AVERAGE AMOUNT OF WEEKLY EARNINGS OF MALE EMPLOYEES EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, BY RACE AND SPECIFIED INDUSTRIES{1} (Part One) ========================================================= | | Average | Agricultural | | Reporting | Earnings | Implements | Cotton Race | Complete | per | and | Goods{2} | Data | Day | Vehicles{2} | --------+-----------+----------+--------------+---------- “Old” | 17,433 | 2.34 | 13.03 | 11.14 “New” | 65,485 | 1.99 | 11.58 | 8.77 ========================================================= (Part Two) ================================================== | Woolen | Slaughtering | | and | and | Coal Race | Worsted | Meat | Mining | Goods{2} | Packing{3} | Bituminous{3} --------+----------+--------------+--------------- “Old” | 11.69 | 2.27 | 2.33 “New” | 8.64 | 1.83 | 2.09 ================================================== [note 1: See Appendix for complete table. This table does not take account of lost time.] [note 2: Weekly wage.] [note 3: Daily wage.] When the expense of becoming a citizen is taken into consideration, the bearing of income on acquiring citizenship is important. Add to that the obvious fact that wages and general economic and social status tend to improve in the individual case with length of residence, and the situation becomes not only clear but just what common sense would suggest as probable. It ought not to require elaborate argument to substantiate the assertion that the immigrant in his early years in America is too busy getting a job and an economic footing, acquiring a working knowledge of the language, overcoming the general prejudice against him as a foreigner, and so on, to pay much attention to the question of becoming a citizen; besides which he must, in any event, live here five years before he can do anything effective in the matter. VOTING ON “FIRST PAPERS” The present state of public opinion in the United States on the subject of the foreign born is very different from what it was in the earlier years of our development; this is largely, though not entirely, due to the emotions and disclosures connected with the war. When we were opening up the vast domain west of the Alleghanies, and there was great need of human labor to clear forests, break virgin land, and help in the beginnings of our industries, the immigrant was a welcome helper, and every inducement was offered to entice him to come and settle on even terms with the native born. One of these inducements was citizenship, for all intents and purposes, on very easy terms.