Page 2
To appreciate these results achieved by the Jews of the Pale within a very short time it is necessary to know something of the educational system as it exists in Russia. A system of gratuitous education supplied to all by the Government is an institution comparatively new to Russia. High schools and universities were established by the Government long before there were any schools for the common people. The emancipation of the serfs in 1861 found the Russians an illiterate people. It was only after the Government had established the so-called “zemstvos” that an organized effort was made to introduce schools in the rural districts, and the granting of some measure of municipal self-government to the cities gave the first impetus to the city schools. No such institutions were granted to the western Provinces of the Pale, because the foreign population was not trusted with such rights; therefore the Jew in Russia has never enjoyed the benefits of a general gratuitous governmental system of education. While this may be considered a passive infringement of the Jew's opportunity for an elementary education, there have existed and still exist many other restrictions of a more direct kind. The limitations, by percentages, of Jewish students admitted to universities and high schools have been pointed out in the section on professional service. These restrictions exist even for private high schools, which are subject to governmental supervision in the same degree as governmental institutions. To provide for the education of the Jewish children, who are thus almost debarred from the general schools, a few special Government schools are established, but these schools depend upon a limited fund and the number is very insufficient. The number of such schools at the end of the last century was determined to be 183, with an average of 113 pupils for each school. Two teachers' institutes for the preparation of Jewish teachers were established, but one of them was subsequently discontinued. Without the benefits of a system of free education the Jews are forced to depend upon their own resources. Private schools and communal schools established and supported by charitable or other organizations have been opened in many places, the number of such schools with systematic courses being 637, so that the total number of schools in Russia for the Jews is 820. But the number of schools in itself does not give a proper conception of the lack of educational facilities; much depends upon the size of the schools. The total number of pupils in these schools was determined to be about 50,000, and if the inevitable omissions are considered the number may be as great as 60,000; but if the number of children of school age be estimated at one-seventh of the total population (which is a very small proportion), it follows that out of more than 700,000 children less than 10 per cent enjoy the privilege of schooling in more or less organized schools, which, on the whole, have a course of studies lower in grade than that of a grammar school in the United States. The Russian Jews owe their comparatively low degree of illiteracy to the peculiar Jewish institution called the “kheder,” a denominational school the primary object of which is instruction in the Bible and in Jewish religion and learning. In practice this takes the form of instruction in the Hebrew language and in reading the Scriptures and the many commentaries. If the specific name of these schools has come to be used in the Russian language, it is because of the many peculiarities of their organization, which peculiarities have been preserved from time immemoral. The “kheder ” is a private school. The State interests itself little in the organization of these “kheders beyond requiring that no person shall teach in them without a permit, and that he shall not teach anything but Jewish subjects. Practically no requirements of an educational nature are enforced. The profession of a “melamed,” as a teacher in one of these “kheders" is called, has therefore become the refuge of men who have failed in other occupations. A “ melamed organizes the school, and upon his energy and facilities depends the number of scholars that can be gathered into it. An investigation conducted by the well-known Imperial Russian Free Economic Society in 1894 determined the number of “kheders” at 14,740, with 202,000 pupils, or an average of 13.7 pupils per “kheder.” This gives an idea Page 3
PART IV.-THE EMIGRATION SITUATION IN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
PART IV.—THE EMIGRATION SITUATION IN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,
IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES FROM AUSTRIA HUNGARY.
From June 1, 1819, to June 30, 1910, 3,172,461 immigrants reporting Austria-Hungary as the country of their last permanent residence were admitted to the United States. The number of immigrants to this country from Austria-Hungary during the period mentioned was surpassed only by the number from Great Britain, 7,766,330, and from Germany, 5,351,746. IMMIGRATION BY YEARS, 1820–1910. The immigration movement to this country from Austria-Hungary previous to 1880 was of very slow growth. In the fiscal year 1861 51 immigrants reported Austria-Hungary as the country of their last permanent residence. The number did not reach 1,000 in any fiscal year until 1869, when 1,499 immigrants were admitted. In the following table is shown the number of immigrants to the United States from Austria-Hungary in each year from 1820 to 1910, inclusive:
TABLE 1.—Immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary for the years ending June 30, 1820 to 1910.
[Compiled from Statistical Review of Immigration, 1819a1910.
The preceding table clearly indicates the remarkable increase in the size of the immigration movement to the United States from AustriaHungary since 1880. In that year it numbered 17,267, whereas it had never before attained 10,000. Beginning in 1880 there continued to be a remarkable increase in the number admitted until in 1907 338,452 immigrants were recorded as coming from Austria-Hungary, a number not equaled by any other country in any year. It is interesting to note that the number admitted in 1907 alone exceeded the total immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary from 1820 to 1887, inclusive, the number for that period being 298,304. IMMIGRATION BY SEX AND DECADES, 1871-1910. The following table shows the immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary by decades and sex since 1870: TABLE 2.-Immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary, by sex and decades, 1871 to 1910.
