All told, they
numbered over 220,000, from which it may be estimated that there are
probably today half a million persons of Bohemian parentage in the
United States. Chicago alone shelters over 100,000 of these people,
and Cleveland 45,000. These immigrants as a rule own the neat,
box-like houses in which they live, where flower-pots and tiny gardens
bespeak a love of growing things, and lace curtains, carpets, and
center tables testify to the influence of an American environment. The
Bohemians are much given to clubs, lodges, and societies, which
usually have rooms over Bohemian saloons. The second generation is
prone to free thinking and has a weakness for radical socialism.
The Bohemians are assiduous readers, and illiteracy is almost unknown
among them. They support many periodicals and several thriving
publishing houses. They cling to their language with a religious
fervor. Their literature and the history which it preserves is their
pride. Yet this love of their own traditions is no barrier,
apparently, to forming strong attachments to American institutions.
The Bohemians are active in politics, and in the cities where they
congregate they see that they have their share of the public offices.
There are more highly skilled workmen among them than are to be found
in any other Slavic group; and the second generation of Bohemians in
America has produced many brilliant professional men and successful
business men.
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