[78-L] speaking english,

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

Buster warns: “Caution, xenophobe alert:”

I would venture to guess that many mid-size city newspapers get letters 
from readers harping on “speak English”  I live in a Midwest city with 
a strong Central European ethnic base. Many of these letter-writers 
have last names that suggest that heritage. In writing their letters, 
they seem to have forgotten that when their ancestors came here, they 
likely spoke little or no English. What cities today provide the 
programs New York City had in the 1920s and ’30s, and perhaps earlier, 
to help immigrants acclimate to the language, American civics, and 
other aspects of American city life? As for Tim James, never trust a 
politician with two first names.