History of the United States Volume Vi Part 18

In 1899 statistics began to be compiled by means of which the race and nationality of aliens might be determined. From 1899 to 1907 about seventy-two per cent of the Slavic immigration came from Austria-Hungary. Since 1900 at least 100,000 aliens from this country have come to the United States each year; in 1905, 1906, and 1910 the number exceeded 250,000 each year, and in 1907 it was 340,000. In this crowd came Bohemians Poles, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Slovenians, Croatians, Bulgarians, Servians, Montenegrins, and other allied peoples. They are distributed over various parts of the land. Pennsylvania, on account of its mines, gathers by far the greatest number--in 1906 there were about 500,000 Slavs in the State; New York had nearly 200,000, and Illinois about 134,000. The Bohemians and Poles seem inclined to farm, but in the main the Slav laborers have busied themselves in the coal, c.o.ke, iron, and steel industries. Very seldom do the Slavs take to petty street traffic, as do the Jews and Italians, but prefer the harder and better paid work in the mines and foundries.

The Russians make the smallest Slavic group in America. Although many Russians are reported among the immigrants, only about five per cent are native born Russians, the rest being Jews, Poles, Finns, and Lithuanians.

About one-eighth of our European immigrants are Jews. By the law of 1769 the Jews in Russia are compelled to live within certain territorial limits known as the Jewish Pale, and about ninety-four per cent comply with the regulation. The law of 1882 has further restricted the places of residence, for Jews are now prohibited from buying or renting lands outside the limits of the cities or incorporated towns. Their educational advantages are limited by law; few are admitted to the bar and few to the other learned professions. To these disabilities the Russian government has added the terror of persecution, which will explain why 150,000 Jews come to America each year. In all there are 1,250,000 here.

"ALIEN Pa.s.sENGERS" AND IMMIGRANTS ENTERING THE UNITED STATES FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, 1820-1910

LAST 1820 1831 1841 1851 1861 PERMANENT TO TO TO TO TO RESIDENCE 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 ----------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------- Austria-Hungary 7,800 Belgium 27 22 5,074 4,738 6,734 Denmark 169 1,063 539 3,749 17,094 France 8,497 45,575 77,262 76,358 35,984 Germany 6,761 152,454 434,626 951,667 787,468 Greece Italy 408 2,253 1,870 9,231 11,728 Netherlands 1,078 1,412 8,251 10,789 9,102 Norway, Sweden 91 1,201 13,903 20,931 109,298 Russia 91 646 656 1,621 4,536 Spain, Portugal 2,622 2,954 2,759 10,353 8,493 Switzerland 3,226 4,821 4,644 25,011 23,286 England 22,167 73,143 263,332 385,643 568,128 Scotland 2,912 2,667 3,712 38,331 38,768 Ireland 50,724 207,381 780,719 914,119 435,778 Europe; unspecified 43 96 155 116 210 ----------------- ------ ------ ------ ------- ------ Total 98,816 495,688 1,597,502 2,452,657 2,064,407

1871 1881 1891 1901 TO TO TO TO TOTAL 1880 1890 1900 1910 ----------------- ------ ------ ------ ------- ------ Austria-Hungary 72,969 353,717 597,047 2,145,266 3,176,801 Belgium 7,221 20,177 20,062 41,635 105,690 Denmark 31,771 88,132 52,670 65,285 260,472 France 72,206 50,464 36,006 73,379 475,731 Germany 718,182 1,452,970 543,922 341,498 5,389,548 Greece 15,996 167,519 183,515 Italy 55,759 307,309 655,694 2,045,877 3,090,129 Netherlands 16,541 53,701 31,816 48,262 180,952

Norway 211,245 568,362 95,264 190,505 1,691,013 Sweden 230,679 249,534

Russia 52,254 265,088 593,703 1,597,306 2,515,901

Spain 9,893 6,535 6,723 27,935 170,426 Portugal 23,010 69,149

Roumania 14,559 53,008 67,567 Switzerland 28,293 81,988 33,149 34,922 239,340 Turkey in Europe 2,562 118,202 120,764 England 460,479 657,488 271,094 388,017 3,089,491 Scotland 87,564 149,869 60,053 120,469 504,345 Ireland 436,871 655,482 403,496 339,065 4,223,635 Wales 11,186 17,464 28,650 Europe unspecified 656 10,318 4,370 1,719 ----------------- ------ ------ ------ ------- ------ Total 2,261,904 4,721,602 3,703,061 8,136,016 25,531,653

Immigrants from British North America and other countries 2,535,810

Estimated number of immigrants prior to October 1, 1819 250,000

[Transcriber's note: Norway/Sweden and Spain/Portugal are combined totals in columns where only one value is given.]

