CHAPTER II.

RACIAL DISPLACEMENTS.

History of immigration-Period of residence in the United States of foreign-born employees and members of their households-Racial classification of employees at the present time [Text Tables 12 to 21 and General Tables 4 and 5].

HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION.

No statistics are available as to the racial movements within recent years to the oil-refining industry of the country as a whole. A conception of the part which members of races of recent and past immigration have had in the development of the industry and the extent to which they are employed at the present time, may be obtained, however, from a study of the racial movements to and racial composition of communities which have had their establishment and growth in connection with oil refining. For this reason the history of immigration to two representative oil-refining communities is set forth below: (1) to Whiting, Ind., which is a city of the Middle West, the labor and capital of which is almost exclusively engaged in oil refining, and (2) to Bayonne, N. J., which is a city of the same description in the East, the industries of which, however, are somewhat more diversified than those of Whiting.

The city of Whiting is located on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the extreme northwestern corner of the State of Indiana, about 17 miles southeast of the city of Chicago, Ill. It was first settled about the year 1850 by a few native American and German families, who formed a small village. These early settlers lived on the produce of the sandy ranges of the district and by fishing and hunting. From year to year the population of this settlement was increased by German immigrants seeking homes, until in 1890 the number of persons in the village was about 200.

During the later part of the year 1889 a petroleum-refining company entered the community and began the erection of an extensive refinery. In order to build the plant it was found necessary to import large numbers of workmen from other parts of the United States, the majority of whom were native Americans and Irish transferred from other establishments of the company, chiefly from a refinery in Cleveland, Ohio. When the plant was opened in 1890 practically the same laborers who had been employed to erect it were placed in the several departments to carry on the operations. Following closely upon this event a general immigration to the community began, composed chiefly of Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, and Magyars, who came seeking employment. From year to year after this period the community increased in population until the year 1900, when the census of the United States placed the population at 3,983.

In 1895 the community was incorporated under a town charter, and on May 4, 1903, was granted a city charter. The estimated population in 1909 was 7,000 individuals; 65 per cent, or 4,550, being composed of immigrant aliens, and 35 per cent made up of native Americans. The following statement shows the estimated population of Whiting in 1909, by race, number of families, and number of individuals:

Since the entrance of the first Austro-Hungarian races in about 1890, there has been an annual immigration, not alone of the Poles, Slovaks, Croatians, and Magyars, but of other races including Swedes, English, Welsh, North Italians, Bohemians, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Hebrews. The Slovak immigration during this period has been the heaviest, and at present the numbers of Slovaks in Whiting, next to the Americans, is greater than that of any other one race. It is stated by old residents of the city that many of the immigrants who entered the community shortly after the opening of the refinery are still living in the locality. Industrially, Whiting is at the present time essentially an oil refining community. The petroleum refinery is the only industrial establishment located in the city, and among the employees will be found represented nearly all races living in the community.

The city of Bayonne, N. J., occupies the southern end of a peninsula extending south from below Jersey City to a narrow strait called the Kill van Kull, separating it from Staten Island, and is bounded on the east and west by the New York and Newark bays, respectively. From a population of 32,722 in 1900, the city has grown to an estimated population of 50,000 in 1909. The rapid increase in population is due in a large measure to the growth of the manufacturing interests which have created a great demand for labor.

The city has approximately 250 manufacturing establishments. Several are enterprises of great magnitude, employing in excess of 1,000 men and engaging both in interstate and foreign commerce. Oil-refining is the industry of greatest importance. The city has several different establishments engaged in this industry, one plant

having approximately 5,000 employees. Because of the predominating influence of the oil-refining interests on the industrial development of the city the community has been studied principally in its relation to this industry, but other industrial establishments have had their effect on the situation and are also given consideration.

The development of the city as a suburban residence region has been retarded in proportion to its growth as an industrial center. The working people now form by far the largest part of the population. In 1900 only 26.6 per cent of the private families owned their own homes. The other 73.4 per cent lived in rented dwellings or apartments. The population of the city is very cosmopolitan. In what are known as Centerville and Constable Hook it is estimated that 85 per cent of the inhabitants are of foreign birth. Poles, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Italians, Jews, and Irish predominate, with a considerable element of Germans, Scandinavians, English, and Lithuanians. Many of the more skilled and higher paid workmen live in Newark, Elizabethport, Jersey City, and other surrounding cities. In 1900 those of foreign parentage constituted 74.8 per cent of the total population. The following statement will give some idea of the numerical growth and racial composition of the city's population. A significant feature of this statement is the large increase in the number of immigrants of Austria-Hungarian, Russian, and Italian descent, indicated by a comparison of the census of 1900 with the estimated population of 1909. The census of 1900, including only foreign-born, shows 1,350 immigrants from Austria-Hungary, 2,358 from Russia, including Poland, and 240 from Italy. The estimates for 1900, including all members of families where the head was of foreign birth, show 5,210 from Austria-Hungary, 11,850 from Russia, including Poland, and 3,500 from Italy. The number of foreign-born Germans, and English, Scotch, and Welsh, in 1900 differs little from the number of immigrants from these countries in 1909 when the second generation is included in the estimates.