[Compiled from Statistical Review of Immigration, 1819–1910. tion Commission, vol. 3.]
a Figures by sex not given for 1893, 1894, 1895, and 1899.
This table shows even more clearly the recent character of the immigration movement. Furthermore, it shows that more than twothirds of the total number of immigrants admitted during the period considered were men. The proportion of males, however, varies considerably by decades, the males outnumbering the females to a greater extent in the last decade than in the earlier movement. It is also interesting to note that the Austro-Hungarian immigration includes a greater proportion of females than the Italian immigration, the inference being that the former is more largely composed of families.
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN AND OTHER EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION.
The following table is a comparison between the immigration from Austria-Hungary and the total European immigration during the period 1820 to 1910, inclusive:
TABLE 3.-Immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary compared with total European immigration (including Turkey in Asia), by decades, 1820 to 1910.
Until the period 1871-1880 the immigration from Austria-Hungary was barely an appreciable part of the total European immigration. In the succeeding decades, however, the relative importance of Austria-Hungary as an immigrant furnishing country increased to such an extent that during the period 1901 to 1910 it was the source of 26.1 per cent of the total European immigration to the United States.
EMIGRATION FROM AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
Complete data are not available concerning the size of the emigration movement from Austria-Hungary. In 1850 official emigration figures began to be published by Austria and these continued to be fairly accurate up to 1867, when freedom of emigration was granted. From the latter date onward, however, the figures became increasingly unreliable, being entirely discontinued in 1884. Since 1889 an attempt has been made by the ministry of the interior to measure the emigration movement from Austria-Hungary by collating the statistics of departures from Austria-Hungary based on information furnished by the authorities at the various ports. In the following table is shown the number of over-sea emigrants from Austria and Hungary from 1902 to 1907, inclusive:
TABLE 4.-Over-sea emigration from Austria and Hungary, by years. Page 4
(c) Minors can emigrate only if they have legal consent of father or guardian; those under 15 years of age can emigrate only in company of a responsible adult, provided, moreover, that a home is awaiting them at their place of destination. The following are not allowed to emigrate: (a) Those parents who intend to leave children under 15 years of age at home without providing for their proper care. (b) Those who have not sufficient funds for the journey to the place of their destination, or who fail to meet the conditions which are established in regard to immigration into the country to which they wish to emigrate. (c) Those who are promised by the government of any foreign country, or by any colonization or similar company, or by a private person seeking to organize colonization, free transportation in whole or in part, or any advance of the cost of transportation. ART. 3. Every emigrant must supply himself with a passport for that country to which he desires to emigrate. ART. 4. The ministry furnishes emigrants, if they apply for it, full and reliable information as to all conditions concerning those States or countries to which they have the intention to emigrate. Art. 7. Any person desiring to engage in the transportation of emigrants must have a license granted by the minister of the interior, must prove ability to transport emigrants safely, and deposit in advance as security at least 100,000 crowns. ART. 12. Higher rates of passage than are approved of by the minister of the interior can not be charged. With the exception of an advertisement concerning time-tables, subsistence, and fares, it is forbidden to issue proclamations or information concerning emigration, or to send any such to individuals. It is also forbidden for contractors and their agents to attempt to induce emigration verbally, by letter, or to encourage it in any manner, to solicit from door to door, or to ask or accept any reward or service from emigrants. ART. 14. A license as emigration agent is granted to persons fulfilling the following requirements: (a) He must be a citizen of Hungary. (6) He must live within the judicial district in which he is doing business. (c) He must not have been guilty of a transgression of any law; his moral. ity and reliability must be without reproach. Art. 21. The license of the transport agent as well as of the emigration agent can be withdrawn at any time by the minister of the interior when sufficient reason is shown to exist. ART. 23. The transport agent, as well as the emigration agent, must keep intelligible books, as prescribed by the minister of the interior, and a copying book for his correspondence. The minister of the interior, as well as his authorized substitute, have the right to investigate the management of the business at any time. ART. 24. The transportation agent can only transport an emigrant upon the authority of a written contract made in advance. ART. 25. The contract referred to in article 24 must be in duplicate, one copy of which is given to the emigrant, the other remaining with the agent. The contract must bear (1) the full name, age, and place of residence of the emigraut; (2) the exact route to be taken and the place to which transportation is to be contracted for; (3) the exact time of starting, and in case of an ocean voyage the name of the vessel as well as the day fixed for the sailing; (4) if a railway journey, the class must be stated; if by ship, the place must be designated which the emigrant and his family are to occupy; (5) the exact fare in figures and words; (6) the requirements of this law regarding the duties of the contractor and the manner of settling possible complaints. ART. 28. Half the fare must be refunded if the emigrant cancels the contract for any reason whatever before starting on his journey. ART. 30. The transportation agent is obliged to bring back, without extra charge, such persons as, notwithstanding the prohibition contained in article 24, are sent on without a passport, if these persons had no right to emigrate accord. ing to article 2. ART. 32. Before leaving, every vessel is examined, to ascertain whether all the requirements as to accommodation and provisions are provided for accord Page 5
