IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES 89 



occasional Protestants. The Hungarians (Magyars) are over 

 three-fifths Catholic; the minority being Protestant and Free- 

 Thinkers. The Poles are almost wholly Catholic. The Por- 

 tuguese who come here, and who settle chiefly in New Eng- 

 land and California, are largely Catholic, the immigration 

 caused now by the efifort to escape the disadvantages of the so- 

 called Portuguese republic. The Rumanians are three-fifths 

 Greek Orthodox and two-fifths Catholics of the Greek Rite. 

 The Russians are about one-half Greek Orthodox and one-half 

 free-thinking and anarchistic. The Ruthenians or Little Rus- 

 sians are nearly all Catholics of the Greek Rite. The Slovaks 

 are about three-fourths Catholics, the majority being of the Ro- 

 man Rite and remainder of the Greek Rite, while one-fourth 

 are Protestant. The Spanish, who are widely scattered, are all 

 Catholic, except the few socialistic groups. The Syrians are 

 about equally divided : one-half being Catholics of the Greek, 

 Maronite and Syrian Rites, and the other half being Greek 

 Orthodox. Thus, it will be seen that the larger part of this 

 particular immigration is Catholic, and it behooves us as Cath- 

 olics to do our part in looking after it. 



When we examine how the immigrants have acquitted them- 

 selves in America, we shall find that the later ones have suc- 

 ceeded quite as well as the earlier nationalities which preceded \ 

 them. They have established churches, schools, business 

 houses and newspapers, and have given every evidence of 

 ability and progress. When we consider that for the most part 

 they come from countries which have but little (except the 

 Christian religion) in common with us, that they are ignorant 

 of our language, laws, history and customs, and that their 

 own languages furnish but little in the way of grammar, root- , 

 words and starting-points, in which to acquire ours, we may i 

 well be astonished at the progress they have made in the years \ 

 they have been here. Recently in an address which I delivered 

 in New York City, upon "The Peoples of New York," I omit- 

 ted all mention of the English-speaking, German-speaking and • 

 French-speaking peoples dwelling in that great metropolis, yet 

 I found occasion to mention some twenty other nationalities 

 and races there, and commented favorably upon their progress 

 and development. In the course of my lecture I produced and 

 exhibited to the audience some 93 newspapers printed in vari- 

 ous foreign languages and published either daily or weekly 



