Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

boarders or lodgers, as against 11.2 per cent of the total foreign households. Among the households the heads of which were nativeborn, the average number of persons per room was 0.54, and per sleeping room 1.41, as compared to 0.74 person per room and 1.78 persons per sleeping room in the households the heads of which were of foreign birth. None of the households of either nativity group used all their rooms for sleeping purposes. In the foreign households the average monthly rent payment per capita was $2.27, as contrasted with $3.12 in the households the heads of which were of native birth. Of the families the heads of which were native-born, 34.4 per cent owned their homes, and of the families the heads of which, were of foreign birth, 31.2 per cent.

Of the total number of native-born employees 20 years of age or over, 60.6 per cent, and of the foreign-born 67.8 per cent, were married. Of the foreign-born employees 98.3 per cent were able to read, and 97.9 per cent able both to read and to write. Of the foreign-born employees 21 years of age or over who had been in the United States five years or more, 54.3 per cent were fully naturalized and 30.9 per cent were in possession of first papers. None of the native-born and only 1.6 per cent of the foreign-born wage-earning males in the households studied were affiliated with labor organizations.

OIL REFINING.

A study was made of the operating forces of the oil-refining industry in the two principal oil-producing centers of the countryBayonne, New Jersey, and Whiting, Indiana. Detailed information. was secured for 6,123 employees, and 525 households the heads of which were employed in the refineries were intensively studied. Of the total number of employees, 66.7 per cent were of foreign birth, 21.5 per cent were of native birth but of foreign father, and only 11.8 per cent were native-born of native father. The Poles, with 1,031 reporting, and the Slovaks, with 757, were the principal races of southern and eastern Europe engaged in the industry, while the Irish, with 830, followed by the Germans, with 313, were the races of old immigration represented in the largest numbers. None of the employees of foreign birth had had any experience in the same work before coming to this country, while 60.8 per cent had been farmers or farm laborers abroad. The average daily wage of male employees 18 years of age or over was $2.51, and the average weekly wage $13.81. The average annual earnings of male heads of families who were employed in the oil refineries were $662, and of all males 18 years of age or over in the households studied they were $591. The average annual income of families the heads of which were working in the industry was $828. Slightly more than two-fifths (42.2 per cent) of the families studied derived their entire income from the earnings of the husbands, while 28.5 per cent were supported by the earnings of the husbands and the payments of boarders or lodgers, and 10.8 per cent by the earnings of the husbands and the contributions of the children. Only 9.7 per cent of the total number of native households studied kept boarders or lodgers, as contrasted with 34.2 per cent of those the heads of which were of foreign birth. Among the households the heads of which were native-born the average number of persons per room was 0.89, and per sleeping room 1.95, as

against 1.39 persons per room and 2.45 persons per sleeping room in the households the heads of which were of foreign birth. None of the native households, but 11.9 per cent of the households the heads of which were foreign-born, used all their rooms for sleeping purposes. The greater degree of congestion in the latter class of households is also illustrated by the fact that the average monthly rent payment per capita was $1.55, as contrasted with $2.91 in households the heads of which were of native birth. About the same proportion of families of both nativity groups owned their homes, the percentage in the case of the foreign-born being 20.4 and the native-born 20. Of the total number of native-born employees 20 years of age or over, 58.6 per cent, and of the foreign-born 71.5 per cent, were married. Only 85.7 per cent of the employees of foreign birth were able to read, and 82.7 per cent to both read and write. Of the total number of foreign-born employees of non-English-speaking races, 65.6 per cent were able to speak English. Of the foreign-born employees 21 years of age or over who had been in the United States five years or more, 36.3 per cent were naturalized and 21.7 per cent were in possession of first papers. Only 1.2 per cent of the wage-earning males of foreign birth and 5.8 per cent of the native-born in the households studied were members of labor organizations.

SUGAR REFINING.

The wage-carners in sugar refineries were studied in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Detailed information was secured for 5,826 employees, and 194 households the heads of which were employed in the industry were intensively studied. Of the total number of employees, 85.3 per cent were of foreign birth, while 8.4 per cent were of native birth but foreign father, and 6.3 per cent were native-born of native father. The Polish and Lithuanian, reporting to the number of 1,758 and 972, respectively, were the principal races of southern and eastern Europe engaged in the industry, and the German and Irish, with 691 and 416, respectively, were the races of past immigration represented in the largest numbers. Only 0.6 per cent of the foreign-born employees had had any experience in the same kind of work before coming to this country, while 60.8 per cent. had been farmers or farm laborers abroad. The average weekly wage of employees 18 years of age or over was $11.82, the average annual earnings of male heads of families were $549, and the average annual earnings of all males 18 years of age or over in the households studied were $522. The average annual income of families the heads of which were employed in the industry was $661. Of the total number of families studied, 30.2 per cent derived their entire income from the earnings of husbands, while exactly one-half the families were supported by the earnings of husbands and the payments of boarders or lodgers and 8.1 per cent by the earnings of husbands and the contributions of children. Of the households the heads of which were of foreign birth, 59.8 per cent kept boarders or lodgers, the average number of persons per room in the foreign households being 1.54 and per sleeping room 2.36, while 12.9 per cent of these households used all their rooms for sleeping purposes. The average monthly rent payment per person among households the heads of which were of foreign birth was $1.81. Only 0.5 per cent of the families the heads of which were foreign-born owned their homes.

