| PER CENT OF FOREIGN-BORN EMPLOYEES (EXCLUSIVE OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING RACES) WHO SPEAK ENGLISH[[240]] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nativity | Male | Female | Total |
| Total | 55.6 | 38.6 | 53.2 |
| Bulgarian | 20.3 | 80.0 (only 5) | 20.6 |
| Danish | 96.5 | 98.3 | 96.6 |
| German | 87.5 | 80.2 | 86.8 |
| Greek | 33.5 | 12.3 | 31.5 |
| Hebrew, Russian | 74.7 | 75.7 | 75.0 |
| Herzegovinian | 14.6 | 14.6 | |
| Italian, south | 48.7 | 25.8 | 44.4 |
| Magyar | 46.4 | 24.0 | 45.2 |
| Norwegian | 96.9 | 91.8 | 96.5 |
| Polish | 43.5 | 15.5 | 39.1 |
| Portuguese | 45.2 | 27.0 | 37.8 |
| Slovak | 55.6 | 26.6 | 55.1 |
| Slovenian | 51.7 | 30.3 | 50.9 |
| Swedish | 94.7 | 94.2 | 94.7 |
[240]. Rept. Imm. Com., Imms. in Mfg. and Min., Abs., p. 198.
It is thus apparent how large a proportion of our foreign-born laborers have not even taken the first essential step toward assimilation. This evil is, of course, practically overcome in the second generation. Almost all of the native-born persons of foreign fathers, six years of age or over, speak English, though some races show from 6 to 8 per cent who do not.
The percentage who can speak English naturally increases with the length of residence in the United States, until a percentage of 83.1 is reached for all foreign-born employees who have been in the United States ten years or more. But even in this group a very low percentage is found among the Cuban and Spanish cigar makers, of whom almost three fifths are unable to speak the English language.
The age of the immigrant at the time of arriving in the United States has a great deal to do with the ability to speak English. The percentage of those who were under fourteen when they arrived who can speak English is nearly twice as large as that of those who were fourteen or over. The reasons for this are the greater adaptability of the younger immigrants, and their greater opportunities of going to school. The relatively poor showing of the females is probably due to their greater segregation, which prevents them from coming in touch with Americans or older immigrants of other races.
One of the special reports of the Immigration Commission deals with the children of immigrants in schools and brings out some very significant facts. Practically all of the information was secured in December, 1908. Naturally this investigation involved a study of the children of native-born fathers also. A general investigation was made in the public schools of thirty cities, including the first twenty cities in point of population, as shown by the census of 1900, with the exception of Washington, D.C., Louisville, Ky., and Jersey City, N.J. An investigation was also carried on in regard to parochial schools in twenty-four cities, and an investigation of the students in seventy-seven institutions of higher learning. In addition to this general investigation, an intensive investigation was made in twelve cities, including seven cities not in the previous list, making a total of thirty-seven cities in which public schools were studied. The total number of public school pupils for whom information was secured was 1,815,217. Thus the investigation was a very inclusive one, and the results may be taken as representative of educational conditions in the cities of the entire country.
Of the total number of public school children studied in the thirty-seven cities, 766,727 were of native-born fathers, and 1,048,490 of foreign-born fathers. The children of native-born white fathers constituted 39.5 per cent of the total, while among the children of foreign-born fathers there were the following percentages of the total number: Hebrews, 17.6; Germans, 11.6; Italians (north and south), 6.4; total, native-born father, 42.2 per cent; total, foreign-born father, 57.8 per cent.
The different cities show a marked difference in the proportion of children who come from foreign-born fathers, as the following table will show:
| PER CENT OF PUPILS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF FOREIGN-BORN FATHERS IN SPECIFIED CITIES | |
|---|---|
| City | Per Cent |
| Chelsea | 74.1 |
| Duluth | 74.1 |
| New York | 71.5 |
| New Bedford | 68.8 |
| Chicago | 67.3 |
| Fall River | 67.2 |
| Shenandoah | 67.1 |
| New Britain | 65.3 |
| Boston | 63.5 |
| New Orleans | 18.1 |
| Kansas City | 21.3 |
| Johnstown | 24.8 |
| Cincinnati | 27.1 |
| Baltimore | 28.5 |
| St. Louis | 31.9 |
| Los Angeles | 32.0 |
| Cedar Rapids | 34.2 |
| Haverhill | 39.1 |
“In only 7 of the 37 cities is the proportion of pupils who are children of native-born white fathers as high as 60 per cent.” Four cities have less than 30 per cent. The children of German foreign-born fathers are most numerous in Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland, Meriden, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis; those of foreign-born Russian Hebrew fathers in Chelsea, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Newark, and Baltimore, those of foreign-born south Italian fathers in Providence, Newark, New York, Yonkers, Buffalo, and Boston.