IMMIGRATION BUREAU. 



375 



A new system of tabulation has been adopted 

 in the statistical statement of 1899, which shows 

 the race to which immigrants belong distinct 

 from the country whence they embark for the 

 United States. In dealing with large figures this 

 distinction of races makes a vast change in the 

 reports of immigration, for out of the 60,982 sup- 

 posed Russians that entered our country in 1899 

 about 5,383 were .Germans, 15.517 were Poles, 

 1,012 were Scandinavians, 24,275 were Hebrews, 

 120 were Bohemians, and 14 were English. As 

 great discrepancies regarding the real nationali- 

 ties of immigrants no doubt exist in the reports 

 of former years. 



Immigrants of all nations come under the juris- 

 diction of the Immigration Bureau, with the ex- 

 ception of those from China, who are dealt with 

 by the Chinese Bureau. Immigration from that 

 country reached its maximum in the years from 

 1869 to 1882 inclusive. During the decade ending 



1880 it amounted to 123,201, and in the two years 



1881 and 1882 it aggregated 51,469. The law ex- 

 cluding Chinese laborers went into effect Aug. 6, 

 1882, and subsequent years show a decrease an- 

 nually from thousands to fewer than a hundred. 

 The large figures registered by the Chinese Bureau 

 recently indicate that Chinese of other occupa- 

 tions than laborers are seeking our shores. Since 

 1891 the arrivals from China have averaged 2,000 

 a year. 



On the Pacific coast the Japanese arrivals are 

 exciting general interest and attracting the same 

 prejudice which led to the Chinese-exclusion act. 

 The Japanese immigrant has no family, and he 

 works for wages that would scarcely keep a white 

 laborer from starvation. He is steadily lowering 

 the standard of living in California and other 

 States, and the immigration laws can not check 

 his progress, since he can not be included within 

 any of the prohibited classes. He is not a beggar, 

 he always brings money enough with him to last 

 until he can secure employment, and it can not 

 be proved that he had entered into any contract 

 to perform labor prior to coming to the United 

 States, because he knows that the lowest rate 

 of wages in America is higher than what he can 

 obtain in his own country. The Japanese move- 

 ment to the United States began in 1861 with 

 a single arrival, and after a total cessation for 

 four years 7 more arrived in 1866. During the 

 first decade, 1861 to 1870, the total immigration 

 of Japanese was 218; during the second decade, 

 1871 to 1880, it was 149. In 1892 the number 

 of arrivals was 1,498, of which 41 were females; 

 in 1899 they aggregated 2,844. 



Immigrants who are citizens of and come from 

 foreign contiguous territory are inspected the 

 same as other aliens; but they are expressly ex- 

 empted from payment of the head tax, and there- 

 fore derive no benefits from the immigration fund. 

 Along our northern frontier large numbers arrive 

 and depart after finding temporary employment 

 ranging from six months to a few days. No 

 statistics are prepared in relation to these transi- 

 tory aliens. They are principally thrifty, indus- 

 trious people, and their presence for the express 

 purpose of obtaining work has excited bitter 

 jealousy on the part of the trades unions. Urgent 

 protests have been sent to the Immigration Bu- 

 reau and to Congress requesting that laws be 

 enacted excluding Canadians from seeking em- 

 ployment in the United States. Canada threatens 

 to retaliate and assume a similar unfriendly atti- 

 tude toward United States citizens who desire 

 to engage in business within her territory, and 

 the legislative bodies of both countries have the 

 subject under consideration. The same condi- 



tion exists, but in a much less degree, along the 

 Mexican border. 



The proportion of the sexes of immigrants for 

 the past seven years is given as follows: 



By comparison of the ages of immigrants from 

 different nationalities the following general state- 

 ment has been reached: Ireland, Hungary, and 

 Italy furnish the largest percentages of immi- 

 grants between the ages of fifteen and forty, being 

 respectively 78, 74, and 69 per cent. Italy at 

 the same time furnishes much the largest per- 

 centage of immigrants more than forty years of 

 age^ namely, about 15 per cent. while the aver- 

 age percentage of all other countries is about 10. 

 The next largest percentage of immigrants who 

 have passed the prime of life is furnished by 

 Austria, this proportion being about 11 per cent. 

 The lowest percentage of those above the age of 

 forty years is in the immigration from Ireland 

 namely, about 7 per cent, of the whole. The high- 

 est percentage of children under fifteen years of 

 age comes from Germany, and is about 26 per 

 cent; the lowest from Ireland, being about 14 

 per cent. 



The occupations of immigrants are classed as 

 " professional," which embraces musicians, teach- 

 ers, clergymen, artists, lawyers, physicians, etc.; 

 " skilled occupations," embracing those engaged 

 in forty or more different trades, such as black- 

 smiths, carpenters, machinists, printers, miners, 

 tailors, dressmakers, etc. ; " miscellaneous," which 

 includes farmers, merchants, laborers, servants, 

 etc. ; and " without occupation." From consid- 

 eration of the character of the foreign population 

 which sought the United States during the decade 

 from 1881 to 1890 (which comprises the largest 

 number of arrivals of any decade), a fair esti- 

 mate of the whole may be obtained. The pro* 

 fessional class forms a very, inconsiderable pro- 

 portion, or 0.51 per cent, of the total immigra^ 

 tion. The skilled also make up a very small 

 proportion in fact, but 10.30 per cent, of the 

 whole number. The class denominated " miscel- 

 laneous " constitutes 39.63 per cent, of the whole. 

 The largest class, which represents 47.34 per cent 

 of all, is made up of those who have no occupa- 

 tions. 



Since the immigration law of 1893 went into 

 operation this condition of affairs has been ameli- 

 orated. The number of immigrants having no 

 occupation has greatly diminished. 



On Aug. 3, 1897, the Hon. Terence V. Powderly, 

 who for fifteen years had been grand master work- 

 man of the Knights of Labor, was appointed by 

 President McKinley Commissioner General of Im- 

 migration. The recommendations made by Mr. 

 Powderly in the annual reports of his bureau for 

 1898 and 1899 show a comprehensive grasp of the 

 immigrant subject, and prove him to be still an 

 energetic friend of the American workingman. 

 He calls attention to the decided tendency of 

 immigrants to crowd into our great cities, and 

 suggests that concerted measures be adopted by 

 the States in which these large centers of popu- 

 lation are located to distribute foreign arrivals 

 in such a manner as to utilize their labor where 

 it is needed, and avoid those disturbances of the 

 peace which result from aggregation of strangers 



