Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-21
OUR FELLOW CITIZENS.
Attitude Of the Bohemians and Poles
in American Politics.

in American Politics.
From Charities.
American politics are for the most part
quite as much matter of purely local in
terest as Polish or Croat,an politics could
possibly be. Since the days of the anti
slavery movement. which enlisted the
generous sympathies of the old genera
ton of liberal immigrants. our politics
have involved few questions of general
interest apart from some of our present
social economic issues. The educated
European remains on the outside of Amer
lean life quite as much because it is pro-
vincial as because he is. Consequently.
unless he Is made over into complete
American. the foreigner is likely to take
part in our politics only as a matter of
business. which is to say corruptly.
Among the simple minded yet shire wd fell
lows at the bottom this is often quite
naively and innocently the case. A
librarian who is a good friend Of the vari-
Gus nationalities who work in her town
asked the Poles who were coming in and
out of the library on one election day
what they were voting for. They replied
cheerfully pleased that she took an in
terest in their affairs and that they had
so good market to report. For So TIL
whole situation is one which naturally
l,nds itself to logrolling 4 and political
trading. When there are groups of men
with their full numerical shar, Of polti-
cal power. with no use to which they want
to put it and full of clannish feeling. it is
very easy for a leader of their own kind
to vote" them as a unit. If he is bid
for by the offer of some petty Office 1t
gratifies not only him but his whole group.
who feel themselves vicar.ously honored
in his person.
While the conviction that American
politics are corrupt draws in some men II
keeps others out. AS a Slovak minister
said to me: my people are not interest ID
in politics: they say 'Das list mehr Geld
sache.'"
AS to the political Affiliations both
parties count Slavs as members. In the
ante-bellum days the slavery issue tended
70 draw Bohemians and Poles, both of
whom supplied gallant soldiers to the
Union. into the republican ranks. 1t is
interesting to find that the Poles voted
for Grant In 1872. the first election in
which they were notably interested, not
only because of his war recorf but be-
cause he recognized the French republic
during the Prussian war, while his OPP
ponent. Greeley. was supposed to have
favored Austria in Italy and Germany in
Alsace-Lorraine. Another reason for re.
publicanism has been the simple and in
telligible one that the Irish were demo.
Gratis. On the other hand in Chicago
both Bohemians and Poles are said to be
normally democrats. and the explanation
in the case Of the Bohemians Is that re-
publican:sm meant the administrator
and that BohemianS were readily led by
their past experience to join the opposi-
ton. How, far Slavs in this country ara
naturalized it is impossible to say, the
census figures on the subject being un-
disable in this case. In Hadley, Mass,
where forty-seven Poles own property and
123 more pay a poll tax only two are
naturalized. and 1 judge that the Ameri-
cans were far from desiring to have more
become voters. The policy OF the moro
enlightened Slavic leaders. on the con-
trary, is to, urge citizenship, and one at
least of the national societies requires 1t.
In many places their vote is an i'm
portant conside ration. In the Illinois
state campaign in 1906 both republicans
and democrats nominated Pole for the
office of state treasurer. One of thes
nominees had already served in Chicago
as alderman and as city attorney. A
number of Poles have sat in state legisla-
lures, both as representatives. and in one
instance at. least in the senate. and a
Wisconsin Bohem,an's desk in the House
was reserved for him on his election as a
sort of family perouisite. or rather as a
courteoAs recognition of the service of his
father and brother. who had preceded
him in office.