Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-11
DARBY ENDORSES
AMERICANIZATION
School Board President Favors
Plan For Education of
Foreigners

w. L. Darby. president of the
Steelton School Board and active in
municipal work in the borough,
heartily endorses the Americaniza-
I ton League plan for the education
of the foreigners located here.
Mr.. Darby said in reply to an in
quiry as TO what he thought about
the project of more effectively pro-
noting the Americanization OF the
immigrants coming here, that so far
and as quickly as il could be prac-
tically effected, i am very earnestly
in favor of it both for the sake OF
the immigrants themselves and
America. The general project should
have as much help as practical in
every way
Mr.. Darby's idea was that the mere
eftecting of naturalization in the reg
ular cut-and-dried way, was not
nearly enough for the good of all
interests concerned. THE thought of
immigrants suggests. of course, some
practical troubles and difficulties that
Will have to be met patiently" he
said. This does not mean simply
the thought of book education by
any manner of means. The new cit
iZen should he so taught as to alb
sorb' something of both the practical
ends to be accomplished as we'll as
of the teaching, in other words some
thing of what they owe on account
of their new allegiance in at least
partial return for what their new
country is doing for them.
1T is not enough to say to them,
you must pay Your taxes; it is not
enough for them to come here and
~ q L hafY liN.tsaer
tie pittanCe of taxes. They must put
something of themselves personally
into their daily life in their new
country and they must make sacri-
fees, too.
Gradually Be Taught
For another thing they should be
glad to not only make their living
here and out of it pay their taxes
here, but they should gradually be
taught to appreciate it as a privilege
to pay their savings here instead of
boarding them up and every few
months sending them back to the
old mother country.
The matter of gradually educat-
ing these new citizens along these
practical lines is bound to take some
time; it cannot possibly be hopefully
undertaken along any hurried lines
The job is a big one, and if we ask
them to bite off a wECle lot at once
the trouble is that ehen they will
find themselves unable to sufficiently
masticate what they J ave been in
duced TO attempt the first bite.
Look at it from the American 5
standpoint: The mere project of edu-
eating these new citizens even from
the limited point of view of book
learning is going to be both a big
and expensive proposition which,
with the other educational require
ments modernly imposed upon the
school authorities must be attempted
only gradually.
"A whole lot depends. of course,
upon the practical willingness of the
new citizens. There will be compara-
lively little gained to attempt to force
their hand. The practical difficulty
growing out of the varying degrees
of Willingness on the part of the re-
spective roots of aliens in our midst
are numerous and great. ain fact are
simply staggering. Just how they
can be successfully handled and along
that practical line will require more
thought than most of us have thus
far been able to give the question"