THREAT OF RED CONTROL FROM SPANISH HARLEM

Wanganui Chronicle, 16 December 1949, Page 2

THREAT OF RED CONTROL FROM SPANISH HARLEM

Imagine a post-war influx into London of 350,000 non-English speaking inhabitants of one of the Colonies. Imagine this community —larger than the whole population of Nottingham or Newcastle-on-Tyne—crowding into what little housing accommodauon was available in the East End and, handicapped by language, lack of education, immobility and inadaptability to the climate, trying to make a living. That is the kind of problem that faces the City of New York, writes C. D Bateman in the "Daily Telegraph,” London. During the war the American Government imported several thousand men from the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rica, which is American territory, for war work. These well-paid unskilled labourers spread the idea through the overpopulated island that New York was El Dorado. After the war independent airline operators, using Army surplus aircraft, made a huge business of flying Puerto Ricans to New York at cheap rates. This mass migration gradually comertea a district on the Upper East Side of New York into the city's worst slum.

Spanish Harlem, as it is call ’d, is now occupied by between 300,'J00 and 350,0(10 Puerto Ricans./Most of them speak only Spanish. They are crushed into ar- area containing th) lowestgrade housing on Manhatten Island, bareiy 100 blocks square. Sell-appointed champion of the Puerto Ricans is Vito Marca.ruimo, Labour Party congressman for the district. He speaks their language, helps them to obtain public assistance, com'< rls them in their troubles. Many New Yorkers fear that if the rate of immigration from Puerto Rica continues, and Marcantonio retains his hold on the immigrants, the city may in a few years fall under "Red’’ control. . , As a counterblast to Marcantonio s influence, the Democratic Mayor (Mr. William O’Dwyer) has appointed an advisory committee to formulate a programme for "constructive and comprehensive improvement of the Puerto Rican community.” He has also decided that 50 Puerto Ricans shall serve the city's Welfare Depart-' merit as social investigators. No action can be taken by the United States Government to limit the immigration of these American citizens or to clean up their slum unless the State of New York—in turn at the request of the city authorities—asks for it.