ing to law; and emigrants and crew are inspected by the proper medical authorities. ART. 34. For the purpose of directing the emigrants abroad, providing them with work, founding benevolent institutions for them, covering, partly or entirely, traveling expenses of the destitute who desire to return to their native home, etc., a special emigration fund shall be created by: (a) Appropriations from the Government budget. (d) Annual dues fixed by contract, payable by all banking institutions, which may be intrusted with the management of any of the funds of emigrants. (e) A head tax of 10 kronen for every adult emigrant and 5 kronen for every child emigrant. ART. 43. Violation of any provision of this law by either the transportation or emigration agent is punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two months, and a fine not exceeding 600 crowns. Other articles of the emigration law deal with the organization and administration of the emigration commission, which body is charged with the administration of emigration affairs. These extracts from the Hungarian emigration law indicate the purpose of the Government to exercise a complete control over emigration, and the members of the Commission who investigated conditions in Hungary were convinced that the law is strictly enforced. It appears, however, that the Hungarian Government, realizing the impossibility of actually prohibiting emigration, seeks to control it with a view to promoting the country's shipping interests. During the earlier days of the large emigration from Hungary the greater part of the emigrants embarked at German ports. In 1904 the Hungarian Government entered into a contract with the Cunard Steamship Company for the maintenance of a direct steamship service between Fiume and New York. By the terms of this agreement the Cunard Company contracted to run steamers at intervals of two weeks and the Hungarian Government guaranteed that the company should receive the fares of 30,000 passengers each year, whether that number embarked or not. This agreement attracted the attention of the United States authorities, as it was thought that the guarantee of the Hungarian Government might be a violation of the provisions of the immigration law of 1903 which denied admission to the United States to assisted immigrants. It appeared, however, that the Hungarian Government did not specifically assist emigrants to come to the United States but merely sought to divert the stream of emigration from that country away from the German and other ports to the port of Fiume. As a matter of fact, only a small part of the Hungarian emigration was diverted to Fiume, for in the calendar year 1907 only 39,523 emigrants embarked there, while in the fiscal year 1907 a total of 193,460 immigrants giving Hungary as the country of last permanent residence were admitted to the United States. 'In 1907 that part of the contract between the Hungarian Government and the Cunard Company which related to the number of emigrants to be furnished was annulled, but the exclusive right of the company to take emigrants from Fiume was continued. At the time of the Commission's inquiry the Government had under construction at Fiume a modern emigrant station. This station has since been completed and is said to be one of the best in Europe. 79524°-VOL 4-11 Page 6
It will be noted that the largest number of industrial workers were engaged in the manufacture of colthing, food, etc., about 38 per cent being so occupied. Second in importance was the manufacture of iron and steel and building, more than 10 per cent of the total number of industrial workers being engaged in each of these two branches of industry. Industrial wages. Very incomplete data are available concerning the wages of industrial workers in Hungary. The following figures, however, will afford some idea of the relatively low scale of wages in that country. The following table gives the approximate average weekly wages in the trades named in Hungary in 1900, according to the Hungarian census of that year: Masons and bricklayers_ $2. 85 Painters... 3.00 Carpenters 2. 65 Other building trades 2. 80 Quarry workers-- 2. 00 Iron, steel, and foundry workers 2. 75 Blacksmiths and forge workers- 1. 55 The following figures, based on the report of the Hungarian census of 1900, give the approximate range of wages of workers in textile factories in Hungary in 1900: Out of 7,723 employees in textile factories, wages were reported for 5,439. Of these 1,151 received $1.20 a week or less. 720 received $1.21 to $1.60. 975 received $1.61 to $2. 1,367 received $2.01 to $2.80. 895 received $2.81 to $4. 274 received $4.01 to $6. 57 received over $6 a week. Hours of labor. The following table shows the hours of labor which were prevalent in the various trades in Hungary in 1900 : TABLE 16.-Hours of labor in Hungary in 1900, by occupation.
Males: Building trades. Clothing trades Paper and printing trades Woodworking trades Glass and pottery trades. Food trades Leather trades. Workers in hotels, baths, etc.. Total males (including some not
633 656 1, 861 141 751 2,132 750 320 704 72 47
7,519 1,670 32, 834 2,116 10, 390 2, 780 9, 471 3,038 8,712 1,613 697
217 7,944 1,164 2,304 568 3,178 987 2,530 573 126
6,092 631 12, 139 1,594 10, 246 1,002 7,568 2, 844 10, 405 1,000 1,607
1,197 36 1,502 267 3,733 147 1,074 705 2,946 190 2,027 Page 7
TABLE 16.—Hours of labor in Hungary, in 1900, by occupations-Continued.
The hours of labor for both males and females are in the largest number of cases over nine and up to ten hours per day. A relatively large number, however, of both males and females commonly work over eleven and up to twelve hours per day.
CONTRIBUTORY CAUSES OF EMIGRATION.
