The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-10-23
AN IGNORANT HORDE.

When the question of annexation was
under consideration, there used to be
papers in the United States that fairly
suddered at taking in 10000 or so Ha-
waiians into the bosom of the Union.
| They used to vapor about ignorance of
a people of whom about 80 per cent
could read and write and some so per
cent could read and write English.
With the remembrance of this still
vivid in ones memory it is extremely
interesting to read the following report
upon the immigration into the United
States for the fiscal year, ending June
30. 1t is also interesting in view of the
coal strikes in Pennsylvania. A resume
says:
THE south of Italy sent to this coun-
try during the fiscal years ending with
June more immigrants twice over
than came to us from any other coun-
try, and four times as many illiterateS
as came from any other land to dwell
| among us. There We're eighty-two
thousand of these South Italians, of
whom thirty-eight thousand We're il
| literates. Hebrews rank second in the
list in number, there being of this race
forty thousand, of whom eight thou
sand were illiterates. Thirty-iX thou
sand Poles, twenty-five thousand
Slovaks, twenty-five thousand Irish,
twenty-three thousand Germans, twen-
| ty-two thousand Scandinavians, six
teen thousand from the north of Italy,
eleven thousand Magyars, nine thou
sand Lithuanians nine thousand Croa-
tians, six thousand Firms, and three
thousand Greeks helped to make up
h.. taI g,f 1,
| thousand people who sought a larger
life under new conditions in this coun-
try in the twelve months.
"Of the more than three hundred
| thousand here accounted for eighty
three thousand We're illiterates. Be
sides the lliterate Italians and Hebrews
referred to, who make up half the
whole number of illiterates, ten thou
sand of the Poles, six thousand of the
! SloVaks, twenty-five hundred of the
| LithuanianS, tWenty-three hundred of
the CrOatians, seventeen hundred each
of the Magyars and the emigrants from
North Italy, and thousand of the
Germans We're without education. But
six hundred of the Irish and a little less
than six hundred of the Greeks were
illiterates, and of the Firms but sixty
| Averages convey but little infOrma-
ton as to fact, but there is interest in
the statement that the Germans
brought into the country on an aver
age about $50 each, the Northern Itali-
ans 500, the Greeks and CrOatians $15
the Slovaks $12 the Irish, Poles, and
Magyars So the Hebrews less than $40,
the Southern Italians and the Lithuan-
ians 49,"
This is certainly a nice kind of popu-
lation of practical paupers to pour into
state, and though they can be and
are assimilated, the assimilation must
be a somewhat costly process. In the
fiscal year no less than 109, 400 people
entered the United States, who could
neither read nor write who presum-
ably We're nothing but mere laborers,
possessing no skill as artizans. OF
those who are put down as not illite-
rate, the education would be very in
ferior. These people, moreover, have
no idea of the government of the Unit
ed States, no notion of the laws they
will live under, and are never likely to
learn. They are very little removal
from the animal.
If we compare such a population with
our own Japanese, against whom there
is a strong feeling on the mainland, the
comparison must go in favor of the lit
tie brown men. The Japanese can all
read and write their own language.
They soon understand the laws of the
country because they read the japanese
vernacular papers where such things
are treated Of They are acquainted
with the affairs of the world from the
same source. When they entered the
Territory they brought $50 a piece with
them which is far more than the high
est average of the immigrants across
the Atlantic
The mass of Italians, Poles, Croats,
Slovaks, etc, seems poor material to
make voters of, but their children go to
school and in a couple OF generations
they become good English speaking
Americans. The Republic is wonder
full crucible for fuslng heterogeneous
materials into good and useful citizens.
1t is the primary school that does the
work however. Education is the key
stone of the civilizing arch.