Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-22

In view of the Importance OF In
structing foreign residents as to their
duties and obligations to this coun-
try in war time, the Commissioner
of Naturalization, Department of La
Dor, has requested publication of the
address delivered at the time of our
entry into the war to applicants for
naturalization in the Federal Court
at Philadelphia by Federal Judge
Joseph Burlington. 1t is regarded by
the government as a model state
ment for the perusal of aliens.
TO-DAY there are 13,500,O0 of
men in America of foreign birth;
there are 100000 the chill
idren of those OF foreign birth. A
census recently taken of a plant in
this state shows 5000 workmen of
foreign birth. OF these 10000 came
from the central powers. OF that
10000, 1,400 are naturalized citizens.
These facts and figures may startle
those who do not know the foreign
born, but to those of us who know
them they cause no alarm. Almost
a quarter of the foreign born who
come to the United States have lat
terly made Pennsylvania their home.
v
who brought to his colony men of
different races. These different races
have bought homes in it, have their
children in our schools, and Pennsyl-
vania knows the foreign born, be-
lieves in the foreign born, and to-day
we have 100000 of them among us.
In the twenty-five years ] have
been a United States judge. l have
been brought, through these nat
uralization courts, into close touch
with the foreign born, have learned
to understand them, have believed
in them, and have always said that
when war faced us these foreign
born men would prove themselves
Americans. 8
The crux is not the fact of the
hyphen, but whether the mans heart
is at the American end of the
hyphen.
have signed the DEGREES making
thousands and thousands of them
citizens, and 1 am always glad when
one of them comes to me and tells
me I made him citizen. In these
anxious times, when there are fears
among our foreign-born citizens of
internment or Imprisonment or. some
hardship. these men have been COM
ing to me for advice; and I have
been able to help them, and, because
found it did help them, thought
it right that / should just now give
general message of cheer and
counsel, of warning and advice, to
our Pennsylvania foreign-born peo-
pie. And so l have asked the district
judge to let me come into his court
to-day and admit you to citizenship,
and l am going, through you, to give
a message to the thousands and thou
sands of the foreign born in PENN
sylvania.
In the first place, I want to say
that have made 1t my duty to find
out what our government would do
in case of war, and whether it would
follow the example of the nations
abroad, and would intern men who
had at one time been citizens OF
countries at war with us. l am glad
to say to you that the government
has no purpose to intern any man,
and that any man who is interned
will intern himself, by proving that
the government ought to intern him,
The government is going to start out
with trusting and believing in all
who are living here, and there will
be no interning or depriving any
foreign-born man of any country of
his liberty so long as that man is
truly loyal to America.
And / want to tell you, further,
that our government feels very
strongly that any ill-will or bad
treatment by any American citizen
toward any foreign-born man sim
ply because he was born in country
with which America is at war would
,be serious blot upon the good name
of America. ] am glad to give this
assurance to our for eign-born people,
and to let every man who does no
wrong to the government know that
the government will not imprison or
disturb him. So much for the good
win of the government toward them.
And how about their goodwill
toward the government? This leads
me to give a further message>os eau
tion and friendly advice to those who
may have a bad will toward our gov
ernment or who for any reason are
becoming disloyal to America, or
turning their faces away from her.
My advice to such men and women
is to. stop, look and listen before
they go further; for in times like
these such course cannot but lead
to a sorry end. War is the dividing
line. Remember, what was only
foolish and unwise in word and dced