Civics for new Americans

Front matter

Class.

Book_

Ji£.

Chapter II. Civic Opportunities ........ 9

I. Public Schools — II. Special Schools — III. The School Department — IV. The Home and School Visitor — V. The School as a Neighborhood Center — VL The Public Library

— VII. Museums — VIII. History of Museums — IX. The Gymnasium — X. History of Gymnasiums — XL Public Baths — XII. Playgrounds — XIII. The Value of Playgrounds — XIV. The Street as a Playground.

Chapter III. Civic Protection of Life and Property . 3B I. The Policeman — II. The Police Department — III. The Fire Department — IV. Street Building — V. The Street Department — VL Health in the Home — VII. The Health Inspector — VIII. The Health Department — IX. Fighting Disease — X. Care of the Helpless — XL Public Charities

— XII. Private Charities.

Chapter IV. Civic Conveniences 65

I. The Waterworks — II. The Sewer System — III. Lighting — IV. Rapid Transit — V. Telegraph and Telephone Service — VI. Municipal Ownership of Civic Conveniences.

Chapter V. Community Needs 74

I. Pure Food — 11. Milk Inspection — III. Housing Inspection — IV. Factory Inspection — V. Sweatshops — VI. Industrial Protection — VII. Workmen's Compensation — VIII. Child Labor Laws — IX. Child Labor — X. The viii CONTENTS

Curfew — XI. Parent-Teacher Associations — XII. Social Settlements — XIII. Moving Pictures and Censorship — XIV. Self-Governing Clubs — XV. Legal-Aid Societies.

Chapter VL Civic Improvements 101

I "Safety First" — n. "Clean-up, Paint-up" — III. Billboards — IV. The Use of Vacant Lots — V. Better Housing

— VL Building Cities — VII. City Planning Boards — VIII. The City Beautiful.

Chapter VII. Civil Government 120

I. Citizenship — II. How to become a Citizen — III. Aliens

— IV. Immigration — V. The Immigrant and Private Agencies — VI. The Immigrant in Business — VII. Laws of the Land — VIII. The Law of Conscience — IX. The Jury — X. The Government of the Nation — XL Political Parties

— XII. Civil Service — XIII. The Citizen's Opportunity.

I. How to become a Citizen of the United States — II. Preparation for Citizenship — III. A Club Constitution — IV. Form of a Petition — V. A Final Word to New Americans — VL Two National Anthems.

CIYICS FOR NEW AMERICANS

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO OUR COUNTRY Lesson I— A Welcome to Newcomers

To you, the sons and daughters of many lands, this country gives a royal welcome. You journeyed from afar for many days; you doubtless labored for years to save enough money for the trip. You bade good-bye to those near and dear to you — your relatives, your friends, your fellow workers. You may have given up a good business or a good position, in order to come to the United States; perhaps you sold your home or farm. In any case, you made some sacrifice and you may have suffered much to reach this country. Because of your courage and your faith, and the effort you have made, you deserve a cordial welcome.

This country has had occasion to welcome many races. They have come from all parts of the world. At the outset of its history the English, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, and the Swedes came in large numbers. The Germans and the Irish soon followed. Next came the Jews and the Italians and the French Canadians. At present the Slavic and Asiatic races are following the others to these hospitable shores. Although our immigration laws grow more and more strict, and

Introduction To Our Country

THE END OF THE VOYAGE exclude and deport large numbers of immigrants every year, it is true that hundreds of thousands from foreign countries are allowed to land annually. Those who are admitted must stand the rigid test which the Immigration Boards of Inquiry apply to every newcomer desiring to enter the ports. Those who have thus been pronounced as fit to enter the country are generally able-bodied people and willing to work. For all such persons this country is the land of opportunities.

The first thing you did after settling in the new home was to find work. Next you discovered that there were schools, free schools, at your service. You discovered also that citizenship was open to you as soon as you could qualify through naturalization. Having found

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 3

work and schools and the prospect of citizenship, you learned further that there were new rights and new duties which go hand in hand with the rights and duties of citizenship. The privilege of voting is the highest gift which the nation offers to the newcomer. It brings with it serious obligations. A republican form of government can never be any better than the citizens who elect the representatives. The citizens of this country are asked to vote intelligently, to serve their country, and to ask nothing from it for which they are not willing to give full return as good citizens. Learn to take pride in this country. Remember that it has welcomed you when you entered, a stranger within its gates.