While it is undoubtedly true that economic necessity is the underlying motive of emigration it is often obscured by particular incidents which are only the expression of that principle. For example, the United States tariff law of 1890 is said to have destroyed the pearl-button industry in Bohemia, thereby throwing many out of work and giving impetus to the emigration movement. In certain districts of Carniola and Croatia the vineyards have been destroyed by phylloxera. The peasants, barely able to eke out subsistence under ordinary circumstances, have been unable to cope with this new difficulty and have been forced to emigrate. In Dalmatia a decline in commercial prosperity, due to the displacement of sailing craft by steam, is said to have given impetus to emigration. Another expression of the economic motive of emigration has been the inability of the Dalmatian wine growers to compete with the Italian wine, which, by a treaty made in 1890, was admitted to Austria-Hungary free for fifteen years. In laying stress on the economic cause of emigration it should also be noted that the movement is a variable of conditions abroad as well as of conditions at home. With the abatement of the economic attraction to other countries the movement decreases, as was clearly shown in the falling off in emigration from Austria-Hungary during the periods of industrial depression in the United States. In comparison with the main motive, which is economic, other causes of emigration are of little significance and have been greatly overrated. Compulsory military service has probably impelled relatively few to leave the country. Great stress has been laid upon the activities of steamship agents in stimulating emigration. In an interview with a member of the Commission an official of the Austro-American Steamship Company complained bitterly of the activities of the English, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Bremen lines, alleging that they employ secret agents who by correspondence and personal solicitation induce emigration to the United States, Canada, and South America. In an interview with a member of the Commission an official of the chamber of commerce of Krakow stated that the North German Lloyd Line and the Hamburg American Lines had from 5,000 to 6,000 agents in Galicia who sell steamship tickets, and that he believed that this was one of the great causes of emigration. On the other hånd Herr Kaltenbrunn, Ministerialrat to the Ministerium des Innern, in an interview with the chairman of the Immigration Commission, stated he did not believe that steamship agents increased emigration very much, and said that in 1904 when the rate war brought the cost of transportation ridiculously low, emigration was even less than it had been previously. He said that the people had been informed that it was not a good time to go to America because of the unsettled industrial conditions there, and consequently low steamship rates had little effect. He added that there was no doubt that by far the greatest part of the emigration was induced by personal letters from relatives or friends in America, who kept their friends at home informed as to the exact conditions of affairs industrially in the United States, and he stated that in his opinion the emigration from Austria was really regulated through that agency. The activities of steamship agents in Hungary are discussed elsewhere in this report. Page 8
TABLE 19.-Immigration from Austria-Hungary to the United States during the fiscal years 1899 to 1910, inclusive, by races or peoples-Continued.
From the above table will be seen the varied ethnical character of the immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary. Of this heterogeneous immigration the most important races from the standpoint of the numbers involved are the Croatians and Slovenians, the Germans, Hebrews, Magyars, Poles, and Slovaks. It will be noted, however, that the proportion formed by each of these races in the total immigration from Austria-Hungary has varied decidedly in the different years specified. During the earlier part of the period for which data are given the Slovaks comprised about 25 per cent of the total immigration to the United States from Austria-Hungary. In 1910, however, that race comprised only 12 per cent. The Hebrews also composed a smaller part of the total immigration in the later years than in the earlier years of the period. The Germans, on the contrary, have formed a larger part of the total immigration of Austria-Hungary since 1903 than in the preceding years. It should be carefully noted that some of the races or peoples which form a part of the Austro-Hungarian immigration are only a small part of the total immigration of those races to the United States. In the following table is shown the total number of immigrants of each race or people largely represented in Austro-Hungarian immigration, during the twelve years ending June 30, 1910, and the proportion of such immigrants coming from Austria-Hungary. Page 9
Illiteracy and race. Some light can be thrown upon the interrelation of illiteracy and race in Hungary by comparing the proportions of the population in the “comitats” according to native language with the degree of literacy. With the exception of Fiume, there is less relative illiteracy in those districts where the native language of the greater number of people is Magyar. In Fiume, which has a polyglot population and but few peasants, 74.9 per cent of the people are able to read and write, as compared with 61.2 per cent for Hungary proper. In the comitat” where illiteracy is most prevalent the native language of 56.5 per cent of the population is Roumanian. In Croatia-Slavonia the native language of 61.7 per cent of the population is Croatian and 25.3 per cent Servian. In 1900 only 37 per cent of the total civil population were able to read and write, indicating a high rate of illiteracy for these two races. While the situation in Hungary in respect to race is not as complex as it is in Austria, it does, nevertheless, present difficulties. A little more than one-half of the population of Hungary proper is Magyar, per cent are Roumanian, 10 per cent German, and about 18 per cent are Slavs. The Magyars are the ruling race and are making a fight for the common usage of their language, even though they represent only 51 per cent of the population. The Government forces its adoption in the churches, courts, schools, and, as far as possible, in daily life. The Slavs object to this on practical as well as sentimental grounds. Their children, it is said, leave school without being able to master the Magyar tongue and without being allowed to learn to read and write in their own languages. Elementary schools. Every parish or commune in Hungary is bound by law to have a school if the number of children of school age is 30. Compulsory attendance has been on the statute books for children from 6 to 12 years, and repetition courses for children from 12 to 15 years, since 1868. The industrial law of 1884 required a special course for apprentices; by a law of 1891 children from 3 to 6 years may be sent to infant schools unless otherwise provided for. The table next presented shows the number of children in Hungary proper who are of school age, and the number and per cent of such children attending school at different periods.
