because it would cost less to send the delegates to Rochester. Now, this occurrence sounds ridiculous, almost unbelievable; that on account of several hundred dollars such a struggle should break out in the ranks of the entire tailor trade. But this is a fact, regardless of how peculiar it may sound now, and it was of the greatest significance then. The entire existence of the union was so weak that you could have easily overthrown it. Exactly six years have elapsed and now there stands before us the Amalgamated as one of the largest and most progressive unions in America. * The Amalgamated was the first union that won the 44-hour working week. * * * And together with the decrease in hours the union also won a substantial increase in wages. The tailor lives to-day in every respect a hundred per cent better than he did in the years before the Amalgamated existed. That means really only six years ago. He is freer, prouder, knows his rights and * He knows his power and uses it. * insists upon them. Completely united, with full recognition and with a prestige which but very few organizations possess, the Amalgamated stands to-day in the foremost ranks of the American labor movement, an example of the most beautiful and most union progressive among the unions of the country. (Vorwarts, May 10, 1920.) 27. PEACE IN THE CLOAK INDUSTRY. * * * The best news which the Yiddish newspaper carried yesterday for the Jewish public was the decision of the conciliation committee. We congratulate the Cloak Makers' Union and Manufacturers Association upon the peaceful settlement of the issues involved. We trust that both parties interested in the cloak industry will profit from this peace. * * * July 25, 1915.) 28. THE VICTORY OF PUBLIC OPINION. (Tog, We congratulate the Tailors' Union and the American Clothing Manufacturers' Association for arriving at an understanding and thereby avoiding a general strike * * *. It is not always possible to avoid an open struggle between capital and labor, but wherever possible it ought to be avoided * * * * * Jewish public opinion has become an important factor in the settlement of strifes between capital and labor. The conviction has ripened that a strike in a great industry is no longer a private matter between the two opposing groups Thousands of innocent persons who do not take part in the strike also suffer. It is evident to-day that the result of a strike depends to a large extent upon the sympathy of public opinion * * * *. It is the victory of Jewish public opinion. The general strike is too strong a weapon and should only be used as a last resort * * Let us hope that Jewish public opinion will also prevent an unnecessary struggle in the cloak industry. (Tog, July 22, 1915.) 29. AMUSEMENTS FOR JEWISH CHILDREN. There has been and there still remains the following problem: Where shall our sons and daughters go to spend their leisure hours pleasantly and worthily? It is a burning question among us of the New World, especially in the large cities. Not only have the immigrant Jewish parents hitherto not provided any social centers for their children, but they do not permit them to frequent institutions of this type which do exist. To our regret, we must admit that our immigrant brethren do not yet recognize the value of a social center for children and young people conducted under the supervision of older, experienced persons. They consider the public-school system a bulwark of American democracy. Some newspapers favor the establishment of Yeshivahs or Talmudical Academies, which are organized along lines similar to the parochial schools, for a select group of pupils who are to receive a more intensive Jewish education because they intend to specialize in Jewish studies to prepare to enter the Jewish religious or educational field as a life work. All agree, however, that the large mass of Jewsih children must attend the public schools. As a matter of fact, of the 65,000 Jewish children in New York who received a Jewish education in 1918, only 1.5 per cent attended the Yeshivahs or parochial schools.1 The leaders in American Jewish education assume the same attitude and urge the organization of week-day system of religious instruction which will supplement rather than replace the public schools. The social life among our neighbors the Christians, has assumed a definite form with regard to the youth. Both the Catholics and Protestants have introduced through their churches, certain clean, decent amusements for their youth. Practically every church has its auditorium and club rooms, and the clergyman, with the aid of members of his congregation, furnishse opportunities for wholesome amusement and recreation to the youth. They have introduced music, dancing, various games, moving pictures, and reading in order to hold the youth together, and incidentally to teach them from time to time morals through religion. Immigrant fathers and mothers: * Not only should you allow your children to belong to civic clubs, but it is also your sacred duty to erect and equip social centers in the various parts of the city, where the character of your children will become more polished and refined. (Normalin, Warheit, March 30, 1913.) 