The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-08-28
CHRISTIAN ENpEAvQR.


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5O-Comment by Rev. S. II. Doyle.
Topic Our duty to the stranger Deut.
vii. Z s; II Chron. vi 50, SO. (Home mis-
sions)
There is no more important problem
before the Christian church of America
today than that of dealing with the
stranger or the foreigner In our land.
The prayer Of the church used to be,
Lord. open the doors of all lands to
the gospel and not only has this
prayer been answered. but God has
brought and is bringing to our shores
thousands and thousands from other
lands who are tn serious need of the
gospel of Christ.
4 The seriousness of the problem be-
fore the church today from the stand
| point Of the foreigner is evident when
we take into consideration several Inn
portant facts concerning our foreign
population.
/. Their numbers. Our population in
1900, not including our insular possess
sions, was 76,3O3,3ST. OF this number
10 46O,0S5 were foreign born and 49,
687, 1922 were the children Of foreign
born parents. Thus every third person
In the United States Is either foreign
born or the child Of foreign born par
ents Moreover, immigration is in
creasing instead of decreasing. 1t has
averaged for the past FIVE years about
1000 a week, and 1t has been esti-
mated that there viii come to us this
year $4,000 Foreigners, an average of
over 10000 week What serious
problem confronts us from the stand
point Of numbers aionel
2. Their character. The nations
which produce the most undesirable
classes of people are steadily sending
larger numbers to us, while the best
nations of Europe are more and more
sending less immigrants to our shores.
Formerly the best nations Of Europe
gave us their people, and to them we
are indebted for much of our greatness.
But today this is changed While
Great Britain, Germany, France and
Greece are sending fewer immigrants,
Austria Hungary, italy, and principally
southern Italy, and Russia are sending
us more. In the calendar year of 1900
we received 11l,0SS immigrants from
Italy, 108,701 from Austria Hungary
and 92,4S8 from Russia, while In the
same year there came from Great Brit
ain but 1882 immigrants, from the
German empire 20,969 from Greece
4,664 and from France but 2.0Tl. The
worst nations of Europe are sending US
their worst classes foreign in speech,
In customs, In religious beliefs and in
character
8. Their methods of settling in our
hand. The general tendency of the for
eign element is TO congregata according
to nationaiities in certain sections of
our country, the chief places of segre-
cation being our large cities, our great
eastern industrial sections and The ag-
rtcultuFal districts Of the west and
nofthwest. Thus our large cites have
sheir Little Italy" Little Germany"
TLttfie ScalnfiEa%iA" and chinatown
Crowded togetheRr by the thousands,
they live surrounded by sQuahdr and
confusion and ny moral and spiritual
degradation In our great industrial
and agricultural centess similar condi-
tions exist In tine very heazF of such
| an American commonwealth as Penn
sylvanfa eufirR communities can be
found where foretgn languages are
spoken, costumes woTn, newspapers
read. poffttrai and Eelfgtons beliefs held
and pFzscttced.
The problems OF such an element IN
our population aSe serious and great
These people must be lifted up or they
will drag us down Our social, pofft-
ical and Christian institutions are all
endangered by their presence In our
land. They maist be Chrtstianized and
Arpertcantzed or their presence here
will be a constant menace to our ma
tional weffare and Christian instttu-
tiona The church should measure up
to its responsibility In this matter.
Solomon prayed concerning the
stranger which rs not Of Thy people
Israeli and so we should pray and
labor for the salvation OF the stranger
within our gatssA"
BIBEE READINGS.
Neh II, rs; Ps. cxxxvii, g. o. cxlvi.
9; lisa Ill vii; Nah. / 15; Matt. XIV,
"a, 50; John XII, 2O-22s Acts, Wit, 28-40;
Rom l. IL: TX, 1-B