Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1918-07-26

we nave In view, but will only weak
en- and dissipate our forces. II has
amazed admirers of MIR. Roosevelt. ia
"hom the country owes more than to
any other living American. to learn
that he not only approves of Cover
nor Hardings proclamation. but even
goes further and advocates the sun
preston OF the foreign language
press in this country. How persons
OF information and intelligence can
entertain such ideas is past compre-
hension. There is no agency in this
country which has done or can do
what the foreign language press has
done Tor the Americanization of the
immigrant. 1t has sought to do for
the adult immigrant what the pub-
TIC school has done for his children.
Neither is there any agency which
mas done or can do for the religious
ilie OF the migrant what has been
done by the foreign language church
in this country. As soon as the i'm
migrant lands upon our shores he
flnds a press printed in his own lam
guage which gives him information
that he could get through no other
means about the institutions and DO
litical ideals of this country, and the
church stands ready to offer him the
same religious consolation and en-
llghtenment that he has been used
to, which could not be done through
the English language This press
and church are indispensable media
for making good citizens and pre-
serving the religious faith of our i'm
migrants, the lack of which would be
deplorable. Any attempt to suppress
or lessen the activity of the foreign
language press or the foreign lam
guage church in this country would
be suicidal in its effect; it would be
to try to destroy the best that has
been done for millions of immigrants
by their own intellectual and re-
ligious leaders, work which would
have been undone if they had not
done 1t, and the result of which
would have been that millions of our
people would not have had that in
struction in religion and politics
which has made them the good citi-
zens they are. Excepting a few pa
pers in German, which have been
suppressed, the foreign language
press in this country has maintained
pronouncedly loyal attitude since
the outbreak of the present war
against liberty.
Governor Harding, in speaking of
religious worship, says God now
hears prayers in English. That is
as much as to say that he does not
particularly care about prayers ut
tered in French, or Italian, or Ser
bian, or Polish, or Greek, or Rus
sian. II the prayers of our allies in
Europe who speak other languages
than we do may be thought to be
acceptable to the Lord, and if our
soldiers, at the wish and expense of
the government, are struggling to
learn French or other languages that
they will need to know while in
Europe, what harm can there pos
sibly be in Fronchmen or Italians of
Iowa, or any other state, praying in
or even audibly speaking, the Ian
guage of their people on the other
side? For generations there have
been a good many Bohemian and
Welsh people in Iowa, not to speak of
the large Scandinavian population,
and it is questionable whether there
are any more loyal people in the
state; yet they row need to be care
full not to let anyone hear them speak
Bohemian, Welsh, or Scandinavian,
if they wish to be considered loyal
citizens. One of the command
ments says Honor thy father and
thy mother" One is better citizen
for honoring his father and his
mother, and one of the ways of doing
so is to cherish their memory, their
language, and the history of their
family connections, as we'll as the
language and history of the people
from whom they sprang. Loyalty is
a trait of character, and rapidly for
getting ones pest, not to say despts-
ing ones past and ones people, is
certainly no good oign of loyalty.
That immigrants rapidly learn Eng
lish, as most of them do, is good
thing; but on the other hand it is not
good thing that they quickly for
get, or are made to forget, the people
from whom they have sprung. Feel
ings of piety should be cherished
rather than reprcssed. In many
cases the AmericaniZation of the chill
dren of immigrants goes on more