been in this country ten years or over, the Croatians and North Italians each show 31.6 per cent, while the Finns show only 9.3 per cent of males who have visited Europe. The totals show the North Italians having the highest per cent and the Finns the lowest per cent of employees who have visited Europe since making their home in this country.

AGE

CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES AND MEMBERS OF THEIR
HOUSEHOLDS.

As regards the age characteristics of the mine workers the following table shows, according to sex and general nativity and race of head of household, the percentage of persons in the household studied who were in each specified age group:

TABLE 133.—Per cent of persons within each age group, by sex and by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

MALE.

Per cent within each specified age group.

Under 6. 6 to 13. 14 and 15. 16 to 19. 20 to 29. 30 to 44. 45 or over.

The total number of persons are distributed most largely in the age groups, under 6, 20 to 29, and 30 to 44. This is a characteristic of both the native-born of native father and the foreign-born. Both the males and females show the largest proportions under 6, 20 to 29, and 30 to 44 years of age. There is, however, a larger proportion of females under 6 than of males and a larger proportion of males over 30 than of females.

The following table shows the percentage of male employees who were within each specified age group. The presentation is by general nativity and race:

TABLE 134.-Per cent of male employees within each age group, by general nativity and

race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 40 or more males reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

The preceding table shows that the greatest proportion of male employees who reported are from 20 to 29 years of age and the next largest proportion are from 30 to 44. The different specified groups show that 4.5 per cent are from 14 to 19 years of age, 28.5 per cent are from 20 to 24, 26.8 per cent are from 25 to 29, 14.6 per cent from 30 to 34, 18.5 per cent 35 to 44, 6.4 per cent are from 45 to 54, and 0.7 per cent are 55 years of age or over. The proportion of persons of foreign birth in the different age groups varies little from that shown for all persons reporting. In the group from 14 to 19 years of age employees who are native-born whites of native father and those who are native-born of foreign father exhibit the same percentage, employees who were foreign-born showing considerably smaller proportions. Employees who were native-born of foreign father show the highest per cent in the group from 20 to 24 years of age, closely followed by employees who were foreign-born and those who were whites native-born of native father. In the groups including persons from 30 to 34 and from 35 to 44 years of age employees who are whites native-born of native father show the largest proportions, followed by employees who are of foreign birth and those who are native

born of foreign father. In the group of persons from 45 to 54 years of age employees who are native-born of foreign father show the highest per cent, followed by employees who are native-born of native father and persons of foreign birth, in the order named. Of employees 55 years of age or over those who are native-born of native father show slightly under 2 per cent as contrasted with less than 1 per cent of employees of foreign birth and no employees who are native-born of foreign father.

Of employees of foreign birth the Montenegrins show the highest per cent in the groups including persons from 14 to 19 and from 20 to 24 years of age, while the English show no persons in the first-named group and only 14.9 per cent in the latter. The Finns, Slovenians, and Slovaks show the greatest proportions in the group from 25 to 29 years of age and the English the smallest. In the group from 30 to 34 years of age the South Italians show the highest per cent, and in the group from 35 to 44 years of age the English show the highest percentage. It is further observed that the English show a much higher percentage of employees who are from 45 to 54 and 55 years of age or over than any of the other races specified. In the 45 to 54 year group there are no Montenegrins; and no North Italian, South Italian, or Montenegrin employees are 55 years of age or over.

CHAPTER IX.

GENERAL PROGRESS AND ASSIMILATION.

Ownership of homes-School facilities and attendance Churches and church facilities Citizenship-Ability to speak English-[Text Tables 135 to 144 and General Tables 92 to 99].

OWNERSHIP OF HOMES.

Home ownership by persons of foreign birth may be considered an indication of permanent settlement as well as an evidence of thrift. For this reason the table which follows below has been prepared. It shows, by general nativity and race of head of family, the number and percentage of families studied who owned their homes.

Table 135.—Number and per cent of families owning home, by general nativity and race of head of family.

From information obtained for 216 families in this locality, 59.3 per cent own homes, the foreign-born reporting 63.6 per cent, as compared with only 19 per cent for the white native-born of native father. Among the foreign-born, it will be noted that a considerably larger proportion of Slovaks than Finns or Slovenians, and a very much larger proportion of Slovaks than Croatians, own homes in this locality.

SCHOOL FACILITIES AND ATTENDANCE.

One of the first things noticed on the Minnesota iron ore ranges is the excellent schools provided in every community. In the smallest settlements, where the inhabitants live in rough frame dwellings, are often found large brick buildings which would be a credit to the

school system of a large city. The laws of the State of Minnesota also make school attendance compulsory, and members of all races will be found in the class rooms of the public schools. Another significant fact is that there are no parochial schools on either of the two ranges. The reason given by the priests for the lack of parochial schools in the region, is that the population is a shifting one, and that the public schools offer excellent courses of instruction.

Detailed information as to the public schools could not be secured, except in a few towns. Conditions are about the same all over the region, however, and any statements made concerning the schools in one community may be accepted as applying in general to those in another. The most valuable data secured was received from the superintendent of schools in the town of Virginia, on the Mesabi Range. In his annual report for the year 1909, the following statement appeared as to the nativity of pupils in the Virginia schools.

The foreign element in the Virginia schools is a large contingent of the total enrollment, there being twenty-five languages represented among the pupils. The enrollment of the pupils is a fairly accurate index of the entire population of the school district, and it also indicates the character of the citizens who patronize the schools, and next to the census gives the most accurate information in regard to the occupations in which the people engage and how they make their living. Of the total enrollment in the day school, the parents of 402 pupils came from Finland, 343 pupils have parents born in the United States, 236 in Sweden, 124 in Norway, 105 in Canada, 92 in England, 67 in Poland, 65 in Germany, 64 in Austria, 39 in Italy, 32 in Iceland, 26 in Bohemia, 25 Hebrews, 18 in France, 16 in Scotland, 14 in Russia, 10 in Hungaria, and 5 or under in each of the following: Assyria, Slovonia, Holland, Wales, China, Mexico, Denmark, Spain, and Greece. There are some languages spoken in the district by workmen that seem not to be represented in the schools, i. e., Czech or ancient Bohemian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Armenian, and others. There are no negro or Indian children in the schools.

A night school had been conducted for the benefit of immigrants for a period of years by this same superintendent, the history of which according to an extract from his official report for 1909 follows: For some years—

The report states—

I have been of the opinion that if every school district on the range would maintain a free night school for three months in the year for the benefit of those coming to us from the other lands who wish to learn the English language, that in a very few years the character of the range working population would be much changed for the better. Five years ago a night school for foreigners was started in Virginia. The first year the teaching was done by the superintendent and a volunteer corps of teachers without cost to the district or students. For the next three years a fee was charged for tuition, but it was found that this charge diminished the number attending almost to the vanishing point. This year a free night school has been maintained by the board of education and the enrollment has suddenly bounded to 307, so that I am able to say that the night school of the past year is the most successful within my recollection. The total attendance is larger, and the average attendance is better than ever before. Only the interest of the pupils in their work leads them to attend. The enrollment consists almost entirely of men, ranging in age from 18 to 47 years, though most of the pupils are young men in the twenties, Four teachers were employed to do this work. The subjects taught were reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, language, and elementary bookkeeping.