Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-16
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

| diately he--or she--becomes a part of
| the class, and no longer is there any
| feeling of the 'inferiority complex as
| he becomes an American" Nowhere
| else in the world is there an opportu-
| nifty TO aSsimilate so quickly as in the
| American public schools No parochial
! or other special class institution can
| offer such advantages of Americaniza-
| ton as the public schools.
| y = *
| The quick assimilation of the chill
dren through the public schools brings
crisis in the homes of their parents.
where IL Is soon manifested that the
! language of their fatherlands is diff
| cult to keep alive in the families, since
| the only language the children hear
outside of nome-in public, not parc-
| chial, Schools--Is English" or rather
| American"
| A few years ago, New York City was
made up of a checkerboard of nation
alities huddled in separate sections.
| There were certain blocks where only
German was spoken, others where only
| italian or Polish or Russian or some
other alien tongue could be heard The
! width of a street marked the passage
| from one alien community TO another
| The change of language within few
| blocks was distinct-and decidedly I'M
American
Today, the aliens are more progress
! siVe AS DR.. Hrdlicka explains 1t, they
| have graduated" from their hyphen-
| ated environments and are proud TO be
able 20 establish themselves in business
and residence In purely American sec
/ tons. The class communities are break
| ing up everywhere.
| Cnpb hos long hpar the ease in ri Their
parts of the country. There are no more
| loyal native Americans than the sec
ond--or even the tirst--generation Of
ScandinavianS, living in the upper Mis-
siSsippi Valley and on the Western
/ prairies. 1t would be foolish Office
seeker today who would dare openly
| to appeal TO the race preludices OF any
''hyphenated" American voters. The
World War asphyxiated the hyphen III
practically all communities.
X Y
There Is a mystery about migration
that has never been accounted for by
scientists. 1t is the same phenomenon
| that Is observed In vital statistics
Whenever there is a marked loss of
population by either death or migra-
ton, the births so increase as to refill
the vacancies,
Mature abhors vacuum in popu-
lation. But what is the explanation of
how creation keeps up that population
balance?
u X
! If. next year, we were TO receive
million Russians from certain prov
| inces--or from one province in Russia
in the following years the numbers
| Of births IN those bereft communities
would increase Il million babies. Why?
Nobody knows.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica volume
| 18, page 43l. discusses the chronological
mystery i'll the following language,
Even in particular districts where
emigration is heavy the loss is made up
| by births. For instance. In 1891 the
emigration from West Prussia and
Posen was extraordinarily sIong-l0.9
| and i04 per thousand respectively
| but the excess of births over deaths was
1916 per thousand, Emigration may
| give temporary relief To congested dis
| tricts. but II is not IN itself a remedy
for overpopulation.
1T Is difficult TO analyze closely the
economic effect OF emigration. because
| 80 much depends on the character OF
| the emigrantS and the condition of the
| labor market The following considera~
| lions have been urged at different
| times.
| although emigration does not dlmin
| iah population, yet as the emgranta are
| in the most productive period OF life
! Cl5 to As years of agel. the country OF
emigration loses adults and replaces
them with children, IT,, therefore,
loses the cost of rearing that number OF
people 10 adult age, and Is LETT with