The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-14
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
: INF FORMATION BUREAU
By FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. director.
WAshinEton, ID. C.
THE ALIEN AGAIN.
\ Bill Is Before Congress to Make Hin
Citizen if He EnliSts.

Washington, d. c.. Jan. 11.-Since
the war, the records of the United
States bureau of naturalization have
shown fluctuations worthy of wall
street. They have risen and dropped
with each new war rumor. Talk OF
the deportation of aliens brought an
avalanche of applicants to the courts
to procure their first papers, while the
news that foreign powers were think
ing of sending recruiting agents to this
country for the purpose of modifying
wandering subjects brought even
greater numbers. Then there was
drop. Our aliens recently learned that
these first papers make them eligible
for the draft.
So far the recruiting officers and
the deportation have not materialized.
and American citizenship does not ap-
pear to offer the advantages it once
did. The alien in this country is safe
about as safe as it is possible for
the national point of view, this is
serious matter. One-thir1 of our
population is foreign born, one person
in every ten an alien. In other words.
it is really case of American citi-
zens going to war to protect foreign
subjects.
On the other hand, under the pres
ent naturalization laws, military serv-
ice in this country is anything but fair
to the alien. He may be drafted into
the army IL ne mas QeCtaIeQ HIS lIlten-
ton to become an American citizen,
but he cannot obtain a commission I'M
til two years after his first papers have
been filed and he actually becomes
citizen. Under these circumstances.
the alien certainly is not to blame if
he does not precisely relish the idea
of entering the American army
Legislation is now pending in con-
gress for the amendment of the nat
uraliZation laws so that any alien who
enters the American army may at
once become an American citizen, the
argument being that if a man is will
ing to offer his life for a country he
deserves all of it's privileges. AS soon
as this amendment is passed, repre-
sentatives of the bureau of naturaliza-
ton will be sent to all the training
camps to instruct alien soldiers in a
few facts concerning American politi
cal institutions. Then they will be
taken to the nearest naturalization
court and be made American citizens.
This will permit foreign-born SOL
diers to obtain commissions when they
deserve them. and doubtless once
more slim ulate interest in American
citizenship. Meantime, the bureau of
naturalization is conducting a nation
wide campaign to this end. Chambers
of commerce, women's clubs, en-
ployerS, school authorities all over the
country are cooperating with the gov
ernment in persuading aliens to be-
come citizens. 1t is war measure.
The war has shown the menace of
such a large foreign population as
ours. The government has no way of
keeping track of the alien, unless by
suspicious conduct he has succeeded
in attra citing the attention of the Sc
cret service. He comes here to earn
his living, but that is all. He does
not assimilate; he has not had the adj
vantages of American public schools
and he is slow to relinquish the Gus
toms and traditions of the country
which bred him.
This is not particularly reprehen-
sible in itself. The Italian, for ex-
ample, if he prefers an Italian to an
American environment is no more to
be condemned than the American of
the American settlement in China,
who refuses to accept the Chinese Gus
toms. But in time of war when 10y
atty is an absolute necessity large
population of foreigners, ignorant of
and Indifferent to American traditio rs
constitutes, as has been said, a men
ace. They form too fertile a ground
for the enemys propaganda.
In describing this aspect of the
situation, Mr.. +. f. Crist, of the bu-
reau of naturalization, said: There
are foreign colonies ip this country
where a German spy would be as safe
as if he were in Berlin" 1t is not
that aliens are deliberately disloyaI so
E-uch as that they are ignorant to
the point of illiteracy and hence sus-
ceptible to bad influences. The many
mysterious fire occurring in munition
factories in various parts of the coun-
try are assigned by certain government
officials to these circumstances.
Thus the government is haOinniT,D
to realize as never before that if
America is going to maintain it's usual
open-door policy to all classes of Euro
pean immigrants it has got to educate
them after they come here. For a
long time, there was no way in which
the government could come into per-
sonal contact with the immigrant, but
now, thru the offices of the bureau of
naturalization, it is possible to follow
the history of the alien who takes out
his first papers.
The procedure is like this: On the
first working day of every month the
naturalization courts all over the
country send to the bureau duplicate
copies of the applications for citizen
ship filed by aliens during the pre-
ceding month. These applications
contain all possible information con-
corning each alien, even to his size
and weight, the color of his eyes and
hair. In the offices of the bureau
.his lnAorhdtIon is transferred TO a
large index card and mailed to the
public school OF the district in which
the man is a resident. Then a letter
is mailed to the mans wife, if he has
one, explaining to her advantages of
attending night school.
Meantime, the card is received by
the public school, which Immediately
dispatches a tTuant officer to the ad-
dress of the applicant to persuade him
to come to school. Eleven hundred
schools are now maintaining night
classes for adults, and the number is
constantly increasing.
In this way thousands of aliens are
being educated who would otherwise
always remain hopelessly illiterate The
great pity is that many more schools
have not enlisted in this campaign
for Americanization. In several
states laws prohibit the expenditure of
hIi1. school funds "a 49,.