New Britain herald., 1915-02-20
MARY ANT|N BRINGS MELTING POT IDEA
Audience Told We Have No Right
 to Restrict Immigration.


 night to an audience that sat dumb and immovable, yet stirred to the depths, under the reproaches of a voice speaking the cause of They Who Knock at Our Gates" Many of those that heard the voice traced their descent from those who came to America as immigrants In the May flower The voice was that of Mary Antin, Russian immigrant, forced to live in the slums of Boston for econ omic reasons, and who struggled against the prejudice, the narro"ness and the conscious and unconscious hypocrisy of Yankeeland. With the thousands of her kind behind her giving her inspiration to deliver her message, she spoke with an earnest ness that was terrible. sincerity which was only too apparent.
 She had been told that 75 per cent of the population of New Britain is classed by the statistics as foreign, as immigrants or the descendants of inn migrants. The remaining 25 per cent has been given the name American" and insists on the distinction. People who come across the Atlantic now as third-class passengers are looked upon by some as inferior to the glorious" forefathers of precautionary days, whereas said Mary Antin, the only reason they did not come in the steerage was because the Mayfower could boast of none. Persons who have a claim of priority upon any 1xxy,1- dnC tn as inferior" Exactly the same cry was raised by Governor Winthrop, who originated the idea that we must restrict immigration to this country because only the riff-raff of England was settling here. Mary Antin asid that we have no right to restrict inn migration until there no longer Is standing room in the country.
 The Melting Pot Idea.
 Mary Antin revealed her whole philosophy and gave the key to the immigration problem when she said that the twenty five per cent are neglecting their duty as Christians when they turn away from the heath en that come to their doors. It's a great deal cheaper, she said, sarcas- tically, to send money away to foreign
 
 give little help to the foreigners that come to our doors, eager to learn
 Her big and salient idea was partly that expressed by Zangwil1, the fusing of many peoples in a sort of giant cauldron to make all true Americans
 Her speech, however, was unrepoTt- able. It was something to be enjoyed, to be analyzed-if one has the capaci- ty and the time-but a literal report of her message would spoil it. She combined mosaics of philosophy, a womans reflections on social, moral, political and economic problems, stor- les of her experiences in the Russian pale, in the slums of Boston, in the suburbs, without aparent logical se- quence and with torrential speed, with a wealth of simple expressive gesture and with directness that sent the message to each member of the audi ence with all it's force.
 Some of the features that stood out were her sentiments on salvation by , percentage, the story of "Iizzio picking an education off the cucumber ure of iigration vine," the description vine " the description of the adven- ture of immigration, and her plea for the admissi on, not much of more immigrants into the United States, as plea for the admission of those already here, into the kingdom of American citizenship and fellowship.
 Not An Exception, She Says.
 She did not want to be pointed cut as an exception and have it remarked, eff only all immigrants were like Mary Antim," because there are thou sands better than her. She was helped and was given a chance, and others accomplish more unaided and in spite of the prejudices they must fight Call them Jews, Dagos, Polaks-call | them what you like-their story is my story. I am only a voice" she pleaded 1
 She showed how we judge the Pil- grim forefathers by a few shining characters who stood out above the | general mass, how George Washington | and some of the real patriots almost l despaired of raising an army in New | England to gfht for liberty, and asked 1 for the same judgment on the immi- | grants who are coming to the United l States now, asserting, however, that l we are getting the pick of Europe be- l cause 1t requires men with backbone l to come here and fight for existence.
 Speaking on the question of assim- | Hating those who come to the United | States, she reproached the "25 per | cent for forcing the immigrants into l camps, saying remember is in,- possible to assimilate with yourself" She threw the responsibility of the im- migration yproblem upon the shoul- |