The sun., 1895-01-06

| mOHHlSON Is secretary, Wn1cn heeJS ~ bne
Hebrew Institute, at East Broadway and
Jefferson street, whose chief object Is
TO Americanize the Jewish immigrant pop
ulation Of the east side In the Institute,
lectures are given by Christian preachers as
well as by Jewish rabbis; by reformers and
by conservatives. The library contains
books supporting socialism and books OPP
posing It as well. This is the programme Of
debates for the month of january; Second
"Shsll the People Own the Railwaysp Az
hrmative, THOMAS G.. SHEARMAN; negative,
Prof. r. r. A. SELIGMAN. Ninth" Is So
cialism Good Thing2" Affirmative, II.
B. SALIsBuRG; negative, Prof. GIDDMos
Sixteenth-"Is Is Direct Legislation Practi-
cable" :" Affirmative, ELTwooD PoMERoY; !;
negative, Prof. MONROE SMITH. Twenty
third" The Saloon Question" Qecture),
the Rev. w. s. RAINsFoRD. Thirtieth-
"Will Silver Coinage Benefit the People w
Affirmative, G. B. SPAHR; negative, Prof.
MAYO SMITH. One of the prescribed condi-
tions OF these debates Is that no jargon
shall be used by any Of the speakers, the
main object being to destroy, as far as possi-
ble the necessity for its use.
The work of the Hebrew Institute in
Americanizng the east side Jews Is contin-
uous and comprehensive. The officers Of The
Educational Alliance" are prominent in
Jewish business circles, and are for the most
part practical men. A gymnasium is open
for young men five evenings in the week, for
young women on Tuesday evening and
Friday afternoon, for boys on two after
Moons, and for girls on one. There are
classes for young women in plain sewing,
| In ba
ISOLATION has kindergarten from Monday
to Friday: classes twice week for immi-
grant children, lately landed, who are pre-
pared for and placed in the public schools;
a free school for boys and girls who attend
the public schools; evening classes in Eng
lish for men and for women; an Industrial
school for girls attending public schools
The AGUILAR Free Library, with $4,000
volumes, is open daily from 8 A. NJ. till
| 8 p. NJ, except from Friday evening to Sat-
urday evening. A free reading room is open
every day Gncluding Saturday. from A.
NJ. to 10 p. NJ. Free Wednesday evening
lectures on Questions of the Day" are
given by well-known citizens; on Sunday
evening the lectures are in German. The
concerts on Tuesday evenings invariably end
with the playing Of 1.-The Star-spangled
Banner" by the band. the whole audience
joining; the words of the song, printed in
English, are distributed at every concert.
Besides these features there are Saturday
evening literary entertainments; evening
classes in English literature and compost
tion; in American history; on the applica-
tion of science to the arts in biology civic !
history, and stenography. The HALEvY
Singing Society for the study and spread of
classical music, meets on Tuesday evenings
in the lecture room. The RUBINSTEIN
Musical Society, an orchestra, on Thursdays.
There are GEORGE ELIOT Circles for girls to
study history and literature, young wo-
mems literary circle Monday evenings, and
course of talks to which young women
alone are admitted, beginning on Wednesday
evening" when JULIA RICHMAN will speak
on " The Need of Physical Culture" Other
talks are to be given by Mrs. LEOPOLD
STERN, Mrs. NJ. ID. LOUIS, and Mrs. ID. p
HAYS The Institute Literary Society meets
every Sunday evening.
The underlying purpose of all these en-
deavors is, first, the instruction Of Jewish
cmigrants and their children; and, secondly,
the "Americanizing" of the east side Jews.
A pioneer in this work, and one of the most
effective of Jewish-American public speak
ers, is JULIUS HAMBURGER, Grand Master in
the United States of the Free Sons of Israel,
lifelong resident of New York. All the
efforts of progressive Jews are directed
against the use of the jargon, which separates
Jews from other inhabitants, and main
tains distinctions which have always been |
detrimental to Jews abroad. The facility
with which newcomers acquire knowledge |
of English Is remarkable. Six months or |
less after his arrival here from some Russian |
or Polish province, an illiterate, ignorant, |
and uncouth peddlcr, marketman, or small |
vender is able to make himself understood. |
Within year he is transacting business in |
English This alertness and application is
accounted for by some by the fact that every
Russian or Polish orthodox Jew studies the
Talmud; that the race is naturally quick-wit-
ted, and that there is no teacher like neces-
sity. To live they must sell to sell they must
know the language of purchasers, and these
purchasers speaking English, the jargon
must be abandoned, In business, for English.
Its otherwise with the Jewish tailors and
those employed in manufactures They
adhere stubbornly to the jargon, and seem to
prefer 1t. The east side Jews put English
Mt the head Of languages because it is the
one most useful to them, Polish next be-
cause it Is the most musical language of
which they have any knowledge, and Ger
man last, there being apparently deep an
tipathy between Jews and Germans which
it is almost impossible to bridge over, and
which extends even to the language.
Mr.. MORRISON the other day mentioned
the fact, not generally known, that political
meetings organized by officers speaking jar
gon, at which the jargon only was used, were
features OF the recent municipal canvass.
There are three regular theatres In New
York at which performances are given exclu-
sively in the jargon, and several others In
which such performances are given from time
to time Two occupy sites historical in the
record of New York playhouses; one is the
former Old Bowery Theatre, on the Bowerv