New Britain herald., 1918-06-27

l rms mas been le1t 10 states, CltleS, philanthropies. social societies or to i foreign governments. The average inn
 migrant travels more in the few
 months after his arrival in this coun- 1 try, than in his whole lifetime abroad. During this time the immigrant meets 1 many of our undesirable citizens.
 The private banker who offers to send 1 his money home, the get-rich-Quick concerns, that advertise in the papers 1 he reads and the quack medicine manufacturers. constitute but a few of 1 the type that the foreigner should be protected from. By the time the inn migrant has shaken hands with the various eXploiters who seek his ready cash, he feels he knows everybody and thinks he has a very definite idea of 1 liberty, justice, freedom, law and order. Is it not natural then that his allegiance to this country shall be subordinate to that of his mother country.
 "The first step towards Americana
 zatiop is to adopt a policy of protec 1 ton. The immigrant, upon his ar rival in this country, should declare his or her intention to remain here 1 and become a citizen. After such a declaration, 8 policy of distribution ] should be worked out. This plan ! would enable the foreigner to borrow money and buy land to cultivate, and a national system of employment agencies and regulation of all private
 agencies doing an interstate business,
 so as to eliminate any possible chances of the ''padrone'' system. These ! boards would not only solve the labor problem but offer the immigrant from @l>@ 1Dto tor i ton and trust of the country of his 1 adoption. Agriculture will then begin to thrive and be placed on q par with , industry. When the immigrant learns for himself through actual experi- ences that he has the government s complete protection and guarantee Of , life, liberty and pursuit of happi-
 ness', he will begin to look beyond his own group for advancement and to
 the state to provide necessary courses 1 for him. That such a course is nec-
 essary is clearly evident from the
 very statement of the bureau of edu-
 cation that l ? per cent. of the foriegn
 born white or scarcely more than a
 million and a half of the nearly four
 teen million adult foreign residents
 here can speak, read or write in any
 language.
 "The reason public schools were not
 used to any extent to educate adults
 previously is that only in recent
 years has there been any agitation
 along this line. We have since learned
 of our gross neglect of the foreigners s
 education. The war has taught us
 that if our foreign citizens are to un-
 derstand our principles and standards
 they must be educated.
 s"The policy of Syracuse, N. T.. in
 dealing with the educational problem
 of the foreigner is worthy of mention.
 Under the leadership of the Chamber
 of Commerce, the leading business
 men, journalists. city officials, heads
 of various charities and clubs joined
 together to boost the cityS eQucatlon-
 al policy. Forty thousand handb1lls i in various languages were distributed 1 in factories, homes, churches, schools, ] libraries and on streets, announcing the plan. Personal appeals and argu- ments were published in papers and | social societies were urged to pass
 resolutions urging their members to learn the English language and be- ] como naturalized. Special classes in 1 citizenship were organized to nelp prepare for naturalization. Factories instituted branch libraries in various narts of their plants and urged their
 use bv employees. Cooperation be- tween police court and night schools i was arranged whereby criminal tend
 encies due to illiteracy would be re- duced.
 1 Ut was thus that Syracuse put it's l whole civic energy, thru the determl- nation of it's individuals, into the 1nl- ; tial task of achieving Americanlsm TOT
 the alien. It's case is typical Of the i numerous attempts in the Vaflous cities in the country at this tlmc
 "Thc necessity of a fair knowledge
 of English is evident in understanding
 the principles and reasons for our waging war. English should pc the
 only recognized language of Amerca.
 It is a matter of primary importance
 as regards the problem of American
 ization. In every city numerous eases
 can be cited where inhabitants nave 1 lived in this country for twenty or ] more years and can not speak, read or
 write the English language. These I peopdc have never had the occasion to
 learn the English language because
 all news, books and gathe erings they
 attend employ a foreign language. 1 "Conditions such as these should be ] done away with. Various state execu- 1 tives have forbidden the teaching of
 any foreign language as a medium Of l instruction in schools This is the first step; the next will be the abolish 1 ing of foreign language periodicals. , If the press is to continue to govern to a certain extent the destinies of a
 nation, then it is absolutely necessary ] that they employ English only in l America. When such action is taken. the door to a more complete nation 1 alism will be opened and people from all nations of the earth, from all 1 e,o1arprapts and traditions will