a Charities, Vol. XV, p. 833, and Vol. XVI, p. 77. Page 10
Great stress has been laid by Austro-Hungarian officials and investigators on the economic effect of emigration, but because of the incompleteness of the data and the multiplicity of factors which enter into the situation satisfactory conclusions are impossible. However, the general consensus of opinion is that land values have risen and that there has been an advance in agricultural wages due to the large emigration movement. Both of these conditions are most marked in Galicia, Croatia, and the Slovak districts of Hungary. A member of the Commission who visited Krakow when the harvest work was at its height was told that the landowners in that section of Galicia were in dire extremities for help, owing to the emigration to America. Herr Kaltenbrunn, Ministerialrat to the Ministerium des Inners, in an interview with the chairman of the Commission, stated that some districts of Hungary had been so depleted by emigration that it was difficult to find a sufficient number of laborers during certain seasons of the year to properly do the work demanded, and that the result had been an advance in wages in all such districts. In some places the emigration of able-bodied men has increased the number of women farm laborers. United States Consul Rublee, of Vienna, stated that there has been a great increase in the use of agricultural machinery since emigration took away so many laborers. Formerly, he said, labor was so cheap and common that it was easier for employers to use the wasteful methods of hand labor than to go to the expense of buying machinery: Now they can not succeed by employing hand labor at the increased rates and are importing farm machinery: Allowing for some exaggeration, it is safe to say that in many districts of Croatia-Slavonia, Hungary, and Galicia wages of farm laborers have risen at least 30 per cent since emigration has become so marked, and that in a few districts there has been an even greater increase. In Croatia the Commission was told that farm laborers at the present time receive from 2 to 3 kronen ($0.41 to $0.61) a day and that this is a great increase over the wages formerly paid in that district. This increase was said to be the result of the scarcity of labor due to American emigration. As in the case of Italy the desire of the returning emigrant to invest in land has led to a considerable increase in its value, particularly in Croatia, Galicia, and the Slovak district of Hungary. Doctor Benis, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Krakow, stated that land in Galicia had considerably increased in value because of the returning emigrants. In Galicia the buying of large estates by associations of returned emigrants has become a common practice. Very often from 50,000 to 90,000 acres a year are thus bought up and subdivided among the peasant purchasers. The money is either contributed from the savings of the associate peasants or borrowed from friends who are still in America. In some districts of Croatia, where there has been a notably large return movement, the cost of arable land has increased from $60 and $80 a yoke (1.47 acres) to $400 a yoke.
a Balch, Our Slavic Fellow Citizens. Page 11
PART V.-THE EMIGRATION SITUATION IN GREECE.
PART V.-THE EMIGRATION SITUATION IN GREECE.
IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES FROM GREECE.
IMMIGRATION BY YEARS, 1820–1910.
From July 1, 1819, to June 30, 1910, 186,204 immigrants giving Greece as the country of their last permanent residence were admitted to the United States. This immigration, while small in comparison with that of many other of the European countries, nevertheless is of importance because of its size in comparison with the population of Greece, which is only about 2,500,000, and also because of the recency in which it has attained any .considerable proportions. In 1824, 5 immigrants were admitted from Greece, the first to be recorded from that country. During the following years the movement to the United States from Greece continued to be of little consequence, in no year numbering as many as 50 until 1882, when 126 immigrants were admitted. In 1891 more than a thousand immigrants were recorded as coming from Greece. From that time there was, with few exceptions, a steady increase in the number admitted, the movement attaining its maximum proportion in 1907, when it reached 36,580. The following table shows the total immigration from Greece in each fiscal year from 1820 to 1910.
TABLE 1.-Immigration to the United States from Greece, for the years ending June 30, 1820 to 1910.
[Compiled from Statistical Review of Immigration, 1819–1910. gration Commission, vol. 3.)
This table clearly indicates how recent is the immigration to the United States from Greece and how rapidly it has attained its present comparatively large volume. It is interesting to note that the number admitted in 1907 was greater than the total number who came during the period 1820 to 1902, inclusive; the number for the latter period being 33,199, while for 1907 it is 36,580.
IMMIGRATION BY SEX AND DECADES, 1871–1910.
The following table shows the immigration from Greece from 1871 to 1910, inclusive, by decades:
TABLE 2.-Immigration to the United States from Greece, by ses and decades, 1871 to 1910.
