New Britain herald., 1919-01-08

April 10 appointed a Connecticut committee of food supply, with a view to increasing and conserving the agrl- cultural resources of the state. Sub eeuuontly. Robert Scoyille, one of its members, was appointed federal food adnniniStratorfOr Connecticut and upon the creation of the council of defense this committee became part of it's or ganization. By reason of the activ1- ties of this committee and with the loyal cooperation of the agricultur- ists of the state, there has been an encouraging increase in the food pro- ducts of the state.
 The State Council of Defense.
 When the United States became 9 party to the war it became evident that if confusion, friction, duplication, delay and waste would be avoided, there must be q central directing agency in this state to correlate eff fort and expedite activities. There had to be some agency to perform federal business and at the same time real with situations 2s they developed in the state. Consequently, in compli- anCe with the request of the secre- tarv Of war in his capacity as chair man Of the Council of National De fense. and pursuant to the authority vested in me by chapter fl before ncc1tioncd on April 26, 1917, I ap- pointed the Connecticut Council of Defense to 2rsist :ne in the war activ- ities which related to this state. h some states these councils have q nu- mcrOus membership, in one instance many os one hundred, but our council has never been largo and now numbers 19, three Of ..t Nl1 -i,,c com peusatiQI meeting once each week and some CT them have gwen their Cnt re time to the work of the coun- cl wlic5l has include all activities rec s-ary to erialic th-S state to fully meet US obligations in supporting the federal government and has extended to subjects vital to the welfare of the state which were not within the juris- diction of some existing state depart nent.
 The cost to the state of the work undertaken by the council as reported to me by the comptroUer's office has segregated S151, ,2C4.75, which is 4 conservative expense for the amount of work performed and the splendid results obtained.
 Our council of defense has been progressive in conception, effective in action and wise i1 counsel, and has been of great assistance to the gov ernor. It has been recognized by fed eral officials as in the forefront of state councils in it's efficient conduct of important national programs. ] i has organized wartime activities within this state so wisely that there has been a minimum of waste energy. There may be a disposition to criti- cize some things the council has ur- dertaken, but considering the im- Dromptu chara cter of the organiza- tions which it created the commend i able results of their efforts are re- ! markable, and we owe a deep debt of gratitude to the men and women Of 1 our council of defense who have so unselfshly given their time and ener- gies to make Connecticut the leader of the nation in the business Of war. i Conditions which were disclosed showed need of certain activiti es which the council sponsored and developed which approved themselves so fully that, in closing up it's business, the council urges their continuance and further development. Tn this I fully concur. These activities are Ameri- 1 canization, Child Welfare and the Labor Employment Service.
 ] Amcricanizat tion
 ! The prosecution of this war has ex- posed conditions heretofore little known or considered. It has revealed among Us an element alien not only in birth but in speech and sentiment. At the moment when the United States most needed a united coherent people, With common ideals and pur- pose we discovered unassimilated groups of individuals possessIng 2 neither American citizenship nor fa- miliarity with American aims. The ex stence of these groups was unfor- tunate and alarming. They served to enlarge the draft quotas we were called upon to furnish and unjustly burdened the citizen class of regis trants because q very large percent age of the alien class of registrants claimed exemption upon the ground of alienage. This emphasized the unwisdom of our neglect in the past to educate and absorb the immigrant into our body polite. That he ca pabIe of such absorption is obvious to anyone who glances over the casualty list and notes the foreign extraction OT many of our finest citizen soldiers. Industrially this unabsorbed allie l class constitutes a menace. Radical agitatOr whose mission is to destroy rather than to build up, cannot make headWay among persons imhued with an intelligent understanding of the history and purposes of the United States. It is among this ignorant and
 urassimilated class that Boshevism makes progress.
 The proximity of Connecticut to the important ports of entry, and our
 great and growing industrial centers
 makes tI \ problem acute. We owe # to ourselves and to those who will . succeed to our responsibilities and
 privileges to realize that Americani- zation $ fundamentally q, matter of self defense and self preservation, and
 not one merely of sentiment or chari-
 inn thnrnfG1n n-f-