The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-12-11
cEMENTING THE RACES
Is Work Which Bureau of Naturaliza-
tion Is Continuing.

With the coming of peace, the bureau
of naturalization of the U. S. department
Of labor is charged with continuing the
work, which the war has shown to have
been already so well established, Of CO.
menting the many races and peoples rep.
resented in this country's population into
one homogeneous nation. The achieve
f1ent of national unity, involving the as,
similation of l7,500,000 alien born resi-
dents Of this country, is the peculiar task
Of this bureau, which is beginning this
season the greatest campaign in its his
tory to effect its aims.
Realization of the ideal of America as
the melting pot in which the peoples Of
many lands are fused into a new and
Characteristic national type is the pur.
pose Of this bureaus Americanization
work. Last May, Congress passed Law
to Americanize every man and woman
OF foreign birth in this country, and il
chose the bureau of naturalization ia
have charge of the citizenship training
which will be carried on through the
public schools
Foreigners are becoming citizens by
hundreds of thousands every year, and
the war has done much to promote in.
terest in America among the aliens liv-
ing here, There are still, however, many
difficulties in the way OF a successful ac.
complishment of the great plan TO make
every inhabitant of this country Amer.
lean in thought, word and action
For example, there are 100000 foreign
ers in New York City who cannot read
write or speak English Probably 100
languages and dialects are spoken here
There are between ten and twelve mil
lion persons in this country who owe al.
egiance to other nations In no other
country in the world is there so great a
percentage of aliens.
The bureau of naturalization is more
closely in touch with the foreign born
than any other government organization
Through its naturalization examiners, ii
has gained acquaintance with about three
million immigrants and during the last
four years the schools have begun their
great work Of instructing the millions OF
others in the essentials of American Jiti.
zenship.
This great educational work is going
on in nearly 1000 communities, the home
cities of millions Of immigrants Hun.
dreds of thousands Of these have taken
out their first papers, and the bureau
has prevailed upon the school authorities
wherever these candidates live TO open
evening classes in which first-paper men
and their wives may be taught what
they ought to know about the American
government.
The first thing taught is the English
language RECOMMENDATION, reading and
writing Every foreigner is ambitious
TO be told that he speaks English like an
American The government sends AZ
urgent appeal to every applicant for citi
zenship, asking him to 90 TO an evening
class in the public schools of his city. II
also furnishes free textbooks to these
men and women, and will recognize the
work of the public schools in a certificate
Of graduation, presented jointly by the
government and the schools to foreigners
when they come into American citizen
ship.
Thus far, the surface has been barely
scratched, for less than per cent OF tbs
aliens in this country have applied fol
citizenship instruction. The American
ization of the other 0S per cent is the
almost herculean task the bureau of nat
uralization faces The aid of every resi-
dent of the community must be enlisted
in the work, if it is to be effective.
Employers of aliens can aid in tht
work by having their workmen, particu
larly those who, are deficient in then