Of the foreign-born, the Ruthenians have the largest and the Irish the smallest proportion of employees from 14 to 19 years of age; the Montenegrins have the largest and the Irish again have the smallest proportion of employees from 20 to 24 years of age; and the Bulgarians have the largest and the Welsh the smallest proportion of employees from 25 to 29 years of age. The proportion of employees from 30 to 34 and from 35 to 44 years of age is largest for the Finns, and of those from 45 to 54 years of age it is largest for the Irish. The Welsh have the largest proportion among those 55 years of age or over. It will be noted that the races of recent immigration, or those from southern and eastern Europe, have their largest representation in the lower age groups, while the races of past immigration, or those from Great Britain and northern Europe, have their largest proportions in the higher age groups.

CHAPTER VII.

GENERAL PROGRESS AND ASSIMILATION.

Ownership of homes-Status of children in the households studied-CitizenshipAbility to speak English-[Text Tables 112 to 128 and General Tables 42 to 50].

OWNERSHIP OF HOMES.

The relative extent to which races of recent and former immigration acquire homes, in addition to showing comparative saving proclivities, furnishes a valuable insight into the tendencies of the various races to settle permanently in this country.

In bituminous coal-mining localities there is but little opportunity for the mine workers to acquire their own homes, for the reason that in a large majority of the mining communities the houses are owned by the mining companies. These houses are known as "company houses" and are rented to the employees, but are rarely sold to them." In the table submitted below, the number and per cent of the families studied who own their homes are shown by race of head of family.

TABLE 112.-Number and per cent of families owning home, by general nativity and race of head of family.

These houses are described in considerable detail in the sections of the report which take up the various communities studied. In each locality the company houses" are much alike, being generally constructed after one plan with a variation only in the number of rooms. See Chapter V, p. 105, on "Housing and living conditions."

Not computed, owing to small number involved.
Not including 1 family not reporting complete data.

This table shows that of the 2,363 families studied, 20.8 per cent own their homes. Among races represented by 20 or more families, the race having the highest per cent of families owning homes is the foreign-born Irish, with 62 per cent; the second the foreign-born Welsh, with 60 per cent; the third the native whites of native father, with 37.2 per cent. Among the races of recent immigration, the North Italian has the highest rank, with 32.6 per cent of its members, and the Lithuanian the second, with 24.7 per cent, owning homes. The Magyars, the Slovaks, and the Croatians all have a very low proportion of home owners, the percentages being 6.2, 12.3, and 12.4, respectively.

Besides considering the extent to which homes have been acquired, it is worth while to determine whether the tendencies exhibited in the showing for the industry as a whole are characteristic of the races, or whether they arise from different opportunities in the various localities studied. For this reason the table which follows is presented. This table brings into comparison the per cent of families owning their homes in each of the four geographical divisions of the bituminous industry.

TABLE 113.-Per cent of families owning home, by locality and by general nativity and race of head of family.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

(This table includes only races with 40 or more families reporting in each of two or more localities. The totals, however, are for all races.]

This total includes families not given in the localities, because within a locality no race was tabulated unless 10 or more schedules were secured.

Not computed, owing to small number involved. • Not including 1 family not reporting complete data.

An examination of the preceding table strongly indicates that the tendency to acquire homes is largely a matter of opportunity. Considering the total number of families studied, the Middle West has 53.8 per cent of the families studied owning their homes, Pennsylvania 9.2 per cent, the South 1.1 per cent, the Southwest 50.6 per cent, and the industry as a whole 20.8 per cent. The per cent of white families native-born of native father owning homes is 36.4 in the Middle West, 42.4 in Pennsylvania, 35.1 in the Southwest, and 37.2 in the industry as a whole.