My people do not live in America. They live underneath America. America goes on over their heads.--_Paul Tymkevich, a Ruthenian Priest._ "My people do not love America. Why should they, from what they see of it?" This is the profoundly suggestive question of a Ruthenian Greek-Catholic priest, of Yonkers, N. Y., who says his people do not come in contact with the better classes of Americans, but do come in contact with everyone who hopes to exploit them. The subject of immigration is the most far-reaching in importance of all those with which this government has to deal. The history of the world offers no precedent for our guidance, since no such peaceful invasion of alien peoples has ever before occurred. It must have great and largely unforeseen effects upon our form of civilization, our social and political institutions, and, above all, upon the physical, mental, and moral characteristics of our people. Can such a subject be considered too seriously or too minutely? I cannot think it possible. The danger lies in the opposite direction.--_F. P. Sargent._ It must not be forgotten that the Slav immigrants, and especially their descendants, are impressionable and adaptable; that forces are at work which have already done much for them, and will do more. The results of the public school are sure though slow. The full-grown individual must be brought under the influence of a yet more powerful agency, one which makes also for civilization and for Americanism in the best sense.--_F. J. Warne._ V THE EASTERN INVASION [Sidenote: Mistaken Opinion] Least known, least liked, and least assimilable of all the alien races migrating to America are the Slavs. That expresses the general opinion, based on ignorance and dislike. To the common view they seem to combine all the undesirable elements--low living, low intelligence, low morality, low capacity, low everything, including wages--this explaining in large measure their presence. The very name Slav excites prejudice. If an exclusion act of any kind were to be passed it would probably be easier to aim it at the Slavs than any other class of immigrants. We are now to submit this common opinion to the test of investigation, and see whether it is warranted in fact. Nowhere is discrimination based on knowledge more necessary than in dealing with this Slavic race division. First let us learn who the Slavs are. The following table shows this, and also how many of them entered our ports in 1905: Poles 102,437 Servians, Bulgarians, and Slovaks 52,368 Montenegrins 5,823 Croatians and Slovenians 35,104 Dalmatians, Bosnians, and Lithuanians 18,604 Herzegovinians 2,639 Ruthenians 14,473 Bohemians and Moravians 11,757 Roumanians 7,818 Russians proper 3,746 Magyars 46,030 Russian Jews[61] 92,388