The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-08-16
REVEALED BY THE CENSUS.
Some Interesting Facts as tc'MinHes ota s
Population.
Minneapolis Journal !:

MfuuOcpOlfb COuIudls
The most striking fact revealed by
the census bulletin on the sex and race
elements in the population of Mime
sofa, issued yesterday, is the trenen-
dous preponderances of foreign-born
and native born of foreign parents,
over the native-born people having
American parents. In the first place,
nearly one-third of the total white
population of the state, or 504, 935 per-
sons, is foreign born. Then there are
500, 321 persons native born, but Of for
eign parents. This makes the total
number Of persons in Minnesota Of
what may be called forein blood, /,
81, 200, as against 440, 1873 persons. of
American blood. But as this number
doubtless includes many persons whose
parents and grandparents were of for
eign blood, the amount of pure Ameri-
can blood, whatever that may be de-
fined to be, in Minnesota, is plainly
very small indeed.
The preponderances of the foreign
element in Minneapolis is just as
striking as in the state at large. The
natives of native parents are almost of
the same number as the city's, foreign
born-a little over 81, 600 of each ele-
ment. But the natives of foreign-born
parents number rs, making the to-
tai foreign" population Of the city
more than 140, 900 in total Of about
203, 000
AS the larger part of the states for
eign element is Scandinavian and
German, and largely from non English
speaking countries. it is plain that if
the test of Americanism is to be made
descent from English-speaking ances-
tors, Minnesota is decidedly un-Ameri-
can.
But in the true and broad sense of
the term, the people of Minnesota
are about as American as those of any
state of the union. The great influx
of men and women from abroad has in
no way changed the essential charac-
teristics of the political and social life
of the state. 1t remains, as much
American it is more American than
it would have been had there not
been single immigrant. In fact, the
Americanism of our people is the more
vigorous from being fed by the sturd y
blood of Europe. Though hundreds of
thousands of people of diverse tongues
have come TO us, and with their child
rem, outnumber those whose grandpar-
ents were born in America three to
one, the English language is practi-
cally the only one heard in business,
and it is only in remote farming COM
munities and villages and in the pri-
vacy Of city homes that one hears in
daily life more than chance w ord,
now and then, of some foreign tongue.
Yet hundreds of thousands of our peo-
pie still retain their familiarity with
! their native language, as is shown by
the large number of churches in which
the services are not conducted in Eng
lish, and the extensive circulation OF
newspapers published in many foreign
tongues
Even more amazing than the lingual
assimilation of the immigrants is their
rapid political and social assimilation.
Our complex political institutions
have proved no stumbling block tC
them; they have thrown themselves
into politics with avidity, have mas
tered our methods and taken almost as
large share as the more advantage.
ously equipped native elements in
political leadership The state has had
one governor who was born in Sweden
and now has United States senator,
born in Norway, and both are stalwart
Americans.
i From all this it appears that man
nativity is no test of his Americanism.
There are among us some better
Americans of ten years standing thar
some who trace their descent through
distinguished ancestors to the Puri
taus. the Cavaliers, the Dutch and the
Huguenots.