The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-03
EN-!
Government Calls Conference
Over Alien Problem.
81. S. Must Assimilate Foreign
Born" Secretary Lane.
OURS A GREAT EXPERIMENT
"If We Can't Merge Creeds and
Races. We Fail"
Five and a Half Million Can't
Read or Write English.

Washington, Apri 3.-"America can
become. a composite and purposeful
nation and impose no authority other
thar the compelling influence or az
lection. sympathy, understanoihS anu
education" Secretary Lane declared
today in an address which sounded
the keynote of a conference called to
plan the AUGMENTATION OF many
millions of foreign-born.
The secretary spoke to an assem-
blage Of state governors, chairmen OF
state defense councils, heads of civic
organizations, industrial leaders and
business men gathered at the invita-
ton of the department of interior. a
federal legislative program which
calls for an appropriation to the bu-
reau of education is to be fully con-
sidered and Americanization dealt
with as a war measure to counteract
the anti-American propaganda among
aliens
In sympathetic Spirit.
''Out of this conference" continued
the secretary, should come not a de-
termination to make more hard or
difficult the way of >those who do
not speak or read our tongue, but
determination to deal in a catholic
and sympathetic spirit with those who
can be led to follow in the way of
the -lation and as to those others who
cannot other procedure must be APP
ence is our responsibility
To be an American, he said, was
not to be satisfied with things as they
are and to let things drift, but to real
ize that America to be a compact
nation must assimilate its foreign
born.
I'VE ara trying a great experiment
in the United States" he asserted.
Can we gather together from the
ends of the earth people of different
races, creedS, conditions and aSpira-
lions who can be merged into one?
If We cannot do this we will fail. If
we dc tiais we will produce the great
est of all nations and a new race that
will long mold a compelling place in
the world. Our wars have been
fought by men of foreign birth. We
see their names every day in the list
Of those who are dead on the battle
field of France. There is no such
thing as an American race, excepting
the Indian; we are fashioning a new
people. In this sense we are all in
ternationalists.'
Secretary Lane said the conference
things which had come up recently.
Drafted Men Can't Read.
THE first" he explained, sis that
we have a great body of our own peo-
pie, five and a half millions, who can
not read or write the language of this
country. That language is English
and these are not all of foreign birth
million and a half are native born
The second is that we are drafting
into our army men who can not un-
derstand the orders that are given
them to read. The third is that our
man power is deficient because our
education is deficient. The fourth is
that we ourselves have failed to see
America thru the eyes of those who
have come to us. We have failed to
realize why it was that they came here
and what they sought.zW We have failed
to understand their definition of lib
erty.'
In his plea for the education of
aliens and American illiterates alike.
Secretary Lane alluded to the "crum-
ping of Russia"
Ignorance Caused Fail of Russia.
The cause of the Russian disaster -
he said, was the ignorance of the
Russian people, 80 per cent of whom
| could not read or write, none of whom.
| practically. ever had participated in
the affairs of their own country. If
America is not to be Russianized-and
there is no fear of that-we must mt
into our hearts truer appreciation of
Things we believe America to repre-
sent and when we say represent we
imply that we are not the exclusive
| possesSors of America nism."