Polish.-The Poles are next in point of numbers to the Italians, about 18 per cent of the labor force of the range being members of this race. The first Poles to come to the range were brought in about 1886 and were employed in the mines at Bessemer. They were used only as common laborers. The men brought in by employers were so satisfied that they notified their friends, and it was only a short time until there was a considerable immigration of Poles to this range. As they began to come in larger numbers they scattered over the entire district, and since the beginning of mining on this range, together with the Finns and Italians, the Poles have been depended upon for rough labor, both in and about the operating mines and in locating and development work. The race had not been employed many years until some of the early employees began to advance, and at the present time there are a great many who are miners and who hold other positions requiring some experience and knowledge of mining. None of them are employed, however, in any positions requiring executive ability.

Austrian.The term "Austrian" as used on this range is very indefinite. As a matter of fact, it is applied to several distinct races. In a few instances the Italians from Tyrol are known as "Austrians," but in general those designated as Austrians are either Croatians or Slovenians. These races from Austria-Hungary other than Tyroleans and Poles have come since 1900. A few were employed prior to 1904, but a great majority have come since that time. They were brought in in mixed forces by employers in times of labor shortage and in this way became established on the range. Practically all of those employed are working as unskilled laborers. At present they represent less than 10 per cent of the total labor force of the range.

The mining operations on the Gogebic ranges are centered in the following towns and immediate vicinities: Ironwood, Bessemer, Ramsay, and Wakefield, in Michigan, and Hurley, in Wisconsin, and a detailed presentation of the racial elements in these communities will afford an instructive supplement to the preceding discussion of racial movements. Ironwood has an estimated population of about 13,000 people, the larger part of which is of foreign birth. There are also about 4,000 people living just outside the city. The men employed at mining in Ironwood constitute fully one-half the entire force employed on the Gogebic Range. There are three companies operating in the city, and although some of the mines are not located within the corporate limits of the town all are near and a great majority of the employees live within the corporate limits. These three companies employ at the present time about 3,085 men. No other industries have been developed, and the community is dependent upon this one industry.

The following table shows in a summary form, according to race, the number of men employed in the iron-ore mining industry at Ironwood and the total estimated number of inhabitants:

Bessemer is the county seat of Gogebic County and has an estimated population of about 6,000 people, the greater number of whom are foreign-born. There are two companies operating just outside the corporate limits of the town, which employ at present about 1,000 men. There are no other industries in the community and very small opportunities for employment other than in the ironore mines. The following table is an estimate of the number of men of each race employed at the mines here and approximate number of persons of each race living in Bessemer and near-by mining villages:

Ramsay and Wakefield are situated about 2 and 5 miles, respectively, east of Bessemer. Ramsay is a small village of about 600 inhabitants, while Wakefield has a population of about 2,500 persons. The mines at Wakefield are not in the town, but a great many of the employees live in the town, while some live in small residential villages built near the mines. These towns are not so old as the other mining localities on the range, and when mines were opened no one race or no two or three races preceded others, but practically every race now represented on the range came to the local mines. There has not been any immigration from England and but very little from Sweden since these mines were opened, and therefore there are not so many employees of these races in proportion to the total number as will be found in the older mining districts.

There are about 800 men employed in and about the mines operated in the vicinity of the two towns and about 3,200 divided according to race in the following proportion:

Hurley, Wis., which has already been referred to, is located in the extreme northern part of Iron County, Wis., being separated from Ironwood, Mich., by the Montreal River, a small stream which forms the boundary of the State at this point. Mining was begun in Hurley about 1885-86, one of the first mines to be opened on the Gogebic Range being located in the vicinity. The town proper has a population of about 3,000 and about 1,500 people live in mining villages in close proximity to the town. The first miners to be employed in this vicinity were English and Swedes, and along with these North Italians came as laborers. As the industry was extended and more mines developed, all the other races of recent immigration came to this locality; the history of their coming being identical with that of the range, as set forth in the preceding discussion. The South Italians for many years have been the most numerous employees at mines in this locality, and no other one race appears in such large numbers. A large number of the Italians are racially North Italians. A great number of those who have come within the past five years, however, as already pointed out, have been South Italians.

There are no industries other than iron-ore mining located at Hurley, and the opportunities for employment in other lines are limited. The following summary indicates the approximate number of men of the various races employed in mines in the locality, and the total number of people living in Hurley and surrounding mining villages:

PERIOD OF RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES OF FOREIGN-BORN EMPLOYEES.

The character of immigration to the three Michigan ranges during recent and past years is indicated by the following table which shows, by race, the per cent of foreign-born male employees who have been in the United States each specified number of years. Although the period of employment in the iron-ore mines and the length of residence in the United States are not necessarily the same, they closely approximate each other.

TABLE 146.-Per cent of foreign-born male employees in the United States each specified number of years, by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. No deduction is made for time spent abroad. This table includes only races with 40 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all foreign-born.]

It appears from the above table that 53 per cent of the foreignborn male employees for whom information was secured have been in the United States under five years; that 22.3 per cent have been here from five to nine years; that 7.9 per cent have been here from ten to fourteen years; that 6.3 per cent have been here from fifteen to nineteen years; and that 10.5 per cent have been here twenty years or over. The proportion of employees who have been in the United States under five years is largest for the North Italians, Croatians, South Italians, Poles, and Slovenians, in the order mentioned, and smallest for the French Canadians, English, and Swedes. Of the employees who have been here from five to nine years the proportion is largest for the Slovaks, South Italians, and Finns, in the order mentioned, and smallest for the French Canadians. The English, Finns, and Swedes show the largest proportion of individuals who have been in the United States from ten to fourteen years, and the French Canadians, Swedes, and English show the largest proportion of individuals who have been here from fifteen to nineteen years. It will be noted that the proportion of employees who have been here twenty years or over is largest for the French Canadians and larger for the English and Swedes than for the individuals of any of the other races specified.

RACIAL CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES AT THE PRESENT TIME.

The table next presented, embodying information from 2,921 employees according to race, is representative of the racial composition of the operating forces of the Michigan iron-ore mines at the present time.

TABLE 147.-Male employees of each race for whom information was secured.

Of the employees in this locality for whom information is reported in the above table 89.1 per cent are foreign-born, 8.8 per cent are native-born of foreign father, 2 per cent are native-born of native father, white, and only 0.1 per cent are negroes native-born of native father. Individuals whose fathers were born in England, Sweden, and Canada have the largest representation among the native-born of foreign father. The principal races of the foreign-born, stated in the order of their numerical importance, are the Finns, North Italians, and Poles. The Swedes, Croatians, English, and Slovaks have also a considerable representation.

REASONS FOR EMPLOYING IMMIGRANTS.

When the mining industry was first developed in the Marquette, Gogebic, and Menominee ranges this section in which ore was discovered was unsettled, which fact made it necessary that all labor employed should be brought in from other localities. At the time mining was begun on the Marquette Range the Irish were very largely the common laborers of the older developed sections of the