New-York tribune., 1907-09-07
Manufacturing Citizens.
The Function American SchooHow 1t Is Perform
This Important Task-New Yorks Share the Work.

teaching English to foreigners the remainder
for all other subjects"
The free lecture system in this city, under the
efficient supervision of DR.. Henry NJ. Leipziger,
goes hand in hand with the evening schools in
this work of training foreigners for citizenship.
DR.. Leipziger himself has this to say of the
work:
LECTURES IN FOREIGN TONGUES.
The immigrant just landed on the hospitabe
shore of New York can the very evening of
his arrival be conducted into lecture hall
where in his own tongue he will be given the
first lessons in American citizenship.
The foreign element in city has. during
the last twenty years, most remarkably IN
creased. The character of the present imrnigra-
ton is far different from what it was quarter
of a century ago. Then it was largely from
Northern Europe, from countries with TRADITIONS
of law and order traditions similar to those OF
the founders of the colonies Large numbers CT
the incoming population to-day come without
any knowledge of those institutions OF local self
government or those habits of law and justice
which we regard fundamental-and, indeed
many have good cause to look upon government
as a tyrant. And yet from these very inmf-
grants under wise guidance, shall come some OF
the finest elements in national life-so mar
vellous is the potency of our free american at
mosphere.'
The work of the last season was summed up
as follows by Dr. LeipZiger in an address at
the seventeenth annual reunion and dinner, on
May last:
In the lecture season that has just closed,
more than five hundred and women have.
through $500 lectures uttered their messages
of upft. of information, of inspiration, of di-
rcction, in 100 different places throughout the
city to Il audience that reached the total of
over 100000"
To show the results accomplished by the pub
lie schools for the foreigner the following, from
Dr. Ieipziger's last report, is most apropos
SOME SURPRISING FACTS.
Some surprising facts about ilteracy in c-tr
own state appear from the report Of the Com
missioner of Education, issued in January. 1906.
II is therein stated that the iterate population
of New York State is 5i5 per cent, and it has
not varied in the last thirty years 1t may
seem as if this were due TO the wave Of immi-
grafton which adds much to our population.
But the truth IS that the percentage of foreign
born white illiterates has not changed very
much in the state or in the country in forty
years The number of foreign illiterates is very
large but we also find that there is larger
percentage of appreciation of school privileges
among foreign born than among native born
parents' The percentage of illiterates born in
this country OF foreign parents (51 per cent? is
much lower than the percentage of illiterate
children of native born parents (92 per cent?
The county of New York. that is, the Borough
Of Manhattan, has about l per cent iiliterate
children of native parents. There is one New
York county remote from any large city in
which the preponderance OF illiterate voters is
greater than in any other county north of the
Mason and Dixon line and east of the Rocky
Mountains Tt will be seen therefore, that our
schools are doing more for the children of i'm
migrants in proportion 10 numbers than for
those who are of native families
PROGRESS IN NEW JERSEY.
The progress which the sister state Of Now
Jersey has made toward solving this problem
Of educating the immigrant should not be over
looked A short time ago Governor Stokes ap-
pointed the New Jersey Immigrant Commission
"to inquire into and report upon the general
condition of the immigrants coming into or
resident within the state" This commission re
ported last winter that there were 43l.SS4 for
eign born residents in New Jersey, of whom
SO per cent were males. OF 19S16l males of
voting age, 26.737 are classed as ihterates and
7O9 are unable TO speak English This COM
mission found that there was no way for the
foreigner to learn the laws of this country. his
rights and privileges duties until he could
speak English. There were no books on these
subjects and few schools We're supplied with
foreign speaking teachers. The commission
asked that a permanent commission be appoint
ed with an adequate appropriation to educate
and enlghten all foreign speaking residents
within the state, and to this end should print