America and the Slav Immigrants.
Our declaration of war against Austria-Hungary aroused a brief ripple of interest and comment, but no excitement. We were already pledged to the vigorous prosecution of the war for liberty with all our resources, and the formal recognition of the Hapsburg Empire as an enemy did not double our task nor make our individual burdens heavier.
But it brought America face to face with a puzzling problem. What about the immigrants from Austria-Hungary? Emperor Charles has more subjects here than Emperor William. Although the natives of Germany outnumber the natives of the Dual Empire in the United States, the former are for the most part naturalized, while among the latter, comparatively recent arrivals as they are, a large majority are still aliens. Of the many races of Austria, Bohemians alone compare favorably with the Germans in naturalization percentages. On December 7th hundreds of thousands of Bohemians, Slovaks, Poles, Ruthenians (Little Russians), Croatians, Slovenians, Serbians, Roumanians and Italians became the enemies of America at the moment President Wilson signed the declaration of war. At least so runs the legal theory which in this case, as in so many others, cannot be squared with undeniable facts.
The truth is—and the authorities in Washington, as well as all intelligent Americans are aware of it—that the Slavs, Roumanians and Italians of Austria-Hungary hate the cause of Germany far more bitterly and passionately than native-born citizens to whom Europe is only a name. Our government has found it necessary at first to institute a campaign of education, because the people as a whole did not realize the great issues of the war. But to the Austrian Slav you do not have to explain what militarism is: he remembers the haughty lieutenants strutting around the streets of his native city, rattling their sabres, ogling the women and shoving aside the plain citizens like cattle. The Austrian immigrant knew what Kultur was long before Americans heard that there was such a word. And three years ago, when America looked on the outburst of the slaughter as something that could not concern her, the Czechs and Poles and Jugoslavs and all these other immigrants were full of rage, because their own near relatives over there were driven to death for the greater glory of the House of Hapsburg and of the chosen German race. When finally, alas, so late, this great republic took its share in the great fight for the preservation of democracy and civilization, the Slav and Latin immigrants rushed into the recruiting stations anxious to do not their bit, but their all. Attorney General Gregory stated at a dinner in Chicago on December 16th that in this matter of volunteers the best showing in comparison to their numbers was made by the Bohemians.
That President Wilson realized the injustice of treating the nominal subjects of Charles, resident here, as alien enemies is evident from his proclamation of December 12th. He places no ban upon the natives of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and avoids applying to them the term of alien enemy. Unlike the Germans, the Austrian subjects are free to travel anywhere within the United States and need not register, so long as they remain loyal. Bohemians and the other Slavs and Latins are grateful to the president for his confidence in them and for his generous treatment of them. But the proclamation applies to German and Magyar subjects of Austria-Hungary, just as much as to those whose sympathies are with the United States, and it does not solve the problems raised by our declaration of war against the ally of Germany.
Take the matter of naturalization. Even though the president does not call the unnaturalized Slavs alien enemies, they are so as a matter of law and are prevented from becoming citizens of the United States during the continuance of the war. That is rather hard on thousands of applicants who have properly filed their applications, paid their fees, passed the preliminary examination and investigation, but found themselves turned into enemies, as they awaited the passing of the necessary ninety days. But that is small matter. It if far harder, it is very unfair to tens of thousands of these unwilling subjects of the Hapsburg Empire who are serving in the American army. They came forward voluntarily, proud to fight under the flag of this great country, eager to do their share. Later on other tens of thousands were drafted
