THE SUNDAY OKEGONIAN, PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 9, 1919.
3
"The Making of
America Cannot
Proceed Faster
Than the Making
of Americans.
SLx.tjs.kN million grown-np pupils
are to be enrolled in Uncle Sam's
first-reader clasa by the terms
of the Americanization bill, brought
before congress with so strong a
backing of popular sentiment. This
measure, more properly known as
the Smlth-Bankhead bill, alms to
compel the unread fourth of the pop
ulation to be Instructed In at least
the preliminary syllables of the three
Jl'e. The necessity for the enact
ment of this legislation was made
apparent by the army's costly experi
ence, which proved that instead of
8.000,000 illiterates, as the census fig
ures showed, there are twice that
number.
Authority for this statement is con
tained In the following quotation
from the testimony of Herbert Kauf
man, noted as a writer, whose work
commands the highest price paid for
American newspaper and magazine
features, and who is now special as
sistant to the secretary of the In
terior, in charge of Americanization.
This statement is doubly official,
having been made before and incor
porated in the records of the senate
committee:
"However, there are such folk
8.000,000 of them (according to the
1910 census), 10 years of age and
over 5,000,000 of whom are native
born, yet cannot read or write Eng
lish, and of those who do not speak
It, at least half do not read or write
any language.
"But I do not consider this an ac
curate estimate. Recent Investiga
tions challenge it. I would not hesi
tate to double the figure. The out
rageous percentage of Illiteracy In
the army suggests that no test of lit
eracy was required by the census
takers. Of 1,552,258 draftees exam
ined by the war department, 386,196,
or 21.9 per cent, could not read news
papers or writs letters home."
Tfce Appalling Record.
The cosmopolitan aspect of these
millions who neither read nor write
Is painted In the following figu. 1
obtained from an inquiry made by the
RESPIRATION OF FRUIT PROVED
BY PROFESSOR'S EXPERIMENTS
Breathing Process Kept Up Considerable Time After Separation From
Parent Tree or Vine.
DO FRUITS breathe? They do, ac
cording to some very interest
ing recent researches of Pro
fessor Fred W. Morse, acting director
of the agricultural experiment, sta
tion of Massachusetts college. ' The
respiration of human beings and
animals is, of course, a well-known
action and the necessity for it in the
living creature is fully appreciated,
but the fact that plants and even
parts of plants must also breathe to
live, and thrive, will be news to most
people.
Professor Morse began his experi
ments with fruits on the theory that
as all living human cells must have
oxygen to keep them alive and give
up carbon dioxide and water as a Ve
en It of the action ot the oxygen on
some of their contents it only seems
to stand to reason that living cells
when a part of vegetable matter must
also have practically the same re
Qulrements and do the same thing.
As parts of plants when they are
cut off from the main stem do not
I
department of the interior Into the
personnel of 112 industrial establish
ments employing a total of 48,598
foreign-born Trorkers. Less than a
third. 15,265, or 31.4 per cent, of that
number were naturalized and 1870,
or 3.8 per cent, have their first pa
pers. Th3 remaining 31,463, or 64 per
cent, are still aliens. The nationality
and the percentage still alien is:
Total Per
No. Cent.
Nationality Xmployes Alien
Austrian ........., 5519 67.9
Armenian 20Q 76.2
Bohemian .649 BO
Bulgarian 83 26.4
Canadian 475 57.2
Croatian .1235 95.3
Kngliaht 3161 35.5
Finnish 437 C9.7
French 171 67
German ........2637 80.9
Greek 816 92.1
Hungarian .................. .2968 77
Irish 1525 81
Italian ....9125 72.1
Mexican 79 24.3
Norwegian 277 27
Polish ...7719 69
Roumanian 897 94.9
Russian 3960 72.6
Scotch 741 42
Serbian 246 95
Spanish 378 96.5
Swedes 378 27.4
Other nationalities 3825 76.5
tNOTB Under "English" 1 Included
Great Britain and provinces, nrnt Irish
and Canadians being included, but the
Irish and Canadians given in the table
are not included under "English."
