The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-06-06
Six Splendid orations
By Graduates
or 1912

l. n orations Of the class represen-
tattves showed considerable research,
much care In preparation. good Eng
lish and clear logic.
Miss Nelson's Grafton.
Miss Winifred Nelson had the OPP
ening number. the title of her splen-
did Grafton being. The Stranger
the immigration question in this
country. She said in part:
"A million immigrants q years A
living stream pours into America! 1t
Is not a question whether the aliens
will come. they have come. millions
OF them; they are now coming. a mill
Ion a year. They are strong n weak,
ambitious and aimless. They form
today the raw material for the Amer
lean citizenship of tomorrow
when we consider this great horde
we do we'll to ask whether this in
coming tide of foreign influence is to
corrupt us or whether we are to
Americanize it. Which influence is
to be the stronger. ours upon the
alien or h aliens upon US? The
safety of the American nation Of the
future depends upon the assimilation
of these peoples.
Now the question may be asked.
when Is a man a foreigner and when
an American? The whole population
of America is. in a sense, made up
Of immigrants. therefore where are
we to draw the line? A man Is for
eign only so long as he clings to for
eiGn customs n ideas: he is not an
alien just because. he was born in a
foreign land. Every a in America
is an American who has American
habits of life. American ideals and
the American spirit.
Environment is considered one of
the most important factors in the for
true let us inquire what is the en-
vironment of the Immigrant. We find
him in the city, with the most
wretched surroundings, existing in an
overcrowded tenement, working in a
sweat shop To the immigrant the
city is a magnet There he is sure to
find immediate employment. appar-
emily high wages. and colonies of his
W people among whom he may live
in his own way, undisturbed by Amer
lean customs. There on the other
hand everything. in reality, works to-
gether for his detriment: the life in
the sluns with all the ~unsanitary on
d%itions: insufficient light: entire lack
of sunshine and fresh air; no play
grounds for the children: exorbitant
rents; ward politicians intoxicating
SoSAio ih SlSlS upllols liz last
but not least. the saloon Offering it's
many temptations. 1t Is impossible to
maintain self respect with such sur
roundings, and when the immigrant
once loses this invaluable requisite
his case is we'll nigh hopeless.
While such conditions exist we
cannot expect much Of the foreigner,
but it is a physical impossibility to
get these wretched people to leave
their squalid surroundings for the
open country. If tens of thousands
of foreigners could in some way be in
duced to leave the cities and go to
the thinly populated districts where
they are wanted and needed. the aues-
ton Of immigration would lose many
of its difficulties. But the city offers
irresistible attractions even to those
who live among it's most degrading
conditions; so. II the alien prefers
New York or Chicago who can force
him to go to Oklahoma or Montana 2"
In conclusion she said:
Under proper legislation. the COM
bined influence of our educational adj
vantages, improved industrial condi-
tons, equal laws and equal rights Of
citizenship will In time neutraliZe the
evil effects Of immigration in the fu-
ture. We can solve the problem: the
American nation has eve yet been
baffled by any evil which threatened
the peace and prosperity OF its citi-
zens. h American spirit of demo-
cracy, the universal brotherhood of
man, the eternal onenes Of the hui
ma race will surmount and domin-
ate the WHOLE"
Orval McHaffie'S Grafton.