THE UNITED AMERICAN
S
city that almost lost its American identity and tempo
rarily at least ceased to be an American unit, politi
cally.
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America’s West is quite a ways from America’s
East, but there are noticeable inroads of European
aliens to our western cities of the kind we would much
prefer to have less of. These immigrants quickly
acquire a workable knowledge of the I. W. W. prin
ciples and become quite proud of their “red” proclivi
ties and ditto membership cards. The reason for this
is that there are dozens of trained I. W. W. workers
in the field, for every single Americanization spokes
man, actually taking any interest in the incoming im
migrants.
If half of the people who embrace the philosophy
of Americanization, around luncheon tables, in clubs
and even as features of vari-colored entertainments,
were to go out into actual Americanization work, as
far as their time would permit, present conditions
would be materially improved.
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If we could arouse enough public interest to have
our public school system respond to our requirements
of adult immigrant education, as part of our educa
tional system, with every civic agency available, or
ganized to encourage and help bring to the school
room every alien of our city, the I. W. W. would lose
his base and his work would be ineffective.
Every school house in the city should stand avail
able for adult immigrant night school classes in every
sector or center of the city nearest to any number of
resident aliens sufficient to constitute a class.
If it is agreed that this would be a most desirable
and practical solution of the alien problem in the
American city it should furnish food for thought that
Portland, Oregon, is spending less for public educa
tion among adult immigrants than any city of its
size in America. The reason is not that we have a
proportionately smaller quota of aliens in need of
American education in this city, but because we have
too many indifferent American citizens within our
midst who permit the alien antagonists to control
the machinery of public education.
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Every American has a perfect right to pursue the
mental course consistent with his state of mental
development. The basis for his intolerant reasoning
may be traced, however, to the influence association
brings. By the same analogy we arrive at a reason
ably accurate conclusion in tracing the cause to the
manifestations of radicalism among immigrants too
new in this country to be even remotely familiar on
first hand with the America institution they are
mentally warring against.
This leads us definitely to the source of our many
domestic difficulties. The better part of our citizenry
is too preoccupied with business and idle social ac
tivities to take an interest in constructive social ac
tivities and community, state and NATIONAL
POLITICS, the foundation upon which rests the
superstructure of our form of government.
Our form of government was intended as an instru
ment to the attainment of the ideal state, composed
AUGUST, 1923
of thinking and intelligent citizens who would con
tinue to give their thought to government as much as
to their personal interests. In this we have more or
less failed, because personal interests have become
the all absorbing and actually taxing problem of life
to all our so-called successful citizens to the exclu
sion of any serious interest in our political affairs of
state and nation. The result is that in our form of
government with its flexible institutions, based on
equal rights and eual opportunities, the pendulum is
constantly swinging from one extreme to another.
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That we have as yet been unable to meet all the
complicated and novel situations arising out of our
restriction regulations, in order to be as humanly
fair as justice to others, and at the same time safety
to ourselves, demand, should cause no true Ameri
can citizen any great deal of mental qualm.
America must first play safe before it is charit
able.
The oppressed of the world can not all find place in
our “asylum” or the asylum would be no longer. It is
therefore proper that a logical method of selection be
applied, and, if need be, the placard temporary placed
at the asylum gate bearing this simple legend : “Due
to overcrowded and congested condition this asylum
has been temporarily closed.”
Unless we have a general awakening among our
citizens and a general support of a nationwide Amer
icanization movement whereby we can assimilate the
immigrants we choose to admit, and help to make
them coordinated units in our American scheme of
things, the day will soon be here when the sensible
restrictionists and the Americanization elements will
loose their combined strength, and then for the only
reason that public sentiment did not sustain their
plans. Then the day of the exclusionist will be here,
and too late we will realize that because we were in
different to the application of practical and sensible
remedies, America may have to declare a state of
“quarantine” upon itself to keep the incurable con
tagion, that is following in the wake of the present-
day immigration, away from our doors.
Will the exclusionists have the stronger power, or
will the thought of sensible restriction and the will to
Americanize have sufficient public backing to influ
ence the immigration legislation that will be pre
sented to the next congressional assembly, convening
next fifth of December?
Coming events will contain the answer.
If our present-day Americans would follow in the
footsteps of our immigrant forefathers and the early Ameri
can born children of foreign born parents, instead of in the
footsteps of the clowns and dancing masters of the modern
school of American fraternal politics, we would presently have
enough worthy examples among the native Americans to help
guide right the newly admitted immigrants who are every
where trying to find that better America by which they might
some day be able to properly acquire that which too many
aliens improperly obtain—citizenship.
Those who so freely accuse others of thinking more
of their creed and religion than of their country seem to be
the very ones who are perfectly willing to let the country go
to perdition in the interest of their fanatical fraternal creeds.