The most notable fact about mission work for these na-
tionalities is that scarcely a beginning has yet been made
upon it. It would convey a wrong impression to say that it is
inadequate. Sporadic missionary enterprises for all except
Oriental and Mexican immigrants appear to be accidental
rather than the result of a settled missionary policy of our
churches. Only in very recent years in fact has there been
any special activity in mission work for the Mexicans, Metho-
dists now having twenty-two churches or missions and a
superintendent giving his whole time to this work, Baptists
eleven, Presbyterians nine, Congregationalists three. Roman
Catholics, of course, have special churches or missions for
French, Italians and Portuguese, but of Protestant missions,



^Slty











Uafcaa^







Work Among Immigrants



181



ominational strategy. We may be able eventually to wake
p the churches to the necessity of work for these religious
ack ward immigrant peoples, but the task will be almost hope-
388 if we have to continue organizing Southern Methodist
lapanese missions and United Presbyterian Italian missions,
.nd Dutch Reformed missions for Greeks or Russians. When
will some great leader bring the officers of the allied armies
.nto a conference which shall formulate united plana for a great
offensive?

Some attempts have been made to apportion the work for
different immigrant races in America to the missionary
agencies of different denominations. By general agreement
in New England, Congregationalists work for Armenians,
Greeks, Syrians and Portuguese. In Los Angeles there is an
understanding that among the large classes of wholly un-
reached immigrants, Congregationalists ought to take up
work for Greeks and Slavs.
