The Washington times., 1922-07-23

husbands"
Living conditions In the large
cities of the country. despite
heavy immigration. have improved
TO q very large extent. The en-
actment Of tenement house laws
during recent years has given to
most of the tenements baths,
electric lights, hot water and
steam heat. Faulty sanitation has
been corrected. An adequate
water supply has been provided.
Streets in the congested sections
are cleaned more frequently.
Sewerage and drainage conditions
have been improved.
The cold-water flats, SO far as
the larger cities are concerned.
are gradually passing away. The
telephone has como into such
great use In the city Of New York
that there IL hardly q tenement
that has not at least one teie-
phone.
Furthermore, there has been
a great development. as a re-
suit of Increased transportation
facilities. of suburban territory
around the big cities. Mark the
sharp increase In the borough Of
the Bronx
BRONX BOOMING.
II now has q population of over
100000: in 1910 it had a population
Of 400, 900. There has been a per
ceptible rise in population la the
borough Of Queens. which is part
of the city Of New York Similar
increases are noted in Chicago.
Buffalo and Milwaukee.
"A little over s6o. 900 children OF
immigrants attend the public
schools in the city Of New York
alone" the Congressman replied.
in answer to my question as to the
school attendance and progress OF
children Of immigrants.
TT is an admitted fact" he con-
tinued, that where the foreign
born or their descendants have set.
tied. there IL an increased attend
ance in school. 1t is worth noting
that in the College Of the City OF
New York, % per cent Of those
who are attending the college are
either foreign born or are OF the
first generation Of foreign born.
Duluth, Mimi, and Chelsea.
Mass, with TAI per cent were
found to have the greatest num-
Der of pupils with foreign-born
fathers. New York city. with 7l.b
per cent, was third: Chicago. with
s7.3 per cent was fourth. and Bos'
ton, with s3.5 per cent was fifth.
In the greater cities where there
is a larger attendance Of the chill
dren of foreign born II Is apparent
how important is the assimilative
force of the public schools in deter
mining the effect of these future
citizens in government affairs.
This assimilative force Is very
great. So much 50. that in a sec
ond generation the majority OF
these pupils become Americanized.
There IL q surprisingly regular
attendance on the part Of foreign
born children" the Congressman
declared. That is a sign that they
desire to become citizens--a sign
of progress. in fact. have seen
numbers Of these children when
they landed at Ellis Island and
have kept in touch with many OF
them. The transformation, even
in two or three months, is remark.
able. And at the end Of a years
residence here the change is start
ling.
THE appearance of these chill.
dren on landing excites the great
est sympathy.
FORLORN FIGURES.
Many are undernourished. stoop-
cd and with suffering pictured
strongly in their pinched faces.
Forlorn little figures they are,
covering and shivering. gazing
with a curious. timid stare at their
new surroundings. The liberty
they never knew in their own
country is hidden from their gaze.
But the beauties they are to be-
hold, and the improvement they
are to experience, both mental and
physical, starts almost Immediately
after they reach their destination.
rs It any wonder they make
every effort to become citizens?
rs II any wonder that Of the
1900, 900 warriors sent abroad by
the army and navy in the recent
war, 495, 900 came from New York
alone7
Psychological speculation may
extend the range Of these observa-
tons.
The number Of nstionalities at
tending a single school is almost
unbelievable. Secretary Of Labor