The preceding table shows that among the native whites 84.6 per cent of men over 20 are married and none widowed. Of foreignborn men over 20, 74.1 per cent are married and 2 per cent are widowed. The Lithuanians have the highest proportion of single men appearing in the table. The Lithuanians are the only foreign race reporting any single women. The Polish women are reported all married, and of the Slovak women nearly 98 per cent are married.

It is noticeable that the age group of those between 20 and 29 has the highest proportion of single men, and the group of those 45 or over the smallest. The middle group, including those between 30 and 44, reports all the native white men married and 88 per cent of the foreign-born married.

As regards permanent settlement in the United States, and the assimilation of the foreign-born, the question as to whether the wives of the married males are residing in this country or abroad is obviously of great importance. The situation in this respect is shown by the following table, which exhibits the location of wives of foreignborn husbands, by race of husband:

TABLE 441.-Per cent of foreign-born husbands who report wife in the United States and per cent who report wife abroad, by race of husband.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 40 or more husbands reporting. The total, however, is for all foreignborn.]

The table above shows that the races which have the most established conditions of family life are the English, Irish, Scotch, French, German, Lithuanian, and Mexican, in the order mentioned, more than nine-tenths of each of these races reporting wives in the United States and presumably with their husbands. At the other extreme are the Slovak, Polish, Italian, and Slovenian. It is also noticeable that in the Southwest the proportions of married men whose wives are in the United States is uniformly high for all races, as compared with other coal-mining localities.

VISITS ABROAD.

Another indication of the stability of the foreign population is to be found in the number of visits made to their native countries. In this connection the following table shows the number and percentages of visits made by employees in the coal industry of the Southwest by race and period of residence in the United States:

Table 442.— Visits abroad made by foreign-born male employees, by years in the 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 total number of employees for whom information was reported was 3,620. Of these, 1,198 had been in the United States under five years, 1,110 from five to nine years, and 1,312 ten years or over. Seventeen and two-tenths per cent of the entire number reported one or more visits to their native lands. Of the group resident less than five years in the United States, 7.1 per cent; of the group resident in the United States from five to nine years, 19.6 per cent; and of the group resident in the United States ten years or more, 24.5 per cent had made visits abroad.

The foreign races of which a large percentage of employees had made one or more visits are the Scotch, South Italian, and North Italian, in the order mentioned; for those in the United States under five years the Scotch and English; for those in the United States from five to nine years the Scotch, North Italian, South Italian, and Polish, in the order mentioned; and for those in the United States ten years or more the South Italian and North Italian. The races of which a small percentage of employees had made at least one visit are the Slovak, German, and Slovenian; and for those in the United States ten years or over the German and Slovak. Of the employees in the United States under five years none of the Slovaks or Germans, and of those in the United States from five to nine years 2.7 per cent of the Lithuanians and 4.8 of the Germans had made visits to their native countries.

500101

CRIMINALITY OF RECENT IMMIGRANTS.

As regards the criminality of the foreign-born, it is significant that there are fewer cases against immigrants than natives in the courts of Oklahoma and Kansas. The police of the different towns, however, maintain that this does not prove that there is less crime among immigrants, but that it is impossible to secure evidence unless there is an American witness, and that immigrants rarely report any of their difficulties to the police. The English, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, and Lithuanians are considered law-abiding, and few members of any of these races are ever accused of crime.

Oklahoma and Kansas are prohibition States, and it is therefore unlawful to sell intoxicants within their limits. More immigrants break this law than any other. In the three principal coal-mining counties of Oklahoma 30 per cent of the indictments on this charge were against immigrants, about two-thirds of these being Italians and the rest Poles and Mexicans. During the past year there has also been a great deal of trouble on account of outrages purporting to come from the Black Hand Society. This has been particularly true in Oklahoma, and of the men arrested on account of these crimes all except one were South Italians. The one exception was from northern Italy.

The police authorities in Oklahoma and Kansas consider the South Italian the most undesirable race from a criminal standpoint, and the Polish, Slovak, Mexican, and North Italian rank next in the order named. Ín all communities in Kansas where South Italians have settled there is much crime. During the past year (1908) there have been numerous murders in the different coal camps and villages surrounding Pittsburg, Kansas, and in few instances have the guilty parties been apprehended, on account of lack of witnesses. It is universally stated that South Italians are responsible for these crimes, as they have occurred in localities occupied by these people, and the victim has generally been a member of this racial group.

DISEASES OF RECENT IMMIGRANTS.

The consensus of opinion of leading physicians and hospital superintendents in the Oklahoma fields is that there is no disease peculiar to any particular race of recent immigrants, and that immigrants have not been instrumental in spreading disease. Physicians are unanimous in the opinion that there is no more sickness among immigrants than among natives. One physician who has practiced among coal miners for twenty years gives the opinion that the immigrant from Italy yields to treatment quicker than natives or immigrants from other countries. Some physicians have alleged that there are more hereditary venereal diseases among immigrants from Russia than among those from any other country, but this statement has not been sustained. It is also stated by all physicians that venereal diseases are more common among the American miners than among the immigrants. In diseases of this class the immigrant takes better care of himself, follows directions better, and a cure is more easily effected than among natives. Physicians are also of the opinion that the constitution of the South Italian is not so strong as that of natives and other immi

grants and that they are not able to stand the ravages of a long period of illness. The Mexicans seem to be delicate and do not yield to treatment. When attacked by any disease, the death rate is higher among them than among any of the other races.

AGE CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES AND MEMBERS OF THEIR HOUSE

HOLDS.

The classification, by age and sex of members of households, of the employees of the coal-mining industry in the Southwest is shown by the following table:

TABLE 443.-Per cent of persons within each age group, by sex and by general nativity and

race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

TABLE 443.-Per cent of persons within each age group, by sex and by general nativity and race of head of household.-Continued.

The classification according to race and general nativity in the preceding table is by head of household. The foreign-born number 1,894, about 84 per cent of the total.

The table also includes a classification according to sex, showing that 1,241, or about 55 per cent of the individuals for whom data were secured, are males.

The percentages for the different age groups show that the proportion of children under 6 and of persons from 20 to 29, and 45 or over, is higher for the foreign-born than for the native-born. The foreign races for which a large proportion of children under 6 is reported are the South Italian, Polish, and Slovak; those having a large proportion of children from 6 to 13 are the Welsh, Slovak, and Irish. Large percentages of individuals of 14 and 15 years of age are shown. for the Irish, Slovaks, and Mexicans; of individuals from 16 to 19, for the Welsh, Irish, and South Italians; of individuals from 20 to 29, for the North Italians, Slovaks, and South Italians; of individuals from 30 to 45 years of age, the Croatians, Mexicans, and Poles; and of individuals 45 or over, for the Welsh, Irish, and Mexicans. While the racial tendencies are not very clearly marked, it will be noticed that the largest proportion of young children and of individuals of working age is to be found among the races of more recent immigration. For the foreign-born the percentages for all ages below 30 are higher for the females than for the males. Among the native-born the percentages are higher for the females than for the males, for individuals from 6 to 13, from 16 to 29, and 45 or over. It thus appears that the age of the females is in general higher among the native-born than among the foreign-born. For all individuals, irrespective of nativity, the average age of the males is greater than that of the females.