The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1916-12-14
CITIZENSHIP
CLASSES ARE
STARTING ALL
OVER U. S.
MR.. PAUL ARMSTRONG TELLS OF
SYSTEM OF NATURALIZATION
NOW IN VOGUE; UNIVERSITY
CLUB HELD FINE MEETING.

The American people as whole do
not appreciate the vital Importance OF
the education of the alien who reaches
our shores and mingles in our life.
according to the statement of Mr.
Paul Armstrong. United States natur.
aIization examiner. who was the main
speaker at the monthly banquet of the
University club at the Sirs;hmore ho-
tel Tuesday night
To back up his statement Mr.. Arm
strong told many facts that were real
revelations TO his auditors. The
speaker said that since 1920. when the
immigration records We're started to
be kept. 32.000.oOO aliens have come
10 the United States. In the past
eleven years 100000 have come
here. In the year 1907 the high water
mark was reached. with I.2s5.0O0 ar
riyais. In 1915 only $4,000 came
over.
This large number Of aliens has
naturally created problem for the
United States government that is by
no means small in It's proportions. ac-
-cordlng TO Mr.. Armstrong. But the
American people until just recently;
in fact since the war started. have
not realized the perils and import
ance 81 this dominating question. But
now they have awakened TO the fact
that education Is absolutely necessary
to absorb them into the warp and wool
OF our citizenship and steps are being
taken in various places 10 establish
classes in citizenship. In the last
two years 500 classes have been or
ganized in various parts of the United
States and 400 Of the teachers Of
these classes receive no pay. The
others are paid by boards of educa-
ton, commercial organizations or pub
lic-spirited citizens. The naturaliEa-
ton division of the department of la
boz oversees these classes and helps
them in every way possible. but fiEan-
ciai support cannot be be given for
obvious reasons.
The speaker stated that some OF
our greatest men were at one time
aliens. that they accepted the oppOr-
tunIty the land OF the free and the
home of the brave gave them and
forged to the front. and in doing so
were OF vast benefit to the develop
meat OF our nation. He said that in
lending helping hand to the foreign.
er who comes over here to live, the
opportunity is given them to make
sterling citizens OF themselves. for
the most of them possess excellent
material upon which to work.
Mr. Armstrong cited the naturali-
zation scandals OF few years ago in
Rock Springs. Wyoming. to point out
how lightly the most OF the people
took the serious and solemn pro-
oedure of making citizens out OF the
foreign born. He said that droyes
upon droves OF foreigners used to be
brought down from Rock Springs and
other mining towns to Green River
and put thru the naturalization test
like wheat thru mill. This was
usually done just before an election
80 that the men could vote. The whole
country rang with these and other
scandals In 1904 and 1905. II was
found that people living in other coun.
tries who had never seen the United
States possessed naturalization papers
They used them to evade military ser
vice in their own countries or TO aid
them In getting into the United States
and for various other purposes. They
had received them from some relativ-
es in the United States who had pur.
chased the paper from corrupt Judge
or hireling. The matter OF citizenship
was SO lightly considered and the
methods employed were so lax that
the above was easily carried out.
But such scandalous procedure
could not long continue without the
country wreaking with 1t. SO In 1906
the present naturalization law was
enacted and commencing with Septem
ber 9th the same year. all Of the
naturalization records from all the
states were kept In the Department
of Labor in Washington.
The aliens who are candidates for
citizenship are now thoroughly inves.
tigated by government examiners be-
fore they como up for examination.
Then when they do take the exami-
nation they must show that they know