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RELATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT RACES EMPLOYED.

The relation of employees of the different races, so far as governed or influenced by employers in this community, exists only while at work, since no company houses, lodging or boarding places are operated or owned by any of the companies. The investigation has shown that while at work there is a distinct tendency on the part of employees toward segregation according to race in the unskilled occupations; in the more skilled occupations there can hardly be said to be any racial segregation or absence of contact among different races. The causes of this condition may be stated thus:

(1) In the unskilled occupations, such as general labor, "cleaning up," rough construction labor, etc., gangs of laborers are employed. In these gangs a single race very frequently predominates on account of the importance of a certain laborer among his fellows, who shapes the personnel of the gang in various ways and is instrumental in securing positions for friends of his own race. Or, for instance, a gang may be formed upon short notice under some necessity, and the timekeeper may call upon a laborer with whom he is acquainted to gather a certain number of men, and a fairly homogeneous gang is the result.

(2) Such a condition is obviously impossible in occupations requiring any considerable degree of skill, and in fact does not occur to any extent in occupations where skill is required. Promotions being made according to individual efficiency, the racial composition depends upon entirely independent conditions, and the predominance of any one race in any particular skilled occupation in any yard or room of a plant is owing to the superiority of the members of that race, unless peculiar local conditions exist. The relations between the races are thus more general and equal.

(3) The higher in the scale of occupation the immigrant worker is, the higher degree of assimilation he has attained.

There are differences, however, in the degree of association or contact according to the race in all occupations in this community. Broadly speaking, immigrant races from this point of view grouped themselves into two classes, those from northern Europe and those from southern Europe. In general, the Welsh, English, Scotch, Irish, and, to some extent, the Germans, constitute a group within which association tends to be more free than between any one of them and the other immigrant races. In the same way, the Slovaks, Poles, Magyars, Croatians, and, to a slight extent, the Macedonians tend to be more unhampered in their associations with each other than with any race in the first group named. Furthermore, association with natives as colaborers is decidedly more evident in the case of the first group than the second, and the relations are accordingly more equal and free. This is partly due, of course, to somewhat similar racial habits and tendencies and partly to relations existing in the community outside of the plants, such as neighborhood relationships, religious ties, etc.

No evidence could be adduced either from actual conditions or the statements of the employers to show that any definite policy of segregation of employees while at work according to race was attempted. In the smaller plants, the proportion of immigrant em

ployees is too small; in the larger plants such a policy is not followed, and the employers state that no necessity has ever given occasion to any consideration of the advisability of such a policy.

LOCAL PREJUDICE.

The attitude of the native population in general toward immigrants is one of indifference. An exception should be noted in the case of the English, Germans, and Welsh, since a considerable part of the native population is composed of descendants of these races. Immigrants of these races are treated by natives on terms of equality in social, business, and religious ways, with the exception, perhaps, of the Germans of recent immigration, who are to some extent segregated from the Germans in other sections of the city. There seems to be no doubt that while slight lines of difference are drawn between the recent arrivals and the older residents of the Welsh, English, and Irish races, the social, religious, and business distinctions are very slightly drawn. On the other hand, the line drawn between the natives and the southern and eastern European races is very decided. The sections of the city in which these races live are quite separate from the native section, and the native population knows practically nothing about these immigrants beyond what they read in the daily newspapers about crimes, etc., committed in the foreign section and beyond what little contact they have with them in the way of hiring a few individuals as servants, washerwomen, etc. Many interviews and conversations with representative members of the native population substantiate the above statement as to their ignorance not only of what races live in the foreign section, but also of their general welfare. Another evidence as well as a cause of this indifference is seen in the almost entire absence of any effort on the part of native religious, charitable, and civic organizations to assist the immigrants in assimilation or to better their religious, civic, and living conditions. No particular effort is made in the public schools where immigrant children attend toward adjusting the courses of study or methods of teaching to the needs of the alien, nor does the city school system provide any special schools for industrial or technical training. The result of this indifference to and ignorance of immigrants on the part of the natives is that the latter fail to appreciate the change in circumstances brought about by coming into a new country, the consequent difficulty of adjustment to new political and industrial conditions, and that the failure of the immigrants to conform immediately to American life is in a measure due to the absence of effort on the part of the American residents. An example of this is seen in the attitude of the police department toward foreigners, particularly the Croatians, with regard to Sunday desecration. The Croatians are accustomed to spend Sunday in singing, drinking, and noisy demonstrations. The police have been instructed to show no leniency on account of ignorance of the municipal regulations, and, without any attempt at explaining the laws, they arrest the offenders in large numbers.

On the other hand, the attitude of the employers is somewhat different. A general statement of their attitude may be made as follows: There is no prejudice against German, Welsh, Swedish, English, and Irish immigrants, but there are frequent indications

of an unfavorable attitude toward southern and eastern European immigrants. With reference to the latter, the majority of employers seem to regard the presence of immigrants of these races as a necessary evil, brought about by the lack of supply of Americans and of northern European immigrants. In some cases a kindly attitude is evident. For example, the manufacturers of fire brick state that they are perfectly satisfied with the presence of the immigrants of every race with the exception of the Italian, because they have shown themselves capable of advancing to skilled occupations, and because in their absence the problem of union labor would probably have to be dealt with. It should be noted, however, that in this establishment no highly skilled labor is needed. The most skilled occupation connected directly with the making of fire brick can be learned by the immigrant of average industry and ability in two years, while in the steel manufacture a considerable amount of education and long experience and technical training is necessary for the higher forms of skilled labor.

In almost every case the employers have stated that they do not want to employ Croatians unless the lack of labor supply forces them to do so, and in every case the employers have evidenced a dislike for Italians as laborers. This attitude seems to be fast crystallizing into a prejudice, especially in the case of the Italians, and is spreading to the American residents in general. Where no other labor is available the Poles, Slovaks, Magyars, Macedonians, Syrians, and Russian Jews, in the order named, are preferred. The employers of Polish, Slovak, and Magyar women as cooks, housemaids, and washerwomen have, in every instance where information has been obtained, expressed a high regard for them as contrasted with negro labor of this nature. They state that immigrant women of these races are quick to learn, capable, and industrious, and their efficiency is unquestionably creating a better sentiment toward immigrants of these races. The tendency, therefore, seems to be toward a clearing away of local prejudice against the Poles, Slovaks, and Magyars, and a strengthening of local prejudice against the Italians and the Croatians, while the other races from southeastern Europe do not come into close enough contact with the natives to warrant the statement of any particular attitude.

THE IMMIGRANT AND ORGANIZED LABOR.

The only instance of a trade union in the industries established in Community A is in one of the brewing companies. All other establishments are operated on the open-shop principle, and steel companies No. 1 and No. 2 have taken a decided stand against employing union men. Whenever it is found out that an employee is a member of a union he is promptly discharged. The same policy has been followed by the other plants.

Just how union men happen to be employed at present in the brewing company referred to could not be clearly ascertained. It is the newest of the larger industries, and a majority of the skilled. laborers were brought there from other breweries where unions existed. Thus union wages prevailed from the start, and although some of the original German laborers have gone and their places have been taken

by men of other races, the influence seems to be strong enough to continue the plant on the principle of the closed shop. Only union men are employed and the only difference produced by the presence of the union is that when it is necessary to take a new employee and teach him duties of a more or less skilled laborer he receives full wages determined by the union scale. In the other brewery, on the other hand, such an employee would be paid lower wages until he was able to do the work the particular occupation required. The plants are so small, however, that these details are of little importance, yet they are all that is to be said with respect to trade unions in the local industries. The immigrant laborers adopt no attitude on the subject one way or the other. Interviews with Slovak and Croatian employees of the only closed-shop industry in this locality indicate that they regard membership in the union merely as one of the unimportant details of employment; they express no sentiment.

Trade unions exist among the native plumbers and barbers, and members of the building and other trades, but they do not extend to the immigrant tradesmen, except in case of well-Americanized individuals. Inquiry as to the cause of this condition revealed, as the real reason, the difference in race and language. Several barbers, for example, state that no movement has ever been made to organize them and that they themselves did not wish it because there was no real competition among them. Magyar barber shops are patronized by Magyars, Slovak by Slovaks, etc. Investigation of the prices showed that they were all the same and followed the standard of barbers in the native sections. The same is true of immigrant carpenters and tailors, although no uniformity in price of work prevailed. But it should be noted that there are comparatively few members of the building trades among the immigrants, and they are engaged on small jobs. Thus, union men (natives) are regularly employed by immigrants who build. There is not enough competition between immigrant and native tradesmen to call forth the expression of any opinion or to force the taking of any attitude.

With a few exceptions, Community A is strictly a nonunion locality, and has been so ever since the miners' strike of 1873.

Two strikes have occurred in the history of Community A. The first was in 1858 in company No. 1. At that time about seven-tenths of the employees were Welsh immigrants. The strike failed and the result was that a large number of the Welsh left Community A and were supplanted by the Irish and the Germans. The second strike occurred in 1873 among the miners. It was a failure, and the result was the disbanding of the local miners' union. Soon after this the rollers, puddlers, and other trade unions were disbanded, and the company announced a definite policy against the employment of any union men. Since then no substantial effort has been made to reorganize these unions, and the policy of the company has not changed.

48296°-VOL 8-11-26

The following table shows the affiliation with trade unions of males 21 years or over in the households studied, who are working for wages. The exhibit is by general nativity and race of individual:

TABLE 286.-Affiliation with trade unions of males 21 years of age or over working for wages, by general nativity and race of individual.

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Only one individual of the 668 reporting complete data in this regard is affiliated with a trade union. This table simply shows that there is practically no active interest in union matters either among the foreign or the native born in this community.

REASONS FOR EMPLOYING IMMIGRANTS.

In response to inquiries, the employers in this community without exception state that the cause of the employment of immigrants has been the general scarcity of labor, arising from the expansion of the local industrial enterprises. It is claimed that wages have in no instances been decreased, and that no strikes have occurred since 1858. Other evidence bears out the truth of these statements. The situation thus presents an opportunity for the study of conditions as nearly normal in their nature as could well be expected. There are few if any disturbing factors in the labor situation. It is a normal situation closely dependent upon general labor conditions in the steel and iron making sections. So far as the locality is concerned the situation may be briefly summarized as follows:

There is a constant movement of labor toward the largest steel plant from the other smaller industries, because in presenting the greatest variety of occupations and the greatest opportunity for industrial advancement and in employing nearly six times as many workmen it tends to attract the whole labor supply. There is thus as a result a scarcity of labor in the smaller plants, which are dependent to a large degree upon the demand for labor on the part of the large steel plant.

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