TABLE 8.

Immigrants in Boston.

Number of Households Studied and Persons for whom Detailed Information was Secured in the City of Boston: By General Nativity and Race of Head of Household.

In addition to the native white of native father and the second generation Irish, the following foreign households, in order of their numerical importance, have been studied in Boston: South Italians, Russian Hebrews, Irish, Lithuanians, Syrians, Poles, and Greeks.

As regards country of birth, which it is necessary to consider only for the Hebrews and Poles, the fact is that all of the Hebrews are natives of Russia, while . . . over three-fourths, 76 per cent, of all the Poles studied in Boston are natives of Russia, 21.2 per cent are natives of Austria-Hungary, and 2.9 per cent are natives of Germany. The largest proportion of all Italian heads of households come from the Province of Campania, the next largest from Sicily, and the next from Abruzzi and Molise. . .

Of the total of 1,416 households studied in Boston, 1,217 are foreign and 199 native. Of the native households 123 are American and 76 second-generation Irish. Detailed information was secured for 7,092 persons, of whom 6,296 were in households whose heads were foreign-born and 796 in households whose heads were native-born. In general, then, more than seven-eighths of the population studied in Boston live in foreign households. . . . Where the enumeration is by nativity of head of household, the total native-born aggregate 11.2 per cent of the entire number of persons for whom detailed information was secured. Where the enumeration is by nativity of individual, the native-born are 38.2 per cent of the whole number of persons. The higher per cent is largely due to the presence of native-born children in immigrant households. The largest proportion of persons of native birth is among the Irish, which is the rac with heads of households having the longest residence in the United States. The

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Immigrants in Boston.

second largest proportion is among the South Italians, the race representing on the whole the second earliest immigration, and the third highest per cent is among the Russian Hebrews, the third in point of length of residence in this country.

(b) Sex.

Of the total of [7,092] persons for whom detailed information was secured in Boston, 54.6 per cent are males and 45.4 per cent females. Among the nativeborn the percentage of males is 46.5 and among the foreign-born 55.7. Of the foreign races all except the Irish and the Syrians have more males than females. The proportion is exceptionally high among the Greeks, of whom 83.6 per cent are male, and the Lithuanians, among whom the proportion of males is 60.4 per cent. The percentage is 58.1 among the South Italians, 55.6 among the Poles, and 50.8 among the Russian Hebrews. . . .

(c) Age.

There are more young persons under 20 and more persons of the most active age, namely, between 20 and 44, among immigrants than natives, while the proportion of persons 45 and over is almost twice as high among the native-born as among the foreign-born. This is a normal difference; the immigrants bring over comparatively few old persons, and therefore in foreign households the proportion of persons 45 years of age or over is smaller than in households of the nativeborn...

(d) Conjugal Condition.

Of the total number of 4,009 persons 20 years of age or over, who report data on conjugal condition, 66 per cent are married, 26.9 per cent are single, and 7.1 per cent are widowed. The proportion of single persons is much higher among the males than among the females, and the proportion of married and widowed persons is higher among the females than among the males.

There are fewer single persons among the adult foreign-born than among the adult native-born, the proportions being 25.1 per cent among the foreign and 38.2 among the native-born. The difference is very pronounced among females, of whom 35.8 per cent are single among the native-born and only 11 per cent among the foreign-born. It is clear from these figures that the immigrants marry somewhat younger than the native-born and, furthermore, that this is more noticeable among the women than among the men. It must be added that it is not an unusual thing for immigrant girls to come here in order either to join their husbands or intended husbands or to improve their opportunity of finding husbands by coming to a community where the proportion of males is high.

The only foreign race having a large proportion, 66.1 per cent, of single persons among the adults, is the Greek; the proportion of single Greek males is

TABLE 3.

Immigrant Aliens -1912.

· Number of Immigrant Aliens Destined for Massachusetts and Total Number Admitted to the United States, with Percentages, in 1912, and Averages for the Five-year Period 1907-1911: By Occupations.

