TABLE 266.-Per cent of foreign-born persons 6 years of age or over who speak English, by years in the United States and race of individual. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. This table includes only non-English-speaking races with 40 or more persons reporting. The total, however, is for all nonEnglish-speaking races.] Of the 1,913 individuals reporting in the above table, 23.3 per cent of those with a period of residence under five years, 55.2 per cent of those with a period of residence from five to nine years, and 76.6 per cent of those with a period of residence of ten years or over in the United States have ability to speak English. The Hebrew shows the largest proportion of those with a residence under five as well as from five to nine years, while the German shows the largest proportion of those with a residence of a period of ten years or over, who speak English. The Polish race shows the smallest proportion in each period of residence group. The proportion of each race with ability to speak English increases with the period of residence. REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY E. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Industrial significance of the community-Households studied-Members of households for whom detailed information was secured-Employees for whom information was secured [Text Tables 267 to 271 and General Tables 13, 205, and 206]. INDUSTRIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMMUNITY. Community E is composed of two adjoining cities situated in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania. The industrial and commercial character of the cities, the composition of their population, and other facts essential to an understanding of Community E are set forth in the following paragraphs: The first city is a large manufacturing town the growth of which is best shown by its increase in population, which was 116,111 in 1905, as compared with 45,850 in 1880, 75,215 in 1890, and 102,026 in 1900. Its population in 1910 was 129,867. It has a population formed largely of foreigners and second-generation foreigners, the native whites of native father in 1905 comprising 26.8 per cent of the total, the foreignborn 28.4 per cent, and the native-born of foreign father 44.3 per cent. The foreign element is very prominent among the wage-earners, 39 per cent of the total of 41,329 being foreign-born and 38.6 per cent being native-born of foreign father. Of the foreign-born population by far the greatest proportion were born in Ireland, large proportions reporting birthplace in Great Britain and Germany. Of the total number of wage-earners in the city, 49.9 per cent are employed in manufacturing pursuits, and of this proportion 36.2 per cent, or 8,485 men, are employed in the coal mines and quarries in and about the city. These mines and quarries are worked almost entirely by foreign-born labor, 62.1 per cent of the workers being foreign-born whites and 32.2 per cent native-born of foreign father. The silk manufactories of the city have also developed tremendously, and from forming but 2.4 per cent of the total value of the city's industries in 1890, with a total valuation of their products at $2,055,200, have risen in 1905 to a total valuation of $4,426,635, forming 21.6 per cent of the city's products, employing 3,061 workers, and incidentally making this city the fourth in the United States in the manufacture of silk. There are also 13 machine shops and foundries in the city, with a total capitalization of $5,759,421, which employ. 1,040 men. The combined value of their products for 1900 was $1,902,132. This city is notable for the fact that of the 102,026 people reported in the census of 1900, 40.5 per cent of the total were working. This state of affairs may well be explained by the fact that of the three leading industries in the city, two, the mines and quarries and the foundries and machine shops, employ men exclusively, while about 80 per cent of the silk-mill employees are women. The second city entering into the study designated as Community E from 1900 to 1905 showed a more rapid numerical increase in its population than at any other period since its founding. From a city of 23,339 persons in 1880 it increased its population to 37,718 in 1890, to 51,721 in 1900, and to 60,121 in 1905. In 1900 its population was largely native-born, 35.1 per cent being native-born of both nativeborn parents, 40.1 per cent native-born of foreign parents, and but 23.5 per cent foreign-born. Of the foreign-born by far the greatest proportions are of British, Irish, and German birth. The mines and quarries, employing 2,870 miners and quarry men, give work to a larger number of persons than any other industry, the laborers used bringing the number up to a much larger figure. Of these miners and quarrymen, 28.8 per cent are of British parentage, 20.9 per cent each of Polish and Irish parentage, and 9.2 per cent of German parentage. Three silk mills, with a total capital valuation of $1,424,751, produce goods to the value of $1,273, 491, and give employment to 873 persons, of whom 72.9 per cent are women. With labor and industrial conditions almost coincident with those existing in the first city, it is not surprising that a very large proportion of the total population are wage-earners; thus 20,410 persons, or 39.4 per cent of the total population, are employed in some capacity or other. Of this total 4,817 are women. HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED. A total of 384 households, the heads of which were engaged in various occupations, were studied in Community E. The following table shows the number and percentage of households of each race studied, by general nativity and race of head of household: TABLE 267.-Households studied, by general nativity and race of head of household. Of the households for which data were secured, 79.7 per cent are of foreign-born heads, 14.1 per cent are of heads who were nativeborn of foreign father, and only 6.3 per cent are of heads who are native-born of native father. Among the households of the foreignborn, those of South Italian and Magyar heads, in the order mentioned, have the largest and those of North Italian, Polish, and Lithuanian heads the smallest representation. |