Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-10-13
TEDDY FOR AMERICA FIRST.
Former President Says There Is No
Room Aera For illuminated Citizens.

Former President Says There Is No
Room Here For Hyphenated Citizens.
New York, oct. -. = The foreign
born population of this country must
be an Anericanized population-no
other kind can fight the battles OF
America either in war or in peace"
Col Theodore Roosevelt SO asserted
IN g speech on "Americanism" before
the Knights OF Columbus at Carnegie
hall last nigh,. Colonel Roosevelt said
that at the outset ii was the duty of
immigrants to learn English. and it
was the dut: of America TO provide
them means to learn English
If an immigrant is not fl TO become
a citizen she should not be allowed to
come here" said Colonel Roosevelt. IF
he is fit, he should be given all the
rights to earn his own livelihood and
10 better himself that any man can
have.
Take such matter as the litter
acy test. entirely agree with those
who feel ttlt many very excellent pos
sible citizens would be barred improp-
erly by an iillteracy test. But why do
You not admit aliens under bond TO
read and write at any certain time?
1t would then be duty 10 see that
they were given ample opportunity to
learn TO read and write, and that they
were dspc-teG if they failed TO take ad-
vantage OF the opportunity. No man
can be gcoo citizen if he is not at
least in process of learning to speak
the language of his fellow citizens.
The foreign born population must
talk the language of the native born
citizens; il must possess American cit
izenship and American ideas. 1t must
stand firm by its source of allegiance
in word and deed. and must show that
in every fact it has renowned al
legiance to every prince. potenate or
foreign government Ii must be main
tanned on an American standard Of
living so as TO prevent la Dor disturb
ances in important plants and al criti-
cal times. None of these objects can
be secured as long as we have immi-
grant colonies, Ghettos, and Immigrant
sections. and, above all. they can not
be assured SO long as we consider the
immigrant only as an industrial asset"
Colonel Roosevelt said that just as
democratic America required that
church and state should be separate,
that there should be no distinction OF
religious creeds in public office, SO
there should be no distinction of ma
tionality.
There is no room in this country for
hyphenated Americans" he said.
When l refer to hyphenated Ameri-
cans I do not refer to naturalized
Americans. Some of the very best
Americans that I have ever known
were naturalized Americans Ameri-
cans born abroad. But a hyphenated
American is not an American at all.
This is just as true Of the man who
puts German. Irish, English, or French
before the hyphen. Americanism is a
matter of the spirit and of the soul.
Our allegiance must be purely to the
United States
The one absolutely certain way of
bringing this nation to ruin, of pre-
venting all possibility of its continuing
to be a national at all. would be TO
permit it to become a tangle Of SQUAD
bling nationalities, an intricate knot of
German Americans. Americans.
French Americans. Scandinavian :
Americans. or Italian Americans. each
preserving Its separate nationality
each at heart feeling more sympathy
with Europeans of that nationality
than with the other citizens of the
American republic"