Of the employees 20 years of age of over, 63 per cent of the nativeborn and 63.6 per cent of the foreign-born were married. Only 77.4 per cent of the employees of foreign birth were able to read and 72.8 per cent able to both read and write, while but 40 per cent of the foreign-born_employees of non-English-speaking races had learned to speak the English language. Of the foreign-born employees 21 years of age or over and resident in the United States at least five years, only 27.1 per cent were fully naturalized and 13.4 per cent in possession of first papers. This industry is practically without labor organization. Out of a total of 365 wage-earning males in the households studied of whom the inquiry was made as to whether or not they were in labor organizations, only 2 (Poles) answered in the affirmative.

THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARS AND TOBACCO.

The operating forces of cigar and tobacco factories were studied throughout the territory east of the Mississippi River. Detailed information was secured for 36,564 employees, and in Tampa, Florida, 127 households the heads of which were employed in the industry were intensively studied. Of the total number of employees, 32.6 per cent were of foreign birth, while 15.5 per cent were of native birth but of foreign father, and over one-half, or 52 per cent, were native-born of native father. Of the races of foreign birth employed in the industry, the Cuban and Spanish were represented in largest numbers. The South Italian, Polish, and Magyar were the three principal races of recent immigration engaged in the industry and the German and Irish of the races of old immigration. The South Italians reported to the number of 1,927, the Poles reported 850, the Magyars 534, the Germans 607, and the Irish 317. Of the employees of foreign birth, 55.3 per cent of the males and 29.2 per cent of the females had been engaged in the same kind of work before coming to this country, while 23.3 per cent of the males and 51.6 per cent of the females had been farmers or farm laborers in their native countries. The average daily wage of male employees 18 years of age or over was $1.92 and of the female employees 18 years of age or over $1.15. Of all foreign-born employees 20 years of age or over 58.4 per cent were married, while only 45.6 per cent of the native-born were so reported. Of the employees of foreign birth, 91.2 per cent were able to read and 90.1 per cent able both to read and to write, while of the foreign-born employees of non-English-speaking races only 28.6 per cent were able to speak the English language. Of the foreign-born employees 21 years of age or over who had been in the United States five years or more, only 14.5 per cent were fully naturalized and 4.5 per cent were in possession of first papers.

In preparing the data for publication four general divisions were

made:

(1) General survey of the industry as a whole.

(2) General survey of the industry in the East.

(3) General survey of the industry in the Middle West.

(4) General survey of the industry in the South, including a detailed study of the industry in Tampa, Florida.

72289°-VOL 1-11-21

STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF RESULTS.

EXPLANATION OF METHODS OF PRESENTATION.

The statistical data for the employees of the leading industries of the country, and the members of their households as already mentioned, together with the historical and descriptive material secured as the result of the general industrial study, are presented by industries in the series of volumes entitled Immigrants in Industries. The statistical data are also summarized by industries and races and by nativity groups in two volumes of the same series. In the present connection the salient parts of the statistical information secured from the studies of wage-earners and members of their households are submitted according to race without reference to any particular industry for the purpose of ascertaining the tendencies exhibited by recent immigrants and of comparing these tendencies with those displayed by the native-born and races of old immigration from Great Britain and northern Europe. The tabulations are based on the detailed information secured from the employees of mines and industrial establishments and from the returns obtained from the study of households the heads of which were mine and industrial workers.

HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

A total of 17,141 households the heads of which were miners or wage-earners in manufacturing establishments were studied in detail in the course of the general investigation of immigrants in industries in the territory between the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic seaboard. These households were selected upon the following basis: (1) A certain maximum number was allotted to each industry studied; (2) the number of the households of each recent immigrant race studied in connection with each industry was apportioned according to the relative numerical importance of the several races in the operating force, and a limited number of households the heads of which were native Americans or older immigrants without reference to the number of such employees in the industry were secured for the purpose of comparison with the households the heads of which were wage-earners of recent immigration; (3) the total number of households was then divided (a) according to the geographical distribution of the industry in order to ascertain differences in working and living conditions in various sections of the country, and (b) the households the heads of which were of foreign birth and of recent immigration were apportioned according to the period of residence of the heads in the United States. The table which follows shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the total number of households studied.

a Immigrants in Industries: Summary Report on Manufacturing and Mining. Reports of the Immigration Commission, vols. 19 and 20. (S. Doc. No. 633, pt. 23, 61st Cong., 2d sess.)

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »