They are also
entering all the avenues of trade, and few other than foreign names can
be seen on the business signs in our cities large or small.
[Sidenote: Foreignism Preserved]
Not only do you find the foreigner, of one race or another, everywhere,
but wherever you find him in any numbers you note that the most
distinctive feature is the foreignism. The immigrant readily catches
the spirit of independence and makes the most of liberty. He is
insistent upon his rights, but not always so careful about the rights of
others. He is imitative, and absorbs the spirit of selfishness as
quickly as do the native-born. He is often unkempt, uncultured, dirty,
and disagreeable. He is also impressionable and changeable, responsive
to kindness as he is resentful of contempt. He follows his own customs
both on Sundays and week days. He knows as little about American ideas
as Americans know about him. He is commonly apt to learn, and very much
depends upon the kind of teaching he falls under. Much of it,
unfortunately, has not been of the kind to make the American ideas and
ways seem preferable to his own. Made to feel like an alien, he is
likely to remain at heart an alien; whereas the very safety and welfare
and Christian civilization of our country depend in no small degree upon
transforming him into a true American.
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