THE United States of America has not ever been an asylum for the oppressed, a refuge for the persecuted, and a home for the homeless. From the day when the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, until the present, there has been a steady influx of immigrants to our hospitable shores. From the bleak north of Scandinavia and Finland to the sunny shores of southern Europe, and from the fair Emerald Isle to eastern Russia, have come these home-seekers and home-makers. They have come singly, in families, and in clans, and to-day nearly all the nations of the Old World are represented in our land.
These people have come to the United States to better their financial and social conditions. They have brought with them their religious preferences and prejudices. Some are able to read, but many are illiterate. In many cases, they have broken with their former church relationship, and are ready to receive advance light from the word of God. There is much to be done for these people by those who claim America as their home. Great light has come to this generation, and we should become active missionaries for the strangers within our gates.
The Protestant churches have a grave responsibility in placing the word of God before this mixed multitude. We cannot meet the responsibility by saying, They are not of us, and deserve nothing from us. In a short time most of these newcomers will be American citizens. They should understand our Protestant religion, and the civilization it has brought to those who have accepted it.
There is a strong duty resting upon believers in the United States to enlighten and help those who have come to us. There are multitudes of them in our country. Now is the time when every available agency should be utilized to give these people who have come among us the word of God, and to press the truth home to their hearts.
