number of both emigrant and non-emigrant aliens who departed from the total number of both immigrant and nonimmigrant aliens who did not depart there was a balance of 544,563 who remained in this country. Of these, twelve states, namely, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, received over 10,000 each, or 95 per cent, and six states, namely, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, received over 25,000 each, or 78 per cent of the total.13

The larger industrial centers absorbed the vastly larger portion of migrants to industrial states. Chicago absorbed 91.3 per cent of the Poles and 84.2 per cent of the Italians settling in Illinois; New York City absorbed 47.1 per cent of Poles, 79.8 per cent of Italians, and 93.7 per cent of Russians settling in New York; Boston absorbed 17.8 per cent of Poles, 47.7 per cent of Italians, and 55.6 per cent of Russians settling in Massachusetts; and Philadelphia absorbed 56.8 per cent of the Russians settling in Pennsylvania. In 1900, cities of 25,000 and more inhabitants of Massachusetts absorbed 48.6 per cent of Poles, 67.5 per cent of Italians, and 89.7 per cent of Russians; those of New York absorbed 83.5 per cent of Poles, 87 per cent of Italians, and 97.5 per cent of Russians settling in their respective states.11

15

There are living in cities of 25,000 or more inhabitants about 75 per cent of Russians; 63 per cent each of Poles, Italians, and Irish; and nearly 60 per cent each of Bohemians, Austrians, and Hungarians. These, except the Irish, are the foreign races which now most come to America.1 A large part of these and other races settle in smaller industrial cities. We may come still closer to the contribution made by immigrants to cities. Let us apply the percentages of the Commissioner General of Immigration's report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1909, referred to above as a criterion of the proportion of distribution of aliens in this nation, for the decade 1890-1900. The total immigration to this country in 13 Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration, 1909, pp. 19-20.

"Hall, Immigration, 343-45.

35 U.S. Statistical Atlas, 1903, Plate 73.

that decade was 3,687,564. Taking 78 as the percentage of aliens probably settling in the six states mentioned we find it represents 2,876,300. This in turn is found to be 67.5 per cent of the total urban increase of those states during the same decade. If in the same manner we treat the twelve states in which 95 per cent of the immigrants settled during 1905, it is found that this portion of the immigration to the United States in the last decade of last century amounts to 69.2 per cent of the urban increase of those twelve states. It is probable that the distribution of immigration did not differ materially in the two periods considered. From this we may conclude that from 65 to 70 per cent of the urban growth of the United States is composed of immigrants.

It is popularly believed that the country districts furnish the larger portion of city growth. A careful analysis of interstate migration, together with the application of the decennial rate of population increase to cities, disproves this common dogma. The percentage of increase of the total population of the nation between 1890 and 1900 was 20.7 per cent. This may be taken as the approximate increase of urban communities, because, while it is held that rural regions maintain a larger increase because of larger families, on the other hand the urban increase is likely to be quite as large from the fact that the foreign stock found dominantly in cities increases faster than the native stock found dominantly in the country. Subtract this 20 per cent of natural increase of urban populations from the 30 or 35 per cent of urban growth not accounted for by immigration and there is left some 10 or 15 per cent of city growth to be drawn from rural regions.

Let us turn to the other line of proof, namely, that which comes from a study of interstate migration. I quote from my previous paper on this point.16

"The total native born population in 1900 was 65,767,451 (including Alaska and Hawaii, but excluding 75,851 native born enumerated in military and naval stations abroad). Of this number 51,979,651, or 79 per cent, were born in the state or territory in which they were found by the census enumerators. The remaining 13,787,800, constituting 21 per cent of the entire

16

Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota, October, 1910.

native-born element, had migrated from the state or territory in which they were born and were found in other states and territories. The population living in the state or territory of birth was slightly larger in 1900 than it was in 1890."

9917

The exhaustion of available agricultural land in the west is likely to have a still more restrictive effect on that portion of interstate migration which sought the west for farming opportunities. By a study of the census tables of the interstate migration of Maine, New York, Iowa, and North Dakota, something may be learned about the nature of the community the immigrants settle in, whether in country or in city."

Something like 7/11 of the total migration from Maine settled in adjoining states, particularly Massachusetts. It is evident they did not go into farming regions largely. The inference would be otherwise for those that settled in the agricultural regions of the west and south. A very large proportion of the westbound migration of native born stock has settled in rural regions. The proportion of those leaving Maine, whether from city or country, we have no means of determining. But since the city population of that state has been relatively small, less than 1/5 until about 1900, it would seem the vast majority emanated from farms.

There is another side to Maine's population account. Its total population is 694,466. Of these those born in Maine are 560,506. Other native born are 40,630, or 5.9 of its population. Of foreign born there are 93,330, or 13.4 per cent. Of the native born the North Atlantic states contribute 32,335 and the North Central, 2,711, making 7/8 of the total. Where do these persons probably settle?

