Amerikai Magyar hirlap = American Magyar journal. [volume] (Youngstown, Ohio) 1911-1942, 1922-06-29

ers and a sister from Wales at the /,
age of eight years. My father had
come to the United States previously
and had sent back to Wales money to
pay for the transportation in steerage
Of the family which he had left be-
hind him when he sought better
things in the new world. My first ex-
perience in this land of liberty was
trailing along beside my mother
vainly endeavoring to find the two
feather-beds which had been the pride
of the family and which had become
lost in the shuttle at the then immi-
grant station, Castle Garden. To add
to the confusion some shark had re-
lieved my mother also of what little
money she had. Altogether with the
experiences which had with the fam
lily as immigrants, and as foreign
citizens, during the years | worked
in the mills with my father, and liv-
ing all my life among aliens and inn
migrants Of many nationalities, grad
ually working up through the ranks,
| can speak sympathetically on the
needs of the alien from his viewpoint
as we'll as with consideration as to
serving the best interests.of the Re-
public
We have among US 100000 who
were born in other countries and who
for that reason are called foreigners,
although more than half of them are
no longer technically alien. Every
citizen, native or foreign born, owes
duty to the alien and to the govern
ment to reach cut and embrace in
their patriotic work the helping of
these foreign born out of poverty and
ignorance into enlightenment and
good citizenship.
We must keep in mind an earnest
and practical effort toward the bet
terment of our country. We have been
freely admitting these newcomers.
We have been giving them a prelimi-
nary welcome and after that we have
been forgetting them. The truth is
that the function of admitting these
newcomers is but the merest begin
ming of our duties toward them We
should see that they receive an educa-
ton in our glorious history. We must
teach them our language, our habits,
our customs. We must open theif
minds to a proper appreciation of
what a privilege it is to be a citizen
of our country. We cannot go on per-
mitting these wanderers from unhap-
py lands to remain in this rich coun-
try as unhappy as they were before.
When nearly tenth of our popula-
ton remains inignorance Of the great
country all about them the rest of us
must take them in hand if we our
selves are to wear the proud name of
American citizens.
| We must first of all make and keen
a roster of these strangers All good
American citizens register themselves
regularly for the purpose of being
counted and identified when it comes
to exercising the right of the ballot.
Just as these good citizens register
and cheerfully pay their country fee
for the privilege of voting so we
should ask these newcomers to leave
their names with US so that we may
know where they are and be able to
reach them with our helpful efforts.
Let me say at once that this enroll
ment is not at all for the purpose of
spying upon these people. We want
only to help them. Yet we cannot ask
Americans to pay the cost of the ed
A ucational system we need and want to
! set up for the betterment of these