IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION

Since the organization of our government nearly 29,000,000 foreigners have come to the United States.  The flow of immigration first assumed large proportions during the decade 1831-1840 and since that time one wave after another has reached our shores.  The last one, and the one which has caused the greatest alarm, gathered force about 1897 and reached its full tide in the first decade of the twentieth century, when over 8,000,000 aliens landed at our ports.

During this period (1820-1910) the character of immigration has changed.  Prior to 1880 the greater part of it came from northern Europe, but since that time the number has constantly fallen off, and the flow from southern Europe has greatly increased.  During the decade 1871-1880 Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia sent only 181,000 of 2,262,000 aliens who landed in the United States-about eight per cent.  During the decade 1901-1910, 8,130,000 immigrants came to our shores, and of these 5,800,000, or over 70 per cent, were from these three countries.  In 1901 Austria-Hungary sent, 113,400; in 1907 about 338,500, but owing to the passage of the immigration law in 1907 the number fell abruptly, but by 1910 had again increased to 260,000.  The same is true of Italy.  In 1901 about 136,000 came; in 1907 nearly 286,000, and in 1910 about 215,500.  Russia sent 85,000 in 1901, some 260,000 in 1907, and 187,000 in 1910.  The numbers from northern Europe do not approach these.  The immigration from the British Isles does not reach the 100,000 mark; from Germany only 30,000 come yearly.

Causes for this influx are varied.  Many come desirous of owning homes, a pleasure out of reach in their home country on account of high prices.  Free institutions attract others.  A land which offers free schools to all regardless of race or creed, religious freedom, and the opportunity to play some part in the political life of the state is naturally attractive.  Some come to escape military service, others with the idea of making money and returning to their native land.  Density of population and the accompanying excessive competition in the struggle for existence also play a part.

Hundreds of letters telling of the general prosperity in America and contrasting this with the condition at home, do their work with the disheartened peasants.  It is said that half of our immigrants come on tickets paid for by friends in America.  The large employers of labor, and even the States themselves, are constantly calling for laborers.  Ours is a huge, half-developed country, and the development of our resources, particularly the coal and iron industries, the cotton; rice, cane, and tobacco industries, and the railways demands thousands of helpers.

The steamship companies which have found an extremely profitable business in the transportation of immigrants have used various means to increase the numbers.  Agents are said to be in all European countries soliciting trade.  Associations for the assistance of poor emigrants have been formed in various European cities-this is especially true among the Jews who, by means of societies such as the “Hebrew Shelter” of London, have aided thousands of Roumanian and Russian Jews on their way to America.

Although most of the European countries have placed restrictions upon emigration, these restrictions unfortunately do not retard the emigration of the undesirable classes.  As a result America was called upon early to legislate on this problem.  The first act was in 1819 and was aimed to regulate the transportation of immigrants.  The laws of 1875, 1882, 1891, 1893, and 1903 dealt with the class of immigrants to be admitted.  The acts did not accomplish the end for which they were framed, and the question was taken up again by Congress which, after a lengthy discussion, passed the act of 1907.  No great change in policy was effected by this law which, for the most part, only revised the wording of the old laws and modified the methods of regulation.  The head tax of two dollars, hitherto levied on each alien, was doubled but was made inapplicable to immigrants from our insular possessions or to aliens who had resided for a year either in the British possessions in North America, or in Cuba or Mexico.  All aliens suffering from tuberculosis or loathsome diseases or those who were “mentally or physically defective, such mental or physical defect being of a nature which may affect the ability . . . to earn a living,” were excluded.  Children under sixteen unaccompanied by a parent were excluded.  Steamship companies were placed under additional restrictions to insure against their violation of the act.  Should an immigrant within a period of three years be found to have entered the country contrary to the terms of the act, he was to be deported and the transportation company responsible for his coming would be held liable for the expense of his deportation.

The effect of the new law can be seen in the immigration statistics-the number of immigrants for the year 1908 is but little more than half as great as the number for 1907.  The chief decrease was in the stream from southern Europe.  This decrease cannot be attributed entirely to the act of 1907, but must be accounted for in part by the panic of 1907.  Observations extending over a long period of years have disclosed the fact that the ebb and flow of the tide of immigration is closely attached to the periods of economic prosperity and depression.

