elect their own local government officials. The company's officers
admitted that this would possibly happen; they said that the company had
not yet decided how large a colony of one nationality, in the same
locality or neighborhood, it would develop.

The personal opinion of one of the officials was that from fifteen to
twenty-five families of one nationality in the same neighborhood would
not be a source of danger because of becoming clannish and remaining
un-Americanized for a generation or a number of generations. A colony of
such size would not be able to maintain a church and school of its own
nationality. As to the danger of inbreeding, the officials pointed out
that the church rules and state laws would prohibit it, and said that,
furthermore, the immigrants, having friends and acquaintances elsewhere
in the country, would marry into other groups of immigrants.

LEARNING AMERICAN WAYS

The writer, while visiting the company's colonies, was struck by the
fact that the settlers who said they had been in this country from
eight to ten years understood and spoke very little English, seemed to
be rather shy, and in general appearance lacked signs of American
influence. Overalls and the tools in their hands were almost the only
betraying marks of the American environment.

The investigation developed the fact that most of the settlers had lived
previously in the congested "Little Polands" in Chicago, Detroit, and
Milwaukee. The settlers explained that they lived there as in the old
country, having their own Polish church, Polish schools, Polish banks,
Polish stores, Polish books and papers, speaking Polish in their homes,
in the streets, and in social gatherings. Even in the factories where
they worked, their fellow workers were often Poles; sometimes even the
foreman was a Pole. There was almost no opportunity for coming in
contact with the American ways of life and with the country's language.

Several settlers declared that they had learned more about America and
had used English more during the last two years in the northern
wilderness than during the previous seven or eight years in the city of
Chicago. Settling on land, they came in contact with the American land
agents, other company officials, government authorities, American banks
and stores, and with American neighbors at the community meetings. Here
in the wilderness they first found how badly they needed English and a
knowledge of American ways. A n