The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-05-18

local interest as Polish or Croatian
politics could possibly be. Since the
days of the anti-slavery movement,
thies of the old generation, of liberal
immigrants. our politics have involv-
ed few questions of general interest
apart from some OF our present SO.
cial economic issues. The educated
European remains on the outside of
American life quite as mucn because
1t is provincial as because he is. Con
sequently, unless he Is made over
into a complete American, the for
eigner Is likely to take part in our
politics only as a matter of business,
which Is to say corruptly. Among
the simple minded yet shrewd fellows
at the bottom this is often quite
naively and innocently the case. A
librarian who is a good friend of the
various nationalities who work in her
town asked the Poles who were com
ing in and out of the library on one
election day what they were voting
for. They replied cheerfully, pleas
ed that sne took an interest In their
affairs and that they had so good u
market To report, For 81" The
whole situation Is one which natur-
ally lends itself to logrollng ana
political trading. When there are
groups Of men with their full Eumer-
ical share of political power with no
IN W tn
and full Of clannish feeling II is very
easy for a leader of their own kind
to vote" them as a unit. II he Is BID
for by the offer of some petty Office
1t gratifles not only him but mis- whole
group who feel themselves vieariously
honored in his person.
While the conviction that Ameri
can politics are corrupt draws In
come men it keeps others out. As
Slavic minister said to me: My pco-
pie are not interested in politics they
say 'Das list mehr Geldsachc.'"
AS to political affiliations both par
ties count Slays as members. In the
antebellum days the slavery issue
tended to draw Bohemians and roles
both of whom supplied gallant sol.
diers to the Union, into the Republi
can ranks. It Is interesting 70 find
that the Poles voted for Grant in
1872, the first election IN which they
were notably interested, not only be.
cause of his war record Uut because
he recognized the French republic
during the Prussian war, Willie his
opponent, Greeley, was supposed to
have favored Austria in Italy and Ger
many in Alsace.Lorraine. Another
reason for Republicanism has been
the simple and ineligible one that
the Irish were Democrats. On the
other hand, in Chicago both Bohem
ians and Poles are said to be nor
mally Democrats" and the eXplana.
tion in the case of the Bohcmians
is that Repubicanlsm meant the ad-
ministration and that Bohemians were
readily led by then past experience
to join the opposition. How far Siavs
I'm this country are naturalized Il is
impossible to say, the census figures
on the subject being unusable In this
case. In Hadley, Mass, where forty
! seven Poles own property and l23
more pay a poll tax, only two are
naturalized, and | judgeu that the
Americans were far from desiring TO
have more become voters. The policy
ers, on the contrary, is to urge citi,
zenship and one at least of the ma
| tional societies requires It,
In many places their vote Is an I'M
portant consideration. In the Illinois
State campaign in 1906 both Republi-
cans and Democrats nominated a Pole
for the Office of State Treasurer One
| Of these nominees had already serv,
ed in Chicago as Alderman and as
City attorney. A number ot Poles
have sat in State Legislatures, both
| as Representatives, and in one In,
stance at least in the Senate, and a
] Wisconsin Bohemian's desk In the
House was reserved for iim on his
election as a sort of family perquis'
ite, or rather as a courteous recog
milton of the service of his father and
brother, who had preceded him in
office, Charities.
One She Buried.
Dumley-I met a fellow to-da,
who was simply nutty about buried
treasure; couldn't talk of anythin,
else.
Peckham-That reminds me o
my wife.
Dumley-oh. does she talk abou
one?
Peckham-Yes; her first husband