When the races of northern Europe contributed the greater part of our immigrants there was a general feeling that this was a decided advantage to us.  The people were readily assimilated into our population and were in general intelligent, industrious citizens who soon acquired a patriotic love for America and its institutions.  The serious problems came with the increased number of southern Europeans.

For years Italians emigrated to South America, particularly to Brazil and the Argentine Republic, where the climate, race customs, and language were more to their liking than in the north.  A diminution of prosperity there has turned part of the tide northward.  About eighty per cent of our Italians come from southern Italy, a fact explained by the difference between the industrial conditions in the northern and southern parts of the peninsula.  In the south agriculture is the only industry, and it frequently suffers from climatic conditions, the resulting losses bearing heavily upon the population.  Conditions are aggravated by an unequal division of taxes between the north and the south.  Often the only alternative to starvation is emigration.  During the past decade 2,000,000 Italians have come to us and, according to estimates, about two-thirds of them have settled in the cities of the Northern States, a condition detrimental to the foreign and our social organization alike.  These Italians, peasants and experts in fruit culture by training, become day laborers, thus losing their greatest productive power.  The Italian who keeps away from the city finds his lot more agreeable.  Wherever they have settled as farmers they have been uniformly successful.  The person who knows only the Italian of the tenements has little sympathy for him, in spite of the fact that many of this race have proved themselves to be quiet, sober, and useful citizens.

U. S. Immigrant station, Ellis island, N. Y.

The Slavic immigration since 1880 has been mainly from the more primitive districts out of touch with the civilization of western Europe.  These people have come, not as settlers, but as laborers in the mines, factories, and foundries, planning to remain here for a time, earn as much as possible, and return to their native land.

In 1899 statistics began to be compiled by means of which the race and nationality of aliens might be determined.  From 1899 to 1907 about seventy-two per cent of the Slavic immigration came from Austria-Hungary.  Since 1900 at least 100,000 aliens from this country have come to the United States each year; in 1905, 1906, and 1910 the number exceeded 250,000 each year, and in 1907 it was 340,000.  In this crowd came Bohemians Poles, Slovaks, Ruthenians, Slovenians, Croatians, Bulgarians, Servians, Montenegrins, and other allied peoples.  They are distributed over various parts of the land.  Pennsylvania, on account of its mines, gathers by far the greatest number-in 1906 there were about 500,000 Slavs in the State; New York had nearly 200,000, and Illinois about 134,000.  The Bohemians and Poles seem inclined to farm, but in the main the Slav laborers have busied themselves in the coal, coke, iron, and steel industries.  Very seldom do the Slavs take to petty street traffic, as do the Jews and Italians, but prefer the harder and better paid work in the mines and foundries.

The Russians make the smallest Slavic group in America.  Although many Russians are reported among the immigrants, only about five per cent are native born Russians, the rest being Jews, Poles, Finns, and Lithuanians.

About one-eighth of our European immigrants are Jews.  By the law of 1769 the Jews in Russia are compelled to live within certain territorial limits known as the Jewish Pale, and about ninety-four per cent comply with the regulation.  The law of 1882 has further restricted the places of residence, for Jews are now prohibited from buying or renting lands outside the limits of the cities or incorporated towns.  Their educational advantages are limited by law; few are admitted to the bar and few to the other learned professions.  To these disabilities the Russian government has added the terror of persecution, which will explain why 150,000 Jews come to America each year.  In all there are 1,250,000 here.

“ALIEN PASSENGERS” AND IMMIGRANTS ENTERING THE UNITED STATES FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, 1820-1910

Last 1820 1831 1841 1851 1861 permanent to to to to to residence 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 ----------- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------- Austria-Hungary 7,800 Belgium 27 22 5,074 4,738 6,734 Denmark 169 1,063 539 3,749 17,094 France 8,497 45,575 77,262 76,358 35,984 Germany 6,761 152,454 434,626 951,667 787,468 Greece Italy 408 2,253 1,870 9,231 11,728 Netherlands 1,078 1,412 8,251 10,789 9,102 Norway, Sweden 91 1,201 13,903 20,931 109,298 Russia 91 646 656 1,621 4,536 Spain, Portugal 2,622 2,954 2,759 10,353 8,493 Switzerland 3,226 4,821 4,644 25,011 23,286 England 22,167 73,143 263,332 385,643 568,128 Scotland 2,912 2,667 3,712 38,331 38,768 Ireland 50,724 207,381 780,719 914,119 435,778 Europe; unspecified 43 96 155 116 210 ----------------- ------ ------ ------ ------- ------ Total 98,816 495,688 1,597,502 2,452,657 2,064,407

