CHAPTER VII.

GENERAL PROGRESS AND ASSIMILATION.

Ownership of homes-Citizenship-Ability to speak English-[Text Tables 182 to 191 and General Tables 101 to 109].

OWNERSHIP OF HOMES.

Where the opportunity for home ownership exists the activities on the part of the foreign-born families in acquiring their homes furnishes an excellent indication of the tendencies making for permanent settlement and assimilation.

The number and per cent of families the heads of which were engaged in slaughtering and meat-packing industry in Chicago, and who owned homes is shown in the following table, according to general nativity and race of head of family:

TABLE 182.-Number and per cent of families owning home, by general nativity and race of head of family.

The above table shows that 30.2 per cent of the 361 families for whom information was obtained in this locality own homes, the proportion of foreign-born families being very much larger than that of the native-born.

Among the foreign-born, the Irish, with 54.5 per cent of their families owning homes, report a considerably larger proportion than

the Bohemians and Moravians, Swedes, and Germans, and a very much larger proportion than the North Italians, Poles, Slovaks, and English, in the order named, the English reporting the smallest proportion of families owning homes, or 16 per cent.

CITIZENSHIP.

The extent to which employees of foreign birth are acquiring or manifesting an interest in citizenship is set forth in the following table, which shows, by race, the present political condition of the foreign-born male employees who have been in the United States five years or over, and who were 21 years of age or over at time of

coming:

TABLE 183.-Present political condition of foreign-born male employees who have been in the United States 5 years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming, by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States.]

Of the individuals in this locality for whom information was secured, 47.1 per cent are fully naturalized and 9.8 per cent have first papers only. The proportion of individuals fully naturalized is largest for the Irish, followed by the Swedes and Germans, and the proportion of individuals who have first papers only is largest for the Bohemians and Moravians, followed by the Slovaks, Russians, English, Swedes, and Poles in the order mentioned.

The tendency toward citizenship after designated periods of residence in this country is considered in the following table:

TABLE 184.-Present political condition of foreign-born male employees who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming to the United States, by years in United States and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. This table includes only races with 100 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all foreign-born.]

The Irish, Germans, Bohemians, and Moravians show a much greater proportion fully naturalized than the Lithuanians, Polish, and Slovaks.

Of those in the United States five to nine years the Irish show the largest proportion fully naturalized and the Polish the smallest proportion, while the Lithuanians exceed the Germans, Bohemians, and Moravians. In this period the Germans, Bohemians, and Moravians show a much greater proportion having first papers than the other races. Of those in the United States ten years or over the Lithuanians and Slovaks show the largest proportion having first papers.

The table next presented shows, by race of individual, the present political condition of foreign-born males in the households studied, who have been in the United States five years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming.

TABLE 185.-Present political condition of foreign-born males who have been in the United States 5 years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual.

Of a total of 159 males reporting complete data, the above table shows that 95, or 59.7 per cent, are fully naturalized and that 23, or 14.5 per cent, have first papers only-leaving 25.8 per cent who evince no interest in citizenship.

ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH.

The ability to speak English of foreign-born employees or members of their households, who were of non-English-speaking races, is considered in the series of tables next presented. The first table, which immediately follows, shows by race the per cent of foreign-born persons in the households studied 6 years of age or over who speak English. TABLE 186.-Per cent of persons 6 years of age or over who speak English, by sex and general nativity and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only non-English speaking races with 40 or more persons reporting. The totals, how ever, are for all non-English-speaking races.]

Of the native-born of foreign father 99.1 per cent speak English. Of the foreign-born 70.8 per cent speak English, the proportion of males being 84.2 per cent, of females 56.7 per cent.

The proportion of English-speaking persons is smallest for the South Italians. The proportions of Slovaks, Poles, and Bohemians and Moravians who speak English are smaller than that of the total foreign-born group. The Poles, however, have a relatively larger proportion of males speaking English.

All the Swedes speak English and a relatively large proportion of the Germans. The per cent of Germans who do not speak English are females.

In general, the more commonly English is spoken by a race the less difference there is between the proportions of males and females who speak it.

The table next presented shows, by general nativity and race, the per cent of employees who speak English.

TABLE 187.-Per cent of foreign-born male employees who speak English, by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only non-English-speaking races with 40 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all non-English-speaking races.]

The proportion of foreign-born male employees in this locality, for whom information was secured, who speak English is 51.7 per cent. The Swedes and Germans have by far the larger and the South Italians, Poles, Russians, and Slovenians have the smaller proportions of individuals who speak English.