TABLE 85.-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, however, are for all non-English-speaking races.]

A total of 2,193 persons reported complete data in the foregoing table and of the number 1,244 are males and 949 are females. Of the males 79.5 per cent can speak English and of the females 65 per cent. Of the total 73.2 per cent can speak English. The native-born of foreign father when compared with the foreign-born show both for the males and females the largest proportion of persons who speak English. Among the foreign-born males 100 per cent of the Syrians speak English. The proportion for the French Canadians is 96.2 per cent and for the Hebrews 91 per cent. The Armenians and South Italians each show a proportion of between 80 and 90 per cent of the foreignborn male who speak English. The Polish males, of whom only 51.7 per cent speak English, show the smallest proportion. Except in the case of the North Italians, each race reports a smaller proportion of English-speaking females than of males. Of the North Italian females 77.8 per cent speak English. The French Canadians show 83.7 per cent who speak English and the Syrians 78.3 per cent. The Lithuanian females, of whom only 20 per cent speak English, show the smallest proportion.

The following table shows, by sex and race, the percentage of foreign-born employees of non-English-speaking races who speak English:

TABLE 86.-Per cent of foreign-born employees who speak English, by sex and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only non-English-speaking races with 80 or more persons reporting. The total, however, is for all non-English-speaking races.]

Of the 4,294 persons included in the preceding table, 3,730 are males and 564 are females. Of the total number, 75.1 per cent speak English, as compared with 74.6 per cent of the males, and 78.5 per cent of the females. Of the males of each of the several races the proportion who speak English ranges from 98 per cent of the French Canadians to 52.9 per cent of the Slovaks, while of the females the proportions range from 100 per cent of the Bohemian and Moravian and Swedes each to 20 per cent of the Lithuanians.

As regards the ability to speak English by locality, the following table shows the percentage of foreign-born employees who speak English, according to sex and race:

TABLE 87.-Per cent of foreign-born employees who speak English, by locality, by sex, and by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only non-English-speaking races with 80 or more persons reporting in each locality. The total, however, is for all non-English-speaking races.]

TABLE 87.-Per cent of foreign-born employees who speak English, by locality, by sex, and by race-Continued.

Of the total number of foreign-born employees in the shoe manufacturing industry, 75.1 per cent speak English. Of the total number employed in each of the two localities studied, only a small difference is shown between the proportions who speak English-74.7 per cent in the East as against 77.1 per cent in the Middle West. The proportion of both males and females employed in the Middle West who speak English is slightly larger than the proportion in the East.

The progress of younger and older immigrants in acquiring an ability to speak English according to age at time of arrival in this country is considered in the table next submitted.

TABLE 88.-Per cent of foreign-born persons 6 years of age or over who speak English, by age at time of coming to the United States and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

Upon information obtained in this industry concerning 1,805 foreignborn persons, it will be noted that of those who were under 14 years of age at time of coming to the United States 95.3 per cent now speak English, as compared with 60.1 per cent of those who were 14 years of age or over at time of coming. All North Italians and

Syrians who were under 14 years of age at time of coming to the United States now speak English, the smallest proportion, or 80 per cent on the other hand, is shown by the Poles. With the above exceptions, proportions of the other races vary little from the proportion shown for all races. As regards those who were 14 years of age or over at time of coming to the United States, the Syrians, with

88.4 per cent who now speak English, show a slightly larger proportion than the French Canadians, a considerably larger proportion than the Hebrews, Armenians, and North Italians, and a much larger proportion than do the South Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, or Greeks, in the order named, the last named reporting only 41.9 per cent.

The progress made by persons of non-English-speaking races in acquiring the ability to speak English, after designated periods of residence in this country, is set forth in the following table, which shows, by years in the United States and race of individual, the percentage of foreign-born persons in the households studied who were 6 years of age or over and who could speak English:

TABLE 89.-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 non-English-speaking races.]

There is a greater increase in the extent to which English is spoken between the periods under five years and five to nine years than between the latter period and ten years and over. The Armenians and Greeks, however, show a comparatively small proportion speaking English for those who have been here under five years and a comparatively large proportion for those who have been in this country every other period of time. The North Italians show a relatively large proportion speaking English for those who have been here from five to nine years, but a comparatively small proportion for those who have been here a shorter or longer period.

The table following shows by race the percentage of foreign-born employees who speak English, by sex and age at time of coming to the United States.

TABLE 90.-Per cent of foreign-born employees who speak English, by sex, age at time of coming to the United States, and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only non-English-speaking races with 200 or more persons reporting. The total, however, is for all non-English-speaking races.]

Of 4,294 individuals employed in the shoe-manufacturing industry the greater proportion, or 75.1 per cent, speak English, and 98.8 per cent of those who were under 14 and 69.2 per cent of those who were 14 years of age or over when they came to the United States speak English. Among those who were under 14 years of age on coming to the United States, over 95 per cent of each race, except the Greeks, speak English, and in the case of those who were 14 years of age or over on coming to the United States the proportions are lower in each instance. The older immigrant races and the Russian Hebrews show a considerably higher proportion than the more recent races, and the difference in proportions of the two age groups is not so marked with them. Among the males it is seen from returns made by 3,730 who reported that the totals are very nearly the same as that shown in the totals for both males and females. All races except the Greeks show more than 95 per cent of those who were under