Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 4.djvu/158

148 or hovels, but well built, roomy houses. These people, as well as the Scandinavians, come from a country where the public school system is well established, and are zealous in the cause of the public schools of this city. A year ago the people of Union town attended the annual school meeting almost in a body, and succeeded in carrying through a measure and voting a tax for the construction of a school building in the west end of the city, at the same time offering to donate a considerable part of the necessary labor. The present Taylor school building is the result of these efforts.

In the last city election, out of a total of eleven hundred names registered, nearly six hundred were of foreign birth. Of this number one hundred and seventy were natives of Finland, eighty-seven of Sweden, seventy-two of Norway, sixty-four of Germany, and forty of Denmark. The Finns are very clannish, which accounts for their almost exclusive Finnish settlement in West Astoria. It is their custom to send for their relatives in their own country as soon as they have earned the necessary money. In this way the foreign born population is steadily increasing. They do not appear to be a speculative class, but seem content to work hard, secure a home and save something from their yearly earnings though a few cooperative companies have been formed for the purpose of packing salmon.

The struggle for material advancement in the way of developing resources, securing a railroad, and other enterprises has not been greatly aided by the foreign population. Since the coming of these foreign-born citizens the fishing element is no longer regarded as a rough class of people, but rather as the sober, working class of the city. During the winter months most of the fishermen are employed carpentering, street building, as workers