232 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



for unskilled labor and this demand is not met by Americans, then 

 their admittance or non-admittance resolves itself, to-day as in the 

 past, into a question of national economy. The native American does 

 not engage in the digging of excavations, carrying the hod, or mining. 

 No native American resents that the immigrant has turned him out of 

 the great Pennsylvania mines. The American mechanic's objection 

 is, however, well founded. There is quite a large class of immigrants 

 composed of men of poor physique, with their families, admitted every 

 year, because they are skilled in tailoring, shoemaking, baking or 

 other trades which do not require much physical strength. These 

 people are undesirable immigrants. They enter into direct competi- 

 tion with the American tradesman or mechanic, accepting lower wages 

 and working more hours. 



The American mechanic, artisan or tradesman can have no griev- 

 ance against the poor unskilled laborer, who does not compete with 

 Americans, but with other foreigners who have preceded him and 

 who is able and willing to do work that the American will not do 

 work that is necessary for our industrial progress. He has, however, 

 cause to complain of the admittance through our ports every year of 

 the thousands of skilled laborers, tailors, shoemakers and all kinds of 

 factory hands who fill the sweat shops and factories and tend to 

 greatly lower the American scale of wages. 



The following table gives the relative value of the different races 

 as shown by the percentages of skilled and unskilled laborers. It 

 also shows the percentage of each race coming here between the ages 

 of fifteen and forty-five. It is between the ages of fifteen and forty-five 

 that the economic value of the immigrant to the country is greatest. 



Unskilled laborers are absolutely essential for our industrial prog- 

 ress. The demand for the necessary unskilled laborers is not satisfied 

 by native Americans. 



Skilled laborers, coming as immigrants, may or may not be ad- 

 vantageous to the country, but they are not necessary for our advance- 

 ment. The demand for skilled laborers can, with very rare excep- 

 tions, be supplied by native Amercan applicants. Therefore, the 

 races having the highest percentages of unskilled laborers and of im- 

 migrants between the ages of fifteen and forty-five are the most neces- 

 sary and the most desirable. 



J Percentage Be- 



Percentage tween 15 and 45 



Race. Unskilled. Years of Age. 



Lithuanian 86.5 90.5 



Slav 86.9 88.2 



Magyar 83.9 87.2 



Finn 82.5 85.5 



Italian 75.5 79.4 



Syrian 48.1 75.7 



Hebrew 13.6 68.5 



