to make arrests. Some cutting and shooting is a natural accompaniment of these quarrels, but it is of a different nature from similar offenses among the South Italians, in that the latter are guilty in almost every instance of premeditated assaults and murders, while the former commit crimes in the excitement produced by intoxication. Another peculiar crime of the Croatians growing out of their week-end carousals is Sabbath desecration. Fully 90 per cent of the arrests made for this cause are in Croatian neighborhoods. More Magyars and Poles are arrested for vagrancy and begging drinks ("mooching") than for any other cause. The Slovaks cause very little trouble. In the experience of the police department the South Italians are the most difficult to deal with in the detection' of crime on account of tendency to shield guilty ones of their own race. This tendency, it is stated, covers every instance of criminality among them. The Croatians are nearly as bad in this respect, and the Poles rank a close third, but they are not nearly so successful. Some trouble of this nature has been experienced with the Magyars. In the case of every race except the Italian the second generation has shown a marked improvement over the first. Arrests are even less frequent among them than among natives, so far as the police records show. The second generation of the Italians, who are almost altogether South Italians in this locality, on the other hand, does not exhibit any great improvement over the first, in the opinion of the head of the police department and so far as the records of this department show. The children of Italians retain their cutting and shooting propensities and exhibit to a marked degree a continuation of the tendency to shield each other from detection. The police department states that there are no evidences of the existence of any criminal societies in the locality and that they have discovered no traces of the activities of such societies. CHARITY. The only evidences of charity for or among immigrants are seen. in connection with their own religious organizations. The support of the sick or injured by benefit associations and by steel company No. 1 is discussed elsewhere," but this can not be considered as the work of charitable organizations. There is no effort on the part of religious or other organizations among natives to carry on charity work among the recent immigrants. This, as pointed out elsewhere, is one of the indications of the general attitude of indifference on the part of the natives toward foreigners. In some of the older immigrant churches, however, especially the German and Irish Roman Catholic churches in the foreign section, the Polish Roman Catholic, and the Hungarian and Slovak Greek and Roman Catholic churches, charity is carried on to some extent, though not by any definite organizations. Collections are made for the poor and sick members of the different parishes. a See p. 385. In this connection the table submitted below shows the per cent of charity patients in the city hospital, by general nativity, from 1904 to 1908: TABLE 317.-Number and per cent of charity patients in city hospital, by nativity, 1904 to 1908. Of the 3,367 Americans in the city hospital from August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1908, 47.4 per cent were charity patients. Of the 2,617 foreigners in the hospital during the same period, 50.7 per cent were charity patients. The year 1906 was the only year of the period which showed a smaller per cent of charity patients for the foreignborn. CHAPTER VIII. THE RECENT IMMIGRANT AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH. Diseases peculiar to immigrant races-Vitality of aliens-Aliens as inmates of hospitals Obedience to municipal health regulations-The native and the foreign death rate [Text Tables 318 and 319]. DISEASES PECULIAR TO IMMIGRANT RACES. The testimony of the physicians and hospital authorities is to the effect that apparently there are no diseases peculiar to any one single race. Two physicians stated that the Italians are more susceptible to nervous troubles, but this opinion was contradicted by other physicians. The chief diseases among the aliens are the following: (a) Rheumatism. This disease prevails to a considerable extent, but it is muscular, not inflammatory. It is probably not more prevalent than among the native population, and is due, not to any inherent tendencies, but to the conditions of life among immigrants. (b) Heart diseases. There are many cases of heart disease among the foreign-born population. Physicians state that it is largely due to rheumatic conditions rather than to the nature of employment or weakness of the heart. In many cases alcoholic beverages and dissipation are the cause of the trouble. There seems to be no more disease of this character than among the American population. (c) Typhoid fever. While there are many cases of typhoid fever, there are not so many as might be expected from the unsanitary conditions in which recent immigrants live. The disease is not more prevalent than among the Americans. During the summer of 1908 many cases resulted from bad water supply and the failure to boil. water when warned. (d) Pneumonia. This is one of the diseases most common to the foreign population, but they seem no more subject to it than the natives and stand the disease possibly even better. (e) Syphilitic diseases. These are very prevalent, certainly as much so as among the native population at the present time. Furthermore, these diseases are increasing, and several physicians with a large practice among the immigrant population give it as their opinion that in the course of time almost the entire alien population of this city will be infected. They give as reasons of the increase of these diseases the following: (1) The entire ignorance on the part of these people of the nature of these diseases. (2) The immorality of the foreign population, ascribable chiefly to the fact that they are essentially an agricultural class suddenly subjected to all the temptations of crowded city life, with more money to spend than they ever had before and an absence of any effective restraint on their actions. In support of this they cite the fact that the foreigners do not have these diseases when they arrive, but contract them after reaching the community. (f) Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is very general among the foreigners and seems to be increasing. The crowded conditions of life, entire ignorance of sanitary precautions, and poor food are regarded as especially conducive to the spread of the infection. One physician, however, states that there is no more tuberculosis among the immigrants than among the Americans, and that it is not increasing any more rapidly among the alien than among the native population. Furthermore, all authorities agree that the second generation, as they understand proper hygienic measures and escape the present congestion, will be no more susceptible to the disease than are Americans. VITALITY OF ALIENS. On this subject two views are expressed by the local physicians. It is said that the vitality and physical stamina of the southern and eastern European is below that of the native; that in consequence he contracts diseases more readily, resists their ravages less successfully, and succumbs to disease and accident more easily. One illustration cited to prove this is the fact that in the majority of cases fractures require a longer time to heal if the patient is a foreigner than if he is an American. On the other hand, it is stated by physicians with wide acquaintance among the recent immigrants that the fears on this head are much exaggerated. They say the fact alleged may be true, but urge that, if true, it argues no inherent weakness or physical inferiority. They believe the alien, when he arrives here, is physically the equal of the American and that the decline in vitality and stamina is due to the insanitary conditions of life, the ignorance of hygienic measures, the great increase in the consumption of alcoholic liquors and general dissipation of these people under conditions of life here. It is their opinion that the second generation, with a better knowledge of how to care for themselves, are in no way inferior to the natives. ALIENS AS INMATES OF HOSPITALS. The following tables, compiled from the records of the local city hospital, together with those from the steel company hospital, show the foreign patronage of the hospitals of Community A. TABLE 318.-Number and per cent of patients in the local hospital and the steel com pany's hospital, by general nativity, August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1908. [Compiled from records of local hospital and steel company's hospital.] LOCAL HOSPITAL. August 1, 1905, August 1, 1906, August 1, 1907, August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1906. to July 31, 1907. to July 31, 1908. to July 31, 1908. August 1, 1904, General nativity. Num- Per Per Per Per Per cent Num- cent Num- cent Num- cent Num- cent distri- ber. distri- ber. distri- ber. distri- ber. distribution. bution. bution. bution. bution. TABLE 318.-Number and per cent of patients in the local hospital and the steel company's hospital, by general nativity, August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1908-Continued. STEEL COMPANY'S HOSPITAL. August 1. 1904, August 1, 1905, August 1, 1906, August 1, 1907, August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1905. to July 31, 1906. to July 31, 1907. to July 31, 1908. to July 31, 1908. The following table shows the foreign patients of the city hospital, by race, for each successive year from 1904 to 1908. TABLE 319. Number and per cent of foreign-born patients in the local hospital, by race, August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1908. Race. Num Per Per cont August 1, 1904, to July 31, 1908. Per Num- cent Per bution. bution. bution. bution. bution. |