Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1920-05-12

r. -
status, regardless Of what we think or
whence we came. Roosevelt said '"The
simple fact is that here in America we
are all going up or down together"
we are all in the same boat AS Amer
leans we must pull together or perish
together. The problem of Americanism
consists OF everything that makes for
greater and better America-it is not
something for the alien and foreigner,
out as well for the American, and for
the American first. We will have to-
be good Americans ourselves first, good
Americans after the pattern of the
square deal for ALIVE will have to
pc responsive to that which is true
american ne and responsible to that which
is true American before we can apply
the test to the large body of our citi-
Eens. There is no short cut process to
Am11erlcanlsm-it is a slow process. 1t
should begin in Europe. Why permit
undesirable immigrants to enter our
country only later to ship them back.
Our s immigration laws should be
strengthened so as to, exclude unde-
sirables such as criminals, the feeble
minded, imbeciles, sex offenders, incom-
petents, etc. The tendencies Of immi-
grants and their desirablity as citizens
can with relative certainty be deter
mined by physiological tests at the port
Of ,embarkation.
sAs people we are no stronger then
we are materially, physically, mentally,
morally. In wealth and numbers we
are great people, but physically not so
fortunate. The war gave us shock
and opened our eyes-25 per cent of
our boys having been sent home as ply
s1cally unfit. The present health cru
sade discloses these startling facts
From 20 to 40 per cent of our children
graduating from the elementary grades
are physically unfit. The casualty
amoung infants in our homes is about
three or four times as great as was
that OF our boys in service. Two chief
reasons for this state Of affairs are
poverty and ignorance of parents, es-
pecially Of the mother. Malnutrition,
lack of thrift, and vice, also are con-
tributing causes.
M regard to mentality, the psyche
logical tests made of our army of about
5,OOO,O00 and applied to our 100, ZOO, 900
population In same ratio show that the
average human intelligence in this
country is that of child about II years
old; that, ~ 100000 of our people are
dull normally. inferior and very infer
lor grades, including large proportion
or feeble minded and mOrons and that
only about 15,O0O,OO0 have reached the
age OF adult mentality. In fact, the
vast bulk of our population, about So
OOOOO, approach the problems of life
with the minds Of children. Here we
have the breeding ground for radical
ISM. The child mind is highly suggest
ible, for good or evil. In an industrial
schg.Asat Ocala, Florida. four out Of 40
girls Were found mentally normal
atney stay: there year or so and then
marry. In the same state, in a boys
industrial school, of So boys only three
were found mentally normal. Defec-
tives reproduce their kind in ratio of
two to one as against normal persons.
We can easily see whittier we are tend
ing. And the psychologist tells us that
education will not solve the problem
the mentally deficient can be educated
only to their capacity to receive educa-
ton. The feeble minded girl is the
most serious individual problem in our
country today. The remedy is not so
much a problem Of education as of
eugenics and legal measures.
At the. time of the revolution, there
were no adult illiterates. according to
R1dpath. What are the conditions
now? This, neither, is an alien pro
blem. OF our illiteracy 80 per cent are
alien and foreign born, the other IS per
cent is native born. Former secretary
Lane says that 100000 men of draft
age were illiterate. Ten per cent of
! our adult population cannot read the
laws they are supposed to know, IS per
cent Of our coming citizens do not go to
school. In Dindham county, Connecti
cut, lying midway between the academic
eHulgence Of Yale on the one hand and
Harvard on the other, one-seventh OF
the voters are illiterate. What breed
ing place for radicalism. And litter.
acy is on the increase, cannot help but
be, as in 1919 25 per cent of the school
teachers have resigned and right now
$4,000 schools are without teachers and
$4,000 schools are taught by teachers
unfit, mostly because these teachers
have not been able to properly train AND
prepare themselves for their work
| ''Cross materialism and false CONNER
cialism are crushing out the teachers
and the very profession. A factory CIR
with little or no education gets more
pay than the teacher. The average sal
ary Of teachers is about 5000 per year
No wonder that last year 10000 teach
ers left teaching to take up more remu
nerative work. Yale in 1896 graduated
80 men for the teaching profession, las
year only three. DR.. William Nelson
of Smith College, says: 1--WE are facing
the humiliation Of profession.
Lyman Beecher long ago said: Nv,
must educate or We perish by our owl
prosperity. In our haste to be rich ant
mighty we outrun our literary ant