The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-28
IMMIGRATION FACTS.
The Proportions Of Foreign Born to
Total Population for Forty Years.
Density Of High Tides
in ymm igrOtiOu.

Density of High Tides
in Immigration.
According to the New York Sun. care
full and detailed records of immigra-
tion have been kept since the year 1920.
Those Of previous years were relative
ly unimportant, since not until the year
ending Sept. 20, 1924, are 10000 arrivals
I'm year recorded. The most famous
decade In immigration was the one
from 1881 to 1890, inclusive, for which
the figures were. in the aggregate. 81
246,613, whereas the previous decade
had shown only 2,Sl2, 191, and the decade
from Jan. l, 1861, to June so, 1870, only
2.314,S24. Another famous decade of
high tide in immigration was the one
from 1851 to 1860, when the total of alien
passengers and immigrants was 2,59S.-
PA. whereas the previous decade had
seen but 1,713.251, the decade from 1881
to 1870 only 599,125, and the one from
1921 to 1890 only 1i3,439. So far as can
he judged from its first half, the current
decade will not quite come up to its
predecessor the reckoning up to 1895
showing a total of 2.2So,674 Still, there
may be another food tide before 1890.
Up to the end of the last fiscal year
the statistics showed an aggregate
since 1920, of 17,70S.331 persons. 1t is
alien passengers in the earlier years
not immigrants but, on the ether hand.
immigrants from British North Amer
lea and Mexico have rot been included
since July l. 1885. Perhaps in round
numbers We may expect the figures up
to the fiscal year 1890 to show nearly
20,OO0.00O. But 1t is noteworthy that
while the immigration OF the last fif-
teen years has been prodigious. the
percentage of foreign born to total Pop
ulation has not greatly increased dur
ing the last thirty-five years. That
Is to say while the actual number Of
foreign born was 9,2i9,5T in the census
year 1880, or more than double as much
as in 1860, when 1t was 4,13S.G97, yet the
percentage to the total population was
only l4.77 in the former case. against
1916 in the latter. During the two in
| termediate census years the percent
| ages were 1444 and 1872.
DENSITY OF POPULATION.
Excluding Alaska and Indian terri
| tory, the country has an average Of
] 2l.3l inhabitants per square mile. This
is u little greater density than that OF
Norway, but quite as great as that Of
Sweden 1T is one-fourth that of Spain
or Greece. little mere than one-sev-
| enth that of Denmark, Portugal. or
| Scotland, about one-seventh that of
| Ireland, and perhaps about one-twenty-
third part of England. We still have
room, therefore, for the right kind of
| immigrants.
During the last fiscal year 279,9iS i'm
migrants arrived in this country. ex-
| elusive of those from British North
America and Mexico. Some published
| figures say that there was an actual in
crease of 1903 immigrants from Ire
land 6,2l7 from England and Wales. 1G
frcm Scotland and 122 from Finland.
whereas all other countries in europe
showed a decrease. that of Germany
amounting to 2l.S16. and that of Italy to
1850. But during the current year
there has been great increase In immi-
grafton from Italy. AS an Offset the
debarring of these immigrants has been
carried on to an unprecedented extent.
the result being a decided check upon
immigration from this source of late.
| Mention has been made of the fact
that, prior to 1890. no exact statistics of
immigration were kept. 1t has been es-
timated, however. that between 1873
and 1920 about 250.0O0 immigrants may
have settled in the country. The figures
also. since 1870. are not as accurate as
could be desired. from the causes al
ready mentioned, and also from the
lack of taking account of immigrants
who have landed second time after a
visit to their native homes Still, 1t Is
obvious what an influence has been had
upon our present population by this in
fiuX from foreign lands.
FURTHER ANALYSIS.
OF the G2,62225O who formed our pop
ulation at the 1890 census, SO S72, 7OS were
natives and 9,249,5i7 foreign born. But
| of the native horn 09E OIn had hot I,