The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-31
Where Real Culture Exists
+ha Iyancas Citv Star

From the Kansas City Star.
 One of the most misunderstood sections of the country is the East Side or Ne" York In the minds of many that par ticular quarter of the metropolis is regaro- ed as the abode of most undeslrapie citizens Lately, the East Side mas pe- come even more notorious through the as- sociation with the activities of the gun men.
 And yet, strange as it may seem' one will find in this nondescript iocan'y oo'A posed of heterogeneous ethnic sioups' much genuine culture-not the Kino w'io'' finds expression in fine clothes' coiNen tional manners and solemn countehahees' but the sort of culture which, accofu."e to Matthew Arno!d, consists in becoming so,,a,bing ratber than in having some thing.
 Should any of you ever take trip
 through the East Side do not fall to v'slt
 the lea and coffee houses which serve as
 gathering places for working men ana
 working women Every night you VIII
 find these rendezvous crowded wien per
 sons sloyenly dressed and rough m ap
 pearance, discussing the latest worAs oi
 Shaw. Gorki, Chechov ana beissoh UT
 determining the relative meri'S oi
 bussy. Massenet and the other schoois or
 music. .,,
 The ,ihrarian of a branch of the New York nublic library, situated in the very heart of the Ghetto says that auring the last year over 100000 books or hterary and sociological character were curculat- ed among the adults. He cites some ih- teresting incidents which show With what ca eerness the residents of that section nnrsue knowledge. When "Rosencava- fer, was first produced at the Meropoli- tan opera house the demand for the score of ihrettos could not be supplied and when Ta gore received Noble prize, the | first demands for his books came from his library This particular branch cir ! cuates over 250 scores and librettos every month and maintains a reference depart | ment which is taken advantage of to a greater extent than any in the city. Similiary, an examination of the for | fegn department in the branch library of | the Jewish Educational Institute reveals | the interesting fact that the books mostly l in demand are such classes as Tolstoi, | Hugo Balzac, translations of Scott Dick 1 ems and Shakespeare and the work of modern economists and sociologists. And who are the patrons of the Jewish Insti- | tute library? Almost entirely man and 1 women whose earrings range from $9 to $12 | a week--the very people who, economical- ly. are on the border line of poverty. In the light of such condition. how slow l the world is to learn the true meaning of the word culture How futile the thought that culture is necessarily associated with l fashionable neighborhoods! As a matter l of fact, 1t is to be found in some of the hotels of the North End. How vitally l important then 1t Is for community to conserve those cultural tendencies, even
 though they manifest themselves in guar | ters least suspected.
 l But we cannot hope to foster and tt l spread these tendencies in m atmos
 phere vitiated by bad housing. lack oi
 properly equipped playgrounds. absenc' of bathing factilities and the lowering o1
 public morals resulting from corruption
 h politioA