The herald., 1895-01-20
THE LAND OF THEIR NATIVITY.
A Tale of the Great Register of
Los Angeles County.
Fascinating Figures That Will Re-
pay Careful Study.
All the States and Sixty sht Foreign
Countries Represented in the Pop
ulAtion of This County.

Va tA0 OhAtoa Otat0bt All iaCbs Will th
exception OF Alaska, and sixty-sigh
foreign countries. contribute to the pop
ulation of Los Angeles county.
This is the story told by the grea
register Of the county, and there can b,
no surer record OF a bona fide population
than the above. 1t proves US to be coz
mopolitsn in social make up. Instead
of the oosmopolite sticking up sigr
over the county that here one speak
French or English, he might very wei
say here one speaks the langusgeu OF the
world.
From Basque to Japanese, from Eng
fish to Croatian, from Norwegian &c
Ksnaka, from Russian to Persian and
Turkish. you can have your choice.
There are some pretty good linguisti
in Los Angeles county. but they cannot
master the multiplicity of tongues cen
tanned therein.
1t causes person to rub his eyes tt
see if he is awake, and has not been
dreaming, just to read the list of differ
ent races which are going through the
process ct assimilation in the land o.
sunshine.
1t is matter for perpetual astonish-
ment that they all reached here, but the
great register, like figures. does not lie,
and can be trusted more implicitly than
q man With gilt edged bonds.
STUDY FER THE soCIoLoGIsT.
When one comes to think of it, So for
eign countries pretty nearly take in
the whole world and the languages
thereof. There are no doubt thousands
OF dialects that are unrepresented, but
the broad family OF languages has found
Q pretty general habitat in Los Angeles
county.
Like everything else in this marvellous
country, the process of the getting here
OF these people has been accomplished
within comparatively short time.
The SOCIOLOGICAL has presented to him q
very interesting field for conjecture in
the bare facts here set forth. Not one
OF the least fascinating subjects for
study is the kind of race that will be
evolved from the widely differing types
and races OF humanity that are here
and here to stay. Sons OF them do not
assimilate at all. or at least very slowly,
while with others, notably in the Teu~
tonic races. few years suffice to put
them in sympathy with the genius OF
this government and the idioms of the
prevailing language.
One OF the most frequent things that
can De noticed any day on the streets or
in the business houses, in fact it is go
common that il has even ceased to Gre
ate much interest, is the sight of some
man. woman or child living in the
county who cannot speak word OF
English; and sometimes in the distant
rural districts children are born and
grow up TO manhood in thie county
without ever learning to speak other
than the tongue OF their parents--it
may be French, German, Italian, Span.
ish or Hungarian.
On the other hand, there are others
who master half dozen languages other
than their own.
1t may not be very generally known
that the German empire has sent ua by
lar the largest number of people from
the other side of the Atlantic. The
great register shows that there are about
1000 voters in the county from Germany
proper. These, taken in connection with
other Teutonic nations, supply us with
the largest representation of any one for
eign race.
MANY CANADIANS HERE.
One would think that England, with
which this section has been 6 fsvorite
field for enterprise. would not be second
TO Ireland in the matter OF immigration
but there are in the county more voter:
from the Emerald Iele than from Eng.
land. In each case more of each natior
are in the city than in the country dis.
tricte.
Following close at the heels of the
mother country, Canada has sent us {
contingent of between 700 and 800 voter
who were born across the line but brough
up in Los Angeles county long enough
ago to become naturalized and assist il
the privilege of electing their govern
ment officers.
The other foreign countries. which
have sent US the largest number OF pso
pie, are, in the order. of their numbers
France, Scotland, sweden, Italy, Swift
zerland, Austria, Mexico, Denmark
Prussia, Russia, Novs Scotia. Norway
Wales and Australia.
The great register. OF course, chow
only the voters. and it is customary tc
estimate them az hesda of families t.
get at the population represented b,
them. 1t has been observed by thosl
who have given the subject thought
that intermarriege is becoming NOR,
frequent between the leading foreign ma
tionalities in our midst, and that thu
making of new race is going forwar,
much more rapidly than many woult
suppose. This is comparatively new
country and the people are not ye
bound down by the conventionalitie
that surround the residents OF olde
and longer established societies. Tn
line of race demarcation is not We
drawn with exceeding fneness. and tn
daily record OF marriages shows hov
eaeily different races form alliances il
Los Angeles county.
AMERICANS NOT BEHIND.
When all is said and done, however
the American people are not behind il
the settling up OF this broad domain q
mountains and valleys. It would b
allowing a wrong impression to b
formed to give an undue prominene
to the foreign influence at work in ou
midst. The great register tells it's owl
story about this, as it does with refer
ence to the confusion of tongues.
First and foremost. it shows that ever
state and territory in this broad land
witt the exception of Alaska, has
quota of voters, and, consequently fam
lies, scsttered throughout the city an
county. The total number OF voter
from the various parts OF the nation ex
ceeds half the grand total by hand