Night schools wherein the common branches and such additional subjects as may be adapted to students applying for instruction are taught on three nights each week, for two hours each night, shall be maintained by the board of education

(1) In each city of the first class throughout the duration of the day-school term. (2) In each city of the second class on at least 100 nights.

(3) In each city of the third class on at least 80 nights.

(4) In each city not subject to the foregoing provisions and in each school district where 20 or more minors between the ages of 16 and 21 years are required to attend school, or where 20 or more persons over the age of 16 years make application for instruction in a night school, for at least 75 nights.

All night schools shall be free to all persons residing in the districts or city. The commissioner of education is hereby authorized to divide the State into zones and to appoint directors thereof, teachers, and such other employees as may be necessary to promote and extend educational facilities for the education of illiterates and of non-English-speaking persons.

The board of estimate and apportionment of a city, the council of a city, or the common council of a city, the board of supervisors of a county, the board of trustees of an incorporated village, the town board of a town may make appropriations to aid and promote the extension of education among the illiterates and non-English-speaking persons within the jurisdiction of these respective bodies.

No person, after January 1, 1922, shall become entitled to vote by attaining majority, by naturalization, or otherwise, unless such person is also able, except for physical disability, to read and write English.

The State law should provide that such minors as are unable to read and write English with the specified facility should attend school for a minimum of 200 hours each year, even though it be necessary for them to attend the regular day public school.

The law should also designate the commissioner, or superintendent of education, the State superintendent of public instruction, or other chief educational officer, as the official representative of the State authorized to complete any necessary cooperative arrangements with the Federal Government.

The State treasurer should be designated specifically as the officer authorized to receive Federal funds.

The chief educational officer of the State should be authorized to negotiate and arrange with the Federal Government for the expenditure of any joint funds at any time available.

When the Federal Government makes a specific appropriation of funds for expenditure in each State, further action by the State legislatures will be necessary to make appropriations meeting the requirements of such Federal acts, unless blanket appropriations may be provided in anticipation of such action by the National Congress.

A map of the State of New York, showing the proposed zoning, is printed herewith. It is proposed to divide the State into 15 zones. These zones have been worked out on the following basis: (1) Purposes of local administration; (2) number of illiterates and nonEnglish speaking in each district (8,000 to 12,000); (3) natural geographical divisions. The divisions should be upon county lines.

of Columbus, Young Men's Hebrew Association, etc. civic forces, including Young Men's Christian Association, Knights organizations, industries, foreign societies and leaders, social and schools, civic bodies, chambers of commerce, rotary clubs, women's forces functioning in Americanization service; for example, public

zation." These committees will represent all the activities and visor a representative group of local Americanization committees, similar to the plan explained in the book "Community AmericaniIt is proposed to organize in New York under a director or super

The function of this director will be to administer the State's activities through the local forces, to coordinate the local activities behind the public school extension program, to arouse and focus public attention and enlist volunteer activity upon constructive Americanization, to supervise the teachers trained for this work, through local cooperation of public school authorities, and to arrange local training centers when and where needed.

Other State legislation will be necessary in order to protect the foreign born from imposition, exploitation, adverse housing conditions, etc. These needs will be brought out from time to time as the work progresses. Such progressive and modern measures as smallclaims courts, public defenders, etc., should be studied and provided whenever found advisable.

Chapter III.

THE STATE AND THE COMMUNITY.

It is obvious that the national problem of Americanization is too large and too widespread to be solved from the City of Washington. To care for it properly there must be decentralization similar to that followed in the plans of the Federal Reserve Banking System, for instance. Under such a plan, there would be regional directors directly representing the National Government in groups of States. These regional directors would establish cooperative working relations with the State directors and would place at the disposal of the latter all the facilities of the National Government available for the work.

The plan already adopted by New York for the work in that State follows similar lines, with regional directors for the several groups of counties. The uniform adoption of such a plan throughout the Nation would give a simple, effective, and business-like working organization with direct lines from the Federal director, through the regional directors, the State directors, the district directors to the community directors. The adoption of this plan is urged upon those in authority in the States.

The work of Americanization vitally concerns several different State departments, such as health, labor, etc., but fundamentally the task is one of education. It seems far better therefore to have this work made a part of the educational machinery of the State unless it can be made a separate department of the State's work. The education of our foreign-born people is a task for our educational scientists, and not for the layman who knows nothing of the process of transforming men's minds.

THE COMMISSION PLAN.

Some States, notably California, have already organized for this work along lines quite different from the New York plan. In California the task of improving the environment and protecting the interests of the foreign born was a number of years ago placed in the hands of a special commission, that of immigration and housing. Excellent work has resulted. Here a body of men and women, giving a part of their time, have directed the work through an execu

tive secretary and assistants, while under the New York plan the responsibility is placed upon a State director reporting to the State commissioner of education. The New York plan may be adopted and the advantages of the California plan incorporated by appointing an advisory State committee which will represent all the State interests involved in Americanization.

This committee should include representatives of the various State bureaus affected, the principal racial organizations of the State, the industries, the federation of labor, the women's organizations, patriotic societies, etc. Such a committee would coordinate all the activities of the principal State organizations, eliminate duplication of effort, bring harmony of purpose, and be a powerful factor in advising and aiding the State director in carrying on the work.

A State department or commission (or committee) should be democratic, and made up of citizens who have had actual experience with immigrants and who represent various viewpoints in connection with the problem. The commissioners should preferably be leaders in their fields who could not give full time, but who would determine general policies and employ a staff of experts for the work of administration. Obviously, the smaller communities or private agencies can not afford to retain the services of experts in all the various lines of Americanization work, but the State can do so, and it can make them available for surveys and advisory work in each community. The State department, working in cooperation with the National department, thus has a concentrated power to inform each community as to its problems and as to the newest and most successful methods for attacking these problems. Few, if any, States can afford to maintain a department sufficiently large to do all the direct field work; and, indeed, it is questionable if the State should perform such functions. However, the State organization should be flexible and so developed that, on short notice, it can send experts in any line to the aid of the community.

THE STATE'S RESPONSIBILITY.

But it is not to be assumed that the State should await the call of the community. The initiative must be assumed by the State; it should keep in close contact with the National department, and also with the work being done in other States, and should assume responsibility for inaugurating work and programs, the value of which has been proved, not only in communities which have already recognized their Americanization problems but also in the backward communities which have failed to realize that they have any such problem. The California commission has boldly faced this question and has sent staffs of investigators into the most backward communities to make surveys, and has then confronted the community government and social agencies with a frank and full report of the conditions, pointing out the work that the local community agencies must undertake to meet the situation. When persuasion has failed, the commission has resorted to public exposure of existing conditions, and publicity has usually achieved the desired end.

In this connection it might be pointed out that the most progressive communities should always cooperate with the State department in compelling backward communities to undertake this work, because in many ways the Americanization problem can not be isolated, nor can it be solved by isolated action; it is what we might term a "migratory problem." For example, especially in our Western States, the greater percentage of foreign-born people are migratory workers, therefore in the fields of housing and sanitation the community does not fully protect itself by establishing proper