30. TOO FEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS. It is a disgrace that the richest city in the world should not be able to provide adequate school accommodation for its children. Politicians will endeavor to make a political issue out of this neglect. The opponents of the present administration will put the entire blame upon the latter. The fact remains, however, that the lack of sufficient schools in New York City has become a chronic disease. This condition is to be deplored. America is a democracy. Education is the foundation of democracy. The State must provide all children with opportunites for education. If a large and wealthy city like New York does not have sufficient schools, it is a disgrace to the inhabitants and to all the political parties. Excuses are of no value. There must be enough schools and teachers. * * * (Tog, September 14, 1922.) 31. OUR JEWISH CHILDREN. Our Jewish sages declared that every father ought to teach his son three things— horseback riding, swimming, and shooting. These sentiments were expressed immediately after the destruction of the temple, when the Jewish representatives still hoped to regain their fatherland, and they could not depend upon miracles. Then hundreds of years passed, and the Jewish people changed. An anecdote is related regarding Napoleon the First, who once stopped in a Jewish town. He decided to visit the synagogue. It happened to be on the 9th of Ab. When he entered the synagogue, he found the Jews seated on the floor reciting the "Lamentations." When the significance of the situation was explained to him, he remarked smilingly, "By sitting on the floor you will never regain Jerusalem." That characterized the Jewish people. We Jews have lost entirely our trust in strong arms. We have arrived at the stage of one who lies on the earth and calls upon the stars to aid him. We say this in connection with the statement made by Dr. Edward B. Singleton, to the effect that Jewish children in the United States are the weakest bodily. Doctor Singleton says that Jews ought to exert every effort to get their children to participate in the Boy and Girl Scout movements, where they can develop their bodies. The Boy Scout idea is splendid. The Boy Scouts movement is an organization which has, it is true, military aims. We are not great adherents of armies and armories, but every evil has also its good side. The armies and armories in civilized countries aid in the development of the bodies and spirits of young people. As far as the Boy Scouts are concerned, they also aim to prepare the American youth to be ready at all times to use the rifle and, if necessary, to go to the defense of our country. 1 Care of A. M. Dushkin, Jewish Education in New York City, pp. 21, 183. In the meantime the scouts are taught to perform all sorts of gymnastic exercises swimming, running, shooting, etc. Their muscles become strong and their spirits become steady, and in general the character of honorable men is developed among them, who are prepared to defend the weak and to support those who are in need of support. The headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America in New York is situated in the Fifth Avenue Building. We have received an interesting bulletin from them regarding the recent activities of the organization. Among other news there was an item which tells of the fact that Mr. Arnold Datelbaum, of Chicago, organized a brigade of Jewish Boy Scouts. He was very successful, and now every Jewish boy who hears of it also wants to participate. And those boys who do participate do not run around idle on the street. They develop such a steadiness of character that even their own parents do not recognize them. From San Francisco we are informed that a Jew, Justas Fexiote, organized several brigades of Boy Scouts, and the leaders of them are six men, one Methodist, one Episcopalian, three Jews, and one Catholic. The children whom they lead and teach group themselves in approximately the same proportion as do their leaders. Among the advisers for the Boy Scouts are Gov. Hiram Johnson, a Catholic priest, Father McQuade, and Rev. Dr. M. A. Meyer. Most important of all, aside from the fact that the children are hardened to do difficult tasks in life, the comradeship creates a remarkable friendship among the adherents of one denomination toward the other. Everything possible is done to implant in the children the spirit of honor and respect, and the manners of a gentleman. Jewish children ought to become members of the Boy Scouts of America. It would do them a great deal of good. (Warheit, January 17, 1912.) 32. WHAT WILL HE BE? What will he be? A doctor, a lawyer, or a dentist? This question is so familiar to every Jewish young man that it is usless to explain the conditions under which it is uttered. One need only picture a dingy old room in a dilapidated East Side tenement, wherein are seated the mother of some young "hopeful" and an indulgent father whiling away their moments of relaxation in fashioning plans for the future of a young star of 12. They are making him out to be a great professor or a wonderful orator or a flourishing dentist. Their aspirations are far loftier than the little fellow's, whose one overpowering aim in life is to become a policeman and wear brass buttons. Their game is a far more engrossing, earnest, self-consuming game than the little fellow's whose most exciting pastime is marbles. Yet is their manner of considering things any the wiser, any the more practical? By no means. Why should every family irrespective of its financial conditions be anxious to prepare its young for the professions? Why should families that are steeped in poverty try to prepare their children for unattainable heights, and then wind up by letting them work as errand boys at $6 a week for the rest of their