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CHAPTER VII.

GENERAL PROGRESS AND ASSIMILATION.

Tendency of immigrants to settle permanently-Ownership of homes-Immigrants in business-Immigrants in the professions-Schools-Efficiency of immigrantsProgress of immigrants-Citizenship-Ability to speak English-Immigrant churches [Text Tables 151 to 155 and General Tables 101 to 106].

TENDENCY OF IMMIGRANTS TO SETTLE PERMANENTLY.

Considering only the more recent immigrants, a tendency is noted. among the following races to remain permanently in the locality: Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Magyars, Poles, and Slovaks. The Hebrews, Italians, Syrians, and Greeks manifest little interest in the town beyond eking out an existence, and should better opportunities be opened to them elsewhere it would be only a matter of time before they would leave the city. The Poles are firmly established, and with the Magyars, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, and all other older races, own real estate and in many instances are proprietors of large business interests. From this fact it would appear that these races are permanently settled.

OWNERSHIP OF HOMES.

The accumulation of property is not only an indication of thrift on the part of the owner, but if the owner is a person of foreign birth it also exhibits a tendency toward permanent settlement in the United States. In this connection the following table, showing the number and per cent of families owning homes, is submitted:

TABLE 151.-Number and per cent of families owning home, by general nativity and race of head of family.

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Of the 352 families studied in this locality, 47.7 per cent own homes, the foreign-born reporting 50 per cent, as compared with 52.5 per cent of the native-born of foreign father and only 39.1 per cent of the native whites born of native father. Among the foreign-born in this locality no Hebrew families own homes, while the Germans and Poles, with similar proportions, each show a much larger proportion than do the Magyars owning homes, the last-named reporting 39.5 per cent. As compared with the foreign-born Poles, the Poles nativeborn of foreign father report a considerably smaller proportion owning homes, the foreign-born Poles reporting 66.7 per cent.

IMMIGRANTS IN BUSINESS.

The races found in business are progressive and in several cases have built up large trades. The Polish are easily the leaders in this activity and command a great deal of respect from the natives of the city and surrounding county. They own and conduct millinery, dry goods, shoe, hardware, and drug stores, saloons, cigar factories, livery stables, and building and loan associations. The Poles have two building and loan associations in the community, one capitalized at $2,000,000, the other for $500,000. Both have Polish officers, and the first mentioned is the second largest institution of its kind in the State. The vice-president of this association, a Pole of the second generation, is one of the most prominent real estate men in the city. Among the other races represented, the Magyars, Hebrews, Syrians, and Italians are to be found in the fruit and general vending trades. Persons of the older races in the community, such as the Germans, will be found in about the same class of business undertakings as the Americans.

IMMIGRANTS IN THE PROFESSIONS.

The Poles number among them two lawyers and two physicians, all able men in their respective vocations, while the Magyars have one of the most prominent physicians of the city, a man educated in the University of Vienna. In the professions, as in business, the older immigrants are as conspicuous as the natives, and can not be dealt with separately.

SCHOOLS.

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There are 14 public grade schools, 1 public grammar school, and 1 public high school in the city, with a total enrollment of 7,231. The laws of the State require all children from 7 to 14 years of age to attend some recognized school the whole of each term. Included in the public school systems of the city is a night school, among students of which will be found Poles, Magyars, and Hebrews. In addition to the public schools there are 13 parochial schools, divided among the several denominations as follows: Roman Catholic 6, Polish Roman Catholic 3, Magyar Roman Catholic 1, English Lutheran 1, German Evangelistic 1, Evangelistical 1.

There are also 2 private schools, 2 Roman Catholic academies, 1 private commercial college, and 1 Roman Catholic university. Out of the 15 libraries and reading rooms in the city the Poles have? and the Germans 1; the remaining 12 are conducted by the natives.

EFFICIENCY OF IMMIGRANTS.

The most efficient races employed in the vehicle shops, in all occupations in the several departments, are, in the order named: (1) American, including the Irish and Scotch; (2) German; (3) Swedish; (4) Polish; (5) Magyar; (6) all other races except the Hebrew; (7) Hebrew, last. The efficiency of the Irish, Magyars, and Poles is lessened to a certain extent by the excessive use of intoxicants. These thrae races are the hardest drinkers in the community. The ability to speek English has but little effect on the efficiency of the laborers in the shops, and officials of the company claim that some of the most skilled work in the plant is done by immigrants who are unable to speak more than a few words in the English tongue. All races in the community, however, are acquiring the ability to speak English.

PROGRESS OF IMMIGRANTS.

The most marked tendency toward progress, as noticed in the vehicle shops, is exhibited by the Swedes. The Germans, Poles, and Magyars are also working up in the scale of occupations, while the Hebrews are showing no tendency to progress. These races will be found making progress in all departments of the establishment, and the Swedes and Germans will be found chiefly in the skilled and specialized occupations. These races are not only making progress in the workshops, but are progressing in the ability to speak English, and in civic interests. The Germans lead in local politics, but are closely seconded by the Swedes and Poles.

CITIZENSHIP.

The extent to which the foreign-born males in the households studied have acquired citizenship or have taken the preliminary steps is indicated by the table next presented. This table shows, by race of individual, the present political condition of foreign-born males who have been in the United States five years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming.

TABLE 152.-Present political condition of foreign-born males who have been in the United States 5 years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States.]

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The percentages of the table show that of the foreign-born males who have been in the United States five years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at the time of coming, all of the Poles and 92.6 per cent of the Germans are fully naturalized, as against only 24.4 per cent of the Magyars. None of the Germans or Poles and 68.3 per cent of the Magyars have first papers only.

ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH.

The extent to which foreign-born persons of non-English-speaking races, in the households studied, are able to speak English is set forth in the following series of tables. The first table presented shows, by sex and general nativity and race of individual, the percentage of persons 6 years of age or over who speak English.

TABLE 153.—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.]

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The percentages of the above table show that of the persons, in this locality, 6 years of age or over, for whom information was secured, 73 per cent of the males as against only 61.9 per cent of the females can speak English. Among the foreign born the largest proportion both of males and of females who can speak English is reported for the Germans and Hebrews, in the order mentioned, and the smallest for the Magyars. The difference in the percentages is considerably greater for the females than for the males. It appears that all of the native born of German parentage, both males and females, and, of the native-born of Polish parentage, a slightly larger proportion of the males than of the females are able to speak English.

The table following shows the percentage of foreign-born persons 6 years of age or over, in the households studied, who speak English, by race of individual and by age at time of coming to the United States.

TABLE 154.-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.

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The above table shows that of the persons 6 years of age or over for whom information was secured, 87.9 per cent of those who came to the United States under 14 years of age, as against only 39 per cent of those who came here when 14 or over, are able to speak English. Of the individuals who came here when under 14, all the Germans and Hebrews and a considerably larger proportion of the Magyars than of the Poles can speak English. The proportion of persons who came here when 14 or over who are able to speak English is very much greater for the Germans and Hebrews than for the Magyars and Poles.

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

TABLE 155.-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.]

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