Composition of the population of Bayonne, N. J., 1900, 1905, and 1909, by country

of birth.

a This includes only families where the head is a native-born American and does not include American born of foreign parentage.

b Included in estimates of population by races below.

Includes all members of families where head is of foreign birth, irrespective of birthplace of wives and children. Includes also all foreign-born boarders, etc. Hence in this are included many American-born children.

Composition of the population of Bayonne, N. J., 1900, 1905, and 1909, by country of birth-Continued.

a Includes all members of families where head is of foreign birth, irrespective of birthplace of wives and children. Includes also all foreign-born boarders, etc. Hence in this are included many American-born children.

The territory upon which the city of Bayonne now stands was settled by the Holland Dutch during the period 1646-1664, and while the descendants of this race made up a portion of its population in 1869, when the present city was incorporated, there were in addition quite a number of Irish who came in with the first railroad running into the city about four years previous to its incorporation. A few came with the tide of Irish immigration that set in in 1846, but it was not until 1866-67 that the movement to Bayonne reached large proportions. At that time the first coal docks at Port Johnson were erected and hundreds of Irish laborers came to secure employment there. In 1887 when the first oil refinery was erected many Irish workmen were attracted to Bayonne by the opportunities for work in that industry. Such had been the extent of their immigration that up to this time the Irish predominated as laborers in the oil refinery and at the Port Johnson coal docks, which were then the chief industries. Until about 1880 they continued to be the largest element in the working population of Bayonne. Several employers asserted that the Irish workmen were the only laborers available at that time. With the continued growth of the city and the expansion of its industrial interests in the period of 1883-1885 manufacturers were compelled to look elsewhere for labor, and it was during this period, it is said, that an oil-refining company, the largest industry at that time, brought in many of the Slavish races to do certain work that it was impossible, so it is stated, to get the Americans, Germans, and Irish to perform. It was not until 1890-1893, however, when most of the Port Johnson coal docks were removed to Perth Amboy that Irish immigration showed any material decrease. But from that time on there has been a remarkable decrease in the number of Irish immigrants amounting in recent years to almost complete cessation. Aside from the changes in the local industrial situation influences brought to bear in the home country have doubtless had their effects. In any event, with the

exception of a few servant girls newly arrived Irish immigrants have been few in Bayonne for the past ten years. The great majority of the foreign-born Irish who are in the city have been there twenty years or more. Indeed the number of Irish-American families now probably outnumbers the foreign-born families.

While the Irish are still employed to a great extent in the oil industry and in others of the manufacturing plants, it is now largely in the capacity of foremen or as skilled workmen. As common laborers they have been almost entirely supplanted by the Poles, Slovaks, and Italians. Quite extensively they have gone into business as saloon keepers or into the various trades. The number of English, Welsh, and Scotch in Bayonne will not exceed 1,800, including about 300 families, of which more than 50 per cent are English. These races have been coming from time to time for the past fifty years. As a matter of fact, some of the earliest settlers of the community were English. As they are few in number they do not appreciably affect the local industrial situation.

Bayonne has never had a very large German or Scandinavian population. There has never been any decided movement of Germans to the city. In 1879 there were only 15 or 20 German families there. It is estimated that there are now some 250 families. These have come in gradually and are still coming in about the same numbers as formerly, although the proportion of those who have come directly or recently from the old country is inconsiderable, most of them moving to Bayonne after a residence in other cities.

As in the case of the Irish, the Germans are distributed all over the city. There are among them few common laborers. The greater number are skilled laborers, such as masons, carpenters, and machinists, applying their trade either independently or in the employ of the various manufacturing plants. Those employed in the oil industry are of this class. The larger proportion of the independent carpenters in the city are Jews and Germans. There are many German saloon keepers and butchers. At one time a number of Germans were employed as unskilled laborers in the oil refineries. But these have been displaced by the Poles and Slovaks. At the time when the Sulphur Works were located in Bayonne nearly all of its common laborers were Germans. That accounts for their presence at one time in Constable Hook, a district now occupied almost exclusively by Slovaks, Ruthenians, and Lithuanians.

A Swede who is a member of the city council stated that when he first came to Bayonne thirty-two years ago he found one Swedish family in the city. For a long time this Swede was a foreman at an oil refinery and helped to bring a great many Swedes here from Castle Garden. This was during 1880-1882, at the time of a great expansion in the oil-refining industry, and it was to supply a need for more labor that the Swedes were induced to come. This was the period of their greatest influx. Since then they have been coming very gradually. There are among the Swedes many carpenters, tailors, foremen, mechanics, and chemists, and very few unskilled laborers. Those not in business for themselves are about equally distributed among the large industrial establishments. It has been stated that the first of the Swedes came to secure work in the oil refineries, but they too have now been supplanted by the Poles and Slovaks and have largely