lives? Because they are unacquainted with the true facts. For if the parents knew that the professions are overcrowded and that there is little or no money to be made in them, they would not cripple the future of their sons in this way. They would understand that a useful trade is exceedingly safer than a profession and much more easily acquired. They would comprehend that instead of a public school paving the way for their sons to a scholarly university, it should become the mother of practical arts, it should teach them that which will equip them for the struggle of life. A school whose principal subject is grammar and arithmetic is not the school for a boy whose father seldom has a paying job. But a school which emphasizes the subject of manual labor, which teaches its pupils how to use their hands to good advantage outside of culturing their brains is the practical school. Such schools graduate young men who are able to support themselves, who are in a position to repay at once portions of the great debt they owe their parents. These schools have been introduced in parts of America and have proved successful. They abound in Germany. In that country they have brought the trades to such a scientific stage that carpentry or plumbing is ranked with the professions. New York needs such schools as no other place does. New York has hundreds of thousands of Jewish youths who though they possess the brilliant sparks of talent that typifies the race, are ruining their futures because of the inadequate system of education. It is not the fault of the Government that this system is poor. It is the fault of the young men that adhere to it. If you, Jewish youths, were anxious to obtain the manual training that would insure you a livelihood from the day you graduated, you would get it merely for the asking. For our Government is not an institution formed for the benefit of the few but for the welfare of the many. And once you convince the Government that a school for practical arts is essential to your welfare, you will get it. Young men of Israel, it is very well to dream of the professions. But remember that one does not nourish one's stomach with dreams. To study medicine you must devote years to academic study and training and then some more years before you can begin to support yourself. To study dentistry you must spend many years and then not be certain about earning any money. To study law a similar indefinite future is involved. And all this time in a dismal tenement on the East Side, in a gloomy, sooty room that looks more like a den than a dwelling place there are huddled together some tiny little brothers and sisters, a feeble mother, and an overworked father. They have pinned all their hopes to a son, an only grown-up son, and that son is going to take years to raise his family out of misery-years. (Tageblatt, November 10, 1914.) [Chapter VI. General findings and conclusions.] A. The probable future of the Yiddish press. B. Resemblance between the Yiddish and general press. 1. In the general scope of the Editorial Content. 2. In the nature of the content. C. Direct Americanization efforts of the Yiddish press. 1. English pages and columns. 2. Special lessons in English. 3. Articles on American history, civics, geography, education, etc. D. Environment represented by the Yiddish press. Underlying this study are the assumptions that one large purpose of education within and without the school is the development of good citizens, and that the separate functions of the school in civic education, can be determined by ascertaining first what other agencies are contributing toward that end. Together with the school the home is one of the more important social groups in the case of boys and girls. Parental influence is a potent factor in molding the character of children. Among the significant extra-school agencies which contribute toward the home environment in which children find themselves is the press. The incidental domestic instruction, the attitudes, opinions, and sentiments which children hear their elders express are to some extent a reflection of the influence which the press exerts upon the adult members of the family. This study has been addressed primarily to the task of discovering the outstanding contributions which the Yiddish daily press of New York makes toward the civic education of its readers, over 90 per cent of whom are immigrant Jews. Specifically, the writer has attempted to establish the volume and nature of the civic influence radiated by this press by means of its editorial columns. B. RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE YIDDISH AND GENERAL PRESS. What purposes do the Yiddish newspapers strive to achieve through their editorial columns? The result of the investigations, in the writer's opinion, suggests the following conclusion: The analysis of the content of the editorials of the entire Yiddish press has brought to the surface results which are significant. It has been generally assumed that the primary aim of a foreign-language press is to keep its readers in touch with the events which transpire in the "old country"; to aid in keeping the immigrant readers in America well informed regarding the welfare of their relatives whom they left behind when they emigrated to America.1 The investigation of the Yiddish press seems to have established that, in the case of the editorial comment of this particular press, the emphasis is placed largely on matters and events which are of primary concern to their readers as Americans. While the Yiddish newspapers generally do not permit any opportunity to go by to comment on problems of vital significance to the Jewish people, one might conclude from the results of this study, that this press conceives its main editorial function to be to interpret American events, ideals, and institutions to their immigrant Jewish readers. 