Lesson II — Learning the Language

Learning the language is the immigrant's most immediate need. Without the English language one might as well be deaf and dumb. You may know French and German, or Russian and Hebrew, yet without the language spoken in the United States you will be helpless. You need it as a means of finding your friends when you are traveling, and when looking for work. Even though the immigrant is spoken to in his own language, he will find it so full of English words he will hardly understand his own people who have lived in this country for several years. All money values are, of course, expressed in English, and so are street directions and warnings and danger signals. Hundreds of misunderstandings are due to the failure to read such signs.

You not only need to know English in order to find

4 INTRODUCTION TO OUR COUNTRY

work, but also to be able to understand your instructions after you begin to work. Many jobs will be refused to you if you are unable to understand English. The same is true of advanced positions and new openings if you do not learn to speak good English after you have been in the country for some time. You will need the English language in case of trouble. To depend even on one's own children who have learned to speak English in the public schools is not enough. Many misunderstandings are due to ignorance of the meaning of words.

There are two classes of people, the literates, or people who can read in their own language, and the illiter-

NEWSPAPERS IN MANY LANGUAGES ates, who cannot. The man who reads in one language will find it easier to acquire another. All languages have much in common. The literate immigrant ought to get the habit of reading a newspaper daily. If you read the news in your own language, buy an English paper and

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 5

compare the same items of news. Very soon you will master enough words to use a simple English dictionary. You should carry a pocket dictionary with you ahvays. Read the signs in the cars and on the street signboards. Use your eyes. Also try to think in English. Listen carefully to those who are talking around you. Hundreds of literate immigrants pick up the language in six months by trying to talk with others. Go to school as often as you can, and as long as the school is open. When you cannot go to a day school, attend an evening school, if there is one. The evening school is the hope of the adult immigrant. There are free evening schools in nearly every large city for at least a part of the year.

Illiterate immigrants are compelled in many States to attend public schools either by day or in the evening. There are strict laws in almost all the States which require such attendance.

In the smaller cities and towns where there are no regular evening schools, classes will often be organized by the School Board w^hen a request is made by a group of twenty or twenty-five immigrants. It is always possible to get private instruction either free or at a small cost.

As soon as the language has become at all familiar to the immigrant he should be urged to train his ears and eyes constantly, and in the home to practice reading, writing, and spelling every day.

6 INTRODUCTION TO OUR COUNTRY

How long has it taken you to acquire the Enghsh language?

Do you note how often a word in your own mother tongue is almost like a word in the English language?

Which has helped you more, the drill in the evening school, or your talks with English-speaking people?

Lesson III — How to find Work

When day after day you began to look for work, you realized how important it is to learn the language. You may also have realized the urgent need of learning a trade. At the outset a newcomer should try to find work among his own people at his own trade. This will help him to become accustomed to habits and manners in the most natural way. And if you have a special trade or are a skilled laborer it will pay you to advertise in a newspaper published in your own language. Often you will find a notice under the heading ''Help Wanted." These advertisements are also in the daily papers in English. Any friend will be glad to read you these papers and explain to you the notice. Especially if you are trained, you may at the outset be able to find work at once through the aid of newspapers. For example, if you can teach French or German, or give violin lessons, you may be able to earn your living until you find other employment, or to add to your regular wages.

There are employment agencies, both public and private, which find work for people. Some cities have free employment offices. The United States Government maintains a department which gives free advice how to

HOW TO FIND WORK 7

find work in various parts of the country. In reply to an inquiry sent to the Division of Information in the Bureau of Labor at Washington, D.C., you will be informed of different kinds of work, such as work on farms, in lumber fields, in factories, or in domestic service.

There are also various immigrant societies and social settlements which have free employment bureaus for the benefit of newcomers and others who are looking for work. Very often the quickest way to find work is by joining the union of a particular trade. Indeed, in some instances, a man is unable to get work without a union card. The most natural way to get a good job at the outset is through your friends or relatives, who are always ready to help their friends from across the water.

