Chapter IX

One of the first consequences of the discovery of the
union was that Jurgis became desirous of learning English.
He wanted to know what was going on at the meetings,
and to be able to take part in them; and so he began to
look about him, and to try to pick up words. The chil~
dren, who were at school, and learning fast, would teach
him a few; and a friend loaned him a little book that had
some in it, and Ona would read them to him. Then Jurgis
became sorry that he could not read himself; and later on
in the winter, when someone told him that there was a
night-school that was free, he went and enrolled. After
that, every evening that he got home from the yards in
time, he would go to the school; he would go even if he
were in time for only half an hour. They were teaching
him both to read and to speak English -- and they would
have taught him other things, if only he had had a little
time.

Also the union made another great difference with him
-- it made him begin to pay attention to the country. It
was the beginning of democracy with him. It was a little
state, the union, a miniature republic; its affairs were every
man's affairs, and every man had a real say about them.
In other words, in the union Jurgis learned to talk politics.
In the place where he had come from there had not been
any politics -- in Russia one thought of the government
as an affliction like the lightning and the hail. "Duck,
little brother, duck," the wise old peasants would whisper;
"everything passes away." And when Jurgis had first
come to America he had supposed that it was the same.
He had heard people say that it was a free country -- but
what did that mean? He found that here, precisely as in

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