1 In a series of articles dealing with the problems of the foreign born in America which appeared in the New York Globe during August, 1921, the writer makes the following statement regarding the foreignlanguage newspapers in general: "In their contents they are sometimes more foreign than American. The newspaper is often written for a class which is much more interested in its home country in Europe than in America; consequently the newspapers have to devote more space to European affairs than to America." From the point of view of the volume of civic material included in its editorial columns it is evident that the Yiddish press has a decidedly American outlook. The Yiddish newspapers are "American newspapers printed in Yiddish" and constitute a desirable accession to American journalism. They resemble the native-language press in the general scope of their editorial content and deal prevailingly with general American issues. Some themes which have been included under Jewish group issues, as those dealing with philanthropic questions, are not in any sense foreign, and simply embrace the social and religious problems of the Jewish group in America. However, even if these issues be excluded from consideration, the proportion of editorials devoted to general American issues is about twice as large as all others combined. In fact out of the 12 minor subject categories, the largest 3 belong under American issues and consume approximately three-fifths of the entire content.1 A consideration of the nature of the subjects which it treats editorially, as well as of the attitudes and sentiments which it expresses, justifies the conclusion that the influence which the Yiddish press radiates through editorual columns is wholesome civically and that it is a vital factor in the Americanization of its immigrant readers. It consciously attempts to bring them nearer to America in sentiment, thought, and action by the constant discussion of American events and problems-political, economic, and cultural; by taking advantage of every opportunity to educate its readers up to the American point of view in matters which have been generally accepted and which are beyond the realm of controversy. It endeavors to inculcate an understanding and respect for American institutions; to explain to its readers the significance of American festivals and customs and to urge their observance; to stimulate national pride in their adopted country by pointing our the advantages of the American Government and institutions in both form and spirit; by comparison and in contrast with those of other countries; to imbue its readers with American ideals and with reverence for the principles of American democracy; to give them a proper conception of the duties and opportunities of American citizenship, and to quicken their sense of responsibility. It tries to get its readers to understand that in our democracy all privileges and powers originated with the people. It exhorts them to become citizens, to exercise their right to vote at the primaries and elections, and not to leave the control of politics entirely in the hands of professional politicians; to take advantage of their power to remedy the defects in our present social and industrial order by means of the ballot, and not to permit themselves to be swayed by agitators who advocate sabotage or terrorism; to adapt themselves to American conditions and standards, to leave the congested city life and to settle upon the farm; to organize and to remain faithful to their unions, thereby aiding in maintaining proper American standards of living; in brief, not to remain strangers in this land but to become part and parcel of the American people. The relatively greater frequency with which the Yiddish newspapers deal editorially with American issues, as compared with the attention given to foreign and specifically Jewish problems, the emphasis which they generally put upon the inculcation and development of the virtues or desirable qualities of citizenship, and the efforts which they exert in the direction of uprooting or correcting prevailing civic deficiencies place the Yiddish press in the front ranks as an Americanizing agency. C. DIRECT AMERICANIZATION EFFORTS. Individual newspapers have not been satisfied with merely influencing the mind content of their readers indirectly, but have consciously employed direct means and they have endeavored to give their readers an American education, acquainting them with the English language, with American history, geography, etc. The Tageblatt, the oldest American Yiddish daily in existence, printed a special English page from September, 1897, to 1907, and reintroduced it in 1914, when it arranged to have the more difficult words translated and explained in Yiddish to help the readers understand the articles written in English. The immigrant readers were afforded an opportunity by this simple, natural method to acquire and augment their English vocabulary. The Tog, which was launched in November, 1914, and which was amalgamated in 1919 with the Warheit, started its career with a weekly English supplement, 1 See Ch. IV, p. 70; Ch. V, pp. 121-122. |