FOOTNOTES:
[119] Cf. [table LI], p. 186.
[120] Cf. supra, [pp. 127-128].
[121] Cf. [table LII], p. 187.
[122] Cf. [table LIII], p. 187.
[123] Cf. [table LIV], p. 188.
[124] Cf. [table LV], p. 189.
[125] Cf. [table LVI], p. 189.
[126] Cf. [table LVII], p. 190.
[127] Cf. [table LVIII], p. 191.
[128] Cf. [table LIX], p. 191.
CHAPTER IV
Illiteracy[ToC]
The rate of illiteracy has been generally used as a rough standard for estimating the mental equipment of the immigrants. A consideration of the rate of illiteracy among the Jewish immigrants dispels the popular impression that practically every Jew is able to read and write.[129] Out of a total of 806,786 Jews fourteen years of age and over who entered this country from 1899 to 1910, 209,507 or 26 per cent, were unable to read and write. As the average rate of illiteracy among all the immigrants, from 1899 to 1910, was 26.7 per cent, the rate of Jewish illiteracy is seen to be only slightly below the average.
A number of considerations enter. One of these is the influence of sex. It is generally recognized that, as a rule, females are more usually unlettered than males. This difference of illiteracy between the sexes is also more pronounced in countries where popular education is less widely spread than in those where it is the rule. Such is the case with the countries of Eastern Europe, which are the source of the recent Jewish immigration. The contrast between male and female illiteracy is strongest among the East-European Jews, who neglect the education of their daughters as much as they strive to educate their sons. This is reflected in the relative illiteracy of males and females among the Jewish immigrants.[130] Of the 172,718 Jewish males fourteen years of age and over entering this country from 1908 to 1912, 33,970, or 19.7 per cent, were illiterates. Of the 139,283 females fourteen years of age and over, 51,303, or 36.8 per cent, were illiterates. The illiteracy of Jewish females is thus almost twice as high as that of Jewish males. As the proportion of females in the Jewish immigration is so large, the influence of the sex factor in increasing the rate of illiteracy among the Jewish immigrants is considerable. A tendency from a lower to a higher rate of illiteracy is discernible. The average rate for the first six years was 23.8 per cent, that for the last six years was 27.2 per cent. This corresponds with the increase in the latter years in the proportion of females in the Jewish immigration, which has been previously noted.
A comparison of the rate of illiteracy of the Jewish immigrants with that of the other immigrant peoples shows that the Jews occupy an intermediate position.[131] They have a relatively high rate of illiteracy, as compared with the peoples from Northern and Western Europe. In comparison with the Slavs, their rate of illiteracy is also much higher than that of the Bohemians and Moravians, and, higher also, though to a far less degree, than that of the Slovaks.
The relative position of the Jews is clearly shown in a comparison of their rate of illiteracy from 1899 to 1910 with that for the same period of the "old" and the "new" immigration (from the latter of which the Jews are excepted.)[132] The rate of illiteracy of the "old" immigration is 2.5 per cent, that of the "new" immigration (Jews excepted) is 37.2 per cent, that of the Jews is 25.7 per cent. The Jews occupy a middle ground, yet near enough to the "new" immigration to be classed with it in this respect.
The conclusion reached in the first part that the educational standing of the Jews is higher than that of the peoples in Eastern Europe among whom they live is reflected in the greater relative literacy of their immigrants.[133] The rate of illiteracy of the Jewish immigrants is lower than that of the peoples among whom the Jews are found. In the case of the Lithuanians and the Ruthenians the difference is considerable. This is seen to hold true for each sex.[134] The illiterates among the Jewish males constituted 21.9 per cent of the total number of Jewish males. The illiterates among the Jewish females constituted 40.0 per cent of the total number of Jewish females. In both sexes, the proportion of illiterates was lower than that prevailing among the other immigrant peoples.
Here, again, the fact is noticeable of a wider difference in the case of the Jews between the illiteracy of their males and females than exists among any of the other peoples. Owing to the fact that the Jews have in their immigration a notably higher proportion of females than any of these peoples, the difference between their rate of illiteracy and that of these peoples is lessened to some extent.
That the illiteracy of the Jews is due chiefly to their exceptional status in Russia and Roumania, our review of the conditions affecting Jewish education in those countries has shown. No more striking illustration exists of the fact that the literacy of the Jews is conditioned by their freedom than the degree in which they are taking advantage of the educational opportunities offered in this country, remarkable testimony to which is presented in the reports of the recent Immigration Commission.