Americanization; Citizenship; Speeches, addresses, etc.
You, Knights of Columbus, are particularly fitted to play a great part
in the movement for national solidarity, without which there can be
no real efficiency in either peace or war. During the last year and a
quarter it has been brought home to us in startling fashion that many
of the elements of our nation are not yet properly fused. It ought
to be a literally appalling fact that members of two of the foreign
embassies in this country have been discovered to be implicated in
inciting their fellow-countrymen, whether naturalized American citizens
or not, to the destruction of property and the crippling of American
industries that are operating in accordance with internal law and
international agreement. The malign activity of one of these embassies
has been brought home directly to the ambassador in such shape that
his recall has been forced. The activities of the other have been set
forth in detail by the publication in the press of its letters in
such fashion as to make it perfectly clear that they were of the same
general character. Of course, the two embassies were merely carrying
out the instructions of their home governments.
Nor is it only the German and Austrians who take the view that as a
matter of right they can treat their countrymen resident in America,
even if naturalized citizens of the United States, as their allies
and subjects to be used in keeping alive separate national groups
profoundly anti-American in sentiment if the contest comes between
American interests and those of foreign lands in question. It has
recently been announced that the Russian government is to rent a house
in New York as a national center to be Russian in faith and patriotism,
to foster the Russian language and keep alive the national feeling in
immigrants who come hither. All of this is utterly antagonistic to
proper American sentiment, whether perpetrated in the name of Germany,
of Austria, of Russia, of England, or France or any other country.
RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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