CHAPTER VI. SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS. Literacy-Conjugal condition-Visits abroad-Age classification of employees and members of their households-[Text Tables 66 to 81 and General Tables 35 to 44]. LITERACY. As regards the literacy of the employees of the clothing manufacturing industry, the series of tables submitted below sets forth not only the degree of literacy which prevails among them at the present time, but the elements of progress evidenced by the foreign-born employees after their arrival in this country. The first table presented in this connection, which immediately follows, shows by sex and general nativity and race, the per cent of employees who were able to read and per cent who were able to both read and write. TABLE 66.-Per cent of employees who read and per cent who read and write, by sex and general nativity and race. (STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.) [This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] Number reporting com- Per cent who read. Per cent who read and write. General nativity and race. Native-born of native father, Native-born of foreign father, Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. father: 48296-VOL 11-11- —22 The preceding table shows that of a total of 18,924 employees 93 per cent can read and 91.7 per cent can read and write. Native-born of native father whites report 100 per cent able to read and write, followed closely by native-born of foreign father, with less than 1 per cent reporting inability to read and write, while the foreign-born of foreign father have a materially larger percentage unable to read or read and write, the males showing a greater degree of literacy than the females. Among the native-born of foreign father, 100 per cent of those whose fathers were born in Austria-Hungary are able to read and write, and the lowest percentage of literacy in the group is shown by those whose fathers were born in Italy. In the foreign-born group, the Bohemains and Moravians show the greatest percentage of literacy, followed by the Germans, Slovak, Magyar, and Polish. South Italians show the largest percentage unable to read and write. The percentage of literacy is much larger for the males than for the females of these races. The following table shows, by sex and general nativity and race of individual, the per cent of persons in the households studied, 10 years of age or over, who could read and the per cent who could both read and write: TABLE 67.-Per cent of persons 10 years of age or over who read and per cent who read and write, by sex and general nativity and race of individual. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 40 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] Number reporting com- Per cent who read. Per cent who read and write. General nativity and race of individual. Native-born of foreign father, Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. by race of father: Of the total number of persons, 3,123, included in the above table, 89 per cent read and 87.4 per cent read and write. In each case a greater proportion is found for the males than for the females. Of the males, 94.4 per cent can read and 92.5 per cent can read and write, while of the females 83.3 per cent can read and 82.1 per cent can read and write. Comparing the foreign-born with the native-born of foreign father it is seen that while only a small difference exists, in favor of the latter, among the males, the foreign-born females show a much smaller per cent than do the native-born of native father who can either read or write. Among the native-born of foreign father, the Bohemian and Moravian and the Hebrew males each show 100 per cent who can both read and write. Also 100 per cent of the Bohemian and Moravian females can both read and write, but the proportion of Hebrew females who can read or write is slightly smaller. Of the South Italian males, 93.8 per cent can read and write, while 93.1 per cent of the females can read and 89.7 per cent can read and write. Among the foreign-born persons studied, the Polish males show the highest proportion who can read and write, the per cent being 100. The Bohemians and Moravians, with 98.1 per cent, are second in the list of those who can read. The Hebrews and South Italians each show over 90 per cent. In every case the females show a much smaller proportion who can read than do the males; especially is this true in the case of the Poles, of whom only 72.4 per cent of the females can read. The Bohemians and Moravians and Hebrews each show a proportion in excess of 90 per cent who can read and write, while between 80 and 90 per cent of the South Italian and Lithuanian males can read and write. Of the Lithuanian females, only 64.3 per cent can read and write as compared with 92.5 per cent of the Bohemians and Moravians. The per cent of employees who read, according to locality, sex, and general nativity and race, is shown in the table next presented: TABLE 68.-Per cent of employees who read, by locality, by sex, and by general nativity and race. (STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.) [This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting in each of two or more localities. The totals, however, are for all races.] The preceding table shows that 94.7 per cent of the males for whom information was secured can read and 90.9 per cent of the females are able to read. A greater proportion of the males in Chicago can read than in Baltimore. The per cent of males who are able to read in New York City is somewhat smaller than the per cent having this ability in Baltimore. Chicago shows the highest per cent of females who are able to read, followed closely by Baltimore, while the per cent of those able to read in New York City is considerable below that in the two other localities named. Native-born whites of native father show 100 per cent of both males and females who are able to read in each locality; nativeborn of foreign father follow in slightly smaller proportions. Foreignborn show smaller proportions who are able to read than native-born of foreign father. For both males and females New York City shows a smaller proportion able to read than is shown for the other localities. The relation between literacy and period of residence in this country is set forth in the following table. It shows, by years in the United States and race of individual the per cent of foreignborn persons 10 years of age or over who read and the per cent who read and write. TABLE 69.-Per cent of foreign-born persons 10 years of age or over who read and per cent who read and write, by years in the United States and race of individual. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. This table includes only races with 40 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all foreign-born.] Between 80 and 90 per cent of the 2,449 persons included in the preceding table can both read and write, the proportion who both read and write being slightly smaller than the proportion who read only. This is true as regards those with each specified period of residence in the United States. The Bohemian and Moravian is the only race showing its entire number who have been in the United States under five years entirely literate. As regards the progress manifested by the younger immigrants as compared with the older, the table next presented is instructive. It sets forth, according to age at time of coming to the United States and race of individual, the per cent of foreign-born persons in the households studied 10 years of age or over who could read and the per cent who could read and write. TABLE 70.-Per cent of foreign-born persons 10 years of age or over who read and per cent who read and write, by age at time of coming to the United States and race of individual. (STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.) [This table includes only races with 40 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all foreign A greater proportion are literate of those who were under 14 at the time of coming to the United States than of those who were 14 or over. Moreover, it should be noted that the age at time of coming affects ability to read and write more than ability to read. Every specified race has the largest proportion who are literate among those who were under 14 when they came to the United States. The Lithuanians show the most marked difference between the literacy of those who were under 14 and those 14 or over. Of the latter, 72.4 per cent read and write; of those who were under 14, 91.3 per cent read and write. CONJUGAL CONDITION. The table next presented shows, by sex and general nativity and race, the per cent of employees 20 years of age or over who were in each conjugal condition: TABLE 71.-Per cent of employees 20 years of age or over in each conjugal condition, by sex and general nativity and race. (STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.) [This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.] |