| PER CENT OF NATIVE-BORN AND FOREIGN-BORN OF THE GENERAL POPULATION IN THE DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS[[286]] | ||||||
| Age Period | Native White | Foreign-born White | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Parentage | Foreign or Mixed Parentage | |||||
| Under 5 years | 13.2 | 14.2 | 0.8 | |||
| 5 to 14 years | 22.6 | 24.1 | 4.9 | |||
| 15 to 24 years | 19.7 | 59.5 | 21.6 | 60.4 | 15.8 | 85.3 |
| 25 to 44 years | 26.2 | 27.6 | 44.1 | |||
| 45 to 64 years | 13.6 | 11.2 | 25.4 | |||
| 65 years and over | 4.4 | 1.4 | 8.9 | |||
[286]. Abstract of Thirteenth Census, p. 126.
It will be seen that there is a much larger proportion of the foreign-born in the middle age groups, that is, in the period of greatest productivity, than of the native-born. There ought accordingly to be a smaller percentage of pauperism, rather than a larger one.
The sex distribution contributes a further element to this disparity. In 1910, in the native-born white population there were 102.7 males to 100 females. In the foreign-born white population there were 129.2 males to 100 females. This should lessen the liability of the foreign-born to pauperism.
Another factor which enters in to complicate statistical comparisons of pauperism among immigrants and native-born is the matter of the age at which persons become dependent, or, in the case of the immigrants, the number of years they have resided in the United States before they become dependent. There are two periods at which the immigrant is most likely to need relief. The first is immediately after landing, when he has exhausted his slender store of money, and has not yet found means of self-support. Seven per cent of the entire Jewish immigration to the United States, in one year, found it necessary to apply at the office of the United Hebrew Charities in New York, within a short time after their arrival. Relief granted at this time is liable to be temporary, and the immigrant cannot justly be considered a pauper. If he actually becomes dependent, he is of course liable to deportation.
The second, and vastly more important, period is several years after arrival, when the immigrant has exhausted the prime of his strength, and becomes one of the unfit in the keen struggle for economic existence. Those who become dependent at this time are likely to remain so for life. They are those who have been unable or unwilling to make provision for old age, perhaps being so dazzled by the apparent richness of America that they gave no thought to a possible future dearth, perhaps having sent all their meager savings year by year back to friends or relatives in the old country, possibly never having been able to earn more than a bare living wage. Individuals of this class make up the vast majority of the foreign-born paupers in our almshouses. The census of 1890 showed that 92 per cent of the foreign-born male paupers in the almshouses of the United States had been in this country ten years or more. The corresponding figures for the twelfth census show that out of 27,230 foreign-born paupers whose length of residence in this country is known, 26,171, or 96 per cent, had been here ten years or more.[[287]] The facts furnished by the investigation of the Immigration Commission in respect to persons aided by the Charity Organization societies are similar; it must be borne in mind, also, in respect to these cases, that they largely represent instances of temporary distress, rather than settled dependence. Of all the foreign-born heads of cases aided by these societies, 44 per cent had been in the United States twenty years or more, and 70.7 per cent ten years or more. When it is recollected how small a proportion of our foreign-born population have been in this country twenty years or over, or even ten years or over, it is manifest how misleading are comparisons in respect to pauperism between native-born and foreign-born, based on the total population of the two classes. Thus, according to the census of 1910, only 62.2 per cent of the total foreign-born population, and 60.2 per cent of the foreign-born population in the urban communities, had immigrated in the year 1900 or earlier.[[288]] These facts also point to a possible great increase of pauperism among the foreign-born, as the average length of residence of this class increases.
The age of admission to the almshouse of the different population groups gives corroborative evidence along the same line. The following figures, taken from the census report on Paupers in Almshouses (p. 129), give the average age at admission of the different groups in 1904: native white of native parentage, 45.6 years; native white of foreign parentage, 41.7 years; native white of mixed parentage, 38.3 years; foreign-born white, 56.9 years. The high average age of the foreign-born is due in part to the relatively small number of foreign-born children in the country. But it is undoubtedly also an indication of the effectiveness of the system of examination in weeding out those whose liability to dependence in the near future can be detected. It furthermore adds to the apprehension with which we must look forward to the time when a greater proportion of our foreign-born residents will be above the specified age.
These considerations have an especial bearing on the effort to establish the relative tendency toward dependence of the different immigrating races. As one runs over tables of dependence or pauperism, arranged by nationality, he is impressed by the immense preponderance of the Germans and Irish among those listed. His first conclusion is likely to be that the popular idea of the greater desirability of these races over the newer immigrants is an error; but as soon as he recalls how much longer these races have been in this country, on the average, than the southeastern Europeans, he realizes that these tables, taken by themselves, are wholly unreliable as indicating relative tendencies among races. The following table will serve as an illustration:
| PER CENT OF FOREIGN-BORN PAUPERS IN ALMSHOUSES BY COUNTRY OF BIRTH[[289]] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country of Birth | Enumerated 1903, | Admitted, 1904 | Per Cent of Total Foreign-born Pop. |
| Ireland | 46.4 | 41.2 | 15.6 |
| Germany | 23.3 | 18.4 | 25.8 |
| England and Wales | 8.7 | 8.8 | 9.0 |
| Canada | 4.8 | 6.5 | 11.4 |
| Scandinavia | 4.9 | 4.9 | 10.3 |
| Scotland | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.3 |
| Italy | 1.0 | 3.1 | 4.7 |
| France | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Hungary and Bohemia | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.9 |
| Russia and Poland | 1.5 | 3.4 | 7.8 |
| Other countries | 4.5 | 8.3 | 9.2 |
| 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | |
[289]. Paupers in Almshouses, pp. 19, 20.