A man may be a Polish peasant and be a semi-barbarian or he may be on the same cultural level as the German "bauer" at his best. The statistical method is of value; but it must be exceedingly painstaking, and even then I doubt that it can serve in all cases the purpose for which it is intended. I have therefore chosen the second, the interpretative method. It sees the sparks in the dark room, it interprets the flying flame and feels the influences on both sides of the sea. It crosses and recrosses the ocean with these human cables which bind together the continents; it listens to their stories and records them, hesitatingly draws conclusions and undogmatically tries to teach some lessons. In the first part of my book I have tried to show the influences of the returned immigrant upon his peasant home and his social and national life. In the second part I interpret the relation of various races to our institutions, their attitude towards them and their influence upon them. In all I have told, I have aspired to be an interpreter and not an enumerator; a mediator and not a critic; I have desired to create contacts and not divisions; to disarm prejudice and not give it new weapons. In this book, as in all the others I have written, I am indebted to my wife; not only for doing all the tedious tasks such work involves, but also for inspiration and the creation of an atmosphere in which I could write in superlative terms of American ideals. I wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the editors of the _Outlook_ and the _Review of Reviews_ in permitting me to reprint portions of this book. I heartily thank the Y. M. C. A. of Pennsylvania and Mr. E. B. Buckalew, its efficient State Secretary, for the opportunity to gather material in that state and in Europe; the young men who made up the Pennsylvania Expedition for the Study of Immigration, who were helpful, joyous comrades, and the trustees of Grinnell College, Iowa, for a generous leave of absence. E. A. S. _Grinnell, Iowa, August, 1909._ CONTENTS PART I WITH THE OUTGOING TIDE I. "THEY THAT GO OUT IN SHIPS" 15 II. THE PRICE THEY PAY 34 III. A MURDERER, MARY AND AN HONORARY DEGREE 46 IV. REFLEX INFLUENCES 62 V. OUR CRITICS 77 VI. THE DOCTOR OF THE KOPANICZE 93 VII. "MOSCHELE AMERIKANSKY" 102 VIII. "NOCH IST POLEN NICHT VERLOREN" 112 IX. THE DISCIPLES IN THE CARPATHIANS 124 X. THE GUSLAR OF RAGUSA 138 XI. WHERE THE ANGEL DROPPED THE STONES 152 XII. "THE HOLE FROM WHICH YE WERE DIGGED" 165 PART II WITH THE INCOMING TIDE