from Finland, 170.4 per cent; those from Austria, 139.2 per cent; Hungary, 240.1 per cent; and of this vast number 75 per cent went to the cities of the Nation. It is utterly impossible that the Nation can receive in so short a time almost 12,000,000 immigrants from non-English speaking nations, over 90 per cent of whom are common laborers, without feeling its influence and without noting a strong impress upon labor and social conditions in the country; and it was because of the changed conditions which the commission discovered in its investigations that the recommendation has been made for the adoption of some measure of restriction. In this connection, Mr. President, I ask leave to insert in the RECORD Such portions of the tables which I hold in my hand as may be deemed necessary to illustrate the text. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. LEWIS in the chair). The Chair hearing no objection, permission is granted. The tables referred to are as follows: Total old immigration for the whole three periods, 33 years (1882-1914) Total new immigration for the whole three periods, 33 years (1882-1914). 3,019, 696 708, 357 3, 728, 053 1, 562, 797 1, 194, 189 2,756, 986 2,983, 548 10, 057, 576 13, 041, 124 7,566,041 11, 960, 122 19, 526, 163 * Now, Mr. President, I propose to spend a little time in discussing the work of the commission in its investigation of conditions in the manufactures and in the mining industries of the country, because it was in such investigations that we received the information upon which we based our findings. That investigation was thoroughly organized and covered 37 of the principal industries of the country east of the Rocky Mountains. In pursuing it the commission's agents came in personal touch with 620,000 individual workers. They went into 200 different industrial communities, and made an intensive study of the family conditions in the case of 23,000 families. Of all with whom they came in contact in all the industries of America, 60 per cent were foreign born, and 15 per cent belonged to the second generation. There were only about 20 per cent of Americans of native-born parents employed either in manufacturing or in mining. The leading races so employed were as follows, 83350-14620-2 the number of each being in the order named: Poles, south Italians, north Italians, Hungarians, Lithuanians, and Croatians. In that investigation we tried to find a really American industrial community, one in which native-born Americans predominated in number, but failed to find such a community at the seats of any of our basic industries. OVERSUPPLY OF UNSKILLED labor. In the exhaustive investigation of the iron and steel industry the commission's agents came in contact with 86 000 individuals, of whom 57.7 per cent were foreign born and 13.4 per cent were their sons; so that 71.1 per cent of all the employees were either born abroad or were the children of those born abroad. I propose before I finish to give some statistics showing the extent of their employment and the extent of their annual incomes; but before doing so I want to state the net results coming from the investigation of the iron and steel industry. We found that the average weekly wages paid to the men were not the subject of complaint. They amounted to $14.75 per week; and had the men had constant employment during the year they would have received upon the average $750 as the result of the year's work. As a matter of fact, however, we found that the 86,000 men averaged to receive only $326 instead of the $750, which they would have received at the prevailing rate of wages had they been employed all the time. It indicated that they had employment only one-half the time, upon an average. This results from the fact that the employers carry a large number of men upon the pay roll in order that there may be no shortage of help in case of rush orders; when work is quiet they are able to lay off those not needed and the men are compelled to be idle. In the iron and steel industry this condition prevailed to a greater extent than in any other industry examined; and that furnishes the reson why the amount received upon an average by each of these employees amounted to only $326. Because of the overcrowded condition of the labor market it appears that the men employed in the bituminous coal industry and in the manufacture of silk and woolens in the United States were compelled to remain idle about one-third of the time; those engaged in the manufacture of leather, clothing, and in oil refining, one-fourth of the time; while those employed in the manufacture of cotton, boots and shoes, and sugar were compelled to lose about one-fifth of their time. Returning to a consideration of conditions in the steel and iron industries in the Middle West, the commission says: In the steel mills of this community it is found that positions of trust and those calling for skilled labor, such as clerks, draftsmen, foremen, switchmen, teamsters, and watchmen, are filled by the Americans. Germans, and Irish, while the positions for unskilled labor, such as unloading, floating gang, etc.. are filled by negroes, Poles, Bulgarians, and Macedonians. In the smelting departments the skilled and responsible positions, such as melters, ladlemen, charging-machine men, bricklayers, and chemists, are filled by Americans, Germans, and Irish; while the positions calling for unskilled labor are occupied by Bulgarians and Slovaks. The same is true of the molding departments, where the foundry men. molders, for men, and carpenters are Americans, Germans, and Irish, and the rammers, helpers, and common laborers are Macedonians, Bulgarians, and Armenians. In the pattern department no races but Americans and Germans are employed, as all the labor in this department is skilled. In the machinery and power department practically the same condition prevails, as all the occupations, such as blacksmiths, mechanics, 83350-14620 pattern makers, electricians, pipe fitters, etc., call for skilled labor, and are occupied by Americans, Irish, and Germans. In the finishing department, where both skilled and unskilled labor is employed, the Americans, Germans, and Irish have the positions calling for skilled labor and the Macedonians, Bulgarians, Turks, Roumanians, and negroes the positions requiring only unskilled labor. