settled by Bohemians. Others have held responsible positions in the administrative work.
In, religious belief they are mainly Catholic. A small number have become Protestants, but many have drifted into indifference and agnosticism or positive atheism. The Catholics have five large churches and parochial schools connected with them, while the Protestants have four mission churches and their branches.
Like all foreigners the Bohemians bring with them their customs and retain them for a long time. They like their beer and as the best beer in the world is made in Bohemia this is not surprising. Music and dancing they are also very fond of; it seems to be a part of their very nature.
Next to the Bohemians, in point of numbers, come the Poles. They were attracted to Cleveland during the strike at the rolling mills in 1882, and made a settlement in the vicinity of the mills. Most of the men are common laborers, and, on the whole, they are industrious and law-abiding. What was said at the time of McKinley's death about the prevalence of anarchy among Poles, does not apply to those in Cleveland, as it is rare to find an anarchist; even the socialists are not many.
In religion the Poles are the Irish of the Slavs. The people are largely influenced by the priests, and their children, to a large extent, are educated in the parochial schools. Protestantism did not take root among them because of the absence of any middle class, there being only two classes, the lords and the serfs. The Poles have doctors and lawyers of their own, and publish two weekly papers in their own tongue.
Unlike the Poles, the Slovaks amalgamate readily with the Bohemians. There are about ten thousand of these grouped in four or five centers. Naturally of a simple and honest disposition, they show also in their characters the effect of the oppression and persecution they have suffered from the ruling race of Hungary. This oppression may partly account for their comparative illiteracy. Many can neither read nor write and until recently they had no literature of their own, and they used Bohemian in writing.
Though their home life has been much improved since they came to this country, they have not yet progressed as have the Bohemians. So far, they have no lawyer of their own, and only one physician. Alcoholism has been and still is, one of their curses. Most of the men are day laborers, the few who have succeeded in larger ways being saloon-keepers, small butchers and grocers.
The Croatians and Russians form only a small percentage of the total Slavic population. Of the former there are about five thousand. The number of the latter has not been estimated. The Russians have a church of their own which receives some support from the Holy Synod of Russia.
Licensed Dispensaries in New York State
William B. Buck
Superintendent of Inspection, State Board of Charities
The following table shows the extent of compliance with the rules of the of Charities (established pursuant to the provisions of the State Charities Law), on the part of the 119 licensed dispensaries in New York state. It embodies and reports the results of inspections upon these dispensaries, which under the provision of Chapter 368. Laws of 1899, are licensed and regulated by the State Board of Charities, one of whose inspectors is assigned to this line of work.
The so-called "dispensary law" which imposes these duties upon the State Board of Charities was enacted as the result of continued and well-directed effort on the part of the medical profession, and was designed primarily to check, and if possible remove, "the dispensary evil," i. e., the gratuitous treatment in dispensaries of persons able to pay for medical services. The rules adopted by the State Board of Charities in accordance with the provisions of this law have the same object among others. These rules require, in brief, that in every licensed dispensary
