The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-14
NATURAL|zED CITIZENS

Continued From First Page.)
10 this spirit, and by that very in
terest In them to enhance and purify
in ourselves the thing that ought to
make America great. and not only
ought to make her great, but ought to
make her exhibit a spirit unlike any
other nation in the world. ! have
never been among those who felt
comfortable in boastinE Of the su-
perlority of America over other coun-
tries The way to cure yourself of
that Is to travel in other countries and
find out how much OF nobility and
character and fine enterprise there is
everywhere in the world. The most
that America can hope to do Is 10
show itself to be the finest example,
not the only example Of the things
that ought TO benefit and promote the
progress of the world
And so my interest in this move
ment is as much an interest in our
selves as in those whom we are try
ing TO Americanize. because IL we are
genuine Americans they cannot avoid
the infection, whereas II we are not
genuine Americans there Will be moth
ing to infect them with, and no
and ] find very few persons under
stand il. no amount of dwelling upon
the idea of liberty and justice Will ao-
Icomplish the object we have in view
unless VIC ourselves illustrate the idea
of justice and liberty. And 80 my
interest in this movement is a two
fold interest
Aliens Idea of Loyalty
II believe 1t will assist us TO be-
come self-conscious IN respect OF the
fundamen ideals of American life
When you ask a man to be loyal to a
government. II he comes from some
foreign country, his idea is that he
Is expected 10 be loyal to a certain
set Of persons IKE ruler or a party
set in authority over him, but that is
not the American idea. Our idea IS
that he is TO be loyal to certain OBJ
jects in life. and the only reason he
has President, Congress legislature
and a judiciary is that the community
shall have instrumentaHties by which
to promote those objects.
1T Is a cooperative organization.
expressing itself in this Constitution.
expressing itself in these laws, intend
ing to express Itself in the exposition
OF these laws by the courts, and the
idea of America is not go much that
some one shall be restrained and pun
ished by the law as to be instructed
and guided by the law That Is the
reason why so many hopeful reforms
come to grief. A law cannot work
until it expresses the spirit OF the
. community for which II is enacted,
aud If You try to enact into a law what
expresses only the spirit of a small
coterie or small minority you know.
or, at any rate, you ought to know,
beforehand that ii isn't going to work
and that the object of the law is that
there written upon those pages the
citizen should read the record Of the
experiences of that State and nation,
what they have concluded 1t is neCes-
sary for them to do, because of the
life they have lived and the elements
in that life, so that we ought to be
careful to maintain a government at
which the immigrant can look with
the closest scrutiny. and TO which he
should be at liberty to address this
question.
People Here Human as Elsewhere.
You declare this to be land OF
liberty and equality and justice, Have
you made it SO by your law? We
ought to be able In our schools, in our
night schools and in every other
methd of instructing these people to
show them that that has been our
endeavor. We can't conceal from him
long that we are Just as human as
any other nation; that we are just
as selfish; that there are just as many
mean people here as anywhere else
/ that there are just as many people
/ here that will take advantage of other
people as you can find in other coun-
: tries: there are just as many cruel
people, just as many people heart
less when 1t comes to maintaining and
/ promoting their own interest. but that
I our object ia TO get these people in
/ harness and see to it that they do
no damage. and not be allowed to
bring calamity upon nation whose
object is spiritual and not material.
! America has built up a great body
Of wealth. America has become, from
a physical point of view, one of the
most powerful nations in the world
| which, II IL took the pains to do so,
could build that power up into one
! OF the most formidable instruments
/ in the world, one of the most formi-
dable instruments of force, but which
| has no other idea than to use its force
: for ideal objects. and not for self
| ACKNOWLEDGMENT. We have been dis
| turbed recently. my fellow citizens, by
certain symptoms which have shown
I themselves in our body polite. Ger
tain men--I have never believed a
great number-who. born in other
{ lands, have in recent months thought
more OF those lands than they have
of the honor and interest Of the gov
| eminent under which they are now
| living. They have even gone so far as
! to draw apart In spirit and in organi-
cation from the rest of us 10 accom-
plish some special object OF their own.
am not here going to enter any criti-
cism OF these people, but l want TO
| say this-that such things as that is
! absolutely Incompatible with the fun
| damentai idea of loyalty, and that
! loyalty is not a self pleasing virtue. /
/ am not bound 10 be loyal to the United
states to please myself. | am bound
I TO be loyal 10 the United States be-
cause l live under its laws and am
its citizen. and whether 1t hurts me
or whether IT benefits me. / am
Obliged TO be loyal
Loyalty Means Sacrifice.
Loyalty means nothing unless it has
in heart the absolute principle of self
sacrince. Loyalty means that you
ought to be ready to sacrifice every
interest you have, and life itself, If
your country calls upon you to do so.
And that rs the sort of loyalty which