Bays Mr. Kaufman: "The melting
pot calls for watchful cars when we
find that 94.3 per cent of Mexicans,
96.4' per cent of Bulgarians, 95 per
cent of Roumanians, 93 per cent of
Greeks, 95 per cent of Croatians, 76
per cent of Armenians, 67 per cent
of Austrians, employed by the con
cerns In question, are not subjects of
the flag."
The Smith-Bankhead bill would
provide 312,500,000 per year until 1926
to be divided among the states in the
proportion of illiterates in each, and
the state to equal the federal appro
priation. This money, together with
lesser sums for its administering, is
provided to promote the education ot
native illiterates and in general ot
die at once It seemed to him as only
reasonable that they must continue
to breathe. This, he has now proved,
is absolutely true whether the sev
ered part is a leafy branch, a fruit
or a root; but some parts he has
demonstrated live much longer than
others. The apple and the cranberry,
for instance, continue to breathe tos
many months after they have been
removed from the tree and vine,
respectively.
His experiments with cranberries
demonstrated that they absorb oxygen
from the air which united with the
sugar of their cells ana that they ex
haled carbonjc acid gas just as hu
man beings do from their lungs.
Professor Morse has determined that
the chief products of respiration are
exactly the same to plants as In hu
man beings, namely, carbonic acid
and water. Any one by placing one
or more apples in a glass Jar and
covering It over can easily prove this.
In a few hours a dewy film will
cover the inner surface of the jar,
kwhich in time will collect into drops
jFotcj Many Millions, Ameri
cans and Foreign Born, Living
in the Appalling Darkness of Il
literacy, Are to Be Helped by an
Aroused Nation's New Agency
of Rescue Herbert Kaufman's
Stirring Demand That Oppor-;
tunity Shall Reach "the
Whole People.
persons . unable to use the English
language. Elements of knowledge
pertaining to self-support and home
making are to bs taught, as well as
citizenship. That the money Involved
KAUFMAN'S PLEA FOR AMERICANIZATION
HERBERT KAUFMAN, a notable
figure among the "dollaV a year"
men who have placed their talents
and energies at the disposal of the
government, and who is now special
assistant to the secretary of the inte- ,
rlor, is known throughout both Eu
rope and America as one of the most
brilliant of living writers. His clear
vision, magnetic seal and highly in
spirational genius for expression have.
in the crisis of the Americanization
movement, had a tremendous influ
ence upon all who have come under
his sway. Here are some significant
flashes of his plea for the Ameri
canization bill:
"Illiteracy is a plck-and-shovel es
tate, a life sentence to menlalty. De
mocracy may not have fixed classes
and service. The first duty of con
gress is to preserve opportunity for
the whole people and opportunity
cannot exist where there is no means
of information.
"It is a shabby economy, an un
grateful economy that withholds
funds for their betterment. The fields
of France cry Bhame upon those who
are content to abandon them to their
handicap.
"Anarchy shall never want for
mobs while the uninformed are left
at the mercy of false prophets. Those
who have no way to establish the
worth of America are unlikely to value-
' its institutions fairly. Blind to
facts, the wildest one-eyed argument
can sway them.
"Not until we can teach our illiter
ate millions the truth about the land
to which they have come and in
which they were born, shall Its spirit
reach them not until they can read,
which will trickle to the bottom. On
opening the jar a little clear lime will
be seen to turn milky. Just as it
will If a person's breath is forced
through it.
The first experiment which Pro
fessor Morse made to demonstrate
that fruits breathe is both simple and
interesting. He took a large basin
and partly filled it with water. In
the center of this basin he set a small
nrtftn dish cnntalnlnr a. snlutlnn n f
caustic soda or potash. On the sup
port he placed an apple,' ta-ing care
to see that neither the wit.r nor the
caustic solution touched the fruit. He
then covered the support and its con
tents by a large jar with its mouth
wholly in the water. Then he watched
to see what would happen.