Your first job in America will hardly be a lasting occupation. You will find it wise and indeed necessary to take at the start any work that offers itself. In the mean time, make an effort to learn a good trade or to find steady employment in a business which has promise in it. There are industrial schools in many cities which teach various trades, and there are business schools. There are also continuation schools which teach certain trades during working hours. Some business firms maintain schools for the purpose of training the worker for gradual promotion. For certain classes of immigrants who have worked on farms, better opportunities can be found in the country than in the city. It is well for those who care for farming to decide soon whether it is not better to go into the country. After a year or two, it would be hard to change from one kind of work to

8 INTRODUCTION TO OUR COUNTRY

another. It is, therefore, best for you to make up your mind what you really want to do for your lifework. Much depends on your choice, and many things must be kept in mind — your age, your strength, your special fitness, and your previous experience.

Never give up even a poor job without immediate prospect of finding a better one. Instead, train yourself for a better job as fast as you can. Keep your eyes open for any opportunity that may arise. America is full of opportunities. You may find yours in business or in agriculture or in the factory. Some of the great successes in business were made by immigrants who began as peddlers with packs on their shoulders. The mail-order business and the country department stores have greatly reduced the chances for such success among immigrants to-day. However, those who are trying to make a start by peddling their wares may be adding to a little bank account which by and by will grow into something worth while. The habit of saving little by little every week in order that you may have a small fund with which to make a start in business for yourself, or to help you in sickness or when you are out of work, is of the greatest importance to you. Do not neglect this.

What kind of work did you do when you first came to this country?

Did you get the work through an agency or through friends?

Have you tried to better your job?

If it has been hard to find a better position, was it because you have not known how to better yourself?

CHAPTER II CIVIC OPPORTUNITIES Lesson I — Public Schools

Among the first things you will wish to do after reaching this country will be to learn where you yourself can go to school or where you can send your children.

Every immigrant has heard many stories in the old country about the free schools in America; you are eager to know more. You discover that in the ward of the city where you live there is a school building large enough for all the children who live in the neighborhood. You also learn that there are free evening schools held in these same buildings , where older people who work during the day may go and study the same lessons that are taught in the free day school. There are other interesting facts that you can learn about schools in this country. The privileges which are offered by schools that are called primary and grammar are many and important. So, too, are the privileges of the high schools which are attended by an ever-increasing number of young people. The children of immigrants unfortunately too often fail to attend the high school or even to finish the grammar-school course, because they feel they must go to work before they reach the upper grades. It is better if possible to stay in school until one is graduated, or at least to remain there until he has obtained vocational training, which will help him get employment afterw^ards.

THE GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL ARTS, BOSTON

A knowledge of cooking, house-keeping, and dress-making is a valuable part of a girl's education. These things, and many more, are taught in this school.

All children must attend school whether they are the children of citizens or aliens, and in many States attendance is compulsory up to fourteen or fifteen years of age. In most cities the books and materials, like paper, pencils, pens, and chalk, are free. The apparatus for experiments and for indoor and outdoor athletics is also free. So, too, are school libraries, museums, exhibits and collections which are made for the use of the children who attend the schools.

The schoolhouses are arranged to give the pupils the best possible seating, lighting, ventilation, and sanitation. Everywhere throughout the country, whenever a new^ school building is planned, the comfort of children is the first thought. Moreover, in many cities there are

PUBLIC SCHOOLS 11

school physicians who examine children frequently. In some schools there are nurses who assist the physician.

Generally, the immigrant children are better off in school than in the tenement homes. Because some immigrant parents do not understand how important an education will be to their children in later life, they often allow them to stay away from school. Truant or attendance oflScers are appointed by the city government who have charge of finding absent boys and girls and bringing them back to the classroom. If the children persist in staying away from school, these oJB&cers report this to proper authorities. The truant children are then sent to special schools where they are under strict supervision, and where an effort is made to interest them in learning a trade.

Almost all the States of the United States have made laws that children under fourteen years of age shall be obliged to learn at least how to read and write and spell and to work with numbers.

How are the public schools of your city supported?

Who pay the taxes?

How do persons who do not pay direct taxes assist in supporting the city government?

If the schools are owned by the city, why should the pupils be taught to care for the school property?

How much does it cost your city to educate a boy or girl if he attends every grade from the kindergarten through the high school?

Does it seem worth while in the long run to spend so much money on each child?

Can you think of boys and girls who do not seem to value this gift of money from the city?

What can you do to help them see that the city is trying to give them a judicious education?

Lesson II — Special Schools

The high schools fit boys and girls for college, or for commercial work, or for industrial life. If you have children who cannot spend four years in the high school, and who wish to get immediately into trades, there are

BOYS AT SCHOOL LEARNING HOW TO SET TYPE

special schools provided for such pupils both during the day and in the evening. These are called vocational schools, domestic science and industrial schools.

