Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-25
BY Israel Zangwill.

The Melting Pot is the third OF
the writer's plays to be published IN
book form, though the first OF the
three in order of composition But
unlike The War God" and "The
Next Religion which are dramati-
cations OF the spiritual duels OF our
time, The Melting Pot sprang III
rectly from the authors concrete OK
perience as president OF the Emigra-
ton Regulation Department OF the
Jewish Territorial Organization,
which. founded shortly after the great
massacres of Jews in Russia, VIII
soon have fostered the settlement Of
ten thousand Russian Jews in the
West Of the United States.
II will be seen from the official IA
bic of immigration that the Russian
jew is only one and not even the
iarges OF the nifty elements that. to
the tune OF nearly a million and i
half year. are being fused In the
greatest Melting Pot the world has
ever known; but II he has been se-
lected as the typical immigrant, il Is
because he alone of all the fifty has
no homeland Some few other races,
such as the Armenians are almost
equally devoid of political power, ano.
in consequence. equally obnoxious 70
ma ssacre. but except the gypsy. whose
essence IL 10 be homeless. there is
no other race-black, white, red or
yellow-that has not remained at
least majority of the population In
some area OF its own
Influence on Language.
There is none, therefore, more n
need Of a land of liberty, none 10
whose future IL is more vital that
America should preserve that spirit
of William Penn which President VIII
NJ ho oh. ,.s.ss. -, 4
there is assuredly none which has
more valuable elements to contribute
to the clinic and psychical amalgam
or the people of tomorrow.
The process of American amalga-
nation Is not assimilation or simple
surrender to the dominant type, as IS
popularity supposed, but an all-round
give-and take by which the final type
may be enriched or impoverished.
Even as to the ultimate language
OF the United States, II is unreason-
able to suppose that American. though
fortunately protected by English 1T
erature, will not bear traces OF the
fifty languages now being spoken side
by side with 1t, and of which this
play alone presents scraps In German,
French, Russian, Yiddish, irish. He
brew, and Italian.
That in the crucibie OF love. or even
citizenship, the most violent anti
theses of the past may he fused into
higher unity in a truth OF both
ethics and observation, and II was In
order to present historic enmities at
their extremes that the prosecuted
Jew of Russia and the prosecuting
Russian race have been taken For
protagonists-"th fell incensed points
of mighty oppostes."
Jewish Power of Survival.
The Jewish immigrant is. more
over. the toughest OF all the white
elements that have been poured into
the American crucible, the race hav-
ing, by It's unique experience OF sew
eral thousand years of exposure to
alien majorities. developed a sala-
mandrine power OF survival And
this asbestoid fiber is made even more
hrerroof by the Semitism OF
American uncivilization.
Nevertheless. to suppose that Amer
lea will remain permanently afflicted
by all the old European diseases
would be to despair Of humanity, not
to mention per-humanlty
The action of the cruclble is not
exclusively PHYSICAL consideration
particularly important as regards the
Jew. The Jew may be Americanized
and the American Judaized withou.
any gamic interaction.
Among the Jews The Melting