SLAVS
52
SLAVS
of the Greek or Roman Rite, sufficient to form a
church here. The Bulgarians, unlike the other
Slavs, have no church or benefit societies or brother-
hoods in America. They pubhsh five Bulgarian
papers, of which the "Naroden Glas" of Granite
City is the most important.
III. Cro.\tians {Hrvat; adjective, hrvaiski, Croa- tian). — These are the inhabitants of the autonomous or home-rule province of Croatia-Slavonia, in the south-western part of the Kingdom of Hungary where it reaches down to the Adriatic Sea. It includes not only them but also the Slavic inhabitants of Istria and Daimatia, in Austria, and those of Bosnia and Herzo- govina who are Catholic and use the Roman alphabet. In blood and speech the Croatians and Servians are practically one; but religion and politics divide them. The former are Roman Catholics and use the Roman letters; the latter are Greek Orthodox and use modi- fied Russian letters. In many of the places on the border-line school-children have to learn both alpha- bets. The English word ' ' cravat ' ' is derived from their name, it being the Croatian neckpiece which the south Austrian troops wore. Croatia-Slavonia itself has a population of nearly 2,-500,000 and is about one-third the size of the State of New York. Croatia in the west is mountainous and somewhat poor, while Slavonia in the east is level, fertile, and productive. Many Dal- matian Croats from seaport towns came herefrom 1S50 to 1870. The original emigration from Croatia-Sla- vonia began in 1873, upon the completion of the new railway connexions to the seaport of Fiume, when some of the more adventurous Croatians came to the United States. From the early eighties the Lipa- Krbava district furnished much of the emigration. The first Croatian settlements were made in Calu- met, Michigan, while many of them became lumber- men in Michigan and stave-cutters along the Missis- sippi. Around Agram (Zdgrtlb, the Croatian capital) the grape disease caused large destruction of vine- yards and the consequent emigration of thousands. Later on emigration began from Varasdin and from Slavonia also, and now immigrants arrive from every county in Croatia-Slavonia. In 1899 the figures for Croatia-Slavonia were 2923, and by 1907 the annual immigration had risen to 22,828, the largest number coming from Agram and Varasdin Counties. Since then it has fallen off, and at the present time (1911) it is not quite 20,000. Unfortunately the govern- mental statistics do not separate the Slovenians from the Croatians in giving the arrivals of Austro- Hungarian immigrants, but the Hungarian figures of departures serve as checks.
The number of Croatians in the United States at present, including the native-born, is about 280,000, divided according to their origin as follows: from Croatia-Slavonia, 160,000; Dahnatia, 80,000; Bosnia, 20,000; Herzegovina, 15,000; and the remainder from various parts of Hungary and Servia. The largest group of them is in Pennsylvania, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Pittsburg, and they number probably from 80,000 to 100,000. Illinois has about 45,000, "chiefly in Chicago. Ohio has about 35,000, principally in Cleveland and the vicinity. Other considerable colonies are in New York, San Fran- cisco, St. Louis, Kansas City, and New Orleans. They are also in Montana, Colorado, and Michigan. The Dalmatians arc chiefly engaged in business and grape culture; the other Croatians are mostly labour- ers employed in mining, railroad work, steel mills, stockyards, and stone quarries. Nearly all of these are Catholics, and they now have one Greek Cathohc and \(> Roman Catholic chinches in the United States. The Greek (Catholics are almost wholly from the Diocese of Kriievac (Crisium), and are chiefly settled at Chicago and Cleveland. They have some 250 societies devoted to church and patriotic purpo-ses, and in some cases to SociaUsm, but as yet they have
no very large central organization, the National
Croatian Union with 29,247 members being the
largest. They publish ten newspapers, among them
two dailies, of which "Zajednicar" the organ of
Narodne Hrvatske Zajednice (National Croatian
Union) is the best known.
IV. Poles (Polah, a Pole; adjective polski, Pohsh). — The Poles came to the United States quite early in its history. Aside from some few early settlers, the American Revolution attracted such noted men as Kosciuszko and Pulaski, together with many of their fellow-countrymen. The Polish Revolution of 1830 brought numbers of Poles to the United States. In 1851 a Polish colony settled in Texas, and called their settlement Panna Marya (Our Lady Mary). In 1S60 they settled at Parisville, Michigan, and Polonia, Wisconsin. Many distinguished Poles served in the Civil War (1861-65) upon both sides. After 1873 the Polish immigration began to grow apace, chiefly from Prussian Poland. Then the tide turned and came from Austria, and later from Russian Poland. In 1890 they began to come in the greatest numbers from Austrian and Russian Poland, until the flow from German Poland has largely diminished. The immigration within the past ten years has been as follows: from Russia, 53 per cent; from Austria about 43 per cent; and only a fraction over 4 per cent from the Prussian or German portion. It is esti- mated that there are at present about 3,000,000 Poles in the LTnited States, counting the native-born. It may be said that they are almost solidly Catholic; the dissident and disturbing elements among them being but comparatively small, while there is no purely Protestant element at aU. They have one Polish bishop, about 750 priests, and some 520 churches and chapels, besides 335 schools. There are large numbers, both men and women, who are members of the various religious communities. The Poles publish some 70 newspapers, amongst them nine dailies, 20 of which are purely Catholic publi- cations. Their religious and national societies are large and flourishing; and altogether the Polish ele- ment is active and progressive.
V. Russians (Rossiyanin; adjective rossiiski, Rus- sian). — The Russian Empire is the largest nation in Europe, and its Slavic inhabitants (exclusive of Poles) are composed of Great Russians or Northern Russians, White Russians or Western Russians, and the Little Russians (Ruthenians) or Southern Russians. The Great Russians dwell in the central and northern parts of the empire around Moscow and St. Peters- burg, and are so called in allusion to their stature and great predominance in number, government, and language. The White Russians are so called from the prevailing colour of the clothing of the peasantry, and inhabit the provinces lying on the borders of Poland — Vitebsk, Mohileff, Minsk, Vilna, and Grodno. Their language differs but slightly from Great Rus- sian, inclining towards Polish and Old Slavonic. The Little Russians (so called from their low stature) differ considerably from the Great Russians in lan- guage and customs, and they inhabit the Provinces of Kieff, Kharkoff, Tchernigoff, Polta\-a, Podolia, and Volhynia, and they are also found outside the Empire of Russia in Galicia, Bukovina, and Hungary (see below, VI. Ruthenians). The Great Russians may be regarded as the norm of the Russian people. Their language became the language of the court and of literature, just as High German and Tuscan Italian did, and they form the o\-erwhelniing majority of the inhabitants of tlie Russian Empire. They are prac- tically all Greek Orthodox, the Catholics in Russia being Poles or Germans where they are of the Roman Rile, and Little Russians (Ruthenians^ where they are of the (ireek Rite.
The Russians have long l)een settled in America, for Alaska was Russian territory before it was pur-