It was his theory that if the apple
breathed in the oxygen of the air and
breathed out carbonic acid the latter
would be absorbed by the caustic solu
tion, while the water in the jar would
rise in the jar to fill the space made
vacant by the removal of the oxygen.
This is exactly what happened, until
finally the water filled about one
fifth of the air space originally pres
ent and that remained stationary, be
cause the oxygen was all used up. As
Is well known, respiration in human
beings causes a destruction of matter
in the cells much like the destruction
of wood In a stove, and the rate at
which this destruction goes on can be
measured by determining the amount
ot carbonic acid that is breathed out
in a given length of time. Do plants
go through the same process? was a
Types of Immigrants Representing the
Is Inconsiderable Is shown by Mr.
Kaufman, w'en he says:
"Because, the states permitted 386,
196 of 'their several citizens of draft
age to remain so abysmally unlettered
can we set them right and empower
them to inherit their estate.
"We must not be tried by inquest.
We demand the right to vindicate the
merit of our systems wherever their
integrity Is questioned or maligned.
"We demand the right to regulate
the cheating scales upon which the
Republic is weighed by its ill-wishers.
"We demand the right to protect
unintelllgence from Esau bargains
with hucksters of traitorous creeds.
"We demand the right to present
our case and our cause to the un
lettered mass whose benightedness
and ready prejudices continually in
vite exploitation.
"We demand the right to vaccinate
credulous unexperience against bol
shevlsm and kindred plagues.
"We demand the right to render
all whose kind we deem fit to fight
for our flag, fit to vote and prosper
under its folds.
"In these demands , we voice the
will of every state in the Union as
testified to by the Insistent attitude
of the country's press.
"The problem Is not local. However
much different sections may at pres
ent hold a preponderance of the un
educated, we cannot be safe any
where until we are sound everywhere.
"There cannot be coagulations ot
Illiteracy and non-English speaking
on either coast or border without
both coasts and borders finally shar
ing the consequences.
"An outbreak of hoof and mouth
disease would compel instant remed
ial laws and funds to confine the
menace within bounds.
"It Is even more Incumbent upon
us to defend healthy citizenship
question which seemed to Professor
Morss of considerable interest.
He was aware that in human beings
under usual conditions the food which
they eat makes good the losses pro
duced by respiration. A man, how
ever, may live without food for some
time, during which period he still
breathes in oxygen and breathes out
carbonic acid and water,, but he
steadily loses weight and grows thin
in flesh because there is a steady
destruction of cell material with no
food to replace it.
Now, it occurred to Professor liorse
that It his belief that fruits breathe
was correct that fruits, after having
been picked from the tree, are In the
same condition as the starving man.
This he has proved Is absolutely cor
rect, having demonstrated that the
cells of the fruit still keep up respira
tion with nothing in the way of food
to make good the losses produced by
the action. Since apples and other
fruits have no body heat to maintain,
the breathing process naturally is not
so active as in many, and they may
consequently last months after being
picked from the tree. Tet there Is,
nevertheless, a steady, continuous
loss In weight as the weeks go by,
although the fruit' is sound and firm.
For example, fruit put in cold stor
age by Professor Morse early In No
vember auad weighed at Intervals ot
two months had lost as follows:
January 2 .............. 0.33 per cent
May 6 3.60 per cent
March 5 2.34 per cent
July 1 4.71 per cent
That the shrinkage In weight was
Raw Material for Citizenship for Whom, and fn the Interest of the Nation's Welfare, Secretary Lane and
Herbert Kaufman Have Made Such Potent Appeals.
that they could not comprehend the
simplest military orders or write a
postcard, the government was forced
to expend more millions than this bill
calls for in toto merely to prepare a
against clvio lncapables. But since
we manifestly cannot prohibit the
free passage of iliterates from state
to state, then the only protection
which any state can have, lies in
dealing with the question federally.
"There are some who maintain the
education of these people should re
main a state responsibility, but be
cause it has been solely a state re
sponsibility, because the states have
utterly failed to deal adaquately in
the matter, the government now asks
to take action.
