Europe who have had a long period of residence in this country.

There is a rapid advancement in the proportion of persons able to speak English corresponding to an increased period of residence in the United States. Of the total number of 211,000 immigrant wage-earners in mines and factories studied by the Immigration Commission who had been in this country less than five years, only 28.6 per cent. could speak English, as contrasted with 59.6 per cent. with a residence of five to nine years and 83.1 per cent. who had been in the United States ten years or over. The smallest proportion of employees able to speak English with a residence under five years were, in the order named, the Cuban, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Turkish, Ruthenian, Polish, Macedonian, Greek, Finnish, Lithuanian, South Italian, Russian and Rumanian races, all of which fall below the general showing for the total number of foreign-born wage-earners who have been here that length of time. Of the employees with a residence of five to nine years, the Cubans exhibited a percentage of only 15.2, and the Spaniards of 16.4, with ability to speak English, while the French-Canadians, South Italians, Montenegrins, Poles, Portuguese, and Ruthenians showed less than that for the average within this residence period. Of the employees who had been in the United States ten years or longer, the Cubans, Spaniards, Mexicans, Portuguese, South Italians, Servians, Syrians, Poles, French-Canadians and Magyars, all of whom had less than four-fifths of their number able to speak English, indicate, in the order mentioned, the least progress in this regard.

As regards the males from southern and eastern Europe with a residence of ten years or over, the

smallest proportion of wage-earners able to speak English was exhibited by the Servians; the showing of the Poles, Portuguese, Magyars and South Italians being but slightly more favorable. The lowest percentages of all are found in the case of the Cubans and Spaniards, almost three-fifths of whom can not speak English.

The males not only show a larger proportion than the females in each period of residence, with the ability to use our language, but exhibit greater progress in acquiring it after specified periods of residence. This is due, of course, to the greater segregation of the females and their more limited opportunities for contact with American life and institutions. Of the southern and eastern European females who have been in this country ten years or longer, the South Italians exhibit the smallest proportion with ability to speak English. The Polish, Portuguese, Finnish and Syrian women make a somewhat better showing than the South Italians, but fall below the proportion for the total foreign-born females.

A much greater proportion of immigrants who were under fourteen years of age when they came to the United States can speak English at the present time than those who were fourteen years of age or over when they immigrated to this country. This is due, as might be expected, not only to the greater adaptability of the younger immigrants, but also to their greater opportunities in the way of attending the public schools and in mingling with native Americans.

Progress and assimilation along all lines is conditioned more upon knowledge of our language than upon any other factor. Congestion in large cities and industrial localities as well as the establishment of

immigrant colonies arises largely from the inability of the southern and eastern European to use English readily. Immigrant banks and similar institutions have their origin in the same cause. The exploitation of the immigrant has its foundation upon the same lack of English-speaking ability. On the other hand, with a larger proportion of immigrants who can speak the language, a much greater dissemination of the foreign-born population may be expected together with its more rapid absorption and assimilation. Progress in industry, in business, in the trades and professions and in the accumulation of property, are all primarily dependent upon the development in the recent immigrant population of an English-speaking ability.

Summary Conclusions

The causes opposing the Americanization of the recent immigrant population may be briefly summarized as follows:

(1) Isolation from the natives of a large part of the immigrant population.

(2) Indifference, and to some extent prejudice, on the part of natives toward immigrants.

(3) Illiteracy of a large proportion of immigrants.

(4) Ignorance resulting from the peasant origin of nearly all of the southern European immigrants, and their unpreparedness for so decided changes in environment.

(5) The influence of immigrant churches and parochial schools in emphasizing and maintaining racial and denominational distinctions.

(6) Inability to speak English.

Those factors favorable to the Americanization of the southern and eastern European are:

(1) Employment of immigrants in American industries.

(2) Employment of immigrant women as servants in American households.

(3) Residence to some extent of immigrants among natives and the association resulting therefrom.

(4) Attendance of immigrant children in American public schools and the teaching of the English and American branches in the immigrant parochial schools.

(5) The influence of immigrant priests and pastors in bringing about permanency of residence through the stimulation of property owning and home-making.

XVI

LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION*

The first legislation by the National Government regarding immigration was enacted in 1882. Previous to this time the matter of regulation and inspection of immigrants arriving at our ports rested entirely with the individual States.

The history of legislation relative to immigration by both State and National Governments may be divided into four periods: (1) from colonial times until 1835; (2) the "Native American" and "KnowNothing" period, lasting from 1835 to 1860; (3) end of State control, 1861-1882; (4) the period of National control, 1882 down to the present time.

During the first of the above-mentioned periods, the States alone interested themselves with the question of immigration. The only legislation enacted, and practically all that was proposed, by the Federal Government was the law of 1819 which aimed to secure some degree of comfort and convenience for steerage passengers en route to this country. This law, also, for the first time provided that statistics and records regarding immigration to the United States should be kept.

This chapter in large part is based upon the monograph entitled, "Federal Immigration Legislation," which was prepared for the former United States Immigration Commission by Special Agent Frank L. Shaw (see Reports of The Immigration Commission, Volume 39). Mr. Shaw's treatment of the subject up to the year 1910 is elaborate and accurate. The abstract of his report, which appears in Volume 2 of the Reports of The Immigration Commission is so satisfactory that the authors of the present book felt that nothing better could be written for their purposes, and, as a consequence, have transcribed a considerable part of this digest, some of which has been edited or set forth in a different order from that in which it originally appears.