The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1913-03-08
immigration Statistics Show That
Leading European Countries
Would Suffer.
Ireland Would be One of the Nations
to Feel its Deep Injustice
Least.
Only l.07 Per Cent of Irish lmlni-
grants Found Unable to
Read or Write.

Out OF the 40,346 Irish immigrants
who were admitted to the United
States in the fiscal year ending June
30, 1911, there were 2S6 males and las
females fourteen years Of age and old
other words the illiteratcs among the
Irish immigrants amounted to 1.O7 per
cent. Ii the immigration bill which
Was passed over President Tafts veto
by the senate, but fortunately rejected
by the house, were to become law, all
those sixteen years Of age and older
who could not read or write would
hereafter be excluded. But, owing to
the small percentage of illiteracy
among the Irish immigrants, Ireland
would be one of the least of the coun-
tries sending large numbers Of immi
grants to the United States to be af-
fccted by the law. or the countries
sending 10000 or moro immigrants to
the United States In 1911, Sweden sent
the smallest percentage of illiterates:
England came second with 81 per
cent, and Ireland third with 1.o7 per
cent
The soutilorn part of Italy, s.,,4soulus
feel the injustice OF such n measure
most keenly. The percentage OF i'm
migrants seeking admission from
southern Italy in 1911, il the data is
correct, was 42.S. Out OF a total OF
159,638 immigrants from southern Itu-
| Iy, SOL males and 1898 females six
teen years Of age and older could nei-
ther read nor write. Under such a law
as Congress attempted to impose on
the country all those sixteen years OF
age and older would be automatically
excluded. From these facts the rank
injustice Of the act is evident.
The next country sending large NUM-
bcrs OF immigrants to the United
States to feel the effects of the pro-
posed law would be Poland. In tile
fiscal Year mentioned the whole NUM-
her of immigrants admitted from Po-
land amounted to 71,446. The percent
age Of ilIitcrates sixteen years Of age
and older was 800. The percentage of
illiteratcs from Russia admitted In the
same period was $40 per cent. But az
the immigration from Russia is COM
parativcly small that nation would not
feel the restriction as keenly as some
of the other nations OF Europe.
| France Germany and northern ItalI
would feel the effect OF the literacy
test in the United States immigration
law. Among the French immigrants
admitted in the period mentioned, SO
per cent. were illiterate. This means
that more than 1000 French immi-
grants would be excluded in a single
year. The percentage Of illiterates
among the German immigrants was
4.o5. per cent. Nearly 5000 of the &c.
Al Germans who came to the United
States in the period covered by these
statistics would be excluded by the lit.
eracy test.
According to the immigration statis-
tics gathered at Ellis Island for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1911, 1928
of the total Of S7s,5s7 immigrants from
all countries sixteen years of age and
older could neither read nor write.
These figures demonstrate the enorn1i-
ty Of the barrier this law would be to
immigration. Thousands and thou
sands OF the best stock of Europe who
are illiterate through no fault of their.
own would be excluded from citizen
ship in this country and denied the
privilege of gaining for themselves and
their families the education which
many of them came to the country ex-
pressly to gain.