Immigrant Aliens-1912.

I. IMMIGRANT ALIENS DESTINED FOR AND EMIGRANT ALIENS DEPARTED FROM MASSACHUSETTS, 1912.1

1. INTRODUCTORY.

The primary purpose in preparing this report has been to show the volume and character of that portion of immigration to the United States which was destined for Massachusetts and the volume and character of that portion of the immigrant population of Massachusetts which departed from the Commonwealth to take up a permanent residence abroad. The data herein presented have been selected from the Annual Reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for the years 1896 to 1912, and from the Annual Reports of the Superintendent of Immigration for the years 1893 to 1895.

2. IMMIGRANT ALIENS DESTINED FOR MASSACHUSETTS.

The number of immigrant aliens admitted to the United States and destined for Massachusetts shows a decrease in 1912 as compared with 1911, while the proportion of those destined for Massachusetts of those admitted to the United States shows a slight increase.

There has been considerable variation in the total number of immigrants to the United States in each year and also in the number destined for Massachusetts during the past 20 years. The number admitted to the United States in 1893 was 439,730, but this large total was not reached again until 1900, and from year to year thereafter, with the exception of 1904, it increased until in 1907 there were 1,285,349 immigrants admitted. This was the record year both for the United States and for Massachusetts. The number admitted fell far short in 1908 and 1909, increased to 1,041,570 in 1910, fell to 878,587 in 1911 and to 838,172 in 1912.

The largest percentage of immigrants destined for Massachusetts was in 1895, when 11.6 per cent came to this State. Notwithstanding the much larger numbers of immigrant aliens entering the United States in 1905, 1906, 1907, and again in 1910, the percentages destined for Massachusetts were only 7.0, 6.7, 6.7, and 7.9 for the respective years. It may be noted, also, hat while the number of immigrants entering the United States decreased

1 An immigrant alien is a person, not already a citizen of the United States, who enters this country with the { wowed intention of settling here and who is not returning to resume a domicile formerly acquired here. An emigrant alien is a person, not already a citizen of the United States, whose permanent residence has been in the United States, who intends to reside permanently abroad and who is not making a temporary trip abroad.

Immigrant Aliens-1912.

TABLE 1.-Number of Immigrant Aliens Destined for Massachusetts and Total Number Admitted to the United States, with Percentages: By Years, 1893-1912.

1 The years referred to throughout this article are in each case the years ending June 30.

In this table the returns for the years 1906-1912 are not strictly comparable with those for the earlier year. because in 1905 and in prior years all aliens arriving at ports of the United States, with the exception of thos merely in transit to other countries, were reported as "alien arrivals." During the years 1906-1912 there hav been segregated from those arriving not only aliens in transit, but all aliens returning from visits abroad to resum previously established permanent domiciles in the United States, and all coming simply as visitors or tourist with the intention of returning to homes abroad. The totals for the years 1893 to 1905 are directly comparabl with each other as they stand in the table.

IMMIGRATION CHART.

Immigrant Aliens Admitted to the United States and Destine for Massachusetts, 1892-1912.

Immigrant Aliens—1912.

from 878,587 in 1911 to 838,172 in 1912, and the number destined for Massachusetts in these years likewise decreased from 70,811 to 70,171, the percentage destined for Massachusetts increased from 8.1 to 8.4.

Massachusetts has always been one of the leading States as the declared destination of immigrants, ranking third or fourth for over 20 years, and having been exceeded only by New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, and during the period 1894-1904 having been exceeded only by New York and Pennsylvania.

During recent years there has been considerable change in the sources of immigration. A large part of our immigration was formerly of Teutonic and Celtic origin, but for several years the bulk of immigration has come from Slavonic and Iberic countries of Eastern and Southern Europe and Western Asia. The number admitted in 1912 of such origin was 570,130, or about 68 per cent of all immigrants admitted. Massachusetts receives a smaller proportion of this immigration than the country as a whole, nevertheless somewhat over 40 per cent of the immigrant aliens destined for Massachusetts during the year 1912 were of Slavonic and Iberic origin.

