In our quest for nationalism, we stand aghast at the task before us. About one seventh of our population is foreign born, and about one third is of foreign-born or mixed parentage. It is no small assimilative task to preserve the best in the traditions, beliefs, standards, and points of view of these peoples for the strengthening of America, and to give them enough of America’s ideals to make them strong citizens of a democratic country. Mr. Carl Snyder is authority for the statement that one half of all the aliens that have come to America are still alive. Despite the volumes written on the subject, we do not yet know whether this is a good or bad thing for America. The test has not yet been applied. The war is giving us a breathing spell to find out and to define a policy which will insure Americanism. In the absence of any constructive policy or clear national purpose we can predict little for the future. This we do know, that every government but our own has a national purpose which it is carrying out in America with its own subjects--naturalized or alien--through its representatives and agents, its publications, institutions, and business interests. America alone in its own territory has a negative procedure and is without a policy. We are concerned chiefly with those we can keep out or send back. Once an alien is admitted there is no system of protection, distribution, and assimilation; no specific inducements to citizenship; no encouragement to acquire a home stake in America. Sectional and specific interests compete for what the immigrant has to offer; the parent government keeps an eye on the new arrival and helps him in distress. The Federal government alone remains silent and indifferent. It is true we have the beginning of such a system in several departments. It is encouraging that the Bureau of Naturalization has changed its attitude and is now being of some service to aliens who have applied for citizenship. For the many years of its existence, prior to 1915, this Bureau had not in any way encouraged or urged educational assistance for the prospective citizen. There is in the Bureau of Education a Division of Immigrant Education which for the past two years has been carrying on important educational work among immigrants. The educational work of these bureaus does not receive adequate support or authority and has not so far been considered as an essential part of real preparedness. The vision and faith and effort of these officials is not part of any strong defined policy; it is not coördinated with the government’s larger activities and could be wiped out to-morrow by a single order. It is makeshift, not policy.