Norwich bulletin., 1919-11-17
the people from his country and said
 they lwere here to stay.

]. | ne ncxt SPCdhST was hSVs dsIiSa Gasplr j. i,anlk of St. CyrlI and Ale- tnodIus parish of Bridgeport, and ne also proved d speaker of genuine elo- kquence and hign patriotism. A veln l or keen wit ran through his remarks and he aroused much enthusiasm by his descriptions of his experiences ln this country He closed by address ing a few words to the Slovaks m their own tongue and it was eSly to see that it was like a message rom l home to them lie told them briefly l in Slovak the meaning of American tAtizenship and tne.r JysponslD..rly to become good ctlZeus and good neghbors. Alter the meeting the Sio- caks gathered around Father PanilS and MT. Mikal and showed the keen- este enjoyment in native fraternity. In introducing the next speaker l Chairman Allen B. Lincoln said that he had met in Millimantic that morning a well known citizen of Ashford who inquired, Will Felix O'Neiil really be. i at that meeting Etoday?" He sure will" replied MT. Lincoln. flor he said 1 he would, and he's man of his word. 1 Well" responded the Ashford citizen, "I'lf surely be there, for he used to go
 to school to me on Spring Hill. and l l haven't seen him, since" Father ]aI 4NTili " do lOIu OL IAlC llSidClih bSActN
 the meeting, and he exclaimed at once 'Oh, know who that is; it's Andrew 1 Grant. and I shall be very glad to see him!" So when he began to speak \ Father O'Neil1 called upon MT. Grant l to rise if there. and thus it happened 1 that the two exchanged greetings be- 1 fore the assembly; and later in the day 1 they renewed acquaintance very heart fly.
 Father O'Neill, who is pastor of St | Edwards parish in Stafford Springs. 1 told ot his boyhood in Willimantic and Mansfield. He spoke especially of the
 value of the incoming foreigners re I taining hold of their native tongue and keeping in touch with home traditions and ideals as one of the best ways of 1 developing sound an denduring loyalty ] to America Learn English" he said i "of curse you must, and learn Ameri- can ideals; but man may be 100 per cent. American and still be true to I freedoms carse for his own people. Was Lafayette nay the less friend of America because he loved France Il Why did so many of our so-caned foreigners go to France in the great | war? Were thev any the less Ameri- | cans because they fought to help free their own reop'es over there?"
 Father O'Nei1l made a most elonuent plea for the ideals of liberty and for oo-oneration among all free peoples, land his address was enthusiastically 1 applauded.
 ] Chairman Lincoln spoke of the
 hearty cooperation which the women | of Ashford were pledging for the community center plans. and said that Mrs. sDavid Mathewson and Mrs i George o. Balch had consented to be among the speakers at this meeting
 only upon solemn assurance that they
 wouldn't be called upon. They may
 Bot talk. said the chairman. but they
 Will act; and the success of this plan l depends largely upon the woman of 1 Ashford, as do all good works in every
 community.
 The local pastors. Rev. B. c. Brg- bee and Rev. P. c. Collins, who were detained. MT. Bugbee by illness and
 MT. Collins by another imperative duty, both of them at prior meetings . had pledged cordial support of the ;J plan. Among others who spoke ir { hearty endorsement were Messrs. H. c Barlew, Fred Chism. Mrs. A. M. Bas- sett and Rev. Walter Lanphear ot
 Chaplin.
 Chairman Lincoln said that the tIistin purpose or lnlS tlrSC mee11n'r W"s to brin~ inspiration from the outside He had req son. to state that forme1 , residents or descendants of Ashford } were ready to cooperate substantially for ti,e e~ectinn of a conmruitv house l and that it was ID to the hnme peonlt . to rally around 2 con1r1unitv eenta1 and sustain it. He believed that tht r~oiort wnull he co-sur1natod at ar l oarly d4te ond much derended drro- ; tl,e sri~it of local co-oroer~+icn whicl on~t"'nl7- seo"'ed c,+huciartic and de. torr@7inod. T'o S+nto1 t',at a I~oo [ ~~oot;''~ u,ctl'd r~or-o r,'-- to zca1'ot f'i'' tho rc--t ronr'h -to Sien,e~ 1of.
 ~i-o n'"ns rra = ---e-i- ou+ the \ sr,fo~f T y"o'fa-o nS~-rin+:o-- ca-,,e sooietv n
 ~'-~' ''n~ r"~-n n~d ~'rr-N~t.
 T''o ~"~t'r~ c1oeo5 tr .eiro-i,, : t',H''i"" fc''9-'-"d fv a hand concer l n~1 T soc:o1 +;--o