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