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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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Part:         Session:         Page of 654

While I was with the Merchants Association I had something to do with the education of immigrants. At that time I did become acquainted with the editor of Il Progresso, Italo Falbo, because I made a point of becoming acquainted with the editors of all the foreign language newspapers, enlisting their assistance and support, getting publicity through the channels of their press directly to persons who ought to be learning English and ought to be learning about American history and American life.

I don't remember the editor of Il Progresso particularly. He was much like the editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, Abe Cahan. Everybody knew him. He was quite a picturesque figure in New York. I went to see him during the period when I was running this immigrant thing, merely to tell him what it was all about, to get him interested, so that they would utilize material that we sent out. The idea was to stimulate among recent immigrant people interest in either perfecting themselves, or other people, in the use of the English language, becoming naturalized with a knowledge of what American constitutional principles and American history was. We had a rather interesting program.

The Ridders of the German newspaper were also very important factors in Democratic politics all through this





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