Speech #590092336

Their surroundings. in the main. have not been calculated to train or fit them for the standard of citizenship which obtained in this country. and which we must maintain if we are to safeguard and perpetuate our free institutions. In the main they are unfitted not only by heredity and training for the high duties and responsibilities of American citizenship. but the majority of them are so ignorant. not to say sinister. as to preclude the hope of their becoming good and desirable citizens in the future. I wish to direct the attention of the Senate briefly to the startling percentage of illiteracy among that part of the immigration to this country from the countries of southern and eastern Europe. Out of 1.026.000 immigrants who came to this country last year. 230.5S2 could neither read nor write. I have not the statistics showing the relative percentage of ignorance between immigrants from northern and western Europe and immigrants from southern and eastern Europe for the year 1905. but I have a table here. which I have found in the very valuable book on immigration recently published by Mr. Prescott F. Hall. showing the illiteracy of immigrants of the different races contributing more than 2.000 immigrants each during years 1902. 1903. and 1904. The average illiteracy. as shown by this table. among these groups taken from southern and eastern Europe was in 1904 42.6 per cent. but taking the immigrants from the countries of the sections of Europe from which the bulk of immigration came the rate of illiteracy is much higher than this general average. One hundred and eightysix thousand of them came from southern Italy. 102.000 were Poles. 14.000 Ruthenians. 46.000 Magyars. 12.000 Greeks. etc. The rate of illiteracy of immigrants from southern Italy in 1904 was 58.8 per cent. of Polish immigrants. 36.1. of Greek immigrants. 23.0. of Ruthenian immigrants. 58.8. Without going further. Mr. President. it will appear from these statistics that the greater part of the immense mass of ignorance which is being annually dumped into this country is represented by immigration of a few nationalities. coming chiefly from eastern Europe. The percentage of illiteracy in these groups of immigrants from northern and western Europe in 1902 was 4.4 per. cent. in 1903. 3.9 per cent. in 1904. 4 per cent. while the percentage of illiteracy of those from southern and eastern Europe in 1902 was 44.3. in 1903. 39.7 per cent. in 1904. 42.6 per cent. I have a table here showing the number of illiterates among the Italians. Poles.