132 JOHN R. COMMONS 



than any yet adverted to, viz., that the native born children 

 of immigrants show a proportion of criminahty more than 

 twice as great as that of the foreign born themselves, and 

 nearly three times as great as that of the children of native 

 parents. 



This significant fact is further brought out, and with it the 

 obverse of the census mistake above referred to, when we ex- 

 amine the census inferences respecting juvenile criminals. 

 The census calculations show that there are 250 juvenile of- 

 fenders for every million of the native born population, and 

 only 159 such offenders for every million of the foreign born 

 population; but if we remember that the number of foreign 

 born children is small, and then proceed to compare the num- 

 ber of boys who are offenders with the number of boys of 

 school age, rather than with the number of persons of all ages, 

 we shall have the following results, confining our attention to 

 the north Atlantic states, where juvenile reformatories are 

 more liberally provided than in other sections: 



MALE JUVENILE OFFENDERS 



Per million of male population of school age (5-20 years) 

 north Atlantic states: 1890. (Omitting unknown). 



Native white, native parents 855 



Native white, foreign parents 2,740 



Foreign white 2,252 



Colored 10,925 



This table throws a very different light on the situation, 

 for it shows that the tendency towards crime among juveniles, 

 instead of being less for the foreign born than for the native 

 born, is nearly three times as great as that of the children of 

 American parentage, and that the tendency among native 

 children of foreign parentage is more than three times as great 

 as that among children of American parents. 



This amazing criminality of the children of immigrants is 

 almost wholly a product of city life, and it follows directly upon 

 the incapacity of immigrant parents to control their children 

 under city conditions. The boys especially, at an early age, 

 lose respect for their parents, who cannot talk the language of 

 the community, and who are ignorant and helpless in the whirl 



