Such a large proportion of the agricultural laborers from whom data were secured were of races which are not eligible for naturalization that the data to be presented with regard to political condition include a relatively small number of persons. The information obtained from 477 individuals who had been in the United States five years or over, and who were 21 years of age or over at the time of coming, is presented in the table following.

TABLE 29.-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 of individual and length of residence.

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

Of the 477 persons reported, 276, or 57.9 per cent, were aliens, 85, or 17.8 per cent, had taken out first papers, and 116, or 24.3 per cent, were fully naturalized. Among those who had been in this country from five to nine years, 82 per cent were aliens, 11.5 per cent had taken out first papers, and 6.5 per cent second papers, as opposed to 37.7 per cent of aliens, 23.1 per cent with first papers, and 39.2 per cent with second papers among those who had been here ten years or A comparison of the various races brings out the fact that a greater proportion of the north European races have become citizens

over.

than of any other class, and that the least civic interest has been shown by the Mexicans, the South Italians, and the Portuguese. Of the north Europeans, 30.2 per cent were aliens, 30.2 per cent had taken out first papers, and 39.6 per cent were fully naturalized. Moreover, of those north Europeans who had resided in this country ten years or over, only 17.6 per cent were aliens, while 35.1 per cent had taken out first papers, and 47.3 per cent had taken out second papers. Of the 95 North Italians, 69, or 72.6 per cent, were aliens, 8 had first papers, and 18 second papers. Of the 49 South Italians, 36, or 73.5 per cent, were aliens, 7 had first papers, and only 6 were fully naturalized. Of the 12 Portuguese only 1 was naturalized. All of the Mexicans were aliens.

CHAPTER II.

IMMIGRANT LABOR IN THE BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN THE WESTERN STATES.

[For General Tables see pp. 671 to 683.]

GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY.

Assuming that our tariff policy remains unchanged, it is true that the "real problems now confronting the beet-sugar industry * are (1) how to secure a satisfactory supply of labor for growing beets, (2) how to maintain and extend beet culture in competition with farm crops." The Commission, through its agents, has investigated the manner in which the first problem has been met in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States, the character of the laborers employed, and the labor conditions which now obtain. Agents have conferred with the officers of the several companies, including the agricultural superintendents, and have visited most of the more important localities in which beets are grown and 21 of the factories. Data were collected from the growers of beets and laborers in both field and factory. The results are presented in the following report.

Before considering these results, however, it will be well to marshal such facts relating to the growth and present status of the beet-sugar industry as are necessary to an understanding of the situation.

PRESENT STATUS.

An idea of the present importance of the beet-sugar industry in the United States may be gathered from a consideration of certain statistics for the year 1908. In that year 64 factories produced an aggregate of 425,884 short tons of sugar from beets grown on 364,913 acres of land. The production of beet sugar in that year, as in 1907, was greater than that of the cane sugar produced in the continental United States. The figures given by the Statistical Abstract of the United States for 1908 show that 927,256,430 pounds (463,628 tons) of beet sugar were manufactured, as against 773,248,000 pounds (386,624 tons) of cane sugar.

a Beet-Sugar Industry, S. Doc. 22, 61st Cong., 1st sess., p. 29.

The report on Japanese and German-Russian Farmers of the Northern Part of Colorado should be consulted in connection with this report, for prac tically all of these farmers are growers of sugar beets.

c All references to tons in this report are to the ton of 2,000 pounds.

d S. Doc. 22, op. cit., p. 1.

• S. Doc. 22, op. cit., gives 425,884 tons instead of this figure.

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