OCCUPATIONS. The agricultural industry still continues well in the lead with respect to the number of persons engaged. There has been, however, a marked relative decrease since 1SSO, as will lie seen in the table below. In the period 18S0-1900 there was a larger absolute gain•in the number engaged in trade and transportation, and in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, re spectively, than there was in agriculture. The increase in trade and transportation has been especially noteworthy. The number of females engaged in occupations more than doubled in the twenty-year period. The percentage of females engaged in domestic personal service decreased, while there was a large gain in the percentage engaged in trade and transportation. The follow ing table shows the number and percentage of persons engaged in the different occupations in 1S80 and 1900. The group 'manufacturing and mechanical pursuits' includes those engaged in fishing (16,177 in 1900), and mining and quarry ing (581,221), in addition to the number en gaged in those pursuits (6.436,594). The num ber engaged in mining and quarrying much more than doubled between 1880 and 1900.
census group 'foreign white,' constituting 12.2 per cent. of the total number of persons in this class. Only 0.6 per ceat. of the native whites of foreign parents could not speak English. There were 38.2 per cent, of the Chinese, 61.6 per cent. of the Japanese, and 42.3 per eent. of the Indians who could not. speak English.
131311l3 RATION. For a general discussion of lin migration and its problems, see article on IH MIGHATIoN. The statistics given here are based upon the report of the Commissioner-General of Immigration for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1903.
The number of immigrants for 1903 (857,046) exceeded that of any previous year by 105,043, and represented an increase over 1902 of 190,517. Italy and Austria-Hungary, it will he seen, con tributed more than one-half of the total from Eiirope. The aliens debarred during the year numbered S769, or 1.2 per cent., a percentage greater than for any preceding year, with the exception of 1S98 and 1S99. Paupers and con tract laborers constituted the greater part of the number rejected.
The table shows the principal races represented, and the number each contributed to the sum total of steerage immigrants: Itnlian (north and south) 233.546 Polish 82,343 SemndinnvInu 79,347 Hebrew 76.203 German 71,782 I rish 35,366 Slovak 34,427 Croatian and Slavoninn :32,907 English Magyar 27,124 All others 155,550 Total 857.046 Of the total number (857,046) 102,431 were less than fourteen years of age: 714,053 were be tween the ages of fourteen and forty-five; while 40,562 were forty-five years of age and upward.
Of all the immigrants 3341 could read but not write, and 1S5,667 could neither read no• mite.