New Britain herald., 1915-11-30

ciples; in practice we have not fol-
 lowed its precepts Democracy is still potential in American life. We cherish it as an ideal and hold it as our proudest national possession. Pride in this ideal, however, has often surpassed our efforts for its realiza- ton. Yet democracy-the belief in i individual development for the com mon good-is a much prized essential l of American life.
 "This fundamental belief in demo- l cracy harks to the constitutional
 claims of the Revolutionary fathers. 1 In no uncertain terms they outlined 1 the backgrounds of social justice for
 all time when they expressed their 1 belief in a mans right to life. liberty
 and the pursuit of happiness. Here l the forefathers builded better than
 they knew. Far-reachn indeed is 1 the right to life-life begun under
 decent surroundings without inherent l handicaps-life in abundance mental, spiritual as well as physical. In a democracy man has a right to this
 kind of life. Equally far-reaching
 is the right to lberty-physical, men
 tal and economic. And when we l
 9. fundamental part of democracy and
 recall the fact that most of us are
 driven by economic necessity, social
 laws, or time-worn traditions we sec how far away is the goal of our vital democratic ideals.
 "The brotherhood Of man is ner-
 kaps the greatest American ideal
 Many nations have believed in
 liberty. Others have advocated
 democracy, some have socialized their
 institutes so that the common good
 has been largely advanced. Tn the
 United States we believe that we have
 given the world an illustration of the
 possibility of the co-operstiop of
 many nations and creeds in producine
 a new nation. This is the ideal of assimilation-the blending of the best ideals of the Old World with the hest ideals of the New. This tyne of blending has grown with our nations life. In the Revolution one-half were not of Anglo-Saxon descent and one third could not speak the English language. Yet all stood together for the establishment of the new nation. Brothers in interests, all fought for their new rights and privileges The belief in the brotherhood of the race the sons of one Father-one God this is typically American.
 "This growing sense of nationalism this inherent belief in liberty. demo- cracy, social justice and the brother hood of the races-intensified by tho incoming of millions who are stran- gers to some of our fundamental ideals-is awakening our interests in everything which has a tendency to retard the development and realiza- tion of our most prized ideals. This i! terest represents a most important phase in the New American Move ment.
 Must Learn English Language
 "A fundamental essential for the development of our national ideals is rooted in a knowledge Of the English language. There are at present 1o,500,000 immigrant people in the United States who come to us from countries where English is not sr oken. In order to have a share in the privileges and opportunities of our republic these must learn our common speech. Millions have ], armed it and millions more are now making the attempt. The New American movement empha sizes the importance of teaching English Obligation and duty. The man who has not learned English is debarred from many American privileges. He earns less pay, is isolated from our current thought, customs and habits and is excluded from citizenship. Some aliens are not conscious of these great losses. Such demand little from our community life. Steady work, good pay, place in which they can exist, is about all they l ask.
 While many of these recent new l corners are found in our public | schools, many more are outside all ! influences. Reasons for l this lamentable fact are obvious. AL | thought the federal government has 1 jurisdiction over the volume of immigration educational policies have been left to the discussion of each individual state and even local authorities. Uniformity of plan is, therefore, lacking. While larger cities nave generally introduced plans for evening school instruction many owns have failed to furnish schools n which English can be learned. At he present time there are fully B. 100000 who are untouched by our institutions. In 1910 here were about 3,OOO,OOO who could lot speak English. The New Ameri- an Movement must interest itself in constructive plans for placing eve ing schools facilities within easy each of all newcomers.
 'The textbooks and the methods f instructions now in general use lso need serious attention. Until ecently primary grade texts were enerally used in evening schools. uch sentences as Susie had a pretty oily; The dolly has yellow curls' r I have two ears were current. 1ethods of instruction have also 1 . chaotic !