Connecticut western news. [volume] (Salisbury, Litchfield Co., Conn.) 1871-1970, 1919-08-21
TEACH LOYALTY y
To Foreigners
FORD ENGLISH SCHOOLS INcUL-
CATE PRINCIPLES OF PURE
AMERICANISM IN STUDENTS.
TRIAL DRAWING TO A CLOSE
After Ford Counsel Presents ORA
matte Testimony On Educa-
tional Work.

Mt. Clemens, Mich.-Henry Ford's
counsel kept until the final day on
which testimony was presented, the
strongest arguments in their posses
sion. Not until the trial was within
a few hours of its close did they bring
to the witness stand Clinton c. De-
Witt, superintendent of the Ford Eng
lish school.
Mr.. Ford" said the witness, was
Of the opinion that you could not sue
cessfully put over one idea while there
were So languages spoken in the fac
tory, so to promote that one idea,
which was and is Americanism, he in
sisted that every workman must learn
to speak the American-not the
nglish-language
There were 5000 students in the
school before the United States en-
tered the war and the factory was
practically turned over to government
work"
Sample lessons were read by the
witness. Parts are given as follows:
Every good American loves and
respects the United States Flag.
Our flag stands for liberty, justice
and peace.
Its colors are red, white and blue.
THE red stands for love, the white
stands for purity, The blue stands for
truth"
American flags" said the witness,
were used profusely in the school
room and a silk flag always flutters
before an electric fan.
Teach Americanlsm.
The men are taught that there Is no
greater title than American citizen"
and are urged to accept the advant-
ages of education offered by this coun-
try so that they may fit themselves,
| through knowledge, to defend their
| liberties.
Pictures of great Americans adorn
the class rooms, special exercises are
held on the birthday of great leaders
of the nation and finally, when the
class graduates, 1t is presented with
souvenir American flags and is given
membership in what is known as the
American Club" The Federal and
state courts recognize a diploma from
the Ford English school as an evil
dence Of adequate preparation for
citizenship, it was shown.
Through this testimony counsel
sought to bring out that the man
who taught 5000 foreigners to love
their adopted country and to respect
it's flag could scarcely be called an
anarchist and that man who sought
every possible method to instfll love
for the Stars and Stripes In the
hearts Of those who come to II from
foreign shores, could never have
made the slanderous statements at
tributed to him by Tribune counsel,
Mr.. Ford, 1t was shown, loaned all
his educational workers to the gov
eminent at the time war broke out.
The war department found the meth
DDS used in the Ford English school
so valuable that they introduced them
In all training camps. Henry Ford
paid the salaries of the men he loaned
to the government for the work.
Closing Arguments Open.
Closing arguments in the case
opened the last Of the week. Attorney
VIM. Lucking led off for Foyd counsel.
He called attention first to the testi-
mony which showed that The Tribune,
hot for intervention in Mexico be-
cause 1t thought such action would
lead to conquest or at least to great
riches for the United States, had
found Henry Ford blocking it's path
just when it's long campaign gave
promise of bearing fruit. Thereupon,
said the attorney, The Tribune set out
to destroy Mr.. Ford's Influence, to
sweep him out of its path and to still
his voice which pleaded for a course
which would help the bleeding repub-
lie to the south to regain her feet and
to strike forth on a new highroad of
education and freedom.
Attorney Weymouth Kirkland open
ed for The Tribune. He declared that
what..M Ford had done since 1916
when~The Tribune called him an
anarchist-had nothing whatever to
do with the situation as it was when
the newspaper stigmatized the manu-
facturer as an enemy of his country.
He did not deny that Mr.. Ford had
done an immense and valuable work
for the government during the war but
he claimed that this did not alter the
facts as they were before war broke
out. Mr.. Ford. the attorney insisted.
was an anarchist at the time The
Tribune described him as such, and
the truth he said was sufficient justin
cation for the attack