"We can have but one mold for
casting the metal of the melting pot
and the pattern of that mold cannot
be too jealously designed.
"The making of America may not
proceed faster than the making of
Americans, else we sophisticate the
quality of the future with perilous
elements.
"The Secretary of the Interior has
graphically painted the accusatory
situation in his annual report. He
reminds us that our Illiteracy prob
lem is not confined to alienism. He
shows us an army of illiterates
marching past the White House In
double file at the rate of 25 miles a
day for more than two months an
army of which 58 per cent are' whits
and one and a half million are native
born whites.
"He is right when he says 'an un
informed democracy Is not a democ
racy, that people who have no access
to the mediums of public opinion, the
messages of presidents, and the acts
of congress' can't be expected to un
aerstana wny tney ail must con
tribute in due ' share of energy or
property or lealty to the welfare of
this country."
due to respiration and not to simple
drying out of the water was shown.
Professor Morse believes, by the
practically constant, percentages of
water and dry matter, since if the
solid material was not destroyed it
should gradually increase in propor
tion, while the water would decrease.
To determine exact figures showing
just hot rapidly an apple was
changed in composition when stored
at an ice-cold temperature, compared
with another apple at 45 degrees and
another at summer temperature, a
simple apparatus was devised by Pro
fessor Morse by which the carbonic
acid breathed out of the apple could
be collected and measured.
This apparatus consisted of a cyl
indrical copper vessel supported on
three legs and large enough to hold
about six quarts- The top of the. ves
sel or can was closed by a circular
plate of glass, that rested on a narrow
shelf of copper soldered around the
inside of the cylinder a little below
the top. An inlet tube was soldered
Into the vessel below the glass cover
and an outlet tube was fixed In the
bottom of the vessel which was
shaped like a funnel so that the gas
would all collect around the outlet,
since carbonic acid Is heavier than air.
Air could be drawn into the copper
can through the inlet tube after first
passing through a bent glass tube
containing a solution of caustic potash
which removed any carbonic acid
wh,ich was in the air. It would then
pass out through the outlet tube
! which was connected with some glass
lilliHlllllli!lll!lIiIlHHll!llht
"The melting pot calls for -watchful care when we find that 94.3
per cent of Mexicans, 96.4 per cent of Bulgarians, 95 per cent of
Roumanians, 92 per cent of Greeks, 95 per cent of Croatians, 76
per cent of Armenians, 67 per cent of Austrians, employed by the
concerns in question are not subjects of the Flag."
ililtlllilllililitllllllllilllliliu
comparative handful of men for serv
ice." This condition was described mors
fully and also an Interesting side
light was thrown on the Incomplete
ness of census statistics in the fol
lowing quotation (from the New York
Times) read to the committee:
"Whereas, the census bureau had
led us to believe that the percentage
of illiteracy was no greater than 8
per cent, the army figures for men
of draft age put it at 24.9. or one
quarter of the population.
"The fact remains that 386.195 men
were unable to read and understand
signs about the camp or to under
stand a written or printed order. In
factories they would have been un
able to understand signs and instruc
tions intended to protect them from
accident. The significance of this
state of affairs can only be realized
when it is stated that Injuries in
manufacturing establishments occur
only half as frequently to those who
can read as to those who cannot.
"Among the first to engage in. the
army psychological work was Captain
M. R. Trabuc, who was a member of
the psychological division of the army
sanitary corps and later of the per
sonnel committee in the office of the
ac'jutant-generU. He Is now back at
Ms poet as assistant professor of edu
cational administration in teachers
college, Columbia university. Not
only has Professor Trabuo intimate
knowledge of the army tests, but he
Is familiar with the methods used in
obtaining the census figures. He calls
attention to several factors contribut
ing to inaccuracy in the census.
Getting; at the Troth.
"Can you read? Can you writer
Any answer was accepted even from
those who were obviously loath to be
considered ignorant, and no check
was taken to verify the fact. And It
was further true, according to the
professor, that even a conscientious
enumerator might get the correct an
swer to his questions and yet fail to
report the truth, for ability to write
bulbs containing caustic solutions to
collect all carbonic acid passing out
of the can.
