Speech #630381801

The whites of American birth and American parentage constituted 3.7 per cent of the total illiterates of the country. The whites of American birth and foreign or mixed parentage constituted 1.1 per cent of the total illiteracy of the country. The white foreignborn immigrants. of 10 years of age or over. were 1.650.361. or 12.7 per cent total of the illiterates. I wish -to draw some conclusions from these figures. The first is that the white natives of American parentage who are illiterate furnish 25 per cent of the total illiteracy of the country. while the whites who are native born of foreign or mixed parentage furnish but 2.8 per cent of the total of illiteracy of the country. The foreign immigrant. an adult. who has reached our shores. it is true. furnishes 12.7 per cent of our illiteracy. That Is on the idea which has been pretty definitely established that the man abroad is not ignorant because of choice. He is ignorant because of the lack of opportunity.