Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-09-04
Says Foreigners
Need Have No Fear
of Americanisn

New Bedford. Mass. Sept. 2-For-
eign nations which supply America
with immigrants need not be afraid
of Americanization in the opinion of
DR.. Ladislas Wroblewski, minister Of
Poland to the United States, who adj
dressed a mass demonstration of
Polish extraction of New Bedford,
Fall River and other communities to-
day. The immediate occasion of his
coming was to present medals won
by school children of foreign parent
age for excellence in reading English
i'll the contests annually conducted
by the New Bedford Standard.
My country trusts to American
ization." said Mr.. Wroblewski, in
concluding a discussion of the sub
ject. She sees In it's development
along the lines of the free American
spirit a real contribution toward the
better future of the world To us
who for a hundred and fifty years
were forced to endure classification
and GermaniZation which We'd with
each other in numbering human free
dom and degrading American dignity,
characterization comes as a relief
from nightmare; Americanization
which seeks to give the greatest pos
sible amount of legally organized
freedom to the largest number OF
men"
In his remarks leading up to this
conclusion, Dr.. Wroblewski said in
part:
Il cannot refrain from expressing
my admiration for the way in which
your authorities and organization
stretch forth a helping hand to those
who arrive here from other shores
The moment the difficult task, i'm
posed upon the administrative organs
supervising the entry of immigrants
is finished and the newcomer legally
admitted. your people offer him
sympathy and guidance in his am
bition TO achieve American citizen
ship.
This spirit Of good will shown to
immigrants is the secret of the mag
niticent display of patriotic fcrvor
amongst former aliens and their
children, which was witnessed on
Americas entry into the World War.
In this display of patriotism-you
VIII not grudge my mentioning this
Citizens of the Polish race We're
second to none.
ANY campaign, inside or outside
of America. against this process of
making patriots out of aliens would
be at once useless and. senselesS for
the success of Americanizatio is a
mystery which can be found only in
the depths of the American soul.
AS matter of course the learn
ing OF English, the common language
of the country, must play a promin-
ent part in any Americanization plan.
1t would be foolish not to realize how
Overwhelmingly important it is to
any country that all citizens know
the native tongue of the ma iority..
of course | cannot find any moral
or material weight in the argument
that the forgetting or neglect by the
Immigrant Of his native language
should be somehow a necessary or
desirable corollary of learning Eng
lish. Yours is the country, in which
the brotherhood of mankind has
perhaps its unique chance of at least
partial realization. The achievement
of this ideal can be enormously ia
cilitated if American citizens have a
knowledge of foreign languages. On
the other hand. is it not obvious that
the bonds uniting the immigrant
made American citizen and his child
rem to their chosen fatherland will
only be strengthened if he feels that
the language of his parents and of
his own children remain his natural
property which he alone can dispose
Of?
Il think it will perhaps interest
you, that in Poland of today, great
stress is laid on teaching English
and French.
Now if l try to grasp the problem
Of American zat ton from the point of
view of Poland, l must admit there
are some elements in our situation
which at first sight could justify a
certain apprehension Of the strong