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OCCUPATION OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS (INCLUDING SYRIANS) TO THE UNITED STATES

(Compiled from the Reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration) Hebrews excepted, by occupation and class, 1899-1909

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of the old immigration. Even with the Hebrews included we find the percentage of unskilled and farm laborers much larger among the new immigrants. Moreover, among those classed as skilled laborers the percentage, not including the Hebrews, is more than twice as great in the old immigration as in the new, altho among servants practically the reverse is true, the percentage being much higher among the nationalities who are counted primarily among the earlier immigrants.

The percentage of farmers as distinguished from farm laborers is much larger among races found in the old immigration, but in both cases the number is very small, so small as not to be an appreciable factor in determining our civilization. A careful study of the figures, however, shows from this fact alone that

the new immigration is much more difficult to assimilate than the old, because of these characteristics of occupation. A percentage of the total population, therefore, that might readily have been assimilated, provided the immigrants were of the older type, might prove much more difficult of assimilation with immigrants of the new type.

Illiteracy in Europe

Thanks to the excellent public schools of the United States, and to the compulsory educational laws of many of our States, the question of illiteracy is not one of great importance in the second generation. It is, however, a factor of prime importance in connection with the assimilation politically and socially of the immigrants themselves, many of whom come here in the days of their early manhood, soon become voters, and remain a permanent factor, especially in our large cities, in determining the results of our elections. In most States there is no literacy test for the suffrage. An immigrant who is illiterate is likely to be much slower in securing accurate information regarding the political institutions and political questions on which he may be called to vote, than one who can readily secure such information from books and papers. So large a number of periodicals are published in various foreign tongues that it is by no means essential that the immigrant read English, but if he can read no language but must depend upon chance conversation and public discussion for his political ideas, he is certainly greatly handicapped as compared with his literate brother.

At the time they are admitted into the United States

as immigrants, judging from conditions in Europe, the percentage of illiteracy among the races composing the new immigration is much greater than that among the old, the difference being that of 35.6 per cent. to 2.7 per cent., as shown in the following tables:

NUMBER AND PER CENT. OF ILLITERATES

14 years of age and over, in each race of European immigrants (including Syrian) admitted into the United States in the fiscal years 1899 to 1909, inclusive.

[Compiled from reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration]

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NUMBER AND PER CENT. OF ILLITERATES

14 years of age or over, in each class of European immigration (including Syrian) in fiscal years 1899 to 1909, inclusive.

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The larger table on page 33, containing a list of the races or peoples and the degree of illiteracy among the immigrants admitted in the years 1899-1909, shows in a very striking manner the differences among the various immigrant races in this respect.

Looking at the question in the large, too great emphasis ought not to be laid upon the question of illiteracy, inasmuch as has already been said, this disadvantage in most cases disappears in the second generation. If, however, the question of discrimination between races or nationalities is to be considered at ́all, beyond doubt illiteracy is one factor that should not be overlooked, inasmuch as it does bear directly and often with great force upon the usefulness of the V immigrant, both as a voting citizen and as a useful laborer.

Inclination to Return to Europe

The nature of our activities, both private and public, is determined primarily by our purpose and intentions regarding the future. If an immigrant intends to re

main permanently in the United States and become an American citizen, he naturally begins at once, often indeed before he leaves Europe, to fit himself for the conditions of his new life, by learning the language of the country, studying its institutions, and later on by investing his savings in America and by planning for the future of his children in such a way that they may have advantages even better than his own. If, on the other hand, he intends his sojourn in this country to be short, a matter of a few months or a few years, naturally his whole outlook upon American institutions and American life is changed. He will wish to secure in America that which will be of chief use to him after his return to his home country, and not that which would ultimately serve him best here. The acquisition of the English language will be of slight consequence unless it might secure a slight increase of wages, and the acquirement of a year or two would scarcely suffice for any important change in this regard. Naturally, the chief aim of a person with this intention is to put money in his purse; to secure as much wealth as possible in this country, not for investment here but for investment in his home country, so that upon his return he may possess a better economic and social status. The question, then, of a permanent, as compared with a transient, residence in the United States becomes a factor of prime importance in determining the ease of assimilation of the various races of immigrants. In this respect an important distinction is to be made between the races of the new immigration and those of the old.

Our earlier immigration records did not take account of the aliens leaving United States ports, but beginning with 1907 such a record has been kept and

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