York Board of Education to start a similar one at the Erasmus High School. For ten years he has been engaged by the New York Board of Education as special lecturer in the popular evening extension courses.
The course Dr. Carter undertook was badly run down, but in six weeks the regular audience had been increased from 35 to 350. The plan of the lectures was to discuss a major topic selected by the Board, a second period was devoted to the discussion of current events, and a third period to questions from the audience.
Now it happened that for the week of November 15, 1920—just a year ago—the topic selected by the Board of Education was “The Racial Origins of the American People,” a study of immigration. That is to say, Dr. Carter was asked to study that matter and discuss it publicly before his weekly lecture audience at Erasmus School. He did so, taking time to make a serious investigation of all phases of the subject.
He showed that just before the war—thirty days before the war—the highest peak of immigration was reached; the year ending June 30, 1914, having seen 1,403,000 aliens enter this country. Analyzing this great flood, he showed that whereas six per cent came from Great Britain and two per cent came from Scandinavian countries, over ten per cent were Jews. The doctor’s subject was “The Racial Origins of the American People.”
Again, on the subject, “What Has Immigration Done for America?”—this subject also scheduled by the Board of Education—Dr. Carter showed that some parts of Europe had given their worst instead of their best, and stated that the lowest percentage of immigration came from the best developed and most desirable countries, while the largest percentage came from the least desirable. For example, he differentiated between the desirable Italians and those who form the material for Black Hand activities. Speaking of Russia and Austro-Hungary, he made a reference to the Jews.