Decorah-posten og ved arnen., 1918-06-11

part OF the present agitation TO sup.
press what is being stamped as
foreign and dangerous in our Owl
country. is based on ignorance oi
fundamental conditions underlying
the very existence Of our immigrant
population, and of the true status OF
that population in our middle and
northwestern states AT the present
time.
We doubt not that if Governor
Harding had known his neighbors OF
foreign birth and extraction, which
constitute such a large percentage OF
the population OF Iowa, he would not
so easily have been lead into the
delusion that they are a class to be
feared in times of national stress. II
is most assuredly because he does not
know them that he gives the i'm
preston OF suspecting them OF having
been found wanting at the call OF
their country,
Had the Governor looked o
closely into the matter, he would have
discovered that our so-callcd foreign
population as a whole granting
individual exceptions - are as good
and patriotic Americans as can be
found anywhere. In fact, II should
hardly think il necessary al tins late
dav to offer a defence for their tealty
to the republic. Our S~candinavianS
and Bohemians. and other immigrant
people. were among our carly settlers,
and they have successfully taken their
places in every endeavor TO make
Iowa the banner state OF the west, and
one Of the best to live in for US all,
however blue or otherwise the blood
in our veins may be. Had Governor
Harding taken the trouble to IN
y~estieatc. he would have found that
these people are not only a law
abiding, thrifty, progressive and self
reliant class, but also distinctly
liberty-loving, eager in promoting
education, and that they assimilate as
rapidly as one reasonably can expect
Their children are overcrowding our
public schools and attend in great
numbers our colleges and universities
They may or may not have learned
the language Of their fathers in the
home; very frequently they don't; but
whether they do or not, II cannot be
said truthfully that their elders have
discouraged them from assuming their
responsibilities in American lie And
is it necessary to mention that the
foreign born people OF Iowa, mostly
TO be found in decidedly good circum-
stances among our farming class, are
taking their full quota OF the burden
OF war? That they are fully alive to
the justice OF the cause Tor which
America now is fighting 10 preserve
world democracy Could they, in
whose BOSOM the hatred OF tyranny
and oppression was instilled from
childhood. have had a clearer con-
ception OF present day American duty
If they were descendants OF the Pill
grim Fathers?
1t is. indeed. difficult to see how the
ban on foreign languages in Iowa has
any relation whatever 10 the circum-
stance that the country is now at
war. Nothing in the immigrant
situation Of the state has, to our
knowledge, in the slightest degree
given justification to the sweeping
order embodied in the Governors
proclamation. We do not deny there
have been isolated cases of scdition,
Yet, If we are correctly informed, the
arrests and prosecutions have been
comparatively few, In this statement
we think the records OF the state
government will bear us out And we
venture TO say that OF those brought
before our courts OF justice not all
belong TO the immigrant class speak
ing d foreign language.
We are not in this connection
primarily concerned with the Cover
nor's authority to prohibit foreign
languages. That he has overstepped
the limit of his constitutional mandate
in trying to do 50, is our earnest
belief. But granting that he has this
right, what conditions could Justify
the use OF it at this particular time;
Would there, indeed, be any other
justification OF such a step than the