CHAPTER VII.

GENERAL PROGRESS AND ASSIMILATION.

Ownership of homes-Status of children in the households studied-CitizenshipAbility to speak English-[Text tables 82 to 95, and General Tables 45 to 53.]

OWNERSHIP OF HOMES.

Home ownership by families the heads of which were of foreignbirth may be considered as a strong indication of permanent settlement, and the facts in this connection relative to the families the heads of which were employed in the clothing manufacturing industry are set forth in the following table, according to general nativity and race of head of family:

TABLE 82.-Number and per cent of families owning home, by general nativity and race of head of family.

From information secured for 937 families in this industry, it will be seen that only 24.7 per cent own homes, the foreign-born reporting 23.5 per cent as compared with 60.7 per cent of native-born of foreign father. The proportion of Bohemians and Moravians, both foreignborn and native-born of foreign father, owning homes stands out in striking contrast to the proportion shown by any other race-the foreign-born Bohemians and Moravians reporting 76.3 per cent and those native-born of foreign father reporting 65.4 per cent. No Poles and only a very small proportion of the Hebrews, Lithuanians, or South Italians own homes.

STATUS OF CHILDREN IN THE HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

The status of children in the households studied may be seen in the following table, which shows by general nativity and race of individual the per cent of children 6 and under 16 years of age who were at home, at school, and at work:

TABLE 83.-Per cent of children 6 and under 16 years of age at home, at school, and at work, by sex and general nativity and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 40 or more children reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

Of the total number of children of the prescribed age 87.1 per cent are at school, 7.8 per cent are at home, and 5.1 per cent at work. The native-born of foreign father have a greater proportion at school than the foreign-born. The latter have the largest proportion, 7.5 per cent, at work.

Attendance at school is more general among male children than among female. The latter show a greater proportion at home and a slightly greater proportion at work than the males. It should be noted, however, that the proportions of foreign-born male and female Hebrews at school are almost equal.

The native-born of foreign father generally show a greater proportion of males at school, but the Lithuanians of that class have 73.9 per cent males at school and 95.2 per cent females.

The table next presented makes possible a comparison of the status of the children of native and of foreign birth in the households studied, showing, according to general nativity and race of father and birthplace of child, the number and per cent of children 6 and under 16 years of age who were at home, at school, and at work.

TABLE 84.-Number and per cent of children 6 and under 16 years of age at home, at school, and at work, by general nativity and race of father and by birthplace of child.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more children born in the United States and also 20 or more born abroad. The native-born of native father are shown for comparative purposes.]

The above table shows a report from 1,147 children between 6 and per cent 16 years of age, of whom 7.8 per cent remain at home, 87.1 attend school, and 5.1 per cent are at work. Generally, there are more children of foreign birth at home, fewer at school, and more at work than is the case among those of native birth.

The native-born South Italian, with 11.5 per cent, show a greater proportion of children at home than any other race; the foreign-born South Italian showing only 5.8 per cent.

The native-born Hebrews show over 90 per cent attending school. Only 84.5 per cent of the Hebrew children born abroad are found in school. The South Italians and Bohemians and Moravians show over 85 per cent of both United States born and foreign-born children at school.

CITIZENSHIP.

As regards the interest in, and the attainment of, citizenship by the operatives of foreign birth, the following table shows, by race, the present political condition of foreign-born male employees who have been in the United States five years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming to this country:

TABLE 85.-Present political condition of foreign-born male employees who have been in the United States 5 years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming, by race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States.]

Of 2,167 males reporting in this table, 28.9 per cent are fully naturalized and 21.8 per cent have first papers only. The Germans, with 81.5 per cent show the highest proportion fully naturalized. They are followed by the Bohemians and Moravians, with 51.2 per cent. No other race has as many as 50 per cent naturalized. The proportion shown by the Magyars is 41.9 per cent and by the Lithuanians 38.9 per cent. The Hebrews other than Russian report 33.6 per cent fully naturalized, and the Poles and Russians 31.4 per cent and 21.2 per cent, respectively. The North Italians show only 16.7 per cent naturalized, while the South Italians, with 9.1 per cent, have the smallest proportion recorded for any race for which computations have been made. The Russian Hebrews with 30 per cent holding first papers, and the Germans with 9.6 per cent so reported, show the largest and smallest proportions, respectively, in this classification.

The tendency to acquire citizenship after designated periods of residence in this country is set forth in the following table, which shows, by years in the United States and race, the present political condition of foreign-born male employees who were 21 years of age or over at the time of coming to the United States:

TABLE 86.-Present political condition of foreign-born male employees who were 21 years of age or over at time of coming to the United States, by years in United States and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[By years in the United States is meant years since first arrival in the United States. This table includes only races with 100 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all foreign-born.]

The preceding table shows that of 2,167 male employees reporting who were 21 years of age or over at the time of coming to the United States 28.9 per cent are naturalized and 21.8 per cent have first papers only. Germans show a much higher proportion than any of the other races who are citizens of the United States, the per cent of this race who are aliens being very small. Only one other race, the Bohemians and Moravians, show over 50 per cent fully naturalized, while the proportion of South Italians who are fully naturalized and who have first papers only is very small, showing a large proportion of aliens of this race. Germans and Lithuanians with a residence of from five to nine years in the United States show a high per cent fully naturalized when compared with the other races given. Bohemians and Moravians show the lowest per cent fully naturalized, but on the other hand these races show the highest per cent having first papers only. Among males who have a residence of ten years or over in this country Germans show the highest per cent fully naturalized, and Russian Hebrews the highest per cent having first papers only. South Italians show a greater proportion of aliens in this group than any other race.

The table next presented shows by race of individual the present political condition of foreign-born males in the households studied who had been in the United States five years or over and who were 21 years of age or over at the time of coming to this country.