Portland, Maine, had a population of 50,145 in 1900. Of these 69.6 per

17 United States Statistical Atlas, 1900, p. 43.

18 United States Census, 1900, Vol. I, Tables LXII, LXVIII, and LXXVIII.

cent were born in Maine, 9.6 were native born from outside the state, 20.8 were foreign born. Since the foreigners are just a little over twice as numerous as the immigrating native born they seem to be settling in Portland, and presumably in the other cities of the state in about equal proportions. Outside of this we have no data to form judgments of what portion settle in cities, save the general fact that agricultural Maine was declining in the decade of the Twelfth Census and naturally would absorb the smaller portion of incoming population.

The population born in New York state are distributed as follows: total population, 7,268,894; born in New York but living elsewhere in the United States, 6,134,552, or 66.5 per cent; born in New York and living in the state, 4,833,941; New York born lost to the state, 1,300,611; foreign born living in the state, 1,900,425, or 26.1 per cent; number of native persons born outside and gained by the state, 534,528, or 7.4 per cent.

The divisions of the United States according to their absorption ability as to New York's emigrants with their chief absorbent states were as follows: The North Atlantic division received 5,317,254. The following states of this division received 25,000 or more: Massachusetts, 71,113; Connecticut, 63,465; New York, 4,833,941; New Jersey, 193,431; Pennsylvania, 114,440. The South Atlantic division received 40,659. The North Central division received 606,641. The following states of that division received 25,000 or more: Ohio, 56,652; Illinois, 111,078; Michigan, 156,489; Wisconsin, 58,338; Minnesota, 44,342; Iowa, 53,878; Missouri, 30,268; Nebraska, 28,548; Kansas, 28,897. The South Central division received 30,635; the Western, 128,618; Alaska, 1,117; Hawaii, 464, and all others, 9,164.

It is to be observed that the South Central and South Atlantic states received but a small proportion of New York born; that the industrial states of the North Atlantic division absorbed the most of that division's share, the cities evidently taking them; that the North Central states which have been building up agriculturally during the nineteenth century and industrially during the last few decades took the largest exodus of any one division, the fair inference being that the migrants chiefly went onto farms, and that in the Western division agriculture and mining took up the larger portion of New York born.

Regarding the 7.4 per cent and 26.1 per cent of the state's population who were immigrants from other states and foreign nations the rural regions probably took the larger portions of the former in the earlier decades of the nineteenth century while the cities absorbed the immigrants. The constituency of New York City and Buffalo warrant the inference. As to the former city, 55 per cent of the population were born in the state, 8 per cent in other states, while 37 per cent were foreign born. As to Buffalo, the percentages in the same order are 63.2, 7.2, and 29.6.

Taking Iowa as a type of the state largely agricultural but with consid

erable industrial development, the following data as to distribution of the interstate migration are given: Total population, 2,231,853; born and living in the state, 1,318,377, or 59.1 per cent; other native born, 607,556, or 27.2 per cent; foreign born, 305,920, or 13.7 per cent; born in Iowa and living outside in the United States, 556,565.

The divisions which absorbed the Iowa born to the extent of 25,000 or more are as follows: North Central, outside of Iowa, 387,052, of which Illinois received 48,096; Minnesota, 42,096; Missouri, 52,575; South Dakota, 31,047; Nebraska, 85,807; Kansas, 88,153; South Central, 37,285, and Western, 115,092. Evidently the migrants went to swell the agricultural population of the nation to the greatest extent.

With regard to the native born and the foreign born who settled in the state, a total of 913,476 persons, it is evident that they went into agriculture mostly, since the urban population of Iowa in 1900 was 16.8 per cent, while these elements make 40.9 per cent of the state's population. Selecting Des Moines as a typical Iowa city, the percentages of Iowa born, native born from outside Iowa, and foreign born living in it are respectively 52.6, 34.6, and 12.8. North Dakota may be taken as a type of the almost purely agricultural state. We find that 34.1 per cent of its population is North Dakota born, 30.5 per cent is native born from outside the state, and 35.4 per cent is foreign born. Living in cities its population is distributed as follows: 3.0 per cent in cities of 8,000 or more inhabitants, 2.4 per cent in cities of 4,000 to 8,000, 1.9 per cent in cities of 2,500 to 4,000, making a total urban and semi-urban population of 7.3 per cent. Only about 24,000 born in the state have moved outside, chiefly to Washington and other western states. In both directions, in the case of immigrants and emigrants, the migrants relative to North Dakota evidently settle in rural regions.

III. SIGNIFICANCE TO RURAL COMMUNITIES OF MIGRATION

TO CITIES

Notwithstanding the fact that the flow of country population to the cities is less than is generally supposed, there may be some important considerations for rural communities involved in the movement. However much else may be implicated, the following points deserve attention.

First, the actual loss of population in itself may not be an affliction to the country. It is rather the results which flow out of this loss which might prove baneful.

Second, we may conceive that the country will receive an injury in so far as the supply of subsistence necessary to its existence is cut down. Reflection shows that this injury is