The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1931, Page 142

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142

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

out our land. Chaplain McCabe’s statement is lit-
erally true. The Methodist Church probably sur-
passes any other branch of the Church of God in the
matter of erecting houses of worship, the hope ex-
pressed in the telegram to Ingersoll being doubtless
on the eve of fulfilment, if not already fulfilled, and
two new church homes dedicated by that denomina-
tion every day in the year.*

A somewhat parallel answer was made to a self-
satisfied so-called “Positivist,” who in an essay com-
menced a sentence with the words: “Now that the
Christian religion is losing its hold upon the
world.” “Stop,” said his auditor. “You had better
put that in the future tense and say: ‘Now that the
Christian religion is going to lose its hold in about
ten years.’ No one can authoritatively deny that
statement; but when you say ‘is losing its hold, all
the facts are against you. Jor it can easily be
proved that in this very year of grace in which you
are writing there are more professedly Christian
people in the world, more money given to advance
the Gospel, more religious books written and sold,
and more churches building than in any previous
year since the world began. Decidedly you had
better shape your words as a prophecy than as a
statement of facts.”

Cowper’s lines, written one hundred and thirty-
six years ago, are as pertinent to-day as then: —

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

The Mexican Laborer and His Future.

In the early days of New York’s industrial de-
velopment, hordes of the lowest class of Irish. were
imported to work on the Erie Canal and the New
York Central Railroad. There were then serious
questionings as to the influence of these “bog-
trotters” and “Paddies” upon our social and indus-
trial system. Now their descendants control the
City of New York and thus govern the Empire
State. Some of the great leaders in our land have

* come from that “undesirable class” of despised
“Paddies.”

c To-day we are experiencing a similar immigra-
(tion from the Southwest, and with similar fore-

bodings as to the influence upon national life and

| © But other churches are doing a similar work in pro-
“portion; and it is quite probable that all of 250 Lutheran

5

character. Once we forgot the proud history of
the “Paddy” and that his degradation was due to
the system under which he lived; we saw only the
creature that he was in ignorance and poverty.
To-day we are forgetting the glorious history of
those who crossed uncharted seas, conquered a con-
tinent, and then dropped into the pit dug for them
by a system that enslaved body, mind, and soul.
Who now thinks that the patient peon working on
the railroad, in our shops, or on our farms may
have in his veins the blood of the proudest grandees
of Spain?

Not long ago I heard a college student say of
a Negro, “Yes, he is a fine fellow, but he can never
be a gentleman.”

“What,” I asked, “is your definition of a gentle-
man?”

“One who is of noble blood,” was his reply —
the reply of a citizen of democratic America!

According to his definition the peon — the
“Greaser” — may be his ideal gentleman. In many
things this descendant of Spanish grandees and of
Montezuma is a gentleman. He is proving his
worth as a patient, faithful laborer. He is eagerly
taking advantage of our schools for his children.
Eyes that are set in his seemingly stolid face are
looking for opportunities to better his condition.
Quietly he is adapting himself to American customs
and absorbing American ideals.

In the opinion of those who know them best
Mexican laborers are making good. Our own esti-
mate of them will be largely determined by our
own inner light and the strength of our racial
prejudices. A judge said to me not long ago:
“J have held that ninety-five per cent. of the
Mexicans are rascals and thieves. Now I am about
ready to add the other five per cent.” A few
minutes later I was talking with a business man,
and he said: “I have now been dealing with the
Mexicans for nearly thirty years. I have traveled
back and forth among them. The longer I know
them, the better I like them. They pay their debts.
and value their word in business.” This latter man
spoke their language and was interested in them.
The judge had nothing upon which to base his:
estimate of their character except his prejudices.
and his acquaintance: with the criminals brought
before him.

Like the.“Paddies” of long ago the Mexicans.
are here to stay. What are we going to do with:
them and for them? _

The Mexican laborer is now scattered from the.

Rio Grande to the Canadian border. He is found

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