[By Act of Congress, February 20, 1907, an Immigration Commission was created, to consist of three Senators, three members of the House of Representatives, and three citizens to be appointed by the President of the United States. This commission had the duty of making full "inquiry, examination and investigation," of the subject of immigration. The results of the Commission's thorough work will be embodied in forty-two volumes, and "the gist of the information" thus collected is presented in a volume prepared by Professor J. W. Jenks (one of the commissioners) with the collaboration of W. J. Lauck, expert in charge of the industrial investigations. (The Immigration Problem, N. Y. Funk and Wagnalls, 1912.)

By permission we reproduce (with some amendments by the author) the greater part of the chapter containing the conclusions as to the effect of immigration on wages, entitled, "The immigrant as a dynamic factor in industry" (pp. 182-197).]

The absorption of so large numbers of alien people into the mines and manufacturing establishments, and into the general labor force of the United States, was obviously attended by very important results. These effects of the intense employment of southern and eastern Europeans may be briefly considered, from (1) the standpoint of the general industrial situation, and (2) that of native Americans and older workmen. Before entering into a discussion of these effects, however, it will be necessary, in order that the situation may be fully comprehended, to review briefly the personal and industrial qualities of the recent immigrant labor supply to the United States. These are briefly set forth below.

Lack of technical training. . . . An exceedingly small proportion have had any training abroad for the industrial occupations in which they have found employment in the United States. More recent immigrants have been drawn from the agricultural classes of southern and eastern Europe, having been farmers or farm laborers in their native lands. The only exception is the Hebrews, three-fifths of whom were engaged in some form of manufacturing or hand-trades before coming to this country.

Illiteracy and inability to speak English. The new immigrant labor supply, owing to the fact that it is composed of men of non-English-speaking races, and is characterized by a high degree of illiteracy, has been found to possess but small resources upon which to develop industrial efficiency and advancement. Owing to their segregation and isolation from the native American population in living and working conditions, their progress in acquiring the use of the English language, and in learning to read and write, has been very slow.

Their necessitous condition. . . . Immigrants from the south and east of Europe have usually had but a few dollars in their possession when the port of disembarkation in this country has been reached. During the five years from 1905 to 1909 inclusive the average amount per person among these immigrants has been somewhat more than one-third as much as among immigrants from northern and western Europe. Consequently, finding it absolutely imperative to engage in work at once, they have not been in a position to take exception to wages or working conditions, but must obtain employment on the terms offered or suffer from actual want.

Standards of living. The standards of living of the recent industrial workers from the south and east of Europe have also been very low. Furthermore, the recent immigrants being usually single, or, if married, having left their wives abroad, have in large measure adopted a group instead of a family living arrangement, and thereby have reduced their cost of living to a point far below that of the American or of the older immigrant in the same industry. The method of living often followed is that commonly known as the "boarding-boss" system. . . .

Under this general method of living, which prevails among the greater proportion of the immigrant households, the entire outlay for necessary living expenses of each adult member ranges from $9 to $15 each month. The additional expenditures of the recent immigrant wage-earners are small. Every effort has been made to save as much as possible. The entire life interest and activity of the average wage-earner from southern and eastern Europe has seemed to revolve about three points: (1) to earn the largest possible amount under the existing conditions of work; (2) to live upon the basis of minimum cheapness, and (3) to save as much as possible. All living arrangements have been subordinated to the desire to reduce the cost of living to its lowest level. Comfort seems not to be considered. With such standards of living the older employees have been unable, or have found it extremely difficult, to compete.

Lack of permanent interest. . . . Recent immigrants who have sought work in American industries as a whole have manifested but a small degree of permanent interest in their employment or in the industry. They have constituted a mobile, migratory, and disturbing wage-earning class, constrained mainly by their economic interest, and moving readily from place to place according to changes in working conditions or fluctuations in the demand for labor. This condition of affairs is made possible by the fact that so large a proportion of the recent immigrant employees are single men, or married men whose wives are abroad, and by the additional fact that the prevailing method of living among immigrant workmen is such as to enable them to detach themselves from an occupation or a locality whenever they may wish. Their accumulations also are in the form of cash or are quickly convertible into cash. In brief, the recent immigrant has no property or other constraining interests which attach him to a community, and the larger proportion are free to follow the best industrial inducements.

This characteristic has both a good and a bad influence.

It creates a certain flexibility in the labor supply, and to a certain extent brings about an exodus from the country in times of depression and curtailment of employment. It also causes an increased pressure and competition within the country. Probably the bad effect of this characteristic is greater than the good, all things considered.

Tractability of the immigrant. . . . The members of the larger number of races of recent entrance to the mines, mills and factories have been tractable and easily managed. This quality seems to be a temperamental one, acquired through past conditions of life in their native lands. In the normal life of the mines, mills and factories, the southern and eastern Europeans have exhibited a pronounced tendency toward being easily managed by employers and toward being imposed upon without protest, which has created the impression of subserviency. This characteristic, while strong, is confined, however, to the immigrant wage-earners of comparatively short residence in this country, and results from their lack of training or experience abroad, and from the difference between their standards and aspirations and those of older immigrant employees and native American industrial workers.