New Britain herald., 1919-03-25
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
 PRESS NOT NEEDED
If People Wbo Come Here Are
 AmeriCanized

] first time in the history of our coun- 1 try we have begun to ask ourselves
 seriously: Is the Melting Pot theory l of America nothing more than 8 , theory? Is it possible that this coun- 1 try IS not after all the haven of refuge. l the center of assimilation, we have always fondly believed it to be? DO the millions of immigrants from the four corners of the globe far from ! entering into the spirit and activities Of America. merely collect in various i secuons Of the country, cling to thei1 old traditions and modes of thought. and even interfere with the develop
 ment of American ideals and institu-
 tlons: Is 1t no more all illusion that
 tile doWntrodden races of Europe
 Seek liberty here only to abuse or
 ignore it?
 Not content with asking ourselves
 these momentous questions, some of
 us nave even ventured to answer them
 Every sort of proposal has been made
 to limit mmigratio to prevent fl.
 to force some system Of "Americani
 A'ANIoIi
 country; extremists in some instances
 are clam bring for the suppression of
 foreign speech and foreign books and
 papers. It IS safe to say that such
 extremes are advocated by over-zea1-
 ous and misinformed enthusiasts in
 the cause Of America, and by those
 whom certain incidents during the
 war have aroused to 8 high pitch of
 ~ ISrf1 n ttrNft
 quire briefly into these matters.
 1t IS true that during the war, and
 particularly before the entrance into
 II or the United States, q part of the
 Ierman press in this country (not to
 mention the press of other nations
 and even a few "American" papers)
 were actively engaged in pro German
 propaganda. Thanks to the activities
 of the Department of Justice, how
 ever, such propaganda is now pra,c- f1cally on-exlstent. However, it is
 not unnatural that these newspapers
 are still viewed in certain quarters
 With some degree of suspicion, though
 under the strict supervision Of the
 government, it is impossible for these
 papers again to agitate in favor of
 the enemy, even were they so inclined
 fAo to C1iS pooSlUlc pG1nlclOuS 1lt1u-
 ence of newspaper merely because
 It happens to be printed in a f0reien
 tongue, and the average American
 cannot read it, it is absurd to con sider the matter; it casts an unda
 served slur on the linguistic accom-
 plishments of our secret service. Tn all seriousness. the danger from 8
 press that is as closely watched over as the foreign-lang guage press of America, where (except in cases
 where special permits are given) every item printed must be literally translated into English and filed with a representative of the federal gov ernment before publication, is nil.
 It has also been urged that the ! circulation of newspapers printed in foreign languages is un-American: 1 that 1t tends only to widen the gan sepa rating the immigrant from the na- i; tive. But it must be borne in mind, 1 indeed it cannot be too emphaticauv ! stated, that g, newspaper Is not cause but an effect. It is the result of a demand. The demand will cease when there is no longer single foreign group in this country that speaks it's native language. To do away, therefore. with the foreign language press at the present time is to bring down upon some ten mill lions of people the confusion of Babel If you would do away with foreign papers and books, you must first teach those who read them the English language. To deprive them of their means of expression in print is the surest and swiftest way to increase c communication by word of mouth ; and incidentally to antagonize them toward any attempt to teach them English.
 It is impossible 10 set forth in de- tail the many instances where during the war and the period imm diately following, the foreign language press has performed signal services for the government. It has been not only one of the many agencies in further ng the work of the se1ective draft he Fuel Administration, the Liberty 1oans, the Internal Revenue, it has Il many instances been the sole me E Hum of communication between the government and the foreigner who :annot understand English. One particular instance may suffice. When he president made his proclamation r 0 the coal miners last year, an appeal vas made through the foreign-lan- ,uage press to give wide publicity to & he appeal This was done, and the miners, most of whom could not in ny other way be reached and affected M esponded to the call. Since the sign tg 1g of the arn1istice, the foreign Ian I& uage press has entered whole heart B dly into the work of spreading in IT sent out by the govern & 1ent regarding the Employment Bu- H eau's activities, to mention but one K many. It is evident that most of i n ne interested groups could not Fl