The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-03
Immigrants IN CITIES
4 Study of the Population of Con-
gested Districts in New York,
Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston,
Cleveland, Buffalo and Milwaukee.

washington, ~ ", req. l. nat
the crowding of immigrants in the
congested districts of large cities is
much less prevalent than is popular
ly supposed and that common report
of bad living conditions among such
immigrants is much overdrawn, is
stated in substance in an exhaustive
report upon immigrants in cities
transmitted to Congress Monday by
Senator Dillingham;, chairman of the
immigration Commission.
The report, which was prepared
under the direction of f. A. Golden
weiser. states that the alleged over
crowding of immigrants in the con-
gested districts Of large cities has
long been considered as one of the
most unfavorable phases of the
present immigration movement and,
because of this, 1T was the purpose
of the Commission to make the in
quiry sufficiently exhaustive to de-
termine TO what extent actual con-
gestion of the immigration popula
ton prevails; the cause of such con-
gestion, whether peculiar to any par
ticular race or races of immigrants;
and also to show generally the econ
omic status of the city dwelling i'm
migrant
The report, which will make a vol
ume of approximately six hundred
pages, i. based upon study of over
ten thousand households in some OF
the most congested districts of New
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston,
Cleveland, Buffalo and Milwaukee.
The report shows that the popula-
tion Of congested districts is COM
posed for the most part of recent iIl-
migrants. one-third of the families
canvassed having been in the United
States less than five years, and two
thirds less than ten years. But few
native born and older immigrant
families were found in the areas cali
vassed, and they were remnants of
an earlier population, most of whom
because Of improved economic con-
ditions, had moved to better sur
roundings.
The actual degree of crOwding in
the areas canvassed is shown for
each city and each race studied. 1t
was found that in all the cities COW
cred the average number of persons
per hundred rooms occupied, includ-
ing kitchens, was 1874, and the aver
age number per hundred sleeping
rooms, 232. The number of persons
per hundred rooms occupied in the
144; Philadelphia, 141; New York and
Cleveland, 139; Buffalo, 1873; Chic
ago, 1876, and Milwaukee, 115. EA-
ceptional cases of three or four per-
sons per room were found, but such
cases are not representative of nor
NAL conditions; for even among the
races showing the greatest degree OF
crowding in no case does the aver
age number of persons per all rooms
occupied exceed two per room.
An interesting fact developed bl
the Commissions inquiry is that one
family out of every ten visited own
ed its own home. Home ownership
is most common in Milwaukee, wher;
one in every five families visited
owned the home in which it lived
while in the other cities the proper
ton was as follows: Chicago, Cleve
land and Buffalo, one in six; Phil
adelphia, one in fifteen Boston, on
in twenty-five; New York, one in tw,
hundred.
So far as cleanliness is concerned
about five-siXths of all the houses in
yestigated were found to be in fairl
good, or good, condition. While tn
majority of the homes were clear
the streets in the congested district
studied were usually dirty, and l.
many cases this was due to indiffeI
ence on the part of city authoritie
in keeping out-of-the-way district
clean rather than to carelessness 0
the part of the families living there
Sanitary conditions in the district
canvassed also depend largely on tn
cities rather than on the occupant
of the homes, and there are marke
differences between the various cite
in this regard. 1t was found, howeve
in all the cities studied that certai
races attach much more importanC
to cleanliness and sanitation than d
other races.
The existence and growth of TO
eign colonies in large cities is due
the fact that immigrants general
Join their friends or relatives, an
remain, for time at least, in I'll
neighborhood where they first settle
but among the older immigran
economic progress and desire fl
better surroundings have broug
about more general distribution.
BENNINGTON MAN APPOINTED