TOTAL NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS, 1891 TO 1910

Year Total s.e.x Age Ended Number Male Female Under 14 14 to 45 45 and over June 30 1891 560,319 354,059 296,200 95,879 405,843 58,597 1892 623,084 385,781 237,303 89,167 491,839 42,078 1893 502,917 315,845 187,072 57,392 419,701 25,824 1894 314,467 186,247 128,220 41,755 258,162 14,550 1895 279,948 159,924 120,024 33,289 233,543 13,116 1896 343,267 212,466 130,801 52,741 254,519 36,007 1897 230,832 135,107 95,725 38,627 165,181 27,024 1898 229,299 135,775 93,524 38,267 164,905 26,127 1899 311,715 195,277 116,438 43,983 248,187 19,545 1900 448,572 304,148 144,424 54,624 370,382 23,566 1901 487,918 331,055 156,863 62,562 396,516 28,840 1902 648,743 466,369 182,374 74,063 539,254 35,426 1903 857,046 613,146 243,900 102,431 714,053 40,562 1904 812,870 549,100 263,770 109,150 657,155 46,565 1905 1,026,499 724,914 301,585 114,668 855,419 56,412 1906 1,100,735 764,463 336,272 136,273 913,955 50,507 1907 1,285,349 927,976 355,373 138,344 1,100,771 46,234 1908 782,870 506,912 275,958 112,148 630,671 40,051 1909 751,786 519,969 231,817 88,393 624,876 38,517 1910 1,041.570 736,038 305,532 120,509 868,310 52,751

Debarred Returned Returned Able to Read Unable to from Within Within but not Write Read or Write Landing One Year Three Years [See note 1] [See note 1]

1892 2,164 637 1893 1,053 577 59,582 61,038 1894 2,389 417 16,784 41,614 1895 2,394 189 2,612 42,302 1896 2,799 238 5,066 78,130 1897 1,617 263 1,572 43,008 1898 3,030 199 1,416 43,057 1899 3,798 263 1,022 60,446 1900 4,246 356 2,097 93,576 1901 3,516 363 3,058 117,587 1902 4,974 465 2,917 162,188 1903 8,769 547 3,341 185,667 1904 7,994 300 473 3,953 168,903 1905 11,879 98 747 8,209 230,882 1906 12,371 61 615 4,755 265,068 1907 13,064 70 925 5,829 337,573 1908 10,902 114 1,955 2,310 172,293 1909 10,411 58 2,066 2,431 191,049 1910 24,270 23 2,672 4,571 253,569

Note 1: Prior to 1895 the figures are for persons over 16 years; from 1895 to 1910 for persons 14 years of age and over.

The question of Oriental immigration has caused much comment in our Pacific Coast States for several years. Before 1900 the total number of j.a.panese coming to America seldom reached 1,500 a year. Since that time about 12,000 have come each year, except in 1903 when 20,000 came and 1907 when the number reached 30,000. Seventy per cent of this number, however, went to Hawaii. Over-population and economic depression in their native land have caused this exodus. Most of these immigrants are laborers--skilful, energetic and efficient--who apparently desire to become citizens. Among the better cla.s.ses are many who have attained eminence in various lines of work in our country. In scientific investigation the names of Takamine, Noguchi, Yatsu, Takami, Asakawa, and Iyenaga are well known. The names of those who have been more than ordinarily successful in business would make a long list. The most serious objections to the j.a.panese arise in the coast States where these immigrants have raised a serious labor problem. The people of these commonwealths also fear a race problem which in gravity will rival the one in the Southern States. It is claimed that even now, when the number of Orientals is small, the enforcement of law is exceedingly difficult in the Chinese quarters, while the control of the j.a.panese is next to impossible since they do not congregate in certain sections of the cities as do the Chinese. It is claimed that the 2,000,000 whites who live on the Pacific Coast will be swamped and lose control of the government if this Oriental immigration is not entirely prohibited. The Chinese do not cause so much anxiety. Since the pa.s.sage of the exclusion act thirty years ago, few have come to the United States--scarcely more than 2,000 a year. As laborers they are efficient, patient, and honest in keeping labor contracts.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Gypsies excluded and deported as undesirable.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Ruthenian shepherds from Austria, bound out West for farmers.

Considered desirable and qualified to enter.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

A German family of ten considered desirable and qualified to enter.