[Compiled from Statistical Review of Immigration, 1819–1910. Reports of the Immi. gration Commission, vol. 3.)
Figures by sex not given for 1893, 1894, 1895, and 1899.
The above table indicates even more markedly how recent has been the immigration from Greece and how rapid has been its development. During the decade 1881 to 1890, 2,308 immigrants were recorded; in the following decade there were 15,979, and during 1901 to 1910 the number reached 167,519, which is 90 per cent of the total recorded immigration from Greece. Moreover, it should be noted that the movement has always been essentially one of males. During the total period for which data are available 94.5 per cent were males and only 5.5 per cent were females. The overwhelming proportion of males indicates that the immigration is one of individuals rather than of families. This apparently is more characteristic of the immigration of Greece than that of almost any other European country; for example, of the total Italian immigration the proportion of males is 77.9 per cent, while of the immigration from Austria-Hungary during the period 1820 to 1910, inclusive, 69.2 per cent were males.
IMMIGRATION FROM GREECE AND OTHER EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION.
The following table affords a comparison between the immigration from Greece and European immigration, as a whole, during the period 1820 to 1910:
TABLE 3.-Immigration to the United States from Greece compared with total European immigration (including Turkey in Asia), by decades, 1820 to 1910. [Compiled from Table 1, pp. 6–11.)
Previous to the decade 1891-1900 the immigration from Greece to the United States formed scarcely an appreciable part of the total European immigration, being less than 0.05 of 1 per cent. During 1891-1900 the movement had increased and during the following decade the growth was even more rapid, so that for that decade ž per cent of the total European immigration originated in Greece. NATIVES OF GREECE IN THE UNITED STATES, 1850 TO 1900. Previous to 1900 the census enumeration did not show any tendency of persons born in Greece to settle in any particular part of the United States. However, the number of persons born in Greece had up to that time been comparatively inconsiderable. In 1900, when they had attained greater proportions, 50 per cent were found in the North Atlantic States and 26.6 per cent in the North Central States. The tables next submitted show the distribution in the United States at each census period from 1850 to 1900, inclusive, of persons born in Greece. Page 12
CAUSES OF EMIGRATION FROM GREECE.
It may be said without exaggeration that the economic factor is the determining cause of all emigration from Greece. It is, however, a somewhat different phase of that factor than is found in Italy, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. In the latter countries emigration is often an economic necessity. In Greece there is little abject poverty. The country is not overpopulated in the sense that its resources are not sufficient for the adequate support of the population. The land is fertile and the actual necessities of life are easily obtained. Industrial development, however, is not far advanced, and, in common with other countries of southern and eastern Europe, wages for all kinds of manual labor are very low, and the Greeks emigrate almost solely for the purpose of making money. The Commission's inquiry in Greece included interviews with Government officials of high rank in Athens and at seats of government in some of the provinces; municipal officials in various parts of the country, as well as American diplomatic and consular officers, and all expressed the opinion that emigration was actuated only by a desire for financial betterment. The Commission was informed that there was no difficulty in any Greek earning a living on' the scale to which parents have been accustomed, but that this no longer satisfied him and no opportunity was afforded him at home for his economic advancement. Greece is primarily an agricultural and pastoral country. The population for the most part live in small towns and villages which are self-supporting and self-sufficient. To a lesser degree the condition is characteristic of the majority of families. Industry is largely individualistic. Thread is spun and cloth is woven at home; shoes, cooking utensils, and the rude tools used in agriculture are made at small shops in every village. As a result, industry and internal commerce have been little developed. Transportation "facilities are inadequate. The highways except a few main roads are so poor as to be almost impassable, and the railway system is as yet very little developed. In 1908 the mileage was as follows: Hellenic railways, 149 miles; Peloponnesus Railway, 468 miles; Thessalien Railway, 127 miles; total, 744 miles. Under these conditions there can be little progress and the Greek seeking his financial betterment is forced to emigrate.
THE AGRICULTURAL SITUATION.
The cultivated area of Greece covers about 5,563,100 acres, of which about 1,112,000 acres are under cereals, 1,200,000 fallow, and 2,025,400 covered with forest. In addition, there are 5,000,000 acres under pasture and 3,000,000 acres of waste land. The recent draining of Lake Kopais has made available for agriculture 53,000 acres. Most of the land is in the hands of peasant proprietors and farmers who cultivate
a United States Daily Consular Trade Reports, October 2, 1908. Page 13
TABLE 8.—Prices of commodities in Athens, 1906 and 1908.
[Compiled from reports of United States Consul-General Horton at Athens.)
Bread, common..per pound.. $0.035 Bread, white.. .do.... .06 Butter, cooking. do.... .32 Butter, fresh do.... 1.30 Cheese. .do.... . 26 Coffee. 23- 26 Salmon, canned. .do. .54 Fish, fresh. ..do..... 15–. 38 Ham, boiled. ..do. 1.04 Beef, sirloin ..do.... .17 Beef fillet.. .do.... .38 Lamb.. do.... .32 Lamb, yearling do.... .19 Pork, fresh. do.... . 15 Milk, fresh cows'.per gallon.. 54 Milk, goats'. do. Sugar. per pound.. Salt. .do.. Tea, Ceylon.. ..do. 1. 30 Tea, medium quality...do..
