"The pith and marrow of a Nation
Drawing force from all her men,
Highest, humblest, weakest, all,
For her time of need, and then
Pulsing it again through them,
She that lifts up the manhood of the poor,
She of the open soul and open door,
With room about her hearth for all mankind!"
This was written in 1865. Since then the rim of the Mediterranean has
sent its enormous contribution of unskilled and unlettered human beings
to the New World. There have been three great tides of migration from
overseas. The first came to secure liberty of conscience; the second
sought liberty of political thought and action; the third came in
quest of bread. And of the three, incomparably the greater problem
of assimilation is that presented by the last comers. Inextricably
interwoven are all the complexities which face the great and growing
municipalities, politically and industrially and socially. These are
the awful problems of congestion and festering slums, of corruption in
public life, of the exploitation of womanhood, of terrible struggle
with wretchedness and poverty. Rightly directed, the native qualities
and strength of these peoples will bring a splendid contribution in
the making of a virile citizenship. Wrongly shaped, their course in
the life of the city may readily become of sinister import. Frequently
they are misunderstood, and they easily misunderstand. The problem is
one of education, but it is that most difficult problem, of education
for grown-ups. Here perhaps the library may render the most distinct
service, in that it can bring to them in their own tongues the ideals
and the underlying principles of life and custom in their adopted
country; and through their children, as they swarm into the children's
rooms, is established a point of contact which no other agency could
so effectually provide.
Under the repressive measures of old-world governments, the racial
culture and national spirit of Poles, Lithuanians, Finns, Balkan Slavs,
and Russian Jews have been stunted. Here both are warmed into life and
renewed vigor, and in generous measure are given back to the land of
their adoption. Such racial contribution must prove of enormous value,
whether, as many sociologists believe, this country is to prove a great
melting pot for the fusing of many races, or whether as Dr. Zhitlowsky
contends, there is to be one country, one set of laws, one speech, but
a vast variety of national cultures, contributing each its due share to
the enrichment of the common stock.