New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1917-03-07
FOREIGN BORN ARE
IN NIGHT ||]']| SCHOOLS
THOUSANDS OF ADULTS SEEK
EDUCATION IN ENGLISH
LANGUAGE.
BUREAU OF NATURALIZATION
STIMULATES ACTIVITY BY
MEETINGS.

Y. MEETINGS.
b More foreign born adult people in the
United States are becoming Amercanized
than ever before, according to advices
from the Bureau of Naturalization, of
the United States Department of Labor.
Thousands who are candidates for citizen
ship are attending night schools where
there were only hundreds before. The
reason for their desire to learn the
English language and obtain a knowledge
of American institutions and government
is that they may be qualified to enjoy
the privileges as we'll as assume the,
duties and responsibilities of citizenship
when acquired.
A letter from the Labor Department
says:
Aided by Public Schools.
The public school authorities of ap--
proximately 1,400 cities and towns in
every Safe in the Union, working in close
cooperation with the Bureau of NATURAL
zation of the United States Department
OF Labor, are now maintaining night
classes for the benefit of their adult
foreign born residents. The number of
schools and the attendance has grown
far beyond the expectations of the most
optimistic and this patriotic movement
is now generally regarded as one of the
great saving forces of American National
life.
This surprising growth has been due
largely to series of mass meetings, pro-
posed by the Bureau of Naturalization,
for the purpose of stimulating the in
terest of the candidates for citizenship
in the citizenship classes conducted in the
public schools turnout the United States.
These meetings have been arranged by
the public schools, Chambers of Com
merce, municipal officials and various
organizations and have had the cordial
support of applicants for citizenship, the
local resident foreign body and leaders
of the various racial associations. The
results have been far-reaching. Can
didates for citizenship now know that,
they have real friend in the Federal
Government and that their exploitation
for pecuniary or political benefit is. a
thing of the past. ......:.f ~
... Helps in Education. ~ Sf
In addition to this, discussions at these
meetings focused the attention of power
full commercial, labor and patriotic
organizations thruout the country on the
vital Importance of alien instruction and
closer Federal supervision of the naturali-
cation law. Evidence of this is seen in
the resolutions they have forwarded to
members of. the United States Senate
and House of Representatives favoring
the use of all fees received by the Govern
ment in naturalization matters for the
education of the alien population of the
country. These resolutions closely fol-
lowed the information, that since the
Bureau of Naturalization received from
Congress few years ago, the sole con-
troll of naturalization matters, there has
been an annual average of over $65, 900
in excess of all cost of maintenance. The
citizens of the United States do not bear
one cent of the expense of this govern
mental agency. It IS all borne by the
foreigner, who applies for citizenship. In
other words, from the SIS paid by each
foreigner for good administration of the
naturalization law, all of the expenses
of the naturalization of over -200,0 900 an
nually are paid, and over $65,000, on an
average, is turned into Uncle Sans
pocket book every year.
Courts Are Linked.
The activities of the Bureau of Natur-
alization show how routine government
al agency has been transformed into a
great humanizing force. This has been
accomplished by linking together those
important agencies, the Federal and
State courts, the Federal Government
and the State public schools. The work
of this Bureau now stands for more than
naturalization, as the term is generally
understood. It represents Americaniza-
ton in it's truest sense. It cordially
welcomes and brings into the national
family foreign friends fully qualified,
thru public school instruction, for the
proud title of citizenship.