Of late years continuation schools have been devel-

SPECIAL SCHOOLS 13

oped in some of the cities. The courses in such schools are planned to meet the individual needs of those who are already at work and are hoping to secure betterpaid positions or to become better housekeepers. Attendance at a continuation school is now compulsory in several States. In fact, school laws are growing more strict in most communities. A rule that is meeting with favor in an increasing number of States is that all persons from seven to sixteen shall go to school. Illiterates, if regularly employed, must attend evening schools until they are twenty-one. In many States the law compels an employer to procure and keep on file a certificate issued by the Superintendent of Schools stating the age of each person in his employ and his ability or inability to read or write. If the employer does not obey this law he may be fined $100. The parent or guardian of such a person may be fined not more than $20 for keeping such a person from going to school.

Such laws may seem very severe to you who come from countries where education is limited to a few. To be thus forced, sometimes against your will, to learn to read and write and to spend your evenings in a schoolroom may seem hard, but in order to live in a free country where one has a right to partake in the government, it is very necessary that every citizen should know how to express his ideas in writing, and to have a command of the language so that he may read books and newspapers and speak readily on all topics which relate to the government in its many phases.

Is education compulsory in your State? — At what age? — For how many years?

What is the kindergarten?

What are elementary schools?

What is included under secondary schools?

What special schools are necessary to meet the demands of your city?

Why are continuation schools of such importance in factory towns?

Do you know of any schools where defectives are taught to be useful?

How can the blind, the deaf and dumb, the cripples be made useful as well as happy?

What difference is there between graded schools and ungraded schools?

Why should agriculture be taught in rural districts?

What group of studies has helped you most in your work so far?

Which group has given you enjoyment and recreation?

Lesson III — The School Department

In every city there is a School Committee or School Board who attend to the business of the schools. These groups of men and women are usually elected by the voters. These boards have charge of the schools. They appoint superintendents and teachers and manage the money which is necessary in order to run the schools. The Superintendent of Schools is most important. Either alone or with his assistants he plans the course of study and adapts the studies to the needs of the pupils. In recent years many new branches of study have been added. The superintendent introduces these new^ sub-

THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Courtesy, Child Welfare Exhibit and Department of Health, City of New York A BOARD OF HEALTH EXAMINATION FOR WORKING PAPERS

The Board of Health of the City of New York requires that all children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen shall have certificates of good health before they can be employed in business. Any employer who hires a child without such a certificate is liable to a heavy fine. This law is to protect the health of both the worker and the public jects very gradually, in order not to disturb the work of teachers and pupils; but the new ways of doing things and the new subjects to be taught finally find a place in every schoolroom.

The Superintendent visits the schools and watches the work of both teachers and pupils. The working papers which every boy and girl must file on leaving school have to be signed by the Superintendent. He also has the care of the registration of foreigners, and sometimes it is necessary for him to write to the old country to verify the birth of a foreign-born boy or girl.

Describe the school system in your city.

How many men and women make up the School Board or School Committee?

How are they chosen?

Who is the Superintendent?

What are his duties?

Have you or your children ever had to consult him?

Are there assistant superintendents or supervisors in your city?

Are there special teachers?

Has your city a Building Committee that is constantly watching the school buildings in order to preserve the health of the children?

Does your city provide school physicians and school nurses?

Does your school cooperate with the public library?

Are your school buildings used as community centers?

Have you a civic league in your school?

What does it do?

If you live in a small rural community whose schools need more money than the town can appropriate, does the State give aid?

What do you know about the State Board of Education?

What is its special work in relation to public schools in cities? Its relation to rural schools?

What is the work of the United States Commissioner of Education in Washington? What problems may be solved by the city school which confront your children or yourself in coming to America?

In what ways do parents and the teachers in the schools strive to cooperate?

In your community is there a parent-teacher association?

If there is no such association, how could you organize one?

What obligation to the school on their part ought to be taught your children?

Should members of a class be made to feel that they ought to give as much as they get in the schoolroom?

What is meant by school spirit?

