Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/205

 ITALIAN IMMIGRATION INTO THE UNITED STATES 189

land there are some who, temperamentally unadapted to struggle in new climatic and social conditions, or already too advanced in life to take root in a new soil, prefer to finish their life where it began, and decide to return to Italy. Apart from the fact that this phenomenon is common to all immigratory currents, it should be considered a fortunate circumstance, and not a cause of contempt for Italians, since of all who come here, only those remain permanently who are more adapted to be absorbed in the new environment, and such represent the very large majority of Italian immigrants.

An analysis of Italian immigration in respect to sex gives the following results:

TABLE VI

YKAR

NORTHERN ITALIANS

SOUTHERN ITALIANS

TOTAL

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

1901

17,852 22,425

30,477 28,784

4,251 5,195 6,952

7,915

90,395 "4,536 158,939 122,770

25,309 28,379 37,178 36,559

108,247 146,961 189,416

155,554

29,560

33,574 44,130 44,474

ig02

1903 1904

A glance at these figures is sufficient to perceive the large pre- ponderance of males. To bring out this fact more clearly, a table showing the percentage of females in the total number of immi- grants coming from the north and south is here appended :

TABLE VII

Year

North

South

Total

1901 ..

IQ.27

21.8?

21.44

I 002. .

18.20

18.55

18.59

1003..

18.57

18.95

18.03

21 .56

23.00

22.68

Among immigrants from the north as well as among those from the south we find the males in the same large proportion, which proves the strength of the Italian immigration, in that it consists almost entirely of individuals who must work for their living, and not of women, who, to a certain extent, must depend