TABLE 542.-Number of immigrants engaged in each specified business in Community D, by race of proprietor and by length of residence in the United States-Continued."

TABLE 543.-Literacy of immigrants in business in Community D and their ability to speak English, by kind of business and race of proprietor.

From the preceding tabulation it is seen that the largest single group reporting have resided in the United States for more than ten years, and that the second largest group is of those who have lived in the United States from five to nine years. Only a very small proportion of all the immigrants in business have lived in the United States under five years. Excepting one individual,, who is nativeborn of foreign father, all of the immigrant business men were born abroad. About one-third have taken out first naturalization papers

and nearly the same number are fully naturalized. Table 542 shows that of those who reported what had been their occupation before starting in business a majority were laborers. The final table shows that nearly all persons engaged in the kinds of business under discussion are able to read and write in their native language and to speak English, but that the proportion who are able to read and write English is very small. As is shown by the foregoing table, 39 saloons are operated by immigrants in Community D.

In its appointments and in the character of drinks sold the immigrant saloon is modeled after the American institution. Various proprietors stated that the most popular drink sold is beer. The majority of immigrant men who work in the steel mill drink this beverage early in the morning before going to work, at the noon hour with their lunch, and during the evenings which are spent in the saloon. Of course, the sale of intoxicants is not altogether restricted to beer, for whisky is a popular drink with a certain class of all the immigrant races, but with the average immigrant who frequents the bar, beer is the most popular. It is served in large "schooners," which hold 2 or 3 pints. The average immigrant workman drinks 5 or 6 of these portions during a normal day. When conditions are normal and the men have plenty of money to spend, the saloons, it is said, are the center of business activity in the community. At these times the bars are crowded with immigrants, and the business is so lucrative that in a few of the more popular resorts three and four bartenders are employed to assist the proprietor in serving the orders.

In this connection it is interesting to note that the saloons are frequented by the immigrant women and children with the same liberty as the men, and it is not considered unusual for the wives of the respective proprietors to assist in carrying on the business.

An important feature of the saloon business in this community is the fact that a traffic in licenses was found to exist. Many of the immigrants operating saloons are unable to speak English and are unfamiliar with the American system of procuring the right to sell intoxicants. They soon find that the easiest way to enter the saloon business is to have an American, who is familiar with the laws and customs, procure the license for them but in the name of the American operator, and to turn the license over to the immigrant who pays a specified sum for the service. This sum is often exorbitant. The regular license fee amounts to $475 per year. In one case it was said that an immigrant who, of himself, was unable to secure a license, did secure it through a native, on the payment of $100 in addition to the regular taxes.

Immigrants are found operating grocery stores, clothing stores, butcher shops, and many other businesses in addition to the saloons. These shops are generally small, the stock of goods is limited and of an inferior character, and the store is usually in connection with the residence of the proprietor, with the result that it resembles a house more than a shop. Usually every member of the family acts as salesman or saleswoman, as the case may be. In these businesses, as with the saloons, the Polish proprietors predominate. The amount of business carried on in any one of these shops in any given day is not great, but the proprietors, owing to their small

living expenses, are able to make the business a success, even on this limited income.

The immigrant business men in Community D associate but little with business men of races other than their own, and especially do they not associate with native business men. The "clan spirit" seems to prevail in this particular, the "clan" being all of the members of any one race located in the community. In addition to this exclusiveness on the part of the immigrants the few native business men operating in the community live in a part of the town that is not in touch with the section occupied by the immigrants, and this fact causes a further widening of the commercial chasm. Relations between the two classes of business people, immigrant and native, are not strained, the one being entirely out of touch with the other.

IMMIGRANTS IN THE PROFESSIONS.

There are no immigrant professional men in Community D. One or two of the steamship agents, who are also engaged in the foreignexchange business, give advice of a "legal" nature to those of their countrymen who seek it, but these men can not be classed as practitioners. In the medical profession all service is performed by natives, and mostly by those residing and practicing in the adjoining city. The reason why there are no immigrants engaged in the professions is explained by the fact that the community is still very young and all immigrants have come there since 1901. In addition to this nearly all of the immigrants are of recent arrival in the United States, and their children have not yet reached the age where they could undertake any serious work along professional lines.

IMMIGRANT BANKS AND INVESTMENTS.

The investments and savings of the immigrants are best shown in connection with the study of the so-called "immigrant banks," which exist throughout the community. General ignorance of the English language and of American business methods has given rise to the immigrant bank among the following recently arrived races: Magyars, Slovaks, Croatians, Poles, Bulgarians, Roumanians, and Russians. The Irish and German immigrants who speak, or who are rapidly learning to speak, the English language employ largely the organized native institutions, and no representatives of these races operate banks in the community.

These so-called "banks" are, in fact, not banks at all, but they minister to the financial wants of the immigrant and have become a fixed institution in the immigrant life. If the newly arrived immigrant has neither relatives or friends in the community, he will be almost certain to find, in the person of the immigrant banker, a champion and helper.

There are seven of these institutions in Community D, and from five of that number detailed information was secured, and an investigation into their status, methods, and operation was made. The following general information will show at a glance the principal facts in connection with these institutions:

Of these institutions accredited with conducting a "banking" business, only one receives deposits. On the day on which this banker was interviewed the general deposit book showed a balance on hand of $1,311.25, representing 17 depositors. The proprietor stated that in every case these sums were left with him for safe-keeping by the patrons of a boarding house operated by him. For such deposits he issues no receipt or pass book, and said that the money was left with him merely as a matter of trust. No interest is paid for such deposits, and the proprietor stated that they were no source of revenue to him, as he had deposited the amounts with a national bank in the community as a checking account and subject to no interest. On the day of the interview the proprietor's bank book with the said national bank showed a balance of $1,000, but in his safe he had between $600 and $700, and had approximately 2,000 kronor ($407) on deposit with the Croatian National Bank, the sum of these amounts being more than sufficient to cover the amount of money received for safe-keeping. These deposits, while not subject to check, may be withdrawn at any time, but the proprietor is given the privilege of making such use as he can of funds in his possession, and that he prefers to hold them intact and not invest them is due to no demand of his patrons. The banker makes no loans, except a few loans to personal friends. These transactions are of a personal nature and no interest is given or security required."

a See Immigrant Banks. Reports of the Immigration Commission, vol. 37. (S. Doc. No. 381, 61st Cong., 2d sess.)

CHAPTER VIII.

GENERAL PROGRESS AND ASSIMILATION.

Ownership of homes-Status of children in the households studied-CitizenshipAbility to speak English-General influences for and against Americanization-[Text Tables 544 to 554 and General Tables 303 to 311].

OWNERSHIP OF HOMES.

Mention has already been made of the fact that, owing to the high valuation of ground in the community, it is practically impossible for the iron and steel workers to acquire homes. The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of family, the number and percentage of families studied who own their homes:

TABLE 544.-Number and per cent of families owning home, by general nativity and race of head of family.

Upon information secured from 463 families as shown in the preceding table it is found that only 11.4 per cent own the homes in which they are living. The totals for all nativity groups show that a greater proportion of families the heads of which were foreign-born than of those with heads of native birth own homes, the proportion of the former being 11.9 per cent, as compared with 7.8 per cent of the latter. The proportion of the foreign-born is affected principally by the Polish families, who report 15.6 per cent owning homes. Of the Croatians and Magyars, 4.7 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively, own homes, the other foreign-born families reporting data being so few as not to justify a computation. Compared with the foreign-born races, the native American whites, reporting 10.8 per cent as owning homes, show a larger proportion than any other race, with the exception of the Poles.