New Britain herald., 1923-01-30
FACIAL CLIBs

The school board has real hFnh
 lem before Il as to the proper slsn'
 in regard to racial clubs, Judge E. r
 Gaffney objects to any move to place
 the committee on record as ln any Wal
 fayoring separating members Of nn'
 one race rom members of another. ol
 giving official recognition 10 club
 which draw the racial line Of de'
 markation. commitieeman F. F
 King. on the other hand, sees condi' tion. not theory, and thinks that such clubs will exist and should be instructed by the city, not ignored.
 We must start with the proposition that we are intensely interested in the foreign-born. tho people who would be and are members or these different clubs. And we must believe that these numbers want 10 become good Ameri- can citizens understanding American ideals and customs. If good faith is admitted on the part Of the city ed- ucational authorities and on the part of members of these various organi- cations. it would seem that some way of accomplishing the desired result, found.
 Possibly consideration of what we ourselves would do if we went to a foreign country intending to settle there, might help to solve the question. If we went to France for instance, knowing little of the language, little of French customs and traditions it would seem that we would enjoy join ing clubs made up only of Americans, but it would seem, also, that we would realize we could not get fully into the spirit of the country by limit ing our studies to those suggested by a group of Americans. If we were honestly eager to become good French citizens we would seek some French organization where arrangements were made for a native-bo Frenchman to instruct us in French customs and traditions and ideals. Moreover we would realize that if we stuck to some American club over there, and Frenchman came to talk to us, we would be quite likely to join with our American club members in smiling at the unfamiliar ways, the new ideals, perhaps, as presented to us by that man of France. We would not be able, in other words, to imbibe the true French spirit as thoroughly as we would if we were surrounded either by French people in the club, or by natives of other countries to whom the French manners, traditions, ideals and customs were as strange as they were to us. The more time we devoted to our American clubs, the farther we would get away from the French spirit and the more intense would become our AHerlCanlSIl.
 It is difficult to put ourselves in the position of wanting to forget Ameri- can ideals and to replace them with those of another nation But if we do this thing, and allow our imagina- tion to put ourselves in the position of foreign. born people desiring to be- come good American citizens--a most worthy desire and one which we, of course, are able to understand-we may see that the best course for this city would be to encourage teaching of American ideals and laws and cus- toms to those unfamiliar with them, without giving official recognition to racial clubs. Such organizations should not be frowned down upon; they will continue to exist. But they should not be encouraged by official recogni- tion with the result that their mem bers might become banded together They. the honest ones, want to become Americans. We want them to be Americans. We should not consider their former affiliations in our instruction of them. It is tremendously important matter--one of the great problems of the day and ,ne that must be correctly solved.
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