The Idaho Republican., 1917-08-03
AN EXAMPLE TO OUR
NATIVE BORN

Down about the southwest corner
of Bingham county Is a man named
Otto Drawert, who was born in
Europe, has been in this country five
years and is trying earnestly to be-
come a good American citizen. He
does not read much English and Is
too old to go to the public schools,
but he does not think himself too old
to learn. 1t takes him good while
to read paragraph in an English
newspaper, and even then he does
not understand all of it. He has a
dictionary, and when he reads, he
turns to the dictionary and there
gets some help, yet in the definitions
of words it uses other words he does
not understand, and he has to find
their meaning and then come back
and get the understanding of the
first word and then get back to the
line in the newspaper and read 1t
again in the light of the information
gained in the several definitions
hunted up.
It is pretty slow work running
thru the paper to find out what Is
going on in the world, but in the
winter season when Otto is not rush
ed with work he pores over his
simple study preparing for better
middle life and old age. In the sum-
mer season he is busy studying
wheat and how to raise 1t, and as he
rides his plow breaking up the wild
fand of his homestead he reasons
that he left the old country for a
reason. He came to America because
and he is staying in. America for
a good reason; and all this being |
plain to an ordinary man why should
he be in doubt as to individual duty!
and so-thinking he works
on and on, and in the course OF years
and busy winters he will have much
correct knowledge Of our language
and of the best ways to raise wheat
and alfalfa seed and other things
that can be grown on dry farm.
Living contemporary with him In
The same county and on the coveted
rich irrigated farms are American
boys who despise hard work; who
decline to settle down to farming on
heir fathers farm and learn how
% operate it to make the big profits.
Some of them even declare that there
s nothing in it, and they go away
rom their inheritance and work for
wages in COW camps, in sheep camps,
n stores and garages and FOR the
title brown men in the beet neids'
aking for their labor a mere pit
ance as compared with what they
,olld make farming on their own
ich lands.
While one man works and suffers
'rivations, and studies his simple ;
essons in print at great disadVant-
ge. another despises his opportunity
nd his heritage, and one OF these 9
avs he will wake up to the fact
hat some. person Of foreign birth
WINS what was his fathers farm and
hat 1t is paying big profits for op-
rating. He will look about him
nd find that in the ten years since
g left it he has become so separated
rom it that 80 years of his wages
rould not buy it back. When he
,oks about the county he will find
1st what men in the Salt Lake val
" are finding out now. that most
[ the real estate deals for a long
me have been native sons selling
nd men of foreign birth buying, and
ley sometimes set up great wall
,out all the lands going into the
ands of foreigners. But if the
,reigner applies for citizenship and
,es the work and saves his money
i'd hands it over to the man who
ants to sell, there isn't any good
ason why the two should be de-
ed the privilege of swapping. And
e fellow wanting to sell would
ise an awful fuss If he were de-
ed the privilege. Yet in ten years
will join the kickers and complain