Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-10-15
New Occasions Teach New Duties.


An ambitious Wisconsin farmer with
SIX sons had at 40 years OF age a well
defined plan to settle the six on farms
about him and to help them make the
aeighborhood a model colony bearing
his name and populated by his de-
scendants. He acquired land plated
& into farmsteads,, planted orchards
and dreamed dreams Of the third gem
Grafton.
The boys left home to go 70 college
and never came back TO stay. They
went into professions and scattered
from ocean TO ocean. The father was
lef, with his house Of dreams tumbled
10 the ground and himself destined
during the remainder of his life to
pick up the pieces, and TO aid the plans
laid out by his sons. AT eighty years
he confessed that his plan, II followed
out, would have been poor and trtfing
as compared with the six individual
plans that actually developed.
Men Of good purpose have como with
their families from Germany to Amer
lea with ambitions for their children
as high and as well defined as that OF
this Wisconsin farmer. Thinking OF
their own we'll established likes and
dislikes. their ideals and their pretu-
dices they have planned to build little
| Ge-maays here n which to keep old
| IDEAS, old ways and old motives for
the use Of their descendants forever.
| They have built their walls higher and
stronger than the Wisconsin farmer
! built MS fences: ard they have kept
lid
and fourth generation encysted in the
crust OF IDEAS, European-made and CEN
! turtles dead.
| The result has been disastrous, and
! the reason &c plain. This generation
! can not be probably cast in the mold
! Of the last generation. New occasions
! teach new duties" This country can
not be cast IN the mold Of Germany.
! Life N a new country means funda-
mental Encouragement of the life plan
! =: -.::.-... g. - example -ontne for
! permanent settlement into Brazil must
! expect 70 speak and think in POrtu-
gUese: and to see his posterity blend
! with the people there, and finally be-
! come loyal Brazilians first and last.
! II this plan is repugnant TO him, he has
|
| II things American are dear to him
| above ali others, let him stay and en-
| Joy these things where they can best
! be enjoyed. If he thinks his grand
| children in Brazil will be speaking Eng
| lish or care much about it, he has
guessed wholly wrong.
| Little Germanys, little Italys, little
| Bohemias, little Polands have sprung
Up all over America, and they have
been welcomed and tolerated. but only
as vestibules to the big living room of
America. But it has become evident
that many Of these colonists have been
making arrangements to keep house
permanently in these vestibules. Such
tenantry is contrary to the great Amer
| lean housing code. 1t will not be per-
mitted. II can not be, il America is TO
become an ideal home. This land must
be finally homogeneous, or it will fin
ally perish.
We are not to be a polyglot people,
for the reason, first, that polyglot
nation is ever a feeble body; and, sec
ord, that we don't nronnse to be talked
out of our splendid inheritance OF
English speech by any babel OF
tongues, however sweet or strong.
This war is certain to arouse an
American interest in the English Ian
guage and a. fight for 1t. such as has
never before been known. Our chill
dren viii De permitted to da5bie Il
foreign languages in the schoolroom
only after they have learned 10 speah
clean, crisp English.
i The publication of periodicals in for
eign Observation-Disclosures whose Imam
cial interests lie in smothering Eng
lish and in building up strange Ian
guages here-will be limited to pro-
viding the shortest possible introduc'
ton of immigrants to the English
tongue. No child OF school age, what
ever his parentage. will be permitted
to leave school without q good hold OF
the speech OF the land TO which III
. | has been brought land y which hh