Russia 52,254 265,088 593,703 1,597,306 2,515,901

Immigrants from British North America and other countries 2,535,810

Estimated number of immigrants prior to October 1, 1819 250,000

TOTAL NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS, 1891 TO 1910

Year Total Sex Age Ended Number Male Female Under 14 14 to 45 45 and over June 30 1891 560,319 354,059 296,200 95,879 405,843 58,597 1892 623,084 385,781 237,303 89,167 491,839 42,078 1893 502,917 315,845 187,072 57,392 419,701 25,824 1894 314,467 186,247 128,220 41,755 258,162 14,550 1895 279,948 159,924 120,024 33,289 233,543 13,116 1896 343,267 212,466 130,801 52,741 254,519 36,007 1897 230,832 135,107 95,725 38,627 165,181 27,024 1898 229,299 135,775 93,524 38,267 164,905 26,127 1899 311,715 195,277 116,438 43,983 248,187 19,545 1900 448,572 304,148 144,424 54,624 370,382 23,566 1901 487,918 331,055 156,863 62,562 396,516 28,840 1902 648,743 466,369 182,374 74,063 539,254 35,426 1903 857,046 613,146 243,900 102,431 714,053 40,562 1904 812,870 549,100 263,770 109,150 657,155 46,565 1905 1,026,499 724,914 301,585 114,668 855,419 56,412 1906 1,100,735 764,463 336,272 136,273 913,955 50,507 1907 1,285,349 927,976 355,373 138,344 1,100,771 46,234 1908 782,870 506,912 275,958 112,148 630,671 40,051 1909 751,786 519,969 231,817 88,393 624,876 38,517 1910 1,041.570 736,038 305,532 120,509 868,310 52,751

Note 1:  Prior to 1895 the figures are for persons over 16 years; from 1895 to 1910 for persons 14 years of age and over.

The question of Oriental immigration has caused much comment in our Pacific Coast States for several years.  Before 1900 the total number of Japanese coming to America seldom reached 1,500 a year.  Since that time about 12,000 have come each year, except in 1903 when 20,000 came and 1907 when the number reached 30,000.  Seventy per cent of this number, however, went to Hawaii.  Over-population and economic depression in their native land have caused this exodus.  Most of these immigrants are laborers-skilful, energetic and efficient-who apparently desire to become citizens.  Among the better classes are many who have attained eminence in various lines of work in our country.  In scientific investigation the names of Takamine, Noguchi, Yatsu, Takami, Asakawa, and Iyenaga are well known.  The names of those who have been more than ordinarily successful in business would make a long list.  The most serious objections to the Japanese arise in the coast States where these immigrants have raised a serious labor problem.  The people of these commonwealths also fear a race problem which in gravity will rival the one in the Southern States.  It is claimed that even now, when the number of Orientals is small, the enforcement of law is exceedingly difficult in the Chinese quarters, while the control of the Japanese is next to impossible since they do not congregate in certain sections of the cities as do the Chinese.  It is claimed that the 2,000,000 whites who live on the Pacific Coast will be swamped and lose control of the government if this Oriental immigration is not entirely prohibited.  The Chinese do not cause so much anxiety.  Since the passage of the exclusion act thirty years ago, few have come to the United States-scarcely more than 2,000 a year.  As laborers they are efficient, patient, and honest in keeping labor contracts.

