Norwich bulletin., 1922-09-21
Humanity in Government
By James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor
 MAKING NEW AMERICANS

NOW LnereIOTe ye are no Inofo strangers and foreigners, but fellow citi- zens-" Ephesians, 2.1s.
 Vital to the welfare of every American is the work of making real American ci- izens out of the motley throng of aliens who have come to this country, seeking the opportunities which America prom ises. This is the task of the department of labor through the bureau of naturali- zation. We have in the United States today nearly 14,000,0 foreign born, and of these one-nalf have not yet accepted the privileges, duties and responsibilities of American citizenship. Upon the bu- reau Of naturalization rests the respon- sibilities for bringing these millions, aliens to our speech, our customs and our institutions, to the point where we can say to them, in the words of Paul the Apostle, Nov therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners but fel- low citizens"
 When a new baby comes into an Amer ican home, 1t is usually time of rejoic- ing All of the relatives are interested and take the first opportunity to see and in their own way welcome the little helpless stranger The baby is generally a force for good but it's potentialities are paramount, not at it's present power, strength, and ability to better the condi- tiens of the family.
 When an alien is admitted into Amer can citizenship, 1t should be a source oi pleasure to the family" He should be welcomed by his Uncle Sam" through his agents, who for this purpose be all the people. It is re-birth of the alien. He is more than a potential force for good te the country as whole. He is a present force. If he be clean morally, regardless is1Rr r., ing a citizen are selfish, his admission into the body polite is 8 decided acqui. sition. If in the old days slave was worth one thousand or fifteen hundred dol lars, who can overestImate the value of g 1 freeman who casts his lot with us?
 Naturalization is as old as the natior 1 itself In the Declaration of Independ ence we find as one of the grievances oi the colonies against the King of England that he "has endeavored to prevent tht population of these States; for that pur pose obstructing the laws for naturaliza l tion of foreigners When the colonieI had gained their independence they wrott
 also the Constitution Section of Articl 1 ! that Congress shall have power "To es 1 tablish 8 uniform rule of naturalization
 ." followed as natural sequence | the indictment referred to above in tn
 Declaration of Independence Then, pur suant to the authority conferred by tn I Constitution there followed quickly tn first naturalization law passed on Marc 26, 1790. History records that one of tn grounds on which we fought with Grea
 Britain in 1912 was that the right of ex | patriation from the native land and as sociation through naturalization with thi country was personal and inherent in tn Il Ind ixyfd hot fo IL right to adopt and protect as citizen l those foreign born who compiled with ou naturalization laws.
 T On June 2s, 1908. the existing natural
 ization statute. since amended Tn som
 slight respects. was approved. Prior f
 that time there had been little or no sur
 ervision and naturalization had fallen iE to national and to a degree an interna
 tienal scandal. In some instances it wa |; bought and sold; without compliane
 with law 1t was thrown as cloa
 around many who had but recently com
 to these United States and who possesse ! little or no knowledge of the institution
 of this country. In 1906 Congress estat
 lisheG for the first time workable. un form rule of naturalization and in add
 tfen established a federal force to COT trol and supervise it. The law ocean
 effective on September 27 of that yea
 and from that day naturalization cease to be a scandal and American citizenshi through the process of naturalization hs
 been raised to high standard IT government, recognizing the inability ! the courts to furnish personnel to invest
 gate the legal qualifications and nor,
 character of petitioners, provided fore
 of examiners to investigate the cases an thereafter report to the courts in ordt
 that the latter might. before they too
 action on the applications, be appraise
 of the worthiness or unworthiness fl American citizenship of the applicants 4 notice of each application for naturaliz;
 ton filed under the general provisions 1 the law must stand posted for at least {
 days. the government has the opportunii to conduct a careful investigation. has been the policy of the administrati1 branch of the government to assist to realization Of their desires, those wi meet the requirements of law and wi
 are morally qualified, but to endeavor see that those who do not possess u moral qualifications or those who do n meet the legal requirements, are denied : The naturalization law is a speci statute, passed for certain class ar under such circumstances those proceei 5 ing under it's provisions must comp : strictly herewith. It practically gives those born in foreign land the birtl right of Americans, with the exceptit of eligibility for the presidency and vi presidency.
 2 On May 3. 1918, congress passed Il f so-caned Soldier Act" by virtue 2 which approximately 170,oo0 foreif : born soldiers in the American army tiu
 fr9 a-.