Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1918-02-20
Teutonic Element in
the United States

DOfl III 1efHdny. 4 ne upHOlueTS. Oh
Teutonism apparently count that an
American who is thus half of Ger
man blood is German. Counting all
these three classes as German, there
are a total of about 100000 Ger
mans in this country.
1t is estimated that about 85 per
cent of our German population is
concentrated in the Is states occupy
ing the north-central and west-cen-
trail parts of the codntry. There are
almost no Germans in New England;
there are very few in the Sonth, ex-
cept in Texas, and they are not found
in considerable numbers in the far
western mountain states, except in
California.
The Germans are gregarious by ma
ture and they like to stick together.
BY forming large communities they
are able to preserve their Fatherland
customs and also their language to
large extent.
New York is the great German
state, though many might not think
this. The state has about 1,235,000
Germans, among her 100000 popu-
lation. Illinois comes next with a
total of a million. Then comes Wis
NOiiSiti Will tCO,OOO, OlllO WiCIl OfO,~
900 and Pennsylvania with $4,000.
There is then big jump down to
Michigan, which has $4,000. Next
follow Minnesota with $4,000, Mis-
souri, with 36S,000, Iowa with 100000
and New Jersey with 1874, 90. Indiana,
Nebraska and California have over
100000 Germans. Texas, Kansas and
Kentucky each have over 100000. Be-
1r,r fhaca fba Grrr,ra~ Ix.r,rI1a Jnrxv,,
to Vermont, which boasts only about
thousand.
We have been speaking of Scr
mans" now in the official government
sense of persons being born in Ger
many or having one or both parents
born there. If we include people of
total in the country rises to 10000
600. Again if we include people of
Hungarian birth or extraction, we
find the total to be about 100000.
Many of these of course are not leu
tons by race.
These are very lage figures. In
the Teuton population in this coun-
try would make a very respectable
empire by themselves. They repre-
ent as many people as Sweden, Nor
way and Switzerland combined.
Almost Is per cent of our popula-
ton is foreign, in the sense used by
the government-this being an in
crease of over one per cent in ten
years. The census reports that there
are over 100000 persons in the
country who are classed as of "for-
eign white stock" Comparing these
as to their mother tongoe, we find
that over 100000 are English,
nearly 100000 are Germanic, about
100000 speak languages of Latin
and Greek origin, about 100000
speak Slavic dialects, and about g.
100000 speak one Of the Scandinavian
tongues.
Taking again the persons who We're
either born in some other country or
who had one or both parents born
there, the British stock leads with
about 33 per cent. Germany comes
next with 20 per cent; or if we include
Austria-Hungary the percentage is
about 33, or the same as the British.
Russia represents another large cir
Gle, or nearly seven. The Scandiaa-
Wan countries also rank fairly high,
with about three per cent.
One of the main troubles with all
our immigrant population is that they
tend to settle in the cities and stick
there, instead of going out on the
land. This does not apply so much
to the German stock, for they take
kindly to the.land and have done much
to develop the farming industry.
1t is mainly what is called the
"new immigration" which congre-
gates in large and undigested chunks
in the city slums. This term new
immigration" has been devised in or
der to distinguish the immigrants
who have been coming in such hordes
in recent years from southern and
eastern Europe, as distinguished
from earlier immigration from the
north and west of Europe.
Philadelphia i'm 1910 had nearly
100000 people of foreign birth, or
about a fourth of her entire popula-
ton. New York is even worse, as
that port and metropolis has to han
die the bulk Of the incoming aliens,
and many of them never get any
| farther. She numbers about two mil
lions, Of whom about 100000 cannot
even speak English.
| Paterson, N: j., will soon be q for
now going, for 36 per cent Of her
old staid New England city Of New
Haven is 81 per cent foreign. Fall
River Is more SO, for it has over 43
per cent Of foreigners: Cleveland Is
80 per cent foreign, Buffalo q per
cent Chicago 36 per cent, Cincin-
natl 70 Per cent, Denyer1s per cent,
pei. cent, San Francisco 81 per cent,