The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip., September 01, 1925, Page 18, Image 18

Page Eighteen
THE UNITED AMERICAN
SEPTEMBER 1925
on a bet—not on any terms. And I won’t keep my marine, the civil service, the tariff, etc. The members
mouth shut. And you can go ahead with your scheme of these boards are experts who study the problems in
for Americanizing the foreigner who has the other their fields and advise the president.
gravel pit. And, more than that, you can all go to
Our presidents have ordinarily been men of superior
hell!”
ability, of strong leadership, of clean moral character
In his anger the farmer threw his hat to the floor, and of true patriotic devotion to our Country. A few,
stamped it into shreds, then strode out of the room. such as Lincoln, Roosevelt and Wilson, stand out as
But somehow the ruin of the hat did not seem funny. great men. However, in justice to other presidents it
Subsequently, the farmer made good his promise must be said that these men served in times when their
not to keep his mouth shut. Nor has he yet been opportunities for great service were very large. They
run out of the county. On the contrary, there is a rose well to these responsibilities. Other presidents
chance that a supervisor or two may shortly be run might also have come to be considered very great men
out instead.
had they been faced with as large problems. Industri­
This is a true story. I can lead you to that gravel ous, capable, well balanced men, such as our presidents
pit tomorrow.
have usually been, rise to the needs of any great re­
So, too, there is more that can be said about this sponsibility.
business of American life when we “see oursel’s as
Our executive system has aroused great interest in
others see us.” A deal more. But perhaps those two other countries. No other ruler is quoted so often, is
examples are enough. You will think of some others watched so carefully abroad, as our president. This is
that have come out of your own experience of life. because of his great power. How important it is, then,
You will know, as well as I, some of the rotten sides that we use exceedingly great care in selecting the men
of American life, just as you will know its pure and who serve us as our presidents. And we usually do.
splendid sides. Other countries too have their good No one ever charged Coolidge with being a politician.
and bad spots. The country the alien comes from He is merely a devoted, fearless, honest, moral, pains­
may be no better than ours. It may be worse. The taking, capable American citizen who makes duty a
alien himself may not be as fine a fellow as you and ruling power in his life. Because of these facts, we be­
I—or he may be finer!
lieve in him and gave him the largest majority a presi­
The point I want to make is that we cannot help­ dent has ever received. Every citizen of America should
fully “Americanize” this alien unless we offer him a hold the voting for president as his highest voting privi­
brand of American life to be “Americanized” into that lege and should hold it almost a sacred duty to use his
is better than the life he has just left behind. We vote to elect to the office only men of high character,
can teach him language and laws; customs and man­ men who are fearless for the right and men who believe
ners he will pick up himself. Finally, we can naturalize in and are deeply devoted to America.
him. But when it comes to life itself, in all its mani­
fold aspects, we have a different job ahead of us. We STUDY OF NATURALIZATION REQUIREMENTS
have got to begin with our own aggregate national
(Continued from Page Four)
life. Is all of it fit to teach ?
remain here for thirty or forty years without becoming
That is a fair question.
a citizen of the country. They enjoy the protection of
Charity begins at home.
our laws, the use of our courts, and many of the^
So does Americanization—as long as the alien has privileges and rights of citizens, without assuming
eyes and can see for himself.
any of the duties and obligations. There is great
need for educational work along this line, and the
BECOMING AN AMERICAN
work can best be done in the night schools. Every
(Continued from Page Eight)
alien should take advantage of the night schools in
to pardon persons convicted of crimes against United preparing himself for American citizenship.
States law.
THE VIRGIN’S WELL
He also controls all matters of foreign relations and
By MARY BRENT WHITESIDE, in the Forum
appoints all foreign ministers, is commander of our
Still Nazareth stands, a tinted cameo
military and naval forces and may begin war with a
In rose and ivory, on an azure shell,
foreign country if he thinks such action necessary. In
As though some doorway of the sun were low
time of war all of these duties are enormously in­
As nowhere else, above the virgin’s well.
creased.
The thin rills drip into a shallow pool.
Where dove-eyed women fill their earthen jars;
His executive assistants constitute his cabinet or
By day the clouds look down, remote and cool;
advisory body. These officers are the secretary of
At night it is a mirror for the stars.
state who advises as to relations with foreign countries,
This beauty is as frail as almond bloom,
the secretary of war, in control of the army, the secre­
Yet changeless and mysterious as death;
tary of the treasury who looks after our financial af­
It is a desolate flower on a tomb,
fairs, the attorney general, his legal adviser, the post­
This little, lonely town of Nazareth.
What hand shall offer here to lips of men,
master general and the secretaries of the navy, the in­
The living waters for a draught, again?
terior, agriculture, commerce and labor. All these of­
ficers are the advisers of the president about the work
To take charge of his new dry enforcement districts,
of their various departments. However, he is in no Colonel
Lincoln C. Andrews is looking for $100,000-a-year
sense forced to follow their advice. In addition there men to whom he will pay $7,500 a year to catch $500-a-year
are boards and commissions which look after commerce men who are making $100,000 in the rum business
—Detroit News
among the states, the national banks, the merchant