The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-08-26

come from the early arriving immi-
grants. Many who are admitted to cit
izenship are unable to inscribe their
names in the English language but do
so in foreign characters unintelligible
to the American-born. Many who are
admitted to citizenship have only the
most meagre ability to speak our
tongue and have but slight ability to
comprehend it.
To overcome this, the bureau of nat
uralization has extended its efforts
throughout the United States and
brought its educational movement to
the attention of all of the superintend-
ents Of public schools, wherever there
is any foreign population, for the pur-
pose of enlisting these educators in car
rying forward this movement. Personal
letters have been addressed to the super
intendents of schools of the cities and
counties in each state, bringing to their
attention this great activity, in an eff
fort to stimulate interest in this work
in every locality where foreigners re-
side The bureau has also discussed it's
plan personally with the superintend-
ents of schools and presidents of boards
of education in the various eastern cit
les and they have agreed unanimously
to lend their support in opening the
doors of the public schools for the in
struction Of the foreigner where there
are no schools now in existence, and to
extend the activities Of the schools es-
tablished for this purpose so as to meet
with the desires of the bureau of nat
uralization. Additional conferences
will be held during the next thirty days
with the educational authorities in all
of the principal cities in the country.
The bureau of naturalization receives
the duplicates of all naturalization pa
pers from twenty-five hundred natural
ization courts all over the United States
and in its letters to the superintendent
Of schools has shown the number of for
eigners applying for citizenship during
the past three years in the localities to
which the letters go. It is sending the
names and addresses Of candidates for
citizenship to the school authorities in
some of the principal cities, and ar
rangements have been perfected so as
to include all of the principal cities OF
the United States, commencing with the
opening of the school year this coming
fall. The purpose of the bureau in send
ing these names is to enable the school
authorities to become acquainted with
the candidates for citizenship and to
offer such inducements as they can that
will inspire every candidate for citizen
ship to attend the public schools unless
he already has mastery of the English
language. AT the same time. the bureau
sends literature to the candidate for
citizenship to apprise him of the indiv-
idual, personal, industrial, social and
moral advantages which will accrue to
him by an attendance upon the public
schools. It also describes the location
of the various schools in the large cities
so that the alien can most readily learn
Of them.
Some Of the school authorities have
agreed to furnish descriptive matter
printed in various tongues, for further
facilitating the foreigner in the selec-
tion of a school. Where the conditions
justify it, school authorities have sig
nifed their willingness not only to open
the night schools for foreigners, but
special day schools for the foreigners
whose yocations require them to work
during the night. The bureau expects
to prevail upon many Of the school au-
thorities to open schools for the educa-
tion of the foreigners where none have
been established.
As illustrative of the enthusiasm
with which the cooperation Of the
school authorities is being offered, one
superintendent of schools in one Of the
great metropolitan centers has stated:
- You will find the board of educa-
tion and school officials ready to do
everything within their power to make
this splendid movement, authorized by
your bureau, a success in this com
munity, and we assure you in ad-
vance that we will be very glad to CO.
operate with your field officers to the
limit Of our ability. We are enthus-
iastic over the plan which you propose
and hope that the work that will be
done in this city the coming year will
be such as to meet with your hearty
approval"
Others, expressive of a like interest,
have been received All have agreed
to give their heartiest endeavors
towards the realization of the desires
of the bureau of naturalization and to
get the chambers of commerce and 9TH
er civic organizations and the press
behind the movement locally so as to
arouse public sentiment and start the
wheels into operation to secure the ap-