"It is safe to assume that about 800 persons are naturalized yearly in this city, but this number would be counterbalanced by the normal increase of adult foreigners. Approximately these figures, therefore, may apply to the situation today.

May 10th, 1920."

J. J. O'LEARY,

Chairman.

7. New Bedford

Local Americanization activities are outlined in the following letter from Allen P. Keith, Superintendent of Schools, November 4, 1920:

Our total population (according to official census) is 121,217 although we have placed our estimate as high as 125,000. Of this number about 62,000 are of English-Celtic extraction including 23,497 natives, 9,060 mixed, and 3,618 negroes. The remaining 59,000 are of other nationalities. All others under the heading English-Celtic' are native born English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh and Canadian. tically every nationality is represented in New Bedford. In one of cur schools alone at which an entertainment was held, children of thirteen different nationalities took part, reciting in their native tongues.

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"All of the industries in New Bedford employ foreignborn help, including our many cotton mills, cut glass shops, shoe factory, twist drill shop, cordage factory, copper company, and biscuit company.

"The State of Massachusetts is conducting a department of Americanization through its State Board of Education. Here in New Bedford we have Americanization classes, days, evenings, afternoons whenever and wherever there is a demand for them. We have a director and a teacher who gives all of her time to this work and as many part-time teachers as are needed. We hope to accomplish a great deal along this line this year. The local Y. M. C. A. and the K. of C. are also conducting classes along this line, the former working in conjunction with our director. The industries are co-operating with us by furnishing the school rooms and arranging for the help to attend these classes. Our evening school enrollment this year is greater than ever before in spite of the great depression in industrial conditions which has caused many mills to shut down for all or part of each week. Our compulsory classes are very much larger as well as the classes for those over twenty-one years of age for both men and women.

"Our teachers are mostly regular day school teachers who have taken special courses fitting them for this work, some of the courses being given under the auspices of the State and others by our Americanization teachers."

Michigan

1. State Activities

The following amendment to the State Constitution was put to popular vote on November 2d, and was defeated nearly two

to one:

PAROCHIAL SCHOOL AMENDMENT

Section 16. All residents of the State of Michigan, between the ages of five years and sixteen years, shall attend the public school in their respective districts until they have graduated from the eighth grade; Provided, that in districts where the grades do not reach the eighth, then all persons herein described in such district shall complete the course taught therein.

Section 17. The legislature shall enact all necessary legislation to render Section 16 effective.

We quote from a letter of T. E. Johnson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, written October 11th (before the election):

"The proposed amendment to the Constitution has been submitted to the people by an initiative petition which will be voted upon at the regular election, November 2nd. If carried it becomes a part of the Constitution. There is some question as to whether or not it will carry but if it should carry it will undoubtedly be carried to the courts. It was taken to the court before ordered on the ballot. Five out of the eight members of the court holding that they could take no jurisdiction before the fact.

"I know very little about the reason for the submission of the amendment but so far as I can learn it is an antiCatholic movement. This is not a statement of fact it is merely a general opinion that seems to prevail. It never was submitted to the legislature but several efforts have been made to secure enough signatures before the signatures were actually secured and submission arranged for. I have opposed the amendment because of its wording. The phrase underlined interfering seriously with our public school program."

2. Grand Rapids

The Americanization work of the public school board is des cribed in two letters from the School Superintendent, Mr. W. A. Greason, from which we quote:

November 2, 1920

"The Americanization work in Grand Rapids is done under the auspices of the Board of Education. This Board organizes the classes, pays the teachers, etc.

During the year 1920, there will be about 750 new citizens coming into citizenship through the work of the classes conducted by the Board of Education. The judges of the courts have complimented us very highly on the success we have made of these classes. It is found that the candidates for citizenship are able to pass their examinations with ease. They have a real knowledge of the subjects.

"These classes are conducted in the evening schools, City Hall, churches, club houses maintained by the foreigners, etc. We have succeeded in getting men to conduct these classes who know their subject and who are able to teach with power and enthusiasm.

"In addition to these citizenship classes, the Board of Education conducts classes in English for foreigners to train them to speak, to read and to write the English language. This is preliminary to the course to prepare candidates for citizenship to pass the examination by the court. For the English classes, we want teachers who have sympathy and teaching power and who can get the foreigners interested in learning the English language and have a definite method and technique for their procedure. We have been reasonably successful in this work.

"For the citizenship classes, we have succeeded in getting four or five able men to take these classes, men who know their subject and who are able to arouse interest and enthusiasm in the men who are candidates for citizenship.

"We are very much interested in this work and we have an ambition to educate all the foreigners in Grand Rapids and to make them citizens within the next five years."

November 13, 1920.

"There are 137,638 people in Grand Rapids, according to the 1920 census. No information has been given out as yet as to the actual number of aliens. Roughly, twenty-five per cent of our population are foreign-born, and our estimate, based on the most casual information, would indicate an alien population, of twelve to fifteen thousand.

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“This organization does Americanization work. Active work is carried on by the Y. M. C. A., under the Industrial Division, and it is through them that a large part of the factory work is carried out. The Board of Education furnishes achers for factories, recruited in the factory by the Y. M. C. A., Industrial Department, and in the schools, recruited both by the Y. M. C. A. and direct mail work by this organization. Outside of this, the Americanization Society carries on continuous publicity, relating to the need of citizenship.

"Our interpretation of Americanization work is somewhat broader than in other communities. We believe that the socalled Americanization movement is only the beginning of a much broader movement, which will have as its objective the development of real citizenship, not only among foreign-born people, but among all the people, living in America. We believe that it is a safe statement to make that when American citizens function as American citizens, because they are trained to do so, the alien problem will automatically disappear. Specifically when the time comes that the American born or naturalized citizen makes it his business to see that the foreign-born workman in his organization becomes a citizen, our work will be finished.

"We are sending you some of our material, especially that having to do with the work in the schools; also some relating to what we call our 'Inter-City Citizenship Contest.' If you will glance through some of this, you will note that the underlying thought is the development of citizenship on the broad basis of the inclusion of all of the people.

"As Mr. Greeson has stated, we will have 750 new citizens this year and a large part of them come because the children have gone home from school with an argument for citizenship, or because they have come under the influence of the factory workers, who believe that their factory should be one hundred per cent American, and that every man should be a voter."

Grand Rapids also has an Americanization Society whose Executive Secretary, Frank L. Dykema, has compiled and published "Americanization Dictionary" designed to aid the alien to become a citizen. Mr. Dykema has also issued a number of citizenship lessons, which do not merely encourage naturalization, but which urge citizens to fulfill their duty in the matter of voting.