Show americanization ameri cani lane 9 s message to industry when franklin K lane speaks the naion on listens for the secretary of the in bior has earned the respect of the public y clear thinking and well directed action his message to the men who control merican industry delivered before the americanization conference in n states the serious condition that our oui auntry faces due to our unassimilated population before an assembly comprising the governors of about one third of our states educators duca tors publicists and business men of he calibre of judge E H gary samuel lea ea coleman du pont font and howard coffin vigorous plea was made for the welding if our diverse races into one loyal amerian nation this paragraph is the keynote of his now there are several things which ve re have come upon recently which icem to hose of us who have not been wise to be discoveries lisco discoveries isco veries the first is that we have a reat body of our own people five and a alf millions who cannot read or write the language of this country that language s english and these are not all of for ign birth A million and a half are native orn the second is that we are drafting nto our army men who cannot understand the he orders that are given them to read the rhe third is that our man power is deficient because our education is deficient he fhe fourth is that we ourselves have failed 0 o realize why it was that they came here nd md what they sought we have failed to understand rider stand their definition of liberty danger within this then is our danger within the liens not yet americanized ignorance of pur our language bars them from becoming becci ilg loyal americans and the foreign language ress press only too often distorts the truth in the e interest of some propaganda hostile bostil ic to merica america and its institutions this is an evil condit condition ibn in time of peace bace and a direct menace in time of war var I 1 it t is such a condition that led to tho the downfall of russia which because of its ignorance and its lack of national unity became the he dupe of political adventurers and german an agents it is a menace that we are drafting into our army men who cannot read weir their orders ers or understand the military signals I 1 it is a menace that our industries are largely carried on by foreign laborers who care are nothing for our success in this war and lid are therefore not putting their best efforts into the daily work decreased production labor troubles luch ch as strikes or sabotage and ac accidents iti industry due to ignorance all con constitute st itule a in menace enace for anything that curtails urt alls the supply of food or clothing or munitions to our troops is as dangerous as german bullets develop loyalty fortunately the remedy is in the hands of the patriotic leaders of industry it is up to them to develop a spirit of loyalty to america among their foreign born em aloyes and the employers can do it very effectively they can first of all encourage the learning of the english language among their employed emp loyes that may be through classes in the plants such as henry ford developed in m detroit or it may be in cooperation with the local schools enlarging their scope so that the adult foreigners can have every facility to acquire our language at present such schools receive scanty consideration in the americanization conference it was stated by dr wheaton of the U S bureau of education that in fort wayne was spent last year in teaching german as against only f for or teaching english and citizenship to hor armi mi grants in philadelphia was pent for the german courses and only for english and citizenship in columbus was spent teaching german and nothing for teaching our own language to the adult foreigners reverse the figures the big employers of labor in a city can bring their inal influence bence to bear on the local board of education to reverse figures like those quoted above surely it is for the safety and welfare of american industry that our workers should understand directions for work safety instructions and signs and that they should not require foremen who speak a foreign language in order to do their work properly many employers have found the knowledge of english such a valuable addition to the workers efficiency that increased pay or promotion are given to those who other firms have learn the language c lasses classes in the plant on company time and regard this measure as business efficiency not as philanthropy instruction in the duties of citizens citizenship hip should go hand in hand with the teaching of english the advantages of becoming n naturalized should be brought home to the alien and he should be enciu encouraged raged to take be taught the should and out first papers legal forms tor for securing final papers patriotism to the land of their adoption can be stimulated amo among ng foreign employed emp loyes noonday noon day talks in the factories patriotic posters liberty bo bond nd and thrift stamp campaigns will develop loyalty if the employers persist in americanization work and are not satisfied with a brief and spasmodic mod ic eff effort ort patriotic literature and speeches in the native language of the immigrant ivill se be cure the attention of those who have n not oa L yet learned english fair play always but all the patriotic utterances will 1 bo wasted effort unless at the same time the spirit of fair play is observed in our dealings with the alien employed emp loye instead of discriminating against him he should be regarded as a guest of the nation and an asset to our manpower man power if he is housed in slum tenement or shanties he will have little love for a land that treats him like cattle if he is tinder underpaid der paid overdriven over driven and socially ignored he cannot feel the affection for america that will cause him to work for it and sacrifice for it all this is ap longer theoretical nor is it to be classed as philanthropy charity welfare work or some effort at paternalism on the part of a kindhearted kind hearted employer s it is a straight S business proposition tain successful and practical business nen men realized this years ago and took steps accordingly not so much because their hearte were soft as because their heads were hard they found it good business to keep their employed emp loyes at their best just as it is good business to keep the plant buildings in repair and the machinery in running order reduces accidents here is one reason for americanization the knowledge of english reduces the danger of accidents 1 I should be afraid to estimate the aggregate amount of waste each year to this company through a non english speaking operatives failing to understand an order with a resultant costly blunder I 1 have known a single blunder to cost as much as 2000 then there are thousands paid out for injuries many of which may be tracer directly to the inability of the em aloye to understand english reported by the efficiency engineer of the semet solvay company of detroit to be continued may |