Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-12-20
OUR FOREIGN POPULATION.

The census office has disclosed in a
recent bulletin the fact that the United
States presents the curious anomaly OF
a nation that is becoming more for
cign as it grows older. The native
Americans are being slowly and surely
pushed into the background by the per.
sons of foreign birth or parentage
According to the enumeration Of 1896
there were in this country 20,676O4f
persons of foreign parentage, or $780,
per cent Of the total population. This
was practically double the number OF
foreign born people found in 1870
when the per cent was only 1926, the
per cent in 1880 being 1915.
1t is IL little surprising that the state
having the largest proportion of for
eign born population is North Dakota
with 1888 per cent, and South Dakota
comes also after, with 606l per cent
Other states with large per cent of for
eign born population are Wisconsin
1859; Minnesota, 75.42; Michigan, a. 70
massachusetts, 1924; Rhode lslano
$500; New York, $685.; Utah, 1928
and Montana, So. Some of the
southern states show remarkably small
percentages, such as Alabama, ESQ
Mississippi, 2; Georgia, 1.7S; South
Carolina, 20. The state of Iowa hat
1883 per cent foreign born and Ne
braska was redorded with 42.48.
Statistics relating to the cities indi
cate another phase of the immigration
question. OF the 100000 people emu
merated in Chicago $50, 749 were founC
to be foreign born or of foreign parent
age, being 1890 per cent. There art
only six other cities in the United
States where the percentage is greater
the only ones of consequence being
Milwaukee, Buffalo and New York
The latter city has foreign descent
population of 8O46, while Milwaukee
has sc per cent. This shows conclusive
ly that one tendency of the foreign
population of the country is to drift
into the big cities and to stay there.
The foreignizing process which is
steadily going forward must come to a
stop some time, by law or by natural
tendency. 1t is question whether il
has not already gone much too far fol
the good Of the country. Foreign born
citizens and their children are not OF
themselves Objectionable, but it is i'm.
portant to know how well the country
is assimilating this constant stream
Good citizens become AmericaniZed as
promptly as possible. Those which are
scattered among the farms and smaller
communities lose their distinction
more rapidly than those crowded to-
gether in the large cities. This is one
reason why the large foreign popula,
ton of the cities has the appearance
of danger to the harmonious and
rapid growth of the population.
The fact that some of the western
states have such large proportion of
foreign population indicates that the
foreigners have had a large share in
the opening up of the great west and
the extension of our empire. But some
of the seaboard states have shown a
remarkable increase in the percentage
of foreign born population. The
native Americans have also been NOV.
ing westward to the fairer lands and
greener pastures of the Mississippi
valley. With the exception of the
southern states the foreign population
seems to be pretty well scattered over
the country. There does not appear
from the census figures any founda'
ton for an argument against the for
eign population, nor anything to prove
that foreign born people and their
children comprise the dangerous ele.
ments of American society.-Sioua
city Journal.
Bucklen's Arnlca Salve