AMERICAN MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS z?>3 



Those men and women who are engaged in municipal and social reform have 

 the keenest realization of the terrible price to be paid by this war. And when 

 it is all over and the awful price has been paid, they are going to demand that 

 social reform instead of militarism shall have the right of way. 



The significance of the present situation is that social and civic 

 workers have redoubled their efforts, in the face of the natural depres- 

 sion incident to the war, and have shown no slightest evidence of in- 

 tention to abandon any advantage secured, or position occupied. In 

 addition they are looking further ahead than usual. There is an in- 

 creasing conviction that social and civic problems of great magnitude 

 will follow in the footsteps of the war. The commissioner-general of 

 immigration holds the opinion that the natural thing to expect after 

 peace is declared again is a quickened flow of immigrants to the United 

 States. If the war is serious and causes general business depression 

 in the countries which it affects, increased numbers of the working 

 classes will have to seek opportunities in this country. 



The normal flow of immigrants to this country, according to The 

 Survey, has been about 90,000 a month. Those who have already 

 planned to come, but have been held back by the war, the commissioner- 

 general expects to sail as soon as they can get accommodations after 

 peace is declared. Moreover, many of the foreign men who may leave 

 this country to take part in the war, if they can obtain passage, he 

 expects to return later to resume their work here. Adding together 

 those whose trips have been postponed, those who have left the United 

 States temporarily, and the normal yearly number would send immigra- 

 tion records up to a new high mark. This is but one of many situa- 

 tions our cities will have to face — for all our civic and social difficulties 

 find their greatest manifestation in the cities; and the students and 

 workers foreseeing this are preparing for it. 



One effect of the war will be to compel Americans more largely than 

 heretofore to solve their own problems. We have so freely availed our- 

 selves of European experience that we have in some directions lost our 

 initiative. European precedent has been dominating. Now we are 

 thrown back on our own resources, and this in the long run will be a 

 great gain, for we can not hope invariably to solve American problems 

 solely by European methods. In fact, progi'ess has sometimes been held 

 back because of our underlying antipathy to the foreign label. We have 

 studied other situations sufficiently long and carefully, to know the best 

 they have to offer in the way of suggestion. Now we shall have an 

 opportunity of showing what we can do when compelled to depend 

 upon our own resources. 



To sum up : The European war seems to have had far less influence 

 upon our municipal life than was at first anticipated. It has not 

 diverted, except temporarily, public interest in local affairs. Although 

 the war has occupied an undue amount of space in the newspapers and 