THE SCHOOL AS A NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER 17

Lesson IV — The Home and School Visitor

In some cities where the School Board does not arrange for a "home and school visitor," such a person is often provided by citizens. Generally a woman is appointed to this position. She goes from the school into the homes and talks over the school work with parents. Fathers and mothers often treat their boys and girls very differently after the visitor has shown an interest in them. What has occurred at school may be explained to the parents by the visitor far better than if the children tried to explain it. Then, too, if children are doing particularly good work at school, the visitor will bring the welcome news into the home; and if anything has gone wrong she will so present the facts that the parents will be able to understand the teacher's point of view. The object of the home and school visitor is to bring about a closer relationship between home and school so that the child may derive the greatest benefit.

Have you a home and school visitor in your school community? If not, should you like to have one appointed? Can you see the value of such a person's work? If you have one in your community, can you give instances in which she has been of great value in particular homes?

Lesson V — The School as a Neighborhood Center

Did you ever visit a school in your neighborhood.? In many cities schools are open in the evening as centers for recreation and instruction. They are free to all the members of the community for any good use which can be made of them. A school used for such purposes is called a social or civic center. Here you will find friendship and recreation. There are clubs and classes for various objects. There are special lectures for parents under

A STUDY-CLASS IN A COURSE IN CIVICS

This is a recitation room in a large school

the auspices of fathers' clubs and mothers' clubs where many topics are discussed, such as health and housing and other educational subjects. The lectures to mothers are of great value to the whole community because they teach, possibly for the first time, not only what the mother may do in cases of illness, but how they may many times prevent sickness in the family. Thus they safeguard the home and neighborhood.

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 19

These centers also offer courses of amusements, either free or for small fees. These amusements are good for both yourself and your children. One object of these centers is to give parents and children a substitute for street life. If there is no center in your neighborhood, draw up a petition for one and present it to the School Committee of your city. Many neighborhood centers now established in school buildings were brought about in this way. Every immigrant parent owes it to his children as well as to himself to do all in his power to keep his children off the streets.

Have you a neighborhood center in your community? How was it started?

What has it done for you?

Has it helped to improve the standard of the neighborhood? What can the center do to abolish the cheap dance-hall? In what way are the dances in the school center different from those in cheap public dance-halls?

Lesson VI — The Public Library

You would be surprised to find how many books and newspapers in your own language there are in the public libraries of this country. The libraries in the largest cities often contain books in ten or fifteen different tongues, and in the reading-rooms there are hundreds of different foreign newspapers. If you do not find books or newspapers in your own language in the library of your city or town, do not hesitate to ask for them. The public library is always willing to buy books or papers which are called for by raany readers. Often an immigrant society presents the library with a set of books properly chosen for the benefit of the immigrants in the community. Gradually the city buys more foreign books in order to make the collection more complete. Such collections must, of course, be representative of the different branches of literature, as well as of various languages.

Public libraries are useful at night when the working people are at leisure. In rainy or stormy weather a library properly lighted, heated, and ventilated is a great blessing. The larger public libraries have branches in various parts of the city, often with attractive reading-rooms which seat a hundred or more readers. There are also small private libraries and free reading-rooms maintained for special purposes or for special groups of people. Social settlements and neighborhood centers generally have these.

The circulating department of the public libraries enables you to take out one, two, or more books, generally for two weeks at a time. In almost all libraries the reader files his name with the librarian. A card is then given to him on which the library number of each book borrowed is recorded. The reader is held responsible if a book is injured or lost. Traveling libraries planned for moving from place to place in wagons or automobiles are especially useful and popular wherever they have been tried. Traveling libraries of foreign books are now organized in many cities. They are often used in camps of laborers.

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

The librarian is a very important public servant. He is often a spiritual guide in the real sense of the word. The librarian ought to know well the books he is advising you to read ; and he usually does. He generally takes a very real interest in your particular educational pur-

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON

*' Built by the people, and dedicated to the advancement of learning." The use of this libraryis free to all suits and sometimes even helps you with your lessons. The librarian in the children's reading-room is most helpful in choosing the right books for all kinds of children. Oftentimes you do not know what books to choose to help you with an article which you wish to write or a debate in which you are to take part. No matter what the situation the librarian is ready to assist you. The ideal librarian makes the library a neighborhood center, through which local industries are interpreted and local improvements furthered. He will help to make the library a home for a camera club, or a debating club, or a study circle. He often goes further and arranges public lectures on topics of interest to the neighborhood, or he will even find material for an international songfest, or a pageant, thus promoting patriotism and love of country.