents live more for their
children than for themselves. The true
teacher lives, moves and has his being
among children. Tho child 10 the CEN
ter on which all noblest human endeav-
or is focused, and from which it springs.
Both parents and teachers have the
gravest responsibilities and the great
est opportunities. They need one an
others help.
Too prone are we to overlook the fact
that the child has been six years in
training before it enters our schools.
It's first teacher nature provided in the
mother; its first school room in the
home. The school Kindergarten dare
nn iCnnro no ~ ho Ind
garten, but build upon it and in harmony
with it. Failure to build on this only
true foundation. often results in the
child having no real foundation. A child
reared in a home where the parents la
Dor faithfully for six years to teach it
Scandinavian or German and succeeds in
a measure and it is then sent to the pub
lie school. where it has not even a TWEEN
ty minute lesson a day in it's home
tongue, and it studies and plays only
in English. In two years 1t refuses to
speak with it's parents in their own Ian
guage. Soon parent and child fail to
fully understand one another, the mo-
Their becomes step-mother and the
child an orphan under their home roof
How often have we studied such
homes and with sorrow witnessed the
parents and children gradually growing
apart because the child ignores the fam
lily language-tie in the most inconsider-
ate, stubborn and dishonoring manner
and in a secretive, if not demonstrative
way, poses as superior to their two-lan.
guage immigrant parents. The parents
naturally grieve and try everything tc
| have the child answer in the home
tongue. But silent and rock-firm the
child stands, resisting all parental per.
suasive devices. 1t understands all but
will not talk, far from being deaf an6
ignorant, it is tongue-tied a sight fol
the photographer and a study for the
psychologist. Everything else the chile
does for the parent quicker than this
Now Who Is To Blame, the parents
NO. Who then? Our elementary schoo
natural connection with the home Ian
|guage of the child in the first grades
Instead, we unconsciously and limo
Gently put bomb under the home ant
made-chaos of the child's Fundamental
training and started it in new patti
that leads from the home. From som'
source the child brings into the nome
a dfsrespect, shame and hatred Of tn
home dialect Many try later to learl
Latin and speak French; a few hnisl
their education by going to the higl
lschool or university, and by hard labo
try to regain in their last three year
at the university what they lost in thei
first three wears at school This 4