| Show citizenship CITIZENS IP dramatized DRA MAT IN CLASS C LA SS wisconsin savants savanis Sa plan demonstrates democracy for new voters by PRESCOTT WALDEN its something like when you ou hear a band playing and marching down the street you almost tingle with excitement cit ement when you acqua actually ily realize that the future of your country is as much your business as A bright eyed 21 year old girl at manitowoc wis speaking up her way thanks to an idealistic university professor named dr R J colbert democracy is being dramatized for odd boys and girls who become actual flesh and blood united states citizens on may 21 0 citizens already yes they were born that way most of them but for or several years dr colbert has told his university of wisconsin extension class that this country needs something to enliven citizenship participation theres too much IM PLANS FATHER dr R J colbert fit at his desk in the extension division of the university of wisconsin madison read ing stacks of mail received each day VY asking information on the citizenship plan taken for granted too little atle interest manifested in the government our forefathers sweated and died tor for idea catches fire J last fall at manitowoc dr col berts idea caught fire A newspaper man left the class went back to his bis desk and wrote an editorial judge A H schmidt proposed that dr Co lberts class sponsor the project A L director of the manitowoc vocational schools school was drafted as general chairman heres how bow the idea works every new citizen in manitowoc county received a personal invitation vi to 0 join a citizenship class 33 38 classes in all being formed for the past five months these groups have been meeting under local and university instructors hearing bearing county and municipal officials businessmen and schoolteachers school teachers on may 21 all wm will gather at manitowoc where for probably the first time in the united states every young man and woman in the county turning 21 will be inducted into citizenship and will swear to the chief justice of wisconsin an oath of allegiance to the national constitution and the state of wisconsin bands will play flags will fly in the lake breezes president clarence A dykstra will speak 10 minutes and gov julius P heil will present to the chaiem chairman an of each of the 38 citizenship classes the certificates tift of tor for their groups with that simple ceremony the boys ind and girls of manitowoc county will become citizens of the united states made statewide state wide plan theres something about it must be ins chief justice told the milwaukee journal that there are today literally millions of people P le who would give everything eveia thing they possess be it great or small for the privilege of calling themselves american citizens we who are born under the flag bag should be at least equally appreciative of the privileges and opportunities we freely enjoy within a few weeks after the plan was initiated ins state legislature unanimously passed a bill making it mandatory tor for country school superintendents to see that similar programs are set up in each county every year and when he finds time to return to his office dr colbert is greeted by of mail from all parts of the country asking information about the project its apparently clicked and one very good reason is that most americans consider democracy on trial today an institution which can exist only if citizens learn to fight for it to dramatize it like the dictators have dramatized totalitarianism whipping up of an eagle scream ing sort of americanism false patriotism is not the aim says dr colbert emphasize local government what we hope to do is acquaint the new citizens with their govern 7 R 0 A s 0 X W S 4 7 EYES ON THE BALLOT BOX anxious to exercise their voting privilege yet not so anxious as to forget its sig significance are these new voters at two rivers wis who are shown reaching toward a sample box during one of the manitowoc county classes born in the great war era they are among the manitowoc county groups being schooled in what the american form of government means both in theory and practice ment because most ot of the tax dollar is spent at home our emphasis is placed on the local unit of government we try to show them how they can get the most out ot of their government if we can encourage and stimulate discussion and inspire and create a a L more dynamic enthusiasm in governmental affairs I 1 believe we shall have made a big step toward our goal the manitowoc plan has been directed toward the young voter but the seeds of the campaign have already blown far afield we have finally succeeded says dr colbert in dramatizing citizenship in such a way that practically everybody is becoming cit citizenship iz enship conscious people who have voted for years as a matter of habit are awakening to realize what tremendous force an elect electorate e can an wield 1 I cant help helb but bui feel that we have in our hands here an idea that can if pro P erly developed into the most healthy movement that ever took root in our country requires demonstration projects dr colbert ceibert takes this success in stride wisconsin is an air adopted home to him has been for 20 years he is one of the few persons with a joint doctorate de degree 9 iee in the three branches of social sciences economics political science and sociology this is important only because tt it shows hes d a mixture i of the academician and practical tica 1 applicator a man to whom public administration Is something ang of a fetish betish for several years as head ot of the university of ins extension sociology division hes been conducting roundtables round tables in cities throughout the state making each group adopt a major project as a demonstration of how they can participate in public affairs and how they can help solve some of the problems in that field citizenship day at manitowoc is the outgrowth of one of f those broj acts or dr colbert chuckles as i he ha befalls how bow the idea was suggested to other groups before he be went to 0 manitowoc Manito woe not from him but from other sources you can leam that these other cities are quite peeved with themselves tor for missing a golden opportunity that manitowoc Manito woe snapped up between tearing open his letters dr colbert will recall for the visitor at his bis quiet office to in madison how he came of age quite a number of years ago there was no fuss about it he simply reached 21 ind and became a voter automatically which is about the experience of every other native born citizen learning most important strange then jt that we have many classes rituals and ceremonies tor for naturalized citizens who become voters why not something for native born bom citizens as will well however being an educator pro fessor colbert problem from an educational standpoint he realized that the learning was more important than the graduation although there was a definite place for both so he be worked out his program in sucha manner as to stress its educational end and yet have a dignified and appropriate ceremony to climax it thus citizenship day was conceived he stresses again and again that this is an objective program strictly positive there are no negative isms iams this is a program program of amert amerl not anti other isms iams professor colberth Co lberts idea is to make americanism so interesting anade that young americans and others too will not have any time for foreign isms iams which it if you ask the manon the street is what america needs a dam sight more than a good five cent cigar released by western newspaper union |
