Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1920-10-12

not ceased until we have made of hin, not only q
hrst-cass' soldier but a high-sprited well-edu-
Gated American citizen" = - -
All this is encouraging; every thinking man
knows that one Of the most serious Questions IN
our national life is teracy in its various forms
and with its various ramtcatiOnS. When the
Americanization bill before the last session Of;
congress it was shown that twentyfOur and nike
, eleyenths per cent Of our soldiers could not read
write or speak the English language It was
further stated that there are over 100000 people
in this country over ten years OF age who can
neither read write nor speak the English language
and that at least So per cent of them are native
born. This is a good many people. S&1at0r Ken
yon helped us realize this vast army of Illiterates
by saying one day:
Mr. President, if the iterates and the Noreign
born who can not speak our language should be
reviewed from stand in front, of the White
House, marching by two abreast and marching %
miles day, 1t would take two months of solid
marching for them to pass the reviewing stand"
This fact is particularly important Just now
because as. someone has said:
"DiscOntent is mumbng and Violence Isl ranting
on all sides America is on trial before 10000
soap boxes; chaos is everywhere seeking recruits
from the ranks of misunderstanding and nliteracy
Illiteracy is pckahd- shovel estate alife sentence
to mentality Democracy may not have fixed
classes and survive. IAN outbreak. of hoof-and-
ulSedSG "Ouu COIipef INSTANT remedial fdWS
and funds to contain the menace within bounds
1t is"even more incumbent upon US TO defend
healthy citizenship against civic incapables. If
hundred million Of stand together we must
think together and that without foreign accent"
Former Secretary of the Interior Franklin K
Lane put the thing in nutshell when he said
IAN uniformed democracy is not democracy"
This uniformed democracy is to be pitied The
thousands of misguided men today in America
in a tO he pitip6 A Some
said ..
They do not know the purposes of America
for they have had no opportunity ITO learn. They
do not know that this is in fact the land of the
poor boy; that men have given their lives that
the doors of opportunity might ever be open to
the children of tomorrow; that the opportunities
for their children are the best of any nation on
earth Our country is to blame because the chance
has not been presented for them to know. Many
of them are eager to know America for them
selves and for their children. If they cannot
read or speak understand the American Ian
guage, how can they know the wonderful stories
of opportunity in this country? How can they
understand the heights to which their children
may attain in this land of freedomY
"Boys of foreign birth have gone out to fight for
the nation just loyalty as those who were
born in this country The long rolls of honor of
those who have been left on the fields of France
contain the names of nearly every nationality on
earth. There Is good material here for American
zation. The melting pot cannot boil unless there
is fuel under it, and that fuel is education"
SO what the United States army is doing is Just
so much fuel under the melting pot.
Take trip down to Camp Grant, for instance
where few years ago the national army was in
the process of hasty manufacture. Here recently
were TO be found general staff officers by the doz-
en- Major General Crowder was there SO was
Secretary of War Baker.
hn,1
normal school graduating class which for one
month had been meeting to prepare for the work
of educating the soldier. There were over 1000
of them women as well as men
This fall they will be distributed among our
army camps, and the modern regular will go to
school. Enlistments are for either one three
years. Each II months officials expect to turn
back into civil life 100000 mltarily and vocation
ally educated men.