Professor Dorsey, a correspondent of the English-language newspaper the Chicago Daily Tribune, in his articles on Polish customs and habits which touch upon Polish immigration to the United States, expresses emphatically his conviction that Poles, regardless of where they live, will always remain Poles. Assimilation or engulfing of Poles into an alien organism is entirely impossible because there is perhaps no other nationality in the world so attached to its native land, traditions, customs, and language as the Polish. A Pole, in the opinion of Mr. Dorsey, even though he changes his external appearance, does not in the least cease to be a Pole; on the contrary, his love for his homeland becomes more intense. He remains most willingly among his own people, preserves carefully his native language, and spreads patriotism.

Besides that, a Pole knows how to be grateful and loyal to a nation in which 2he finds hospitality and freedom.

That this is the case is undeniable. A Pole, therefore, whenever he finds himself, does not cease to be a Pole, and it would be useless to try to fuse him with some alien element. We can ascribe this evidently inherent gift of nature to the fact that we live as a nation and, instead of weakening in numbers as well as in patriotic feelings, our people become more powerful with each day.

There is no other nation in the world which, if it were torn into three parts by three different enemies and forced to live in three distinct cultural environments, could so well preserve its existence as does the oppressed Polish nation.

Nor do the Polish emigrants become lost to the Polish cause; on the contrary, they are beginning to become an important factor, which can, in the near future, decide our motherland's fate.

This seems to be unnoticed by our people, but it has been noticed by....strangers. Foreign students of our history, cultural development, literature, and artistry have noted with surprise that this nation, whose reign was wiped out by force, still shines like a bright star and casts its rays upon the whole world. Strangers have been amazed that this nation, under the oppression of foreign governments which prohibit it from learning and speaking its native language, still speaks Polish perfectly under each government, as well as on entirely foreign soil. They see that this Polish nation, whose language has been thrown out of schools, offices, and public meetings, has, however, a rich literature and poetry; it has its own native Polish drama, music, songs, and art; and a Polish note echoes in every vibration of social work.

The French were first to notice this among us; later the Italians saw it, and now the Americans--people from the other hemisphere--give it their serious consideration. They are unable to understand how a nation, torn into three parts, robbed of everything, ridiculed at every step, could live, develop itself, 4grow numerically, and possess such a high culture of its own, as well as resist foreign elements not only in its native land but also in foreign countries. The American is surprised that the first citizens of this land--the Indians of various tribes--have fallen under the force of a strange culture, that they wane and die off gradually. He cannot see that Spaniards, Hollanders, Germans, and other people who settled here first, have gradually given in to the Anglo-Saxon race, have become fused with it, and have been transformed into a new society, and that only the hard, resistant Slavic race--and its most resistant tribe, the Poles--simply scoffs at the foreign wave; in fact, threatens it.

We thank heaven that our people were endowed with this life-giving strength, this resistance, and love for everything Polish. Otherwise it would be bad for us, because by now there would not be the slightest trace of Poles. Our people and nationality would have become totally extinct. Our enemies know of this strength and resistance of our people. They are enraged and attempt to discover various methods to retard the growth and national progress of our people, if they cannot completely annihilate us. But all this is to no avail.

We have been Poles for ages and we will remain Poles regardless of where fate may cast us and in what environment we may find ourselves.

In the same way our people need not be perplexed about retaining their nationality here in America. Dissenters keep disturbing us by saying that the immigrants from Poland are becoming nationally degenerated, that they are gradually being lost to Poland, and that our young generation has already become completely Americanized. Such alarmists maintain that there can be no future for Poles in America, because whether or not they know it, and despite their efforts, our people in foreign lands must of necessity become lost. In the meantime it can be seen that our life here in America would tend to contradict any such statements of those who wish to depress us.

Our people have created large and wealthy national organizations throughout the United States. They have developed the Polish Falconry, erected their own schools, and published several newspapers, both weeklies and monthlies. Gradually we are even bringing the Polish language into the American public 6schools and creating our own exclusively Polish circles and settlements. Thus it can be seen that there can be no thought of losing our distinctly Polish national character in America. Our people will ever remain Poles, in the same way as our brethren who are under three governments. Strangers have already noticed this, and they openly express their convictions that Poles, even in foreign lands, will remain Poles; it is useless to think of assimilating them. Our national organism is exceedingly strong, our energy is tireless; therefore we know how to live our own lives without need of obtaining strength from the organisms of other nationalities. The work which we do to retain our national character is our proof and guarantee that so long as one Pole exists there will be Poles.

Rarely do we hear the once overemphasized clerical maxim that "whoever is a Catholic, is a Pole, and a non-Catholic cannot be a Pole". Our people are already well able to distinguish religion from nationality. Although they remain faithful in religious matters, at the same time they work in behalf of our nationality in the proper field. The handful of fanatics, however, a group 7under the red banner, who spread the motto of internationalism, and who prefer a Jew, a Muscovite, or a German socialist to a nonsocialist Pole, do not have the slightest influence upon our people. Even if some of our brethren allow themselves to be trapped in the snares of international agents, they do not cease to be Poles. They will always tend toward their own people and, after a certain time, return to their national character. Their hearts and souls are always inclined toward everything Polish, which is an ideal surpassing all other ideals and mottoes.

That our people love their nationality, are thoroughly patriotic, and do not permit themselves to be misled, is proved by their mass gathering under the national banners of the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Falcons. No other ideal has ever attracted such masses of Polish people, or united them in one thought as has the national organization. Young and old, whether born here or in Europe, direct their steps toward it because it attracts everyone with the single thought: to work in behalf of our Polish nationality and to preserve its strength here.

Our people will, therefore, remain Poles, regardless of whether our nationality is oppressed by enemies in our motherland or whether a strange culture on foreign land attempts to annihilate Poles or tempt them to itself. And the stronger and larger the Polish National Alliance becomes, the stronger will be our pure and sacred national idea. It is therefore the duty of every right-thinking Pole to exert his efforts to make this possibility a reality, and thus to become an instrumental factor in the retention of our national character in foreign countries.