The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1905-05-11
MANY SLAVS COMING.
Are DRIVEN TO AMERICA BY
UNTowARD CONDITIONS.
Fumber Of Arrivals During Last Year
0,0Oo-Among Them Rep
resentatives of Many
Glasses.


Charities published In recent
number the results OF detailed study
OF Slavic immigration I'm the United
States. In spite OF the proportions
which IL has reached-some 100000
Slays came over last year-popular
ignorance on the subject Is marked,
states the New York Post In north
ern Pennsylvania the great hordes OF
Ruthenian, Polish and Slovak miners
are CONTEMPORARY classed as Huns,
and even the more intelligent are dis
posed TO associate them with the fol-
lowers OF Attila For good or III,
however. the Slavic strain promises 20
mix largely In the blood OF the future
composite American In the daily ar
rivals at Ellis island Il Is outnumbered
only by the Italian and possibly by the
Jewish; hence Il Is encouraging TO
note that the slavs. too. improve on
closer acquaintance.
Properly Slavic immigrants should
not be classed as a single group. They
are really a conger.es OF some n
peoples, differing In race. language
and frequently In religion. They
range all the way from the highiy-civ-
ilized Bohemian almost Invariably
llteIate and skilled OF labor. to the
Ignorant Ruthene Of Galicia. econom-
ically and educationally on the lowest
plane. Practical all re lglons are
reprasented-Ort Orthodox Greek Roman
Catholic Protestant and Lutheran,
with such eccentricities as thu Douk-
hobors and regularly organized sects
OF Frecthinkers. They thus form a
much more complex element than the
comparatively homogeneous Italians
and the Jews-the various elements In
each OF which races. In the main.
speak the same language. belong 20 the
same religious denomination. and are
Influenced by the same ethical IDEAS
The largest Slavic immigration comes
from Austria-Huneary which gave us
100000 last year. practically all the
rest came from Russia. whose oontri-
button in 1903 was about 10000.
According TO Miss Kate Holiday
ClaghoIn. the causes OF this immigra-
ton are largely political Thus Il Is
almost Invariably the subject races
that leave home From Russia the
genuine Muscovite seldom emigrates.
70 Is the Pole. the Lithuanian. the
jew. and the Finn The dominant
German does not abandon Austria In
large numbers. Il Is the more or less
subject slav Roumanians do not
emigrate from their own country,
Roumanla. but from Hungary Ruthen-
ians come from Galicia not from Rus
sia. Economic causes, too. are inhu-
entail According to Ivan Ardan. the
peasants OF Galicia subsist almost en-
tlrely on potatoes and cabbage. 90 per
cent. eat no bread for six months In
the year Under these conditions a
high standard of education and man
ners could hardly be expected. They
have some traits. indeed. not unlike
the Aslatic hordes from which many
OF them are sprung They are hard
drinkers. ready fighters. though sell
dom quarrelsome. With the exception
OF the Bohemians and Magyars (the
latter. Of course. are not Slavs. though
loosely 30 reckoncd by Charitiesl the
rate Of liiteracy "a high; and the
skilled trades are sparsely represented
Like the italians the slavs come here
FIRST without their wives. send home
their savings. and. when work Is
slack. go back themselves. Also like
the Italians. however. they are not
contentcd TO remain away; but soon
return. this time with their families.
and definitely establish here their
homes