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE RACES. Regarding the relations between the races, I call attention to a statement in volume 9, page 66, which sheds some light upon conditions: In addition to not freely associating with one another, there is considerable friction between the Irish, Austrians, and Magyars on the one hand, and the Macedonians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, and other southeastern European and oriental races on the other hand growing out of the conditions under which employment is given. The unskilled and less skilled employees of the steel companies gather each morning at the gates of the different plants and are designated for work by the foremen. There is not much competition between the races so far as unskilled labor is concerned. The southeastern European peoples may be said to be practically without competition there. In the oссираtions which require some skill, however, and to which a large number of Macedonians and Bulgarians have attained, there is considerable direct competition. The Irish, Magyars, and Austrians frequently adopt the policy of driving the newcomers by force away from the mill gates. Oftentimes the recent arrivals resent such action and a general fight along racial lines ensues, the weapons employed being fists, stones and other missiles, and in some cases revolvers. This tendency is, of course, much intensified in seasons of slack employment or curtailment of work. And this, I will say, Mr. President, is what the commission found. The immigrants, except the English, Germans, Irish, and Welsh, do not associate freely with the natives, but stay largely in the colonies of their fellow countrymen. There is a general dislike on the part of the English-speaking races for the "foreigner." The Magyars, Poles, and Slovaks are brought more or less into contact with American people and their habits of living. Their children attend the public schools, and they sometimes join trade-unions. With the Bulgarians, Roumanians, and Armenians the situation is different. A few representative men among editors, mercantile proprietors, and educated men live in American sections according to American standards, but the majority of these races are either unmarried or without their families in this country. Very few attend school or are receiv ing instruction in English. Practically none are members of labor unions. In their present mode of living they have little contact with American churches, schools, or business houses. EARNING CAPACITY. I wish now to refer to the entire body of employees in the manufacturing and mining industries of the United States with whom the agents came in contact, and to speak of the thrift, industry, and the earning capacity of these classes. Generally speaking, I find the statement in volume 1, page 413, to be correct. The statement is that upon comparing the yearly incomes of the two classes of immigrants it is seen that the highest average shown by any race of recent immigration is below the lowest average shown by any past immigration. I find, also, that under precisely equal conditions of birth the new immigration is inferior to the old in earning capacity. Take, first, a study of households, where the native born of foreign father are classified by the race of the father. Among the races of the old immigration of that class the annual earnings were $569, while the annual earnings of the classes belonging to the new immigration were only $415. Then, coming to the actually foreign born, those who were born in northern and western Europe were receiving upon an average $657, 83350-14620 while those born in eastern and southern Europe were receiving upon an average only $388; and the latter classes constitute nearly 12,000.000 of our immigration in the last 17 years. It shows that of those who were born abroad the old races are receiving almost twice as much as those of the new races. I have, also, a table showing the proportional number of the two classes who are householders-that is, men owning homesby which it appears that the men of the old immigration own homes to an extent twice or three times as great as that of the newer races. I ask leave to insert these tables in the record, or such portions of them as may be necessary. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair hearing no objection, and permission is granted. The matter referred to is as follows: Annual earnings of male heads of families-Per cent of heads of families earnings under $40 each year. Per cent of families owning homes, by general nativity and race of head of family. (Vol. 1, p. 469.) EFFECT OF COMPETITION. Per cent. 50.0 70.3 15. 6 39.7 30.2 50.0 33.6 44.5 51.6 7.5 23.5 1.5 6. 3 27.8 14.9 18. 0 13. 7 18. 1 19.5 2.6 1. 2 6.7 4. 4 17.6 25. 3 4. 7 Mr. DILLINGHAM. I now wish to call attention, while I am upon this subject, to the effect of the competition of recent 83350-14620 |