LENGTH OF RESIDENCE AND EARNING POWER
The fallacious nature of the assumption that there is an essential difference between the so-called “older” and “newer” races as such in respect of interest in citizenship is further disclosed by the statistics of the Immigration Commission on the subject of the wages of foreign-born laborers. The Commission found that the members of the “older” races in the households covered by its inquiry were earning more than those of the “newer” races, and occupied, generally speaking, higher positions. This, of course, was to be expected; but little stress was laid by the Commission upon the relation between these facts and the relative rates of naturalization, although it is a conspicuous relationship. Like most of the statistics compiled by the Commission in this particular field, the comparison may be criticized on the ground that the numbers upon which percentages are based and compared are small, and differ widely among the racial groups. Nevertheless, despite this discrepancy, the probability stands forth that, in addition to length of residence, the economic status—the individual and family income—is a most important factor in determining the interest of the foreign born in acquiring citizenship.
From the following table it is clear that the “older” races show a higher average rate of income in all the occupations listed than the “newer.”[111]
TABLE XI
Average Amount of Weekly Earnings of Male Employees Eighteen Years of Age and Over, by Race and Specified Industries{1}
| Race | Reporting Complete Data | Average Earnings per Day | Agricultural Implements and Vehicles{2} | Cotton Goods{2} | Woolen and Worsted Goods{2} | Slaughtering and Meat Packing{3} | Coal Mining Bituminous{3} |
| “Old” | 17,433 | 2.34 | 13.03 | 11.14 | 11.69 | 2.27 | 2.33 |
| “New” | 65,485 | 1.99 | 11.58 | 8.77 | 8.64 | 1.83 | 2.09 |
note 1: See [Appendix] for complete table. This table does not take account of lost time.
note 2: Weekly wage.
note 3: Daily wage.
When the expense of becoming a citizen is taken into consideration, the bearing of income on acquiring citizenship is important. Add to that the obvious fact that wages and general economic and social status tend to improve in the individual case with length of residence, and the situation becomes not only clear but just what common sense would suggest as probable. It ought not to require elaborate argument to substantiate the assertion that the immigrant in his early years in America is too busy getting a job and an economic footing, acquiring a working knowledge of the language, overcoming the general prejudice against him as a foreigner, and so on, to pay much attention to the question of becoming a citizen; besides which he must, in any event, live here five years before he can do anything effective in the matter.