The number of immigrant aliens admitted to the United States and to Massachusetts, together with the percentage by races of peoples destined for this State for the year ending June 30, 1912, is presented in Table 2. There were 16 races represented by 1,000 or more immigrants destined for Massachusetts, the Italians (south) leading with 12,611, or 9.3 per cent of the total number of Italians (south) admitted to the United States. Second in point of numbers were the Polish, 7,988, or 9.4 per cent, who were destined for this State, followed in numerical importance by: Irish, 5,866; English, 5,552; Hebrew, 5,097; and Portuguese, 4,967. For several years the Portuguese have shown the largest percentage destined for Massachusetts of any race of immigrant arrivals in the United States, the percentage in 1912 having been 52.8 as compared with 51.7 per cent in 1911, 55.2 in 1910, and 62.9 per cent in 1909. The corresponding percentages for other races or peoples showing over 10 per cent destined for Massachusetts in 1912 were: Armenian, 26.3; African (black), 19.1; Finnish, 18.2; Lithuanian, 17.6; Irish, 17.3; French, 17.2; Scotch, 14.9; Greeks, 14.4; Russian, 11.8; and English, 11.2. The percentages for these several races destined for Massachusetts vary but little from the corresponding percentages for 1911, the largest variations being an increase from 15.1 per cent in 1911 to 18.2 in 1912 for the Finnish; from 12.0 to 14.9 for the Scotch; from 8.9 to 11.8 for the Russians; and from 15.2 to 17.6 per cent for the Lithuanians. There was a noticeable decrease (from 12.5 to 11.2) in the percentage of English who were destined for Massachusetts.

Immigrant Aliens - 1912.

The 16 races specified in Table 2 are those only which ranked highest with respect to the numbers destined for Massachusetts. There are, however, many peoples who come in great numbers to the United States, very few or practically none of whom are destined for this State. Thus in 1912 out of 25,281 Slovaks admitted to the United States only 205 were destined for Massachusetts; of 24,366 Croatians and Slovenians, only 37; of 23,599 Magyars, only 36; of 22,001 Mexicans, only 14; of 21,965 Ruthenians (Russniak), only 627; of 10,935 Dutch and Flemish, only 442; and of 10,657 Bulgarians, Servians, and Montenegrins, only 98.1

TABLE 2.

– 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 Races.

1 The following statement shows the States for which were destined large numbers of immigrant aliens of those races which were well represented in the total immigration to the United States in 1912, but which races furnished but few persons destined for Massachusetts:

Slovaks (25,281). — Pennsylvania, 11,221 (about 44 per cent); New York, 3,390; Ohio, 2,653; New Jersey, 2,589; Illinois, 2,028; other States, 3,400.

Croatians and Slovenians (24,366). — Pennsylvania, 8,063 (33.1 per cent); Ohio, 3,190; Illinois, 2,978; New York, 2,595; Wisconsin, 1,361; other States, 6,179.

Magyars (23,599). — Pennsylvania, 5,161; Ohio, 4,702; New York, 4,236; New Jersey, 3,619; Illinois, 1,297; Michigan, 1,090; other States, 3,494.

Mexicans (22,001). - Texas, 18,494; Arizona, 1,784; other States, 1,723.

Ruthenians (Russniak) (21,965). - Pennsylvania, 7,909; New York, 5,982; New Jersey, 2,889; other States,

5,185.

Dutch and Flemish (10,935). — Michigan, 2,672; New York, 1,766; Illinois, 1,344; other States, 5,153. Bulgarians, Servians, and Montenegrins (10,657). —Ohio, 2,107; Illinois, 1,794; Pennsylvania, 1,694; Nev' York, 1,109; other States, 3,953.

Immigrant Aliens -1912.

A comparison by races of the number of immigrant aliens destined for Massachusetts in 1912 with the average annual number so destined during the preceding five-year period, 1907-1911 (see Table 2), shows that the order of the five leading races was the same in 1912 as for the five-year period, namely: Italian (south), Polish, Irish, English, and Hebrew. Six of the races specified in the table showed an increase in the number destined for Massachusetts in 1912 as compared with the corresponding annual average for the five-year period, the percentages of increase being as follows: Russian, 102.5; African (black), 39.0; Armenian, 32.6; Portuguese, 23.9; Scotch, 22.5; and French, 7.0. The percentages of decrease for the 10 races which showed a decrease in 1912 as compared with the annual average for the five-year period were: Finnish, 34.7; Scandinavian, 24.2; Italian (north), 24.1; Lithuanian, 15.7; Hebrew, 12.8; Greek, 11.0; Irish, 9.3; English, 6.8; Italian (south), 6.5; and Polish, 3.8. For all races there was a decrease of 1.9 per cent in the number destined for Massachusetts in 1912 as compared with the corresponding annual average for the five-year period 1907– 1911.