The New York herald., 1921-01-02
Steerage Libraries.
Their Possible Usefulness in Fitting
Immigrants for American Life.

To THE NEW YORK HERALD: / have
just landed from steerage trip across
tho Atlantic and / am impressed with
the need of library In the third cabin
Of ocean steamships At present only
the first and second cabin passengers
have It. Nor can one blame the steam
ship companies for finching the task
Of ecuipping a library for the polyglot
mob below decks. On our boat In the
third cabin twenty-five languages were
spoken And yet, Just because Of tho
babel and the motley. q library u
needed there more than anywhere elsa.
They have not the rccreations provided
for tho passengers above decka The
voyage ls for them q long monotony.
Ten days is the average Duration, OFT
times made still longer whom they are
kept in port on the steamship awaiting
transshipment to Ellis Island.
Those ten days present a priceless
opportunity to teach to these newcomers
the history and literature of America,
her geography. the mechanism of our
Government. first lessons in English the
life story Of foreigners who came here
and made good. In that moment the
immigrant is In q teachable mood. The
adventure into q new and far land has
excited all the nerves of his mind. He
is awake as he never was before ana
as probably he never will be again.
Pathetic is their eagerness to learn
about this America, theme Of their Ions
time dreanings. The desire to Inform
themselves. so as to pass muster In
port when examined for entrance, would
spur even the dullards to suck in knowl-
edge. The trip. instead of a dismal
waiting time. would be transfigured into
a floating university; a ship teeming
with intellectual life and eager. fervent
inquiry.
To provide so many tongued library
and reach It forth to so varied q host
is job beyond the competency Of the
ships crew. 1t would have to be done
by steward specially trained The
Carnegie Fund would doubtless provide
the books. But the librarian would have
tc be man of vision and leadership.
such as our library schools and neigh
borhood houses are turning out. This
would mean a steerage library associa-
ton supported by gifts from the socially
minded. That the steamship companies
would welcome such an association need
hardly be questioned To make the ocean
trip more enjoyable and lift the tone
OF life on board for both passengers
and crew would be to their interest.
Some criticise the ship officers for what
seems unneedful harshness in dealing
with steerage folk. ! do not see how
a.
things done by a mob that does not
know what you are saying requires q
throwback to the primitive; persuasion
being out of the question, naught Is left
but brute compulsion. Undeniably the
treatment the immigrant receives Is
rough and always will be- From which
the poor fellow. pushed and hauled
and shouted at. gets sore impression
OF America at the very threshold. and
seeds for anarchistic bitterness later on
are sown In the spirit OF many OF them.
To counteract that impression a IL
brary steward would be invaluable. He
would be Americas hand Of fellowship
held out. As head worker In Institutes
of social service In New York I have
known how difficult II Is TO straighten
out these newcomers once the warping
into gnarIed and tangled knot has
taken place We must make contact
with the immigrant while he Ia voyag-
ing hither. For that contact could there
be a filter medium than books. help-
fully chosen and courteousiy proffcred'
The movement /of peoples into Americs
Is an event In universal history. ! fear
that at present we are doing but little
70 humanlze this migration Of the null
titude c. q. WHITE.
MARLBORO ON HUDSON, December 81.