Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/738

 724 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

the population of the United States may be applied to the popula- tion of any country by observing a general rule : Assign to the third position (numbered 2), all foreign-born elements speaking the language of the country to which they have come. Assign to the fourth position (numbered 3) the foreign-bom that are psychologically, culturally, and historically more nearly related to the nationalities of position three than any remaining element is. Assign to position five (numbered 4) the foreign-born that are psychologically, culturally, and historically more nearly re- lated to the nationalities of position four than any remaining element is, and so proceed.

In deciding what nationalities are "more nearly related" in the ways specified, we must not substitute the judgment of an individual observer for the concensus of popular opinion. In matters of this kind the "probable error" of thousands of indi- vidual judgments or markings making up the common opinion is extremely small.

There is, however, a scientific way of checking or testing the popular marking. It consists in breaking up each mark into a number of units, each of which stands for some specific and un- disputed objective fact.

We may apply this test to the foregoing scale of ethnic posi- tions, as follows :

Build up a composite statistical mark for "Americanism" by assigning one unit to each of the following facts, namely: (i) Parents native-born; (2) Self native-born; (3) Native language, that of the United States (English) ; (4) Reared under Celto-Teutonic traditions and cultural influences; (5) Reared under constitutional government; (6) Of European stock and reared imder European civilization ; (7) Belongs to race that has created an independent political state with a history; (8) Be- longs to race that has created an ethical religion; (9) Belongs to race that has created a literature; (10) Belongs to race that has independently risen above barbarism; (11) Color lighter than yellow; (12) Color lighter than red; (13) Color lighter than brown; (14) Color lighter than black.

Assigning these units of marking to the respective elements