Aliens or Americans?Grose, Howard B. (Howard Benjamin)
Religion
Aliens or Americans?
Grose, Howard B. (Howard Benjamin)
Noncitizens -- United States; United States -- Emigration and immigration
As to the economic effects of unrestricted immigration, the stock
argument that it costs a foreign country a thousand dollars to raise a
man, and that, therefore, every immigrant is that much clear money gain
to this country, simply begs the question of the usefulness of the
immigrant and the country's need of him. Many immigrants are not worth
what it cost to raise them, to their native land or any other; and at
any rate, a man is only of value where he can fit into the community
life and do something it needs to have done. Another naive claim is that
every mouth that comes into the country brings with it two hands, the
assumption being that there is necessarily work for the two hands. If
not, then there is an extra mouth to be fed at somebody else's expense.
The real question is one of demand and quality.
[Sidenote: Effects upon Education]
What effect has immigration had, and what is it likely to have, upon our
national educational policy? The parochial school is opposed to the
public school; the parochial school is Roman, the public school
American. The parochial schools could not secure scholars but for
immigration. The Roman Catholic Church is persistently trying to get
appropriations of public money for parochial schools, although well
aware that this is directly contrary to the fundamental American
principle of absolute separation of Church and State; and is relying
upon the foreign vote to accomplish this un-American purpose. Here is an
illustration of the conditions made possible through unchecked
immigration and the wielding of this immigration by priestly influence:
[Sidenote: Baneful Results in Illinois]
In Illinois the foreign element outnumbers the native in voting power.
In consequence compulsory education in the public schools of that state
was voted down by a legislature pledged to obey the dictum of the
foreign element. Where the priests wield the foreign element in favor of
the parochial schools, it is not possible to pass a bill for compulsory
education in the English language.
[Sidenote: Parochial Schools in Pennsylvania]
The striking fact is given by Dr. Warne[81] that in parochial schools
for the Slav children in Pennsylvania, English is not taught, and the
children are growing up as thoroughly foreign and under priestly
control as though they were in Bohemia or Galicia.
[Sidenote: A Real Menace to the Republic]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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