Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-13
Our line is complete with all 1902 styles

as having more than $4,000 inhabitants.
Their aggregate population was 1s,7lS,Sl2.
or (omitting Alaska, Hawaii and our mill
tary and naval contingent abroad a tribe
more than one-fourth OF the total popula-
ton. OF these. $3.50, 2s1, or 20 per cent,
were foreign born, while the remainder OF
the country shows only s.5 per cent Of for
eign born. These 100 cities contain about
one-fourth the total population and also
about one-half the foreign born. II we In
clude all Of foreign parentage. the percent
age in these is 53.7, or more than one-half.
In this sense our American cities are more
foreign than American. They contain, ac-
cording to the census. ~9,123,40A persons OF
native and 1O.5S4,9 0S Of foreign parentage.
Foreigners in cities.
Chicago In 1900 had 1,111,46S native and
5S7, 112 foreign inhabitants. 1t had 1888, 1853
inhabitants of native and 1853 Of for
eign parentage. More than one-third OF Its
population is foreign-born, and more than
three fourths is Of foreign stock, removed
not more than one generation from its ma
tive soil.
Boston is a shade more foreign than Chi
cago. 1t has 35.1 per cent OF foreign-born.
while Chicago has only S4.6 per cent. But
New York is more foreign than either. The
percentage Of foreign-born is 81 per cent.
These three run a close race for the lead.
San Francisco comes In with 31.2 per cent.
/ am speaking Of large cities only. There
are mill towns and suburban cities In which
the foreign born element is relatively much
larger. In Fall River, for instance, 1t is
ATT per cent, or little less than half. II
we include with the foreign-born their i'm
mediate offspring, there are half q dozen
A.
Inhabitants are foreign In the first or sec
ond degree. Milwaukee, SAT: Detroit. 77.5;
Chicago, TIA; New York, 1853; Cleveland,
1856; San Francisco. 1852. In many more It
is more than one-half-Buffalo, 1873; st.
Paul. 1915; Boston, 72.2; Jersey City. TOO;
Minneapolis. SO; Newark, $50; Rochester,
GA; Providence, 66.5; Pittsburg. 63.S; st.
Louis, 81; Cincinnati, 60; Toledo, 500; Phil
adelphia, $40. These are all cities with a
population exceeding 100, 900 each. One will
readily perceive what an important bearing
this fact has upon the problem of municipal
government and municipal politics. These
foreign families hold not merely the bal
ance OF power, but they constitute an abso-
Lutte majority in the cities named.
where They Come From.
Germany furnishes more than one-fourth
OF the foreign-born immigration to this
country, 25.S per cent; Ireland is next, with
1876 per cent, and England follows with 81
per cent. These three countries supply half
our foreign-born population. Great Britain
as a whole, including England, Ireland,
Scotland and Wales, furnishes 26.9 per cent,
or more than Germany alone, and with
Canada 34.5 per cent, or more than one
third Of the whole. The three scandinavian
NoruaU and GWadap-
furnish 1913 per cent. Possibly one-half of
our ~foreign-born are English-speaking or
Scandlnavians.
There has been a decline In the number
OF immigrants of late years. In the last
decade 1t was only '7,564. against 5.246,-
613 in the decade D. BUS. The character
Of immigration, too, uas changed. 1t is
now mainly from eastern and southern
Europe. The number OF immigrants from
Russia, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Italy
was doubled within ten years.
II the grandchildren Of foreigners were
included In our calculation, as TO people of
foreign blood, 1t might prove that two
thirds Of the population OF the United
States Is foreign to that extent, and In our
cities the proportion might be hve-sixths
or ven-eighths. Unfortunately exact sta
tistics were not taken by the government.
The admixture Of blood resulting from the
intermingling OF people Of so many distinct
races is a fascinating study. But the prob
lem is too complicated to admit OF entering
upon that phase of the general subject now.
There is Just now an observable tendency
on the part Of our foreign population to
distribute themselves by nationalities TO a
certain extent. Two-thirds OF the Irish re-
main In the east. Two-thirds OF the Ger
mans go west, OF 10000 OO Seandinavians
$4,000 are IN the west and northwest. The
Russians, Poles. Hungarians and Italians
are chiefly found in New England. New
York and Pennsylvania. The Bohemians
and Hollanders settle in the central west.
Have You
on the Black Diamond Express? Have you
enjoyed its comforts and the beauties OF