Page:The National Geographic Magazine Vol 16 1905.djvu/48

Rh they obtain from all over the world, either through organized charitable organizations or from private individuals. These people send out thousands upon thousands of letters annually begging charitable contributions, and they cause Dr Merrill, the United States consul, and his dragoman no end of trouble.

"These alleged 'American citizens,' although they enjoy and avail themselves of the high privilege and protection of American citizenship, are, in truth and in fact, not Americans at all, and quite a number of them have become naturalized by fraud."

Although each year several hundred aliens have been returned to the countries whence they came because they were public charges, and several thousand others were originally refused admission to the United States because likely to become public charges, the recent investigation of the charitable institutions of the country conducted by the Bureau of Immigration actually found about 30,000 alien paupers, including insane, in the public institutions and another 5,000 in the charitable institutions under private control. About 10,000 alien criminals were found in the penal institutions, making altogether a grand total of 45,000, 40,000 of whom are supported exclusively at public expense. In addition thereto, there are probably 65,000 naturalized foreigners in these institutions.

The states in which are located the large cities have the largest proportions of aliens detained in their institutions. For instance, out of 44,985 aliens in all the institutions of the United States, 12,440, or 28 per cent, are in the State of New York; 5,601, or 12½ per cent, in Pennsylvania; 5,490, or 12 percent, in Massachusetts, and 3,359, or 7½ per cent, in Illinois, making a total of 26,890 in the four states mentioned, which is 60 per cent of the entire number in the United States.

The enormous proportion of aliens taken care of in the insane and charitable institutions of the United States is shown by the fact that the proportion of alien population to citizens in the whole United States is 1 to 75, while within the insane and charitable institutions the proportion is 1 alien to 6 United States citizens. The proportion in penal institutions has not yet been determined, but is undoubtedly even greater than 1 to 6.

Increasing proportions of immigrants are going to Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, while the percentage for the neighboring State of New York has gradually decreased from 42 per cent in 1892 to 32 per cent in 1904. The far Western States are attracting increasing proportions and the Middle West and South decreasing percentages year by year.

It is of interest to note in this connection the uniformity of the fluctuation of immigration to the New England States, each of them having attracted increasing proportions from 1892 to 1895 or 1896, with decreased percentages since (leaving out of consideration the increase for Vermont during the past three or four years).

Iberic and Slavic divisions: About 70 per cent of the immigration going to the seven states, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia, which group receives 60 per cent of the entire immigration to the United States, belong