Table 3 shows, by occupations, the number of immigrant aliens admitted to the United States, the number destined for Massachusetts, and the corresponding percentages for the year 1912 and averages for the five-year period 1907-1911. The total number destined for Massachusetts classified as professional was 658 in 1912, this being 5.6 per cent of the 11,685 admitte l to the United States. The percentage of aliens classified as engaged in professional occupations of the total number admitted to the United States was greater in 1912 than for the preceding five-year period, the respective percentages being 5.6 and 5.1. Of those in professional occupations teachers ranked first in point of numbers and likewise with respect to the percentage destined for Massachusetts

The total number of skilled workmen destined for Massachusetts was 10,820, or 15.4 per cent of the total number of immigrants destined for Massachusetts,

Immigrant Aliens - 1912.

comprising, however, only 8.5 per cent of the total number of skilled workmen admitted to the United States, but the percentage is somewhat larger than the corresponding percentage (7.8) for the five-year period 1907-1911.

Over two-fifths (41.3 per cent) of the textile workers (unclassified) entering the United States chose Massachusetts as their destination; 28.3 per cent of the weavers and spinners; 11.4 per cent of the shoemakers; 9.2 per cent of the masons; and 9.2 per cent of the barbers and hairdressers were so destined.

There were 40,687 miscellaneous unskilled workmen who were destined for Massachusetts in 1912, or 8.7 per cent of the 468,401 admitted to the United States. Farm laborers to the number of 14,418, or 7.8 per cent, ranked first; laborers, 12,643, or 9.3 per cent, ranked second; and servants, 11,694, or 10 per cent, ranked third. For the five-year period laborers ranked first with an annual average of 17,680, or 9 per cent; farm laborers second with an annual average of 11,742, or 5.3 per cent; and servants third with an annual average of 10,440, or 10.9 per cent.

The total number of immigrant aliens entering this State in 1912 having no occupation, including women and children, was 17,997, or 7.8 per cent of the 231,070 admitted to the United States, while the corresponding per cent for the five-year period was 7.3.

There were in addition to the occupations shown in Table 3 several occupations represented by a large number of aliens admitted to the United States of whom but a very few were destined for Massachusetts. Only 170 miners of 5,889 admitted to the United States were destined for this State, 173 of the 3,143 butchers admitted, 152 of the 2,098 machinists, 119 of the 1,391 gardeners, 106 of the 1,331 locomotive, marine, and stationary engineers, 81 of the 1,169 stokers, and 78 of the 1,006 milliners.

TABLE 4.

Number of Imigrant Aliens Destined for Massachusetts, 1908-1912: By Races, Arriged in Order of Number of Immigrants in 1912.

Immigrants in Boston.

76.3 per cent, while there are no single females over 20 years of age. The proportion of unmarried women is lower than that of unmarried men among all of the foreign races studied in Boston.

The figures indicate that the immigrant population of the districts studied in Boston is more settled than the native population, which contains a considerable proportion of single men and women who have come to the city to earn a living. The immigrant men have in most cases come to stay, and have generally sent for their wives or sweethearts, and a large proportion of the women have come to join their husbands or in order to marry.

(e) Years in the United States.

Of the 4,343 foreign-born persons studied in Boston who report the date of their arrival in the United States, 46 per cent have been here less than five years, 70.5 per cent less than 10 years, and 89.6 per cent less than 20 years.

The Greeks, the Poles, the Syrians, and the Lithuanians are the most recent immigrants studied in Boston. The Hebrews and the South Italians come next, and the Irish are the oldest residents.

C. LIVING CONDITIONS.

(a) Congestion.

Of the households studied in Boston, 6.4 per cent occupy apartments of one room, 15.6 per cent occupy apartments of two rooms, 31.6 per cent three rooms, 27.8 per cent four rooms, 11.4 per cent five rooms, 3.7 per cent six rooms, and 3.5 per cent seven rooms or more. It will be seen that apartments of three and of four rooms together constitute about three-fifths of the entire number studied. One, two, and three-room apartments are more common among foreign than among native households, while apartments of four rooms or more occur more frequently among native households.

The Syrians occupy one-room apartments in 46 per cent of all cases and two-room apartments in 38.1 per cent of all cases. None of the other races have as high a proportion of small apartments, the Greeks, with 18.4 per cent of oneroom and 28.6 per cent of two-room apartments, ranking second in this respect. All of the other races live in three or four-room apartments in the majority of cases. The proportion of apartments of six rooms or more is by far the highest among the Irish, among whom it reaches 16.6 per cent.

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The foreign-born show a considerably higher percentage of large households and a considerably lower percentage of small households than the native-born. Nearly half of the households of the native-born white of native father and the second-generation Irish, and slightly more than half of the Greek and Syrian households consist of fewer than four persons. The two native races and the Syrians also report low percentages of households, consisting of seven or more