p. 24 | North American Foreign Department

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 27, 1909

North American Foreign Department

Third Meeting, May 17, 8 A. M.

Elder Irwin in the chair.

Brother Adolph Boettcher, of the New York foreign book depository, presented maps and figures concerning the distribution of foreigners in the United States. It is computed that in 1905 there were from thirty-five million to forty million foreigners in this country. Half of our foreign population belongs to the German-Scandinavians, while the rest belong to the immigrants from other nationalities, who, unlike the Germans and Scandinavians, are scattered, and live in groups distinct from each other. It is a great problem to know how to reach these latter nationalities. During the last few years, immigrants have been coming in at the rate of over a million a year.

A good place to reach these is at Ellis Island; but while other denominations largely have access to this place, our church workers have thus far been debarred.

With respect to the progress of our work in this country among the foreigners, North Dakota has a splendid showing. In the ten to fifteen millions of foreigners outside the Germans and Scandinavians in this country, little has been done for the spread of the message. The most that has been done has been accomplished in the Greater New York Conference. That conference has five foreign laborers, two Italian churches, and one Bohemian-Slavonic church. In West Michigan Brother Hofstra has labored for the Hollanders. Michigan has about 45,000 Finns who have settled there and are very prosperous. Something ought to be done to reach them. The same is true in Massachusetts. One Russian brother has been working among the Russians in North Dakota. Beyond this we have done little for the great masses of foreigners in this country.

The remaining time of the department was taken up with a discourse from Sister White.