The Americanization work is weakest in North Dakota, and yet it is more needed here than anywhere else, for the population is mainly composed of foreign elements. Foreign-language churches, parochial and other private schools, and certain American public schools in which, as it is in a number of places, the teaching language is a foreign language, very often German—are keeping the old country alive in the state. We have a large number of the second generation, grown-up people born here of foreign-born parents, who do not know how to write or read English, who do not know anything about America, but know well the history of Hohenzollern and Hapsburg dynasties in Europe.
A leader of the Women's Organization, North Dakota Council of Defense, made the following statement:
The Red Cross work, food-conservation work, and child-welfare work are organized in every county, a wide-awake woman being chosen as county head. Great difficulty is experienced in reaching the foreigner. A large number of them, especially women, do not understand English, and do not know enough about the country, its traditions, and spirit. Aside from remaining foreigners, they are in many cases unbelievably ignorant. For instance, the organization undertook a baby census, which included weighing the babies. The baby of a German housewife was underweight—that is, below normal. When its mother learned of this she began to cry hysterically. After the other people succeeded in quieting her she expressed the fear that the American government would kill her baby for being below normal weight.
MINNESOTA
The statistical data on parochial and other private schools in the state of Minnesota for 1918, compiled by the Department of Public Instruction, are as follows:
| Number of parochial and private schools | 307 | |
| Number of pupils enrolled | 38,853 | |
| Number of teachers | 1,359 | |
| Number of schools using English only | 94 | |
| Number of bilingual schools in which the teaching is in | ||
| English and German | 195 | |
| English and Bohemian | 1 | |
| English and Dutch | 1 | |
| English and French | 4 | |
| English and Norwegian | 1 | |
| English and Polish | 10 | |
| English and Danish | 1 | |
| Total | 213 |
The Isanti County school superintendent reports for 1915–16:[27]
The poorest schools in the county are in communities where there are private schools in connection with a church. The children attend these for years at a time, and when they return to the public schools find themselves behind their former companions. We wish arrangements might be made so that these schools could not teach the branches unless the teachers were as well equipped as the public-school teachers and that the children could be sent to them only at the confirmation age for two years.
The Martin County superintendent reports: [28]
Parochial schools should be required to report to the county superintendent the names of their teachers, length of term, etc. The teachers should be required to make monthly reports and be subject to the same supervision of inspection as those of public schools. Their certification should also be subject to state approval. Failing this, the pupils should be required to attend the public schools for at least eight full years, or until they complete the regular eighth-grade work.