Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 261, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 November 1920 — Americanism [ARTICLE]

Americanism

By LEONARD WOOD

Ono country, one conatituUon. on* daatiny.—Daniel Wobetar: Speech March 14, 1537. COUNTRY." There la 9 _ VJ whole sermon In thee* tw* words emphasized they were by the eloquence of Webster and understood in all their meat of meaning by those who heard them and by those who later read them. Americanization has to do first with the foreign born who come to our shores and of those native born who need the lesson, “On* Country." There can be no double allegiance. The native born who need an understanding of this truth are those who. put the flag of some fallacy which they call an ideal above the flag of their country. In this sense their allegiance is dual. They are dreamers rather than patriots and their dreams are generally baseless fabrics. In the work of Americanization of the foreign born who come to this country to seek equality of opportunity and liberty under the law, it is necessary first to make them know that their allegiance once given t* this country they must forego their allegiance to any other land under the sun. It t* a perfectly natural thing that a man should look back to the land of his birth with affection, but the very fact that he left It for another land proves that he believed in his heart the other land was the better one It is, therefore, to this adopted land that* he should give his heart and his hand, and when one gives these be pledges loyalty. Americanization means the Americanizing of the people. It is complete only when the man or the woman Is an American with no other country in the balance of his affections. An American lives In America and lives for America. “One Constitution." In a sense th* constitution of a country is the country itself. It forms the basis of the country’s liberties. It is the law of patriotism. The breaker ‘of the law is n* true American. The Constitution has been amended. It is within the power of the people to amend it at any time that the proper majority *f them may wish. It is the statute of liberty. A man cannot support the country without supporting the Constitution. which is the bulwark of the freedom of the people “One Destiny.” Destiny is the lot of man It Is that to which he is appointed and in a still higher sense It is that to which he Is consecrated. The lot of man Is his daily lot and In the sense of destiny it is his lot until the end of time. The. destiny of America, therefore, is continued and unending liberty. The keeping of the continuity *f freedom is in th* hands of the people. If they are all Americans in the high sense they will keep their trust until the end.