The current air through the ap
paratus was maintained by connecting
the absorption glass by means of rub
ber tubing with a large jar of water,
from which a small stream was al
lowed to trickle at a rate that would
keep the air steadily bubbling
through the potash solutions con
nected with the inlet and outlet tubes.
The copper vessel atood Inside a
galvanized Iron tank which could be
filled with water or ice when low
temperature was desired. The temper
atures at which most of the experi
ments were carried on were 63 de
grees Farenheit, or that of modern
cold storag rooms, 40 to CO degrees
corresponding to cool cellars and 63
to 80 degrees, or room temperatures
equivalent to early fall.
At the beginning of an experiment
about four to five pounds ot perfectly
sound Baldwin apples were placed In
the copper chamber and the glass
cover was firmly sealed in place with
putty.
The current of air was started
through the apparatus and made to
continue until it was considered time
to determine the amount of carbonic
acid which had been collected. The
length of time which had passed since
starting the current was noted down
and the circulation was then stopped
by shutting off the stream of water.
The potash solutions were next anal
yzed for carbonic acid and finally the
apples were removed from the can.
one's name (something which many
learn to do mechanically), and the
ability to read a few words might
technically be regarded as ability to
read and write without enabling the
Individual to read anything about
what is going on in the world.
""On the other hand.' said Professor
Trabuc, 'the army classification was
carefully made by men trained in the
universities for that kind of work.
It was based not upon ultra-scientific
standards, but upon common sense.
""I addressed groups of 230 men
in this way: "We have here two sets
of questions to test your fitness as
soldiers and to determine the grade
of work you can do. One test re
quires ability to read and write, and
the other does not. One is no easier
than the other, so you will gain noth
ing in making a choice one way or
the other. Now, we want first those
who can read an American newspaper
so as to understand It fairly well, and
who can write a letter home such as
will be understood by your family.
These will take the first test, and
the others who cannot read and write
will take the second.' The men. with
few exceptions, told the exact truth.
about themselves.
" There was no suggestion ot a di
vision into the "sheep and the goats."
In fact, the introduction always was
"Some of you have not had a chance
to learn to read English, and we have
devised a separate test for you." Ths
test for the illiterates was intended
to be Just as difficult as that for lit
erates, but In practice it proved to be
slightly easier. However, a man who
tested In the highest grade In Beta
pioved to be just as Intelligent as a
grade A man in Alpha, and very
quickly picked up the English lan
guage. " The whole question simmers down
to the deplorable fact that 25 per
cent of the men in the country lack
an understanding of the most impor
tant medium in the spread of com
mon Ideals. They live apart from
the rest of the world. Before us Is a
tremendous problem. "
The length of time during which the
carbonic acid was ' collected ranged
from five hours to 48 hours contin
uous circulation.
Without going into technical details
In reference to these experiments it
may be' said that the results were
absolutely conclusive not only that
fruits do breathe, but that they keep
up this respiration for a surprisingly
lengthy period after they have been
separated from the parent and that
thla respiration is muc'a more active
in high than low temperature and
and the more actively It goes on the
more quickly the fruit loses some of
Its flavor and the sooner It softens
and becomes the brey of organisfs
producing rot or death. Finally it
was demonstrated that the nearer the
freezing point, fruits can be held be
fore they are consumed . the more
nearly will their quality remain like
freshly-picked fruit.
Other investigations on this subject
by Professor Morse have shown that
several troubles of cold storage men
are due to lack of ventilation,' such
as scald on peaches and apples. It has
also been shown that the softer fruits
like strawberries resplie much more
actively than apples and cranberries
while citrus fruits are less active than
apples.
Cranberries or apples packed in
tight barrels. It has been determined,
will exhaust the oxygen of the avail
able air space In less than 24 hours
at cold storage temperature , the fruit
In the center of the barrel showing
all the appearance of asphyxiation.