Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1920-02-29
PRAISE GIVEN TO
OMAHA FOREIGN
EDUCATION AID
Department Of Labor Tells OF
Remarkable Results OBJ
tanned in Americanization
Campaign Here.
BY E. c. SNYDER

BY E. c. SNYDER
Washington Correspondent Omaha Bee
Washington, Feb. %, Especial
Telegram. "A spirit Of cooperation
among agencies that is obtaining
really remarkable results among the
foreign born population Of Omaha
is reflected in statement issued by
the division of citizenship training
of the Department of Labor. The
naturalization bureau, Chamber OF
Commerce, public schools, industrial
plants and church organizations are
all enthusiastically working together
to provide educational facilities for
every foreign born han and woman
who needs them.
The report further says:
1.-THE Chamber of Commerce APP
pointed an Americanization commit
te whose object is to interest the
heads of industrial plants so they
will rge<their employees to attend
the public school classes established
for them. The public schools have
appointed a principal of the night
schools, Miss Ella Thorngate, to
take charge of all the work. Miss
Thorngate has had special training
along this line which fits her ad-
mirably for the position. A commit
tee organized of representative men
among the Italians, Germans, Bo-
hemians, Russians and Mexicans is
working among their respective
races in the interest of the night
schools.
Packers Operate School
"The Armour Packing Co. pro-
vides for its employees and finances
it although it is under the super
vision Of Miss Thorngate. Miss
Thorngate is aided here by en-
ployees of the company. Claude
Orchard, employment officer and
Miss Grace Aidy welfare worker,
who devote much of their time to
securing attendance of these classes
and keeping up the interest OF those
already in attendance.
"The Presbyterian, Episcopal pro-
Baptist churches have all appointed
committees, headed respectively by
Mrs. w. S. Knight, Mrs. F. A. Cole,
and Mrs. Edward Johnson. Each
committee has assumed charge of
one of the large centers of foreign
population, in this way preventing
overlapping of effort. The aim is
to get into direct personal contact
with the foreign born people in their
own homes and make known to
them the fact that public school
classes have been established for
their benefit, and urge the advantage
and necessity of their acquiring a
knowledge of the language and in
stitutions of their adopted country
as preparation for real citizenship.
Work with Women.
"The Social Settlement associa-
ton, also, is aiding in this work in
the division of citizenship training.
By reason of the intimate knowl-
edge of foreign races it is enabled
to be of great service in this ener-
getic campaign.
"An excellent feature of this work
is that those who have it in charge
recognize the great importance, the
necessity, of making it possible for
wives and mothers in the foreign
settlements to receive some of the
education Nthat their husbands and
children are receiving. Therefore, in
the Comenius school is a mothers
class, established by Miss Irene I'm
derwood. The women in it are en-
couraged to bring their children,
who are too small to be left at home,
with them. These children are cared
for and made happy with kinder
garten activities by Mrs. Howard
while their mothers are being taught
in an adjoining room.
1T is not surprising that with all
this systematized and determined
effort, with all this spirit of brother
ly cooperation, the classes for for
eign born adults are showing an
development. In fact, the
enrolment has been almost twice
this year what it was at the same
time last year, and the average at
tendance has been 80 per cent of en-
rollment."