CHAPTER XXVI.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS.

Criminality-Conjugal condition of mine workers-Literacy-Age classification of employees-[Text Tables 295 to 301].

CRIMINALITY.

The foreign population supplies very much more than its share of cases to the justice courts. The offenses most frequently committed are assault, drunkenness, and larceny. The Italians are the most hot blooded and quick tempered, and the Poles and Lithuanians also are to a certain extent given to crimes of passion. The Slovaks are the most peaceful race.

CONJUGAL CONDITION OF MINE WORKERS.

The table on the page following shows, by age groups, the number of mine workers in Community B 16 years of age or over who are single, married, and widowed."

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A comparison of conjugal condition within age groups shows that of the 68 native-born persons in the age group 16 to 19 years, 65 are unmarried, and of the 94 foreign-born persons in the same age group, 90 are unmarried. Of the native-born persons who are 20 to 29 years of age, 50.5 per cent are unmarried as compared with 58.4 per cent of the foreign-born of the same age group. In the age group 30 to 44 years, 16.9 per cent of the native-born persons are unmarried as compared with 13.2 per cent of the foreign-born. In the last group, which covers persons 45 years of age or over, none of the native-born are unmarried as compared with 11.4 per cent of the foreign-born. The numbers in the various groups of the different races will be found interesting for detailed study, but are too small. to admit of conclusions.

TABLE 296.—Per cent of male employees 16 years of age or over in each conjugal condition, by general nativity.

Of the 802 employees included in the table above, 510, or 63.6 per cent, are foreign-born, and 292, or 36.4 per cent, are native-born. Of all native-born persons, 134 are white native-born of native father, and 157 are native-born of foreign father. These are principally children of English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, and German families of older immigration. Of the 134 white persons native-born of native father, 37.3 per cent are single and 62.7 per cent are married, while of the persons native-born of foreign father, 53.5 per cent are single and 45.2 per cent married. Of the total native-born, 46.2 per cent are single and 53.1 per cent are married. Of the total foreign-born, 32.9 per cent are single and 65.5 per cent are married, showing a larger per cent of married persons among the foreign-born than among the native-born.

The proportion of wives of immigrant employees who are living in the community, as compared with the proportion of wives who still remain abroad and have not joined their husbands in this country, is shown in the tables next presented.

TABLE 297.-Location of wives of foreign-born employees, by race of husband.

TABLE 298.-Per cent of foreign-born husbands who report wife abroad, by race of husband.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more husbands reporting. The total, however, is for all foreignborn.]

The significant fact exhibited by the above tables is that most of the foreign-born employees who are married have their wives with them in the community and are living in a more or less permanent way. Only 15.8 per cent of the 330 who report location of wife, report wife still living abroad. Of the total number who have not their wives with them in this country, the races reporting a large per cent of wives abroad are South Italian, 48.1 per cent, Polish, 20.8 per cent, and Slovak, 17.4 per cent. Of the 7 Croatians, 5 report wife abroad, and of the 4 North Italians, 2 report wife abroad. Several races report all wives in the United States, among them being the German, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh.

LITERACY.

As regards the general educational situation in the community the table following affords a detailed presentation of literacy among 836 mine employees.