Flour. -pound.. $0.056 Apples, fresh. do. Oranges.. -per dozen.. 22 Lemons. do.. .12 Oatmeal -per pound.. 50 Rice. .do. Eggs. Potatoes.......... per pound.. Corn meal. ..do... Beans.. do... Soap ..do.... Oil.. .do.. Kerosene.. .(0.3513 gal.).. Wood, fuel 10.00 Coke.. .do.... 10.00 Charcoal. 30.00 Shoes.. Ordinary woolen suit. Cheap cotton suit...
095 095 . 136 08 &.0047 .004
The cost of living in Greece is said to be increased by the system of customs duties. Other taxes in Greece are not burdensome; there are agricultural taxes on live stock and on productive plants, but they are not heavy and cause no serious trouble. But the import duties are in some instances very high, and they fall mainly on the nécessities of life. The rates on some articles are given in ConsulGeneral Horton's report of 1906, as follows:
TABLE 9.–Customs duties in Greece on some imported articles.
[Compiled from report of United States Consul-General Horton, 1906.) Page 14
cent to 15 per cent. The rate of exchange between gold and paper drachmas has fallen to 108 or less, whereas a decade ago it stood at 160.a Although much of the money sent home by emigrants is for the payment of old debts and cancellation of mortgages, a considerable part nevertheless is for deposits, loans, the purchase of real estate or the improvement of property already owned. A member of the Commission visited the mountain village of Kapsa, which has a population of about 1,000 and from which 200 emigrants had gone to America, only 7 of whom were women. It was said here that each of the men sent back about $200 annually. One of the village officials stated that the emigration had affected industry; that it was almost impossible to get men to work in the fields, and that wages had increased. On every side there were evidences of improvements due to American money. Many houses were pointed out as having been built by money sent back by emigrants. The American consul at Patras, in a statement to the Commission regarding the effects of emigration in that region, said in part: There has been such a vast drain on the able-bodied male population of certain districts that only women, children, and old men are left to cultivate the fields. The price of labor has risen greatly, owing to the scarce supply, and Albanians are gradually replacing the absent Greeks in the cultivation of the currants; also as stevedores and in other more laborious occupations. While many Greeks have returned from America, they are few in comparison with the large number who have emigrated. Nor will they alter the local labor situation, since, having become accustomed to American city life, they refuse to return to the agricultural and pastoral pursuits of their ancestors, and, when questioned, declare their intention to return to America at the first opportunity. In every part of Greece where the Commission's inquiry was carried on similar stories concerning the effects of emigration were heard. In many of the smaller villages, as in the villages of southern Italy, the number of young men had been reduced, and as in consequence the labor supply was not adequate to meet the demand, wages had increased. The benefits of American-earned money were everywhere apparent. In a communication to the Greek emigration commission, previously quoted, Mr. Const. N. Papamichalopoulo, a member of the Greek Parliament, wrote as follows regarding the subject : In Epidauros-Limira the beneficial influences of emigration have become conspicuous and tangible in many respects. Villages have grown into towns. There has been an increased number of churches built. Property has gone up considerably in value and is being cultivated more systematically, and, chief of all, usury is receding, fleeing from the glitter of abundaut gold which has inundated towns and villages. In some of these villages checks for many hundreds of francs remain uncashed owing to the fall in exchange during the past year. Nor is it surprising that the rate of interest should have fallen from 20, 15, and 10 per cent to 6 and 5 per cent. And in other villages where not long ago the appearance of a creditor used to strike terror to the hearts of debtors, to-day the arrival of a would-be debtor in search of a loan invokes the interest of the moneyed villagers, each of whom seeks the privilege of making the loan. In Tripolis a member of the Commission in an interview with one family who had a son in America was told that the latter had sent back to them about 8,000 drachmas (about $1,600), and this in spite of the fact that he had had a severe illness which had depleted his savings.
