New Britain herald., 1917-07-20
Of alien nativity by German influences.
are decentralized

are 0eCentral1Zod.
There is at the present time no one
center, either under the United States
government nor yet in New York
state, where the alien can apply for
instruction, there is no bureau which
will undertake the work of intelligent
ly surveying the various industrial
plants with view of placing or shift
ing alien labor to the best advantage
and after all, the alien forms the real
man power of the country's industry.
Laws have been made by both fed
eral and state legislative bodies to
regulate the alien in his movements
and activities. These have primarily
been measures which applied to
enemy aliens" However, even these
peoples have been left largely to their
own devices. German propaganda
has been introduced througout every
center where the other strangers with
IN our gates predominant.
Alien Furnishes Grave Problem.
the United States faces one of the
gravest situations Of the war in the
alien, stated Miss Frances A. Kellor
or the National Anne ricanization COM
m1ttee, the only organization in the
state which is actively engaged in I'M
tangling the amazing snarl in which
the alien and the American is in
volved.
! The utmost chaos reigns as the
result of the Presidents War Procla-
nation. 1t is all right to say, obey
the law and keep your mouth shut
but what is the law and what shall an
alien say when spoken to or told to do
certain things by as many different
officers as there are laws:
The alien is a simple living, active,
vibrant human being. He wants to
know about staying in a war zone,
where to get job if he can't stay
there. who is friendly and who isn't
whether his property is safe, whether
the select1ve draft applies to him,
where he can volunteer, what claims
MS nome government has, how to be-
come citizen and he wants to know
them all together. He has not COM
mand of English, Of time, of money,
of leisure, or of transportation to go
to the hundreds of separate places
necessary to answer these questions.
the Americans are playing game
called passing the buck with the
aliens. There isn't a single official
place in these whole United States
where he can get authoritative an
sWers on what we expect of him, how
ne can be of service, what his duties
and obligations are specifically There
are not two places in the whole coun-
try where he can get identical an
sWers to all of these questions. There
isn't machinery Or interest enough to
exchange the enemy aliens from the
war zones to non strategic industries
for non-enem aliens and save our
man power. Thousands Of perfectly
good Americanization meetings are
being held in harmless places instead
of following the trail of the Socialist
and I. W. w. We lack direction. CO.
! ordination. intelligence, vision and
about every known war essential In
| dealing with this question. We stand
at attention and act upon complaints
| only. instead of preventing complaints
and safeguarding what we know are
vulnerable and weak spots open to
disasIer.
Something intelligent construc-
tive and purposeful should be done
with the alien in the United States
now.
Here we have millions of men and
women born in the lands at war with
each other nervous. apprehensive,
dependent wholly upon the state
ments printed often in foreign Ian
guages for their information concern
| ing their status, rights and duties in
wartime.
I'VE have these same millions will
ing to be loyal to America, observe
our laws, give us their help, work in
our industries, If they only knew
what the American wants them to do.
I'VE have these same millions open
to approaches and influences and sue-
gestions from too ardent pacifst and
socialist and other busy anti-Ameri-
can asttators, working through g. sys-
tenn with little or no consideration
from friends of America.
I'VE have others disloyal-their
hearts given to another country
whom We can never Americanize and
whose influences and activities we
must reduce to a minimum.
Lo, The Poor Allen.
1--WE have the alien in America to-
day threatened by his home country,
registered and drafted by America,
urged to declare his allegiance and
Join the National Guard. and told
that his place IS III the industries
making war products. And last but
not least he is invited into Home De-
tense Corps to look after the f1resides
when the boys go to the front.
1T Is a wonder and to the credit OF
all aliens that under these conditions
of suspicion, misund anding, igno-
rance, misdirection and absence OF
standards that America has been SO
quiet at home. It is unreasonable to
expect this condition to continue un-
der the increasing stress of war.
| Let there come one great Gala nifty
that touches the hearts of Americans,
whether on high seas or in the
| trenches, that takes boy out of
every state or town, and "alien bait
ing" will run high and alien malice
toward America will find vent. Is