GROUPS OF IMMIGRANTS UPON THEIR ARRIVAL AT ELLIS ISLAND

These swarms of foreigners who come to us each year are causing uneasiness in the minds of the thinking people. Can our foreign population be growing more rapidly than our power to a.s.similate it? Is this element as dangerous to our civilization as we think? Has criminality increased as a result of increased immigration? Has this element increased labor agitations during the past decade? Some contend that we are rapidly approaching the limit of our power of a.s.similation and that we are in constant danger of losing the traits which we call American. The immigrants from southern Europe are in too many cases deficient in education. This lack of education may or may not prove a danger. So far it seems to have been the rule that in the second generation these foreigners have shown themselves extremely anxious to take advantage of the opportunities offered by our free schools.

One of the most serious charges made against the Americanized foreigner has been that through him there has developed in our political system a strain of corruption which endangers our inst.i.tutions. Political corruption did not come with the immigrants: it was known in all its forms years ago. This much can be said, however: the worst cla.s.s of foreign-born citizens has ever proved to be a support of corrupt political bosses. Our city governments have been notoriously corrupt and the cities harbor the great ma.s.ses of foreigners. The high cost of living in the cities and the relatively low wages force the aliens into poor and crowded quarters which tend to weaken them physically and degrade them morally and socially. Among the Italians of the cities there appears to be a vicious element composed of social parasites who found gambling dens, organize schemes of black-mail, and are the agents of the dreaded Black Hand. It is the cla.s.s which furnishes aids for the lowest political bosses and furnishes the bad reputation for the Italians.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Group of Cossack immigrants considered desirable and qualified to enter.

An investigation of the nationalities in the city of Chicago has been made by Professor Ripley, of Harvard. The results ill.u.s.trate the wonderful dimensions of the problem which the cities confront in the a.s.similation of the foreign element. In the case of Chicago, were the foreigners (those not American beyond the third generation) to be eliminated, the population would dwindle from 2,000,000 to about 100,00.

In this city fourteen languages are spoken by groups of not less than 10,000 persons each. Newspapers are regularly published in ten different languages and church services conducted in twenty different tongues.

Measured by the size of its foreign colonies, Chicago is the second Bohemian city in the world, the third Swedish, the fourth Polish, and the fifth German. There is one large factory employing over 4,000 people representing twenty-four nationalities. Here the rules of the establishment are printed in eight languages. So it is with the other cities. New York, for example, has a larger Italian population than Rome, and is the greatest Jewish city, for there are in the city some 800,000 Jews. In all eighty per cent of the population of New York are foreigners or the children of foreigners. In Boston the per cent reaches seventy and in Milwaukee about eighty-six.

The charge that criminality has increased rapidly with the increased immigration from southern Europe seems to be substantiated by statistics. From 1904 to 1908 the number of aliens charged with committing grave crimes nearly doubled. While this fact will not prove the point, it suggests thought on the question.

It has been truthfully said that the fundamental problem in this question of immigration is most frequently overlooked. Back of the statistics of illiteracy, pauperism, criminality, and the economic value of immigrants lies another one of great proportions. What has been the effect upon our native stock? What has been the expense, to our native stock, of this increase of population and wealth through immigration?

The decreasing birth rate of our native population some contend is due to the industrial compet.i.tion caused by the foreign element. If this be true, the foreigners have supplanted not supplemented the American, and the question arises, how long can the a.s.similation go on before we lose our American characteristics?

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Swedish immigrant family considered desirable and qualified to enter.

The number of Europeans who return to their native lands after living a time in the United States is comparatively small and the loss is not great. The emigration of our farmers to Canada is a more serious thing.

Since 1897 the Dominion Government has fostered high-cla.s.s immigration.

Canadian agencies have been established in many of our Western cities with the avowed object of attracting farmers to the Provinces. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company has taken up the pioneering business.

It sells the land, builds the home and the necessary buildings, breaks the fields, plants the first crop, and hands over to the prospective settler a farm under cultivation. In return the railway demands high-cla.s.s immigrants and, to insure this, no settler can take possession of a railway farm unless he can show $2,000 in his own right.

Between 1897 and the close of 1910 Canada gained by immigration nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants. Of these, 630,000 were from the United States, and it is estimated that those who went from the United States during the past five years took with them $267,000,000 in cash and settlers'

effects. The end of the movement has not come, for the railway companies have now gone into the reclamation of arid lands. Since 1908 over 1,000,000 acres of arid land in Alberta have been placed under irrigation, and the work of reclaiming another equally large section has begun. The American farmers who are taking advantage of this opportunity form a cla.s.s which we cannot afford to lose.

CHAPTER XII

NOTABLE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS