Appeals to authorities at Washington for immigrants' admission ... "Specials" given in charge of the Society for a period of three years Searches of United States custom records for immigrants' baggage General Work of the Employment Bureau Laborers placed at work.... Applicants for work Laborers requested for work... 101 84 2 4,412 4,412 5,672 47. United Textile Workers of America, Bible House, New York City. John Golden, international president; Sara A. Conboy, international secretary-treasurer; Thomas F. McMahon, international first vice-president; Frank McKosky, international second vicepresident; James Starr, John Hanley, John H. Powers, Arthur McDonnell, George Creech, Charles Burns, Lewis Ludwig, A. T. Harbin, George White, executive council. "I regret very much I was unable to keep my promise to testify at the educational hearing yesterday in City Hall. I was in Lowell, Mass., on a very serious strike situation and could not possibly get away until last evening. Otherwise I should have certainly been glad of the opportunity to have been present, not only to testify, but to help in any other way possible in the splendid work being done by the Lusk Committee in getting at the real facts in connection with the seditious activities of such a large number of the foreign element, who are not and never intend to be citizens of this country." 48. Woman Suffrage Party - Americanization Bureau, Miss Esther Lape, secretary: In an interview with a representative of the Committee during November, 1919, Miss Lape stated in part as follows: "We are trying to avoid political education. We think it is likely to be bad for women before they speak the English language. The first thing we did after women got the vote was to get a bill through the Legislature to train teachers for the foreign-born. Columbia co-operated and has given two training institutes of six weeks each. It has also been done in Syracuse, Rochester and Albany. This last summer there were 7 to 9 institutes of six weeks each in the State of New York. We send out literature among the native-born to get them after the foreign-born. We have wanted to avoid the mechanics of voting in what we teach; also we have tried to avoid naturalization for the sake of voting." CHAPTER XIII 1. TESTIMONY OF COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVES a. Adelphi In a public hearing before this Committee on January 17, 1920, Dr. Frank Dickinson Blodgett, president of Adelphi College, Brooklyn, testified in substance, in answer to questions, as follows: "I have been in academic work since 1893 twenty-two years in the Oneonta State Normal School, and since 1915 I have been president of Adelphi College. Adelphi is a college of liberal arts for women, giving a four-year course leading to the A. B. degree. We have about 400 students. "While the matter of the training of teachers has been my concern for some time, it was not until last September that I had considered the matter of teachers especially trained to instruct adult aliens. We are about to start courses designed for this purpose, in accordance with the State Education Department requirements. It is difficult to say whether this proposed training will be adequate to fit teachers for this work, for as far as I know, it has never been tried; but I should say that if there is going to be a weakness in it anywhere, it will be in bringing into the field too young and too inexperienced people. I believe that it will take a peculiar type of mind and a person who has sympathy with and understanding of the foreign-born, and that the requirements should be not so much educational as the general requirements of maturity and common sense. "Besides a pedagogical test for the selection of teachers for the foreign-born, I believe that there should be a character test. The only test that I know of at the present time is that any person entering a state normal school must have a character certificate. It seems to me that if there is any place on earth where we should test a person's patriotism, Americanism and good all-around character, it is for any one who contemplates the teaching of adult foreigners. believe that a law requiring such a character test would be a good thing. I "I am not sure that the present courses for training teachers for adult aliens would give a knowledge of racial background and history, but it would seem to me inadvisable to insist upon this at the present time, for there would be too few who could qualify. That is something that a teacher could learn if he had the other requirements. It would seem to me advisable, however, if it could be accomplished. "The question of moral development has been much under discussion. It seems to me that in this matter of character building, no matter how you drive the nail it will have to be clenched by the actual doing. I mean by that that you get character, not by talking about it, but by doing it by having a teacher insist that work be well done when it should be done and that the people doing it should abide by the rules of the game and play on the square. I should say that emphasis should be laid on the character of the teacher. "I do not think that the present compensation for teaching is sufficient to attract to the profession persons of competence and character. We have lost some people of desirable ability and character because of it, and on the other hand, some have remained in spite of it. On the whole, I should say that we have lost more good material from the fact that the compensation has not reached or attracted students to the normal schools. "I do not want anything that I have said to be construed against the teaching profession as a whole, for I think it is mighty fine." b. Columbia In a public hearing before this Committee on January 17, 1920, Professor John Jacob Coss, director of the Columbia University Summer Education and assistant professor of the Department of Philosophy, testified, in substance, in answer to questions, as follows: "In the course of my professional activities, I do not feel that I have made a study of the problems of education of adult aliens, and I regret that almost nobody in the country has done so. However, at Columbia University Summer School for two years we have been giving courses in the teaching of English to adult foreigners. We are now giving courses in Columbia House which is an integral part of the University, particularly given over to the matter of the education to foreign-born and comparatively uneducated native-born, in all matters pertaining to good citizenship. We are training teachers there, through such courses as Methods of Teaching English to Foreigners (this course is being increasingly selected), History of Immigration, the Immigrant in Industry, Civics for the Foreign-born, Welfare Agencies in Americanization, etc. All of these are by specialists for those who are expecting to engage in the work of teaching the foreign-born. "There are no special requirements for admission to these courses except maturity and ability to profit by taking them. "The work has started in conjunction with the Church Women's League for Patriotic Service. They had a group of young women, social workers, chiefly, who they wanted to train for that work, and they came to us to ask us to provide the instruction. "I believe that there are problems to be faced in teaching adults which are probably different from the problems of teaching minors, particularly minors below the age of eighteen years. I should think that the ideal teacher of an adult foreign grade would have these qualifications: First, a knowledge of the language of the group being taught; second, a knowledge of the history of the country from which the group comes, particularly of its contemporary, social and political condition; third, a knowledge of American ideals and institutions; fourth, an ability to do two things in the way of teaching-by a direct method increase the vocabulary, the reading and speaking ability of the group and at the same time and through the same methods in the subject matter used, increase an appreciation of what American ideals are and a knowledge of American institutions. I should also say that it would be necessary to have a knowledge of foreign backgrounds, because it will bring a bond of acquaintance and sympathy between those taught and the person teaching without which it is very difficult to establish a genuine connection. "I think it would be desirable to make sure that the character and the personality of every teacher is of the highest type, although I realize that that would be a difficult thing to do. "I am positive that the present compensation of teachers is inadequate. At Columbia we have now a basic salary of, for persons in the instructorial grade, $2,000. I think that |