THE REAL RACIAL DISTINCTION

These men, the cream of our immigration—regardless of any fanciful distinction of race “older” or “newer”—came in the flower of their young manhood to try hazard of new fortunes in what they rightly believed to be the land of promise and opportunity; lived here from five to twelve years before they registered in normal declaration their intention to become citizens; lived here upward of five years more before filing their final petition for citizenship, and nearly nine out of ten of them passed their examinations and were admitted.

There is visible in these statistics a distinction of race—a very interesting and inspiring distinction, but it is not one of the “older” or “newer” races. It has little to do with any supposititious difference of racial quality or character. Indeed, it redounds on the whole to the credit of the more recent immigration, and, so far as it goes, would indicate, if anything, a greater potential fitness for American citizenship. In [Diagram 2], which is based on [Table XXIV], the bars which are black represent countries which have entirely a subject people, or in which a proportion of the population is subject. In the latter case it is the subject peoples who come to this country in larger proportions than the sovereign peoples. This is only one of the instances which illustrate an interesting conclusion. Certainly to a discerning eye this fact stands forth:

Those from countries where, at the time of their migration, there was either autocratic government or political discontent, or inferior economic opportunity, head the list of those who seek, and upon examination prove their title to, fellow-membership with us.

Those from countries where government was relatively democratic, where individual liberty prevailed, where political, social, and economic conditions were conducive to contentment, were satisfied to keep the citizenship of their fatherlands.

Why should it require exhaustive investigation to demonstrate so obvious, so inevitable an operation of human psychology? What else was to have been expected?

Diagram 2

Average interval before filing petition after arrival at ages 21 or over by races. The bars which are in black represent countries from which the subject people constituted almost entirely the immigration to this country.

AVERAGE FOR ALL10.6
TURKEY IN EUROPE8.1
TURKEY IN ASIA8.5
GREECE8.6
IRELAND9.6
RUSSIA9.6
ROUMANIA9.8
HUNGARY9.9
HOLLAND10.1
DENMARK10.2
AUSTRIA10.5
FINLAND10.5
SCOTLAND10.6
NORWAY10.8
ITALY11.4
ENGLAND11.7
GERMANY11.9
FRANCE11.9
SWITZERLAND12.2
SWEDEN13.1
CANADA16.4