GROUPS OF IMMIGRANTS UPON THEIR ARRIVAL AT ELLIS ISLAND

These swarms of foreigners who come to us each year are causing uneasiness in the minds of the thinking people.  Can our foreign population be growing more rapidly than our power to assimilate it?  Is this element as dangerous to our civilization as we think?  Has criminality increased as a result of increased immigration?  Has this element increased labor agitations during the past decade?  Some contend that we are rapidly approaching the limit of our power of assimilation and that we are in constant danger of losing the traits which we call American.  The immigrants from southern Europe are in too many cases deficient in education.  This lack of education may or may not prove a danger.  So far it seems to have been the rule that in the second generation these foreigners have shown themselves extremely anxious to take advantage of the opportunities offered by our free schools.

One of the most serious charges made against the Americanized foreigner has been that through him there has developed in our political system a strain of corruption which endangers our institutions.  Political corruption did not come with the immigrants:  it was known in all its forms years ago.  This much can be said, however:  the worst class of foreign-born citizens has ever proved to be a support of corrupt political bosses.  Our city governments have been notoriously corrupt and the cities harbor the great masses of foreigners.  The high cost of living in the cities and the relatively low wages force the aliens into poor and crowded quarters which tend to weaken them physically and degrade them morally and socially.  Among the Italians of the cities there appears to be a vicious element composed of social parasites who found gambling dens, organize schemes of black-mail, and are the agents of the dreaded Black Hand.  It is the class which furnishes aids for the lowest political bosses and furnishes the bad reputation for the Italians.

An investigation of the nationalities in the city of Chicago has been made by Professor Ripley, of Harvard.  The results illustrate the wonderful dimensions of the problem which the cities confront in the assimilation of the foreign element.  In the case of Chicago, were the foreigners (those not American beyond the third generation) to be eliminated, the population would dwindle from 2,000,000 to about 100,00.  In this city fourteen languages are spoken by groups of not less than 10,000 persons each.  Newspapers are regularly published in ten different languages and church services conducted in twenty different tongues.  Measured by the size of its foreign colonies, Chicago is the second Bohemian city in the world, the third Swedish, the fourth Polish, and the fifth German.  There is one large factory employing over 4,000 people representing twenty-four nationalities.  Here the rules of the establishment are printed in eight languages.  So it is with the other cities.  New York, for example, has a larger Italian population than Rome, and is the greatest Jewish city, for there are in the city some 800,000 Jews.  In all eighty per cent of the population of New York are foreigners or the children of foreigners.  In Boston the per cent reaches seventy and in Milwaukee about eighty-six.

The charge that criminality has increased rapidly with the increased immigration from southern Europe seems to be substantiated by statistics.  From 1904 to 1908 the number of aliens charged with committing grave crimes nearly doubled.  While this fact will not prove the point, it suggests thought on the question.

It has been truthfully said that the fundamental problem in this question of immigration is most frequently overlooked.  Back of the statistics of illiteracy, pauperism, criminality, and the economic value of immigrants lies another one of great proportions.  What has been the effect upon our native stock?  What has been the expense, to our native stock, of this increase of population and wealth through immigration?  The decreasing birth rate of our native population some contend is due to the industrial competition caused by the foreign element.  If this be true, the foreigners have supplanted not supplemented the American, and the question arises, how long can the assimilation go on before we lose our American characteristics?

The number of Europeans who return to their native lands after living a time in the United States is comparatively small and the loss is not great.  The emigration of our farmers to Canada is a more serious thing.  Since 1897 the Dominion Government has fostered high-class immigration.  Canadian agencies have been established in many of our Western cities with the avowed object of attracting farmers to the Provinces.  The Canadian Pacific Railway Company has taken up the pioneering business.  It sells the land, builds the home and the necessary buildings, breaks the fields, plants the first crop, and hands over to the prospective settler a farm under cultivation.  In return the railway demands high-class immigrants and, to insure this, no settler can take possession of a railway farm unless he can show $2,000 in his own right.  Between 1897 and the close of 1910 Canada gained by immigration nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants.  Of these, 630,000 were from the United States, and it is estimated that those who went from the United States during the past five years took with them $267,000,000 in cash and settlers’ effects.  The end of the movement has not come, for the railway companies have now gone into the reclamation of arid lands.  Since 1908 over 1,000,000 acres of arid land in Alberta have been placed under irrigation, and the work of reclaiming another equally large section has begun.  The American farmers who are taking advantage of this opportunity form a class which we cannot afford to lose.