The 786 households of the preceding table show an average of 4.16 rooms of all kinds to each household, and an average of 2.51 sleeping rooms to each. In the number of rooms of all kinds, the households of the foreign-born have an average just slightly below the average for all nativity groups. The average for the households the heads of which were native-born of foreign father is noticeably higher than that of the foreign-born, and only slightly below the average number for those households the heads of which were native-born of native father. Of sleeping rooms, each nativity group has very nearly the same average number, the proportion of households with foreignborn heads being slightly larger than those the heads of which were native-born of foreign father or native-born of native father. Among the races of the foreign-born, the Welsh have the highest average number of rooms per household and the Slovaks the smallest. The Roumanians have the highest average number of sleeping rooms with the Hebrews next, and Bohemians and Moravians the smallest average number.

The Ruthenians have the highest percentage of households which use all their rooms for sleeping purposes, and the Servians come next, followed by the Germans, Roumanians, Magyars, Poles, Slovaks, and Croatians. The remaining races have no households which use all rooms for sleeping purposes.

Of all foreign-born races, the Irish show the smallest proportion of households sleeping in all except 1 room.

Of the households using all except 2 rooms for sleeping purposes, the Bohemians and Moravians have the highest, and the Ruthenians the smallest, proportion.

CHAPTER VII.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS.

Charity-Literacy-Conjugal condition-Visits abroad-Age classification of employees and members of their households-[Text Tables 210 to 222 and General Tables 95 to 104].

CHARITY.

The extent to which immigrants become public charges is exhibited by the table next submitted, which shows by general nativity and race of head of family in Pittsburg, Pa., the persons involved in cases assisted by a local charity organization.

TABLE 210.-Persons involved in cases assisted by the Associated Charities in Pittsburg, Pa., by general nativity and race of head of case.

Of the 3,926 persons involved in the cases assisted, 52 per cent are members of foreign households, 33.7 per cent are members of households where the heads are white, native-born of native father, 10.2 per cent native-born of foreign father, 3.9 per cent native-born negroes, and 0.3 per cent of unspecified race. Of the foreign-born races, the Irish, followed by the Poles and Germans, show the largest and, with the exception of certain races which report less than 1 per cent, the Russian the smallest proportion of the total number of persons having received charitable assistance. Those whose fathers are Irish show the largest and those whose fathers are Dutch the smallest proportion of those native-born of foreign father.

LITERACY.

In addition to the purely industrial phases of immigration, there are certain characteristics of the recent supply of immigrant labor as compared with that of past years which are of the greatest importance, not only from an industrial standpoint but also from the point of view of Americanization and assimilation. Among these salient qualities, the degree of literacy prevailing among the immigrant employees is of the greatest import industrially and otherwise. In the following table the percentage of male iron and steel workers who read and the percentage who read and write is shown by general nativity and race of individual:

TABLE 211.-Per cent of male employees who read, and per cent who read and write, by general nativity and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 40 or more males reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

A large number of the races studied in the foregoing table have a slightly smaller proportion of persons who read and write than of persons who read, the grand total showing that of the entire number studied 90.4 per cent can read and 89.1 per cent read and write. Comparing the employees native-born of foreign father with the foreign-born, the former show the largest proportion in each classification. Of the employees native-born of foreign father, 99.5 per cent can read and 99.4 per cent can read and write. As compared with this showing, only 84.7 per cent of the foreign-born iron and steel workers can read and 82.7 per cent can read and write. Of the employees native-born of foreign father for whom information is reported by country of birth of father, all of those whose fathers were born in Canada, France, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland, can both read and write, and all of the native-born persons whose fathers were born in Austria-Hungary, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Wales show a proportion in excess of 95 per cent with ability to read and write. Foreign-born Canadians other than French, and Scotch, report all of their numbers able to read and write. The Finnish and Swedish races each have a proportion of slightly more than 99 per cent who can both read and write. These four races make the best showing among foreign-born race groups. The Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Magyars, and Welsh each report more than 90 per cent of the employees studied able to both read and write. The Ruthenians, of whom only 63 per cent can read or write, make the most unfavorable showing.

The table next submitted shows, by sex and general nativity and race of individual, the literacy of persons in the households studied who were 10 years of age or over:

TABLE 212.-Per cent of persons 10 years of age or over who read and per cent who read and write, by sex and general nativity and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 40 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

The preceding table shows that of a total of 2,729 individuals reporting complete data, 72.2 per cent were able to read and 71.2 per cent could both read and write. Among the 1,688 males and 1,041 females the same proportions of both can read but a slightly larger proportion of males than of females can both read and write. A very much larger proportion of persons native-born of foreign father than of foreign-born can both read and write, and a somewhat larger proportion of persons native-born of native father than of those who were nativeborn of foreign father can both read and write. Of the foreign-born reporting, none except the Germans show all those reporting as being able to read, and only the Germans, Bohemians and Moravians, and Irish have a proportion of 90 per cent or more who can read. Only the Germans and Bohemians and Moravians show 90 per cent or over who can both read and write. The Ruthenians, with 37.9 per cent, exhibit the smallest proportion who can read and write. Less than 50 per cent of Croatians, South Italians, and Ruthenians can read or read and write.

The following table shows, by years in the United States and race of individual, the percentage of foreign-born persons, in the households studied, who are 10 years of age or over and who are able to read and read and write:

TABLE 213.-Per cent of foreign-born persons 10 years of age or over who read and per cent who read and write, by years in the United States and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. This table includes only races with 40 or more persons reporting. The total, however, is for all foreign-born.]

In the above table, 62 per cent of the persons who had been less than five years in the United States, 65.2 per cent of the group here five to nine years, and 80.3 per cent of those here ten years or over report ability to read, and a slightly smaller proportion in each group reports ability to read and write.

But two of the races studied, the Germans and the Bohemians and Moravians, report complete literacy in any period of residence. The former report all of their number as able to read and all who have been less than ten years in the United States as able to read and write. All the Bohemians and Moravians in the United States from five to nine years report ability to both read and write. Of the Bohemians and Moravians ten years or longer in the United States, 2.8 per cent report total illiteracy and a slightly larger proportion of both the Germans and the Bohemians and Moravians as well report inability to write.