CONGESTION.

Preceding tables indicate the extent to which crowding prevails in the households of the community. The degree of congestion and its effects upon living arrangements is more directly set forth in the following series of tables.

The first table shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the average number of persons per apartment, per room, and per sleeping room.

TABLE 133.-Average number of persons per apartment, per room, and per sleeping room, by general nativity and race of head of household.

In the 440 households studied the average number of persons per apartment is 5.05, per room 1.07, and per sleeping room 2.26. In each specified space the average number shown by the households the heads of which are foreign-born is much larger than that shown by the households the heads of which are native-born of foreign father. The native whites born of native father show an average of less than 1 person per room and less than 3 persons per sleeping room. The average number of persons per apartment for that group is 4.70. Of the foreign-born races all except the Swedish show average numbers not greatly divergent. The average number of persons in households the heads of which are foreign-born Swedes is 4.76. The largest average number of persons per apartment5.83-is shown by the foreign-born French Canadians. Each other foreign-born race shows an average number that is between 5 and 6. The Germans and Swedes each show an average number of persons per room that is less than 1. No race shows an average number of persons per room that is as great as 2. The Poles show the greatest degree of congestion in sleeping rooms. The average number of persons per sleeping room for households of that race is 2.69. The Germans show the least degree of congestion in sleeping rooms, with an average of but 2.08 persons per sleeping room.

In the next table presented the persons per room are shown by general nativity and race of head of household:

TABLE 134.-Persons per room, by general nativity and race of head of household.

Slightly more than 60 per cent of all of the households studied in the foregoing table have 1 or more persons per room. None of the households have as many as 4 persons per room and less than 10 per cent have as many as 2 persons per room. The foreignborn show a greater degree of congestion than do the native-born of foreign-father. None of the households of the latter group have as many as 2 persons per room, while 12.4 per cent of the foreignborn show households having that number of persons per room. Among the foreign-born races the South Italians show the greatest degree of congestion, 2.1 per cent of the households of that race having 3 or more persons per room. The Poles show the greatest proportion of households that have 2 or more persons per room. The South Italians show the next largest proportion and the Swedes show the smallest. The Poles show a greater proportion of households having 1 or more persons per room than do any other race. The percentage is 94.6. Eighty-three per cent of the South Italian households show that number of persons per room as compared with 45.8 per cent of the Swedes and 57.9 per cent of the Germans.

The table following shows persons per sleeping room, by general nativity and race of head of household.

TABLE 135.-Persons per sleeping room, by general nativity and race of head of household.

a Not computed, owing to the small number involved.

More than 75 per cent of all households studied have 2 or more persons per sleeping room, leaving not quite 25 per cent who have less than 2 persons per sleeping room. None of the households studied have as many as 6 persons per sleeping room, and only 0.5 per cent have as many as 5 persons. The households the heads of which are foreign-born show a greater degree of congestion than do the households the heads of which are native-born of foreign father. The latter show 73.2 per cent as having 2 or more persons per sleeping room, while for the former the proportion is 77.3 per cent. The households the heads of which are native-born of German fathers show a smaller degree of congestion in sleeping quarters than do the households the heads of which are native-born of Irish fathers. Among the households the heads of which are foreign-born only 64.1 per cent of the French Canadians have 2 or more persons per sleeping room, as compared with 94.6 per cent of the Polish households and 87.2 per cent of the South Italian. The South Italians show a greater proportion than do any other race of households that have 3 or more persons per sleeping room. None of the German households have as many as 4 persons per sleeping room, and the proportion of French Canadian and Swedish households that have that many persons per sleeping room is in each case less than 4 per cent. The South Italian and Polish races each show a small proportion of households that have as many as 5 persons per sleeping room. None of the households studied have as many as 6 persons per sleeping room.

The final table of the series, which is next presented, indicates the effect upon living arrangements of congestion within the households studied by showing, according to general nativity and race of head of household, the number and percentage of households regularly using all except each specified number of rooms to sleep in.

TABLE 136.-Number and per cent of households regularly sleeping in all except each specified number of rooms, by general nativity and race of head of household.

A total of 440 households are included in the above table. The average number of rooms per household is 4.72 and the average number of sleeping rooms per household is 2.24. Of the total number of households 34.8 per cent sleep in all rooms except 2. The proportion of households sleeping in all rooms except 1 is 18.4 per cent. Less than 1 per cent sleep in all rooms. The households the heads of which are foreign-born show a much larger proportion sleeping in all rooms except 1 than do the households the heads of which are native-born of foreign father, and while the proportion is also larger for the households that sleep in all but 2 rooms the difference is not so marked. Of the foreign-born races the Polish is the only one showing any households that sleep in all rooms. For that race the proportion is 1.1 per cent. Over 52 per cent of the Polish households sleep in all except 1 room. Less than 10 per cent each of the French Canadian and Swedish households sleep in all except 1 room. Slightly more than 45 per cent of the German households sleep in all except 2 rooms, while the proportion for the Poles is 40.2 per cent. The proportion of North Italian households that sleep in all except 2 rooms is too small for computation.

HOUSING AND SEGREGATION.

But two races in Community B congregate in certain localities and they are the Poles and Italians, each of which have a distinct quarter in the city. The French Canadians, while not having a regular quarter, tend to congregate in that part of the city in which their church is located, although some French Canadian families are found in other sections of the city. The residences of the Swedes and Germans are scattered, and this is true of all other races not enumerated. Real estate agents claim that the reason the Poles and Italians congregate in certain quarters of the city is that they desire to live near their churches. In the case of the Poles, Italians, and French Canadians the houses on the streets in close proximity to their respective churches are occupied by people of these races. Another reason for congregation is that it is extremely difficult for the Poles and Italians to obtain houses in other quarters of the city; therefore they are practically forced to take up residence in Polish and Italian quarters, a thing which they are usually very willing to do.

The general condition of houses occupied by Italians compared with those occupied by natives in the same grade of employment is not so good. The houses are not so well kept and there is less desire for cleanliness than exists among the natives. The Italians are not averse to overcrowding and like to supplement their incomes by taking lodgers, even though it costs much personal inconvenience. In some cases where the families have prospered and own their own house the general condition of the house is equal to that of houses owned by natives in like circumstances. It is rare to find families of any race owning their own houses and taking boarders or lodgers, and the mere fact that the family owns the house, no matter to what race its members belong, seems to put it at once on a higher plane.

The Poles as a general rule do not keep their houses in as good condition as natives in the same grade of employment. They too, like the Italians, are not averse to crowding, and a large number of Polish families take lodgers. These people, for the sake of low rent, will live in tenement basements where it would be impossible to get native tenants. They are also willing to put up with fewer conveniences than the native in similar circumstances. The real estate agents assert that the Poles are more destructive to property than the natives and are less cleanly, but are more to be depended upon for rent. One agent said that a Polish family in a $6 tenement would pay the rent promptly and would be likely to have a bank account, while the native in similar circumstances would keep a better house but would be a hard tenant from whom to obtain rent promptly. The French Canadians are extremely clean in their houses, and the dwellings of this race are equal to those of natives in the same grade of employment. As they usually have large families they seldom take boarders and the family ties are not severed.

The Germans and Swedes in the manner of keeping their dwellings rank about equal and in many cases superior to the natives in the same class. These people have been so thoroughly Americanized that no difference is to be noted between their houses and the houses of aatives. They are not distinctly segregated, as are the Poles and Italians; they usually have a higher grade of employment, and with that a higher standard of living. Their length of residence has been