Delaware gazette and state journal., 1902-10-30
HIGH TIDE OF IMMIGRATION
Marked by a Flood of italians,
Russians and Huns.
MORE ITALIANS THAN IN VENICE
Arrived Here During the Year
Ended June 3oth.
Grave Problems Raised by the Great
Infux-The Percentage Of Iiliterates--
The Pending Educational Test is Not an
Enectual Barrier


Effectual Barrier.
Washington Correspondence n Y. Evening Post.
Washington, Oct. 21.-During the
year ended June Both, 1902, more
Italians arrived in the United States
as immigrants than live in old Venice,
and one third as many as live in Rome.
If the Italian immigrants of this
single year had been congregated in
space on the plains, now uninhabited,
they would have made there city
larger than Providence or ST. Paul.
The Austro- Hungarians were within a
few thousands of being as many. The
Russian empire, which stands third in
the size of it's contribution to our popu-
lation, sent here in the last fiscal year
the same Eplmber of persons approx
mately as live in city like Syracuse
or New Haven or Fall River. Here,
then, are three European stocks which
are pouring into the United States at
the present rate a population each year
not much less than that of Baltimore
or st. Louis. 1t is easy to see that
| such condition presents grave prob
lens. The recent anthracite coal strike
| has given the country notion of the
crudeness of the racial elements which
are now filling the land, while the in
terviews of Devery or a Dry-Dollar"
Sullivan present picture of the states
man whom the sections in which the
immigrant population is overwhelming
select to represent them
| The stream of immigration is now
nearing the high water mark of 1882,
when the arrivals numbered ISS, 992.
| From that figure it fell off in the sue
ceeding years, and SO quieted public
apprehension by suggesting that per
haps the great immigration movement
was passing over. In 1885 immigration
| had fallen off to 25c, COO and in 1898 to
229, 600, but it has since then been
rapidly growing until in the fiscal year
under review the total alien immigra-
tion amounted to T}0. 79S, an increase
of 167, $50 over the preceding year. This
included, of course, the cabin aliens,
numbering in all 80, 055, who are not as
rule immigrants in the common ac-
ceptation of the term.
The falling off in the arrivals from
Western Europe, relatively, at least,
continues notable. Ireland showed an
actual decrease over the preceding year
of 1,403; and in its total immigration
of 90, 1873, there we're 4, 600 more women
than men, although among every other
race the preponderance was on the
other side. In soine cases, it is start
ingly SO. Among Croatans and Slo-
venians, the male immigrants exceed
the female ninefold. Among the Greeks
there were 1854 male and 26l female
immigrants In fact, the poorer the
people are the smaller the extent to
which they come in families. Among
the fairly we'll people of Western
Europe, like the English, Germans,
and Scandinavians, there are nearly as
many women as men, but not so with
the Slovaks, the Magyars, the Roumani-
ans, the Russniaks, the Bulgarians, oil
the Montenegrins OF the total of i'm.
migrants, 70 per cent are male. This
accounts for the seeming paradox in
our census returns when they show
more married men than married
women; it seems as if there would bt
an equal number of each.
THE PERCENTAGE OF ILLlTERATE.
In view of the pendency in Congress.
of an immigration bill containing tn,
j so-called educational test as u mean:
of restriction, it is interesting to not,
, that only 1872, 1888 of last years immi
grants were unable to read or write ii
some language, and from these figure
large deducGons would have to b.
} made on account Of the children unde
| Is years Of age, and the people of owe
80, to whom it is not proposed to appl,
that test. 1t is fair to assume that O
J the 64S, 000 immigrants, the educa
tional test in the form in which it i
now awaiting the action of the Senat
/ would not have excluded more than ]
per cent. How much this proportion
might be still further reduced b
coaching in preparation for the tes
is another consideration. 1t is plai
that il the United States governmen
really desires to enter upon "a policy q
. exclusion it will have to take som
more radical step than merely debarrin
these persons between the ages of /
and so who cannot either read or writ
> in some language.
The Commissioner of Immigratio
/, prefaces his annual report by sayin
! that the figures do not include arrival
from the neighboring countries {
Mexico and Canada, except such a
9 come from abroad through ports
those countries Tor the avowed purpos
Of entering the United States. Thu
= it will be seen that the totals reporte
. fall short considerably of representa-
the actual arrivals in the countr
during the periods under review
There fourths of all the immigran
come in at New York. One-third
I, all the arrivals assign that State
u their intended destination; and pr
L sumably that means, in the minds
/ most of them, the city itself. PEN
10 sylvania comes second in intendt
. destination, Massachusetts third, ar
Illinois fourth. These figures ha
{, little significance, however, as few
the persons who supply them real
know their own purposes or can fores
where they will finally settle. The sms
part which the South plays in Il
movement is still notaDo Only /
a. immigrants announced their purpose
going to South Carolina, or about on
" fortieth OF one per cent of these,
re we're French and II Finnish. Ev
4. Vermont was the assigned destinati
So of ten times as many. The great strea
turns towards the four cities, N,
York, Philadelphia, Boston and Ci
is cago.
lat