a Yale Review, August, 1909, p. 186. Page 15
CHAPTER II. -Character of European immigration-Continued. Page. Table 21.-Money per capita shown on admission to the United States by European immigrants (including Syrian), by race or people, in the fiscal years 1905 to 1909, inclusive.... 37 Table 22.-Money per capita shown on admission to the United States by European immigrants (including Syrian), by class, in the fiscal years 38 CHAPTER III.-Permanent and temporary emigration: Table 23.-European immigrants (including Syrian) admitted to the United States during the fiscal year 1907, and European emigrant aliens vear 1908, by race or people.... States during the fiscal year 1907, and European emigrant aliens (includ- 40 Table 25.–European immigrants (including Syrian) admitted to the United States who gave Europe or Turkey in Asia as their last permanent resi- 41 Table 26.-European immigrants (including Syrian) admitted to the United States, and European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by class.. 42 Table 27.—Movement of third-class passengers between the United States and European ports during the calendar years 1899 to 1909, inclusive, by years... 42, 43 Table 28.—Movement of third-class passengers between the United States and European ports during the period 1899 to 1909, inclusive... 43 Table 29.- European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by race or people, 44 Table 30.-European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by class, sex, 45 Table 31.-European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by race or 46 Table 32.- European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by class 46 Table 33.–European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by race or 47, 48 Table 34.-European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by class and occupation.... 48, 49 Table 35.-European emigrant aliens (including Syrian) departing from the United States during the fiscal years 1908, 1909, and 1910, by race or people 49,50 Table 36.—Total number of European immigrants (including Syrian) ad mitted, and total number who had been in the United States previously, 51 CHAPTER IV.--Causes of emigration: Table 37.-Wages and hours of labor in leading occupations in the United 55 Table 38.-European immigrants (including Syrian) going to join relatives or friends in the United States during the fiscal years 1908 and 1909, by 59 Table 39.-European immigrants (including Syrian) going to join relatives or friends in the United States during the fiscal years 1908 and 1909, by class. CHAPTER V.-Inspection of emigrants abroad: 60 Table 40.--Immigrants admitted and aliens debarred at United States ports during the fiscal years 1892 to 1910, inclusive.... 71 Table 41.- Aliens debarred at all United States ports during the fiscal years 1892 to 1910, inclusive, by cause.. 73 Page 16
CHAPTER III.-Causes of emigration from Italy—Continued. Page. Table 18.-Farm wages and hours of labor in Italy compared with emigration in 1906, by compartimenti.... 164 Table 19.-Number of persons 9 years of age or over in industrial occupations in Italy in 1901, by sex and industry.. 165 Table 20.--Number of industrial establishments in Italy and persons employed in such establishments, in 1905–6, by compartimenti 166 Table 21.-Number of industrial establishments in Italy and persons employed in such establishments, in 1905-6, by geographical divisions.. 166 Table 22.-Number of establishments, number of employees, and value of products, in several representative industries in Italy, in the years specified ... 168, 169 Table 23.—Wages and hours of labor in various industries in Italy, by compartimenti and occupation 170, 171 Table 24.-Number of industrial establishments and employees in Italy, compared with emigration from Italy, in 1906, by compartimenti . 175 CHAPTER IV.-Character of Italian emigration: Table 25.- Italian immigration to the United States, fiscal years 1899 to 1909, inclusive, by age groups.. 178 Table 26.-Italian immigration to the United States, fiscal years 1899 to 1909, inclusive, by occupations.. 179 CHAPTER V.-Illiteracy in Italy: Table 27.—Per cent of illiterates in the population of Italy in 1872, 1882, and 1901, by sex and age groups.. 185 Table 28.-Per cent of illiterates in the population of Italy in 1901, by sex and age groups and compartimenti.. 186 Table 29.-Proportion of male and female pupils in Italian elementary public schools per 1,000 of the total population, in 1883–4 and 1901-2, by compartimenti. 187 Table 30.—-Proportion of illiterates among Italian conscripts per 100 enrolled, in 1872, 1901, and 1904, by compartimenti 188 Table 31.- Proportion of illiterates among Italian conscripts per 100 enrolled, in periods specified, by occupation... 189 Table 32.—Per cent of illiterates among persons contracting marriage in the various compartimenti of Italy, in 1872, 1901, and 1905, by sex ... 190 Table 33.—Number and per cent of illiterates among Italian immigrants 14 years of age or over admitted to the United States, fiscal years 1899 to 191 CHAPTER VI.-Crime in Italy: Table 34.-Number and character of crimes on which action was taken by the office of the public prosecutor and by the prætors, Italy, in various 195-201 Table 35.-Average annual number of crimes on which action was taken by the office of the public prosecutor and by the prætors, and the pro- 201, 202 Table 36.- Proportion of crimes to every 100,000 inhabitants, based on the average annual number of crimes in the period 1902 to 1906, inclusive, 203 Table 37.— Increase or decrease in number of murders and homicides between the period 1880-1886 and the year 1906, Italy, by comparti- menti. 204 Table 38.-Murders and homicides in Italy and transoceanic emigration from Italy, in years specified, by Compartimenti. 205 Table 39.—Average annual number of misdemeanors on which action was taken by the office of the public prosecutor, and by the prætors, 1902 to 207 CHAPTER VIII.—The effect of emigration on Italy: Table 40.-Departures from Italy to the United States and arrivals from the United States in Italy of Italian third-class passengers, 1887 to 1907, 229 Table 41.-Deaths in Italy from disseminated tuberculosis and pulmonary tuberculosis per 100,000 inhabitants, in specified years, by comparti- menti.. 234 Table 42.-Death rate in the United States in 1900 from venereal diseases per 100,000 of the population among Italians and native-born persons of 235 Page 17 |
Which racial or ethnic group has the most success in both education and attaining high incomes?
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