Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-02-19
AMERICANIZATION BY
NIGHT school,. WORK
Continued from front page)

found 1t nara TO make a living Ill
their own country from whom come
the best of our immigrants. They are
make good citizens. To be fair to
them and to be in a position to do
the most possible for them we must
see America as they see it. They
have left home, land and friends, re-
latives and all of those things that
mean most to them, and come over
here, to make a new start in life.
They are anxious to learn all that
they can about us, they want to do as
we do, they want to be like us, they
want to become a part OF us and 20
call this country their own. One of
our immigration officials tells story
which; brings out this attitude of
theirs very clearly.
The story follows: "The other day
a woman from Bohemia, brilliant in
he blue of her eyes and her shaw
to match, brought me the most ex
quisitely stitched diminutive Ameri
can flag l have ever seen in my life
She had already been admittd, and
it was merely case of waiting foi
some expected funds SO that she
might take up Der journey to the
golden West. But in her spare mo-
ments here she had chosen to stitch
together, in the most minute fashion
his miniature American flag, perfect
in design, and so delicate that the
human eye could scarcely detect the
handiwork when she showed it to me.
| asked her what it meant.
1T is the flag Of my new country,
she said of our country?' I asked
quickly trying to see through her
eyes.
Yes of Lincoln
And Washington and Hamilton /
ventured.
She looked puzzled. Il do not know
them,' she said. But Lincoln-ah, we
all know Lincoln-ah, we all know
Lincoln he was a father
Then l stopped Could anything be
simpler? Lincoln himself was like
that, in his splendid simplicity. OF
other Americans she knew nothing
this woman of Bohemia, but of Lin
coln-yes, they "all' know Lincoln
from all parts of the world. And sc
strangely it is with every immigrant
who has caught in advance name
from our history. 1t is always Lin
coin who is the living America
could we be more blessed appearing
thus through their eyes?"
This woman is a representative OF
the immigrants of today. They are
honest and Industrious; they have
been driven by the stress of econo
mic conditions to leave their owl
lands and seek new home here
They look to this country as the lane
of opportunity; they think of us as
they do of Lincoln, as being honest
Id1f anu JUST, duu VI IAio 40 q p1oOS
of peace and plenty with equal chan
ces for all. Perhaps they have dream
ed too much; however that may be
we must meet them fairly and square
": we must uncover our great socia
and economic problems little by lit
tie TO them; we must study with
them the history of our past and the
lives of the men who helped to make
this nation; we must show them how
our forefathers fought and struggled
i'm the early days, how the millions
of immigrants who came here in the
mast. believed in the destiny of this
people and gave their best efforts tt
make this nation great and prosper
Gus. They must be- led to see the
nroblems of our government and the
necessity of their learning to under
stand them so that when they are
given the rights and responsibilities
of citizenship they will want to vote
right and they will know something
of how they ought to vote.
First impressions and views are
lasting, hence the Importance OF get
ting our prospective citizens on the
RIGHT road from the beginning. The