Evening star., 1923-03-12
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

The Secretary OF Labor. Mr.. Davis,
Is desirous Of furthering the cause
of the education and Americaniza-
tion Of immigrants, and to that end
he proposes organizing them into
what he ineptly calls a Castle Gar
den" association, or, rather. he pro-
poses that the members be dubbed
the Castle Gardeners"
The intention is laudable, but will
the method produce the result aimed
at?
The name appears Objectionable to
many who have no desire to become
or be known as gardeners" Of any
kind. They object. therefore, to be-
ing advertised to their neighbors as
Castle Gardeners"
Swedes, Germans. French. Aus
trians. Poles. Irish, Italians-did they
each other or because they were fired
with an ambition to become Ameri-
cans? Call these proud new Amerl-
cans Castle Gardeners" and many
VIII take 1t as sneer and taunt
rather than an honor 1t sets them
|
not Castle Gardeners" but native
citizens The bane Of Americaniza-
tion is to group the aliens into a
class by themselves-a little less
than Americans. That forces them to
use their native language rather than
absorbing through contact the ideas
and tongue of America.
X y X y
Castle Gardeners! At least one
United States senator and many very
prominent and wealthy citizens en-
tered America through Castle Gar
den, but would they feel honored to
be introduced now in the ordinary
contacts of business or social life as
Castle Gardeners? The more their
early privation can be effaced from
their memories or from the memorie es
OF their associates the better Ameri-
cans they feel themselves to be.
OF course, If their success in life
and fortune becomes SO outstanding
that they can afford to look back over
the long road of hardship. a few will
boast Of being self-made or of hav-
Ing come up even through Castle
Garden, but where one attains that
eminence million remain strugglers
all their lives and see nothing to brag
about in their having entered Amer
lea In poverty and remained in COM
paratiVe poverty most of their lives.
x !; X
Americans have been accused, or
at least suspected, by Europeans Of
feeling a bit superior to other ma
tionalities. There is little enough
reason for any such "uppishness
We have enough to be ashamed of,
as we'll as to be proud of. in America.
But there is no justification in any
attitude OF patronizing the men and
women who come to our shores, as
came even our ancestors. eager to
better their fortunes.
teachers of Connecticut are children
Of Castle Gardeners. They are in
structing native Americans.
Many an immigrant becomes a bet
ter patriot than are some natives.
Two boys were twitting each other
about their parentage. One was an
! adopted child, the other was proud
that the father and mother in his
home were his very own parents.
"Humpth! Your parents don't love
real" son. you're just adopted;
your parents aren't your own par
ents"
'Ye-e-s. Mine are my adopted par
ents. Your parents had to take you;
mine chose me. That shows how
much they love me-"
The man who chose to come half
around the world to become an
American is prouder of his adopted
country than some natives can un-
derstand. Don't twit him of being a
Castle Gardener" of being only IAN
adopted SON.
X X X x
But the immigrant who lives here
ten. twenty or thirty years and makes
no effort to learn the language of the