New-York tribune., 1920-03-06
At the Threshold
House Cleaning Should g..
in Naturalization co.,..

l" 'v~t"5"ts$osson Cowt
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: The naturalization eou,.
you please, IL the Laboratory :.
country. There tho process ~,
similating the stranger within
gates" is consummated. The,. Va
foreigner and the alien are ~. W
with the rights and obIira.io..
American citizenship and becou.
and parcel. bone and tissue Of or. w
tional life.
When the great Roman Emp,,.
in its heyday Of national pov.,
before the decline ct that robu.t =
man sense Of civic duty, thi. n,,..
Of citizenizing the alien was ind,
solemn affair. The foreigner VII.
finally inducted into Roman citiz.,.,.
6onned the "toga,' or whi.s ,os.
symbolic Of civic purity.
This halo and atmosphere of No.,
peachable, incorruptible inseer;.v
conspicuously lacking in our natu,.r
zation court. Please 90 not rr,,.-
strue me. / am no stickler for
forms. and am not advocating ths. =.
newly-created citizens be reouirea :.
don red, white and blue. star-su.s,,..
robe to solemnize the occasion.
I do believe that the labors.o,v ii
American citizenship should be -.
proachably honor-white in its me,,,s.
and probity. Let me present a uic,r~
Of conditions with which I hsnns,.,
to come in intimate acquaintance
I know a candidate for cit;zs,.,.
who came down to tho naturalis,.;,.
court at 9 a. M, tn, classical hon, :.
which governmental business eo-
mences. He found a line Of for,
other applicants for "frst pan.,, :,
After joining the tail Of the proc..,,.
and waiting for some time q ,,,,..
curt voice from the interior san..r,
was heard to call out: "No more a.,
papersl. Goodby!" No world Of A.
planation, but abrupt, discourteou. A.
missal. The line Of waiting men sin
maintained it's position in a sort :.
dumb, outraged apathy, and a ra,b.,
corpulent gentleman" then mads II,
appearance-with hat on head and :,
cigar in his mouth--and beloved an.
with unbending steraness: "That's ,p /
for to-day! Come again to-morrow
Those seekers of American citizenshi,
who speak broken English and whom
the mere semblance of authority ..,.
rifles, broke ranks and went hmm,
These men have sacrificed TINA fro,
work, and If their persistence ia u,.
broken and if they can afford it tb,,
will try again. The others give uu
hopeless resignation.
My friend is a college man. who MI,
grated to this country when he wa, 70.
two years of age. Unless you believs
IN prenatal influence you cannot dit.
ferentiate him from an out and m.
American citizen. He has the Amer.
can zest for Square DEAL" and hs /
came up to expostulate with the ssid /
official, but gained no satisfaction. r. /
later observed, however, that belatsj
newcomer, also a candidate for citizen.
ship, but having the COMPANY AM I
pull" Of lawyer or politician, gc
immediate service. Ny friend had nA
come five times in order to secure hi, !
"hrst papers," and he learned from e.. h
perience that in order to get pls,.
In line he must come with the scrub.
women, at 7 in the morning, and then
"harg around" IN the ill-ligh.ed hall 70.
two hours or more waiting for tho a.
gust dispensers OF citizenship to A.
rive. One man on tho line alleged ths.
ne had come seventeen times for BIZ
citizen papers.
The spirit of Americanism should I
rot be cheap mouthing and thin vspor
Let US start cleaning house at the bot /
tom-the threshold Of American cit.
zenship! SIS
Brooklyn, March 4, 1920.