Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1915-12-18
United States Bureau Has Been
Sending Out Private
Matter.
Grant Organizations Right to
Spread Their Ideas Throug-
out Country.
Should Consider All Agencies
Training the Youth of the
Nation.
SCHOOLS and The IMMIGRANTS

The Government frank. granting
the right to send matter through the
mails without cost, is insenarahIv
connected with the Government H.
seiI' Inc opinions of the represent
atlVes OF the people, expressed in the
| legislative halls, are sent broadcast
IN THIS way The ideas of the vari-
Gus bureaus and departments on the
subjects under their consideration
and the reports of these bureaus on
the same are conveyed to the people
through this means. AS to where
this ranking privilege should stop
lt is sometimes difficult to say; but
IL can be emphatically stated that
the propaganda of private agencies
should never he sent out in this
manner with the Endorsement of any
Government department or bureau.
This gives to the opinions of that
agency a great advantage over that
of others in its field.
The United States Bureau of Ed
acation, connected with the Depart
ment of the Interior, has been grant
ing the right to various private or
CARNATIONS to spread their ideas on
education throughout the country
under its official envelope and frank.
A most striking instance was in the
case of the National Kindergarten
Association, private association To-
| Gated in New York City, which adj
vertises speakers and moving pic
lures and exhibits of its own. Many
of the suggestions of this association
are no doubt good, but its undue
mia Gle nf fhn
tainly can not be agreed to by thou
sands of American citizens. A pri-
vate organization should not be al
lowed to advertise its articles of
rental or sale through Government
communications. The bureau also
erred gravely in its cooperation with
the recently formed National Amer
canization Committee. Posters were
sent out signed jointly by the bu-
reau and this committee, printed in
various languages, recommending
among other things that the immi-
grant seek his source of education
for America in the public schools.
In the poster Uncle Sam was shown
holding the immigrants hand and
pointing to the public school house.
The National Americanization Com
mittee is, it is true, composed of
well-known citizens of this country
who have taken an especial interest
in the immigrant, but the views
which they entertain are in direct
opposition to those of a considerable
portion of the American people, who
see in the parochial school a much
better and more secure means for
the Americanization of the newcom-
err. 1t was certainly most improper
for the bureau to join with them
in this recommendation in regard to
the public school, But more griev-
Gus than either of these cases was
the action of the bureau itself when,
in its press letter of May "a last,
under the heading Getting the I'M
migrant Child to School, it said as
follows:
"Unless these children come into
contact with American life through
the public school, they are likely to
grow up ignorant of American insti-
tutions and thoroughly unfit for cit
lzenship. The plan of sending the
names of these immigrant children
to county and city superintendents is
a first step in the upbuilding of a
domestic immigration policy by the
United States Government" ~,
The last sentence was quoted as
the idea of an employee OF the Gov
eminent on the immigration prob
lem. The part of the parochial
school in the work for the immi-
grant is here entirely ignored and
the officers of the public school sys-
tenn are the ones to be informed of
who and where the immigrant chill
dren are. Can this thing, it may
be asked, be allowed to continue?
If associations of the kind men,
toned are allowed to distribute their
matter broadcast, by means of the
franking privilege, where is the line
in this regard to be drawn? Why
could not associations championing
the teaching of religion in the
schools or UNFOLDING the advantages
of a parochial school system be
granted the same rights? Why
should not organizations believing in
doctrines ever more radical than
those inculcated in the public schools
be allowed this thing?
And why should the bureau be at
such pains to stress as It does the
work of the public schools and make
no mention of other forms of edu-
cational endeavor? II the public
school systems of this country, in no
way connected with the Federal Gov
eminent, have received the sanction
of that Government as its exclusive
agencies of education, we have not
been informed of that fact. The.
whole moral in the case is this, TN
the use of the official envelopes and
franks of any bureau or department
by private organization should be
stopped, and that the Bureau of
Education should cease paying ex-
elusive attention to the public
school systems and take under itsl
observations the activities of all 9TH
er agencies intended for the training
- 4ha xo,xth 90 tto noks.-