CHAPTER I

DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF JEWISH IMMIGRANTS

In a study of Jewish immigration to the United States the first problem is to determine the number of Jews who entered this country during the thirty years from 1881 to 1910, and their nationality, or their countries of nativity. The determination of these figures meets with the difficulty that prior to 1899, immigrants were classified in the official statistics by country of nativity or residence, and not by race or nationality. Thus the figures regarding Jewish immigration are obtainable from official sources only from 1899. Those relating to previous years have to be sought for elsewhere.

The main sources that have been used to obtain the figures before 1899 are the reports of three Jewish societies which were concerned with the care of the Jewish immigrants arriving at the principal ports of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. These were the United Hebrew Charities, of New York; the Association for the Protection of Jewish Immigrants, of Philadelphia; and the Hebrew Benevolent Society, of Baltimore. Each of these maintained an agent who, besides his other duties, collected statistical information concerning the sex, age, country of nativity, occupation, destination, etc., of the Jewish immigrants, partly from the ships' manifests and partly through personal inquiry. The statistical information thus obtained was regularly included in the annual reports of these societies. These records were begun by the New York and Philadelphia societies, in 1884, and by the Baltimore society, in 1891.

As the yearly statistical tables of these reports were made to correspond with the annual meeting of these societies,[48] it was found advisable to rearrange them from July to June, in order to have them correspond with the fiscal year, and thus allow for a proper comparison with the official data furnished by the immigration authorities.

As rearranged, the tables presented the number of Jewish immigrants entering the ports of New York and Philadelphia from July 1, 1886, to June 30, 1898, and the number of Jewish immigrants entering the port of Baltimore from July 1, 1891, to June 30, 1898.[49] As these three ports were, up to recent years, the places of entry of all but a very small number of Jewish immigrants, the figures thus obtained represent practically the total Jewish immigration to the United States from 1886 to 1898.

To ascertain the nationality or country of nativity of the Jewish immigrants from 1886 to 1898, it was necessary to redistribute in accordance with the fiscal year the monthly arrivals found in the tables of the United Hebrew Charities, which contain the figures for each nationality.[50] As the reports of the Philadelphia society gave only the totals of arrivals of each nationality for each year but not distributed by months, the following method was employed. The percentage the immigration of each nativity constituted of the total immigration from November to October (the society's year) was used as the basis for calculating the annual immigration of each nativity from July to June.[51] There being no essential difference between Baltimore and Philadelphia, so far as Jewish immigrants of each nationality are concerned, the same percentages were used as for Philadelphia.[52]

The discrepancy between the official figures of the total immigration from Roumania from 1886 to 1898 and those of the Jewish societies for the Jewish immigrants from Roumania for the same period is worthy of note. In each of four years the number of Jewish immigrants from Roumania as reported by the Jewish societies exceeded the total immigration from Roumania as reported in the official statistics. For two years, 1892 and 1893, the official statistics do not report any immigrants from Roumania, whereas the Jewish societies report,[53] respectively, 740 and 555 Jewish immigrants from Roumania, which represented a normal number from this country, as the other years indicate.[54]

The total number of immigrants of each nationality arriving from July 1, 1886, to June 30, 1898, was thus obtained. The total number of Jewish immigrants arriving from Russia, Austria-Hungary and Roumania, at each of the principal ports, for each year from 1886 to 1898, are summarized in table V.[55]

The figures of Jewish immigration before 1886 were not obtainable either from the official or the Jewish sources, there being only an estimate of the number of the Jewish immigrants from 1881 to 1884 in the _American Jewish Year Book_ of 1899-1900 (as 74,310), and in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ (as 62,022), without any indications as to how these were obtained. To secure a fairly accurate statement, the proportion the Russian Jewish immigration from 1886 to 1898 bore to the total Russian immigration was used as the basis for calculating the total number of Russian Jewish immigrants from 1881 to 1885.[56] This was distributed yearly according to the proportion of each year's contribution to the five years' total. By a similar calculation the number of Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary was obtained.[57] For Roumania, the proportion of Jews being more than ninety per cent, and at this period practically the entire Roumanian immigration being Jewish, the figures were taken _in toto_. The results for each year added together constituted the total Jewish immigration for the year.

The general tendency among writers on the subject of Jewish immigration has been to exaggerate the magnitude of this movement. In a discussion in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ regarding the dimensions of the Jewish immigration before 1899, exact figures were given that are on their face erroneous.[58] The inaccuracy of these figures is explained by the fact that the writer committed a gross error in making his table. The total Russian immigration to the United States from 1880 to 1898 was designated as the Jewish immigration from Russia, though it should have been evident that the number of other peoples coming from Russia and included in these figures must have been very large. Another column gave as Jewish immigrants coming from countries other than Russia, the totals of the Jewish immigrants entering the United States from 1885 to 1898, as reported in the _American Jewish Year Book_ of 1899 (the latter figures of which included Russian Jews as well as those of other nativities), thereby doubling the number of Russian Jewish immigrants for this period. The result has been to more than triple the numbers of the Jewish immigrants. These figures have been widely used and quoted, and have generally created the impression of a Jewish immigration larger by several hundred thousands than is really the case.[59]

The results of the foregoing are summarized in Table VI, which gives the number of Jewish immigrants arriving in each of the thirty years from 1881 to 1910, and the principal countries of nativity of these immigrants. We are thus in a position closely to study the movement of Jewish immigration for practically the entire period since it became a significant part of the recent immigration to the United States, and thereby to throw light upon the character of this movement, in itself and as a part of the general immigration.

TABLE VI

JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES, 1881 TO 1910

Year Austria- United Russia Hungary Roumania Kingdom Germany 1881 3125 2537 30 -- -- 1882 10489 2648 65 -- -- 1883 6144 2510 77 -- -- 1884 7867 3340 238 -- -- 1885 10648 3938 803 -- 1473 1886 14092 5326 518 -- 983 1887 23103 6898 2063 -- 780 1888 20216 5985 1653 -- 727 1889 18338 4998 1058 -- 758 1890 20981 6439 462 -- 633 1891 43457 5890 854 -- 636 1892 64253 8643 740 -- 1787 1893 25161 6363 555 -- 1814 1894 20747 5916 616 -- 1109 1895 16727 6047 518 -- 1028 1896 20168 9831 744 -- 829 1897 13063 5672 516 -- 586 1898 14949 7367 720 -- 296 1899 24275 11071 1343 174 405 1900 37011 16920 6183 133 337 1901 37660 13006 6827 110 272 1902 37846 12848 6589 55 182 1903 47689 18759 8562 420 477 1904 77544 20211 6446 817 669 1905 92388 17352 3854 14299 734 1906 125234 14884 3872 6113 979 1907 114937 18885 3605 7032 734 1908 71978 15293 4455 6260 869 1909 39150 8431 1390 3385 652 1910 59824 13142 1701 4098 705 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1119059 281150 67057 42896 20454

Year Brit. All N.A. Turkey France Others Total 1881 -- -- -- -- 5692 1882 -- -- -- -- 13202 1883 -- -- -- -- 8731 1884 -- -- -- -- 11445 1885 -- -- -- -- 16862 1886 -- -- -- 254 21173 1887 -- -- -- 200 33044 1888 -- -- -- 300 28881 1889 -- -- -- 200 25352 1890 -- -- -- 124 28639 1891 -- -- -- 561 51398 1892 -- -- -- 950 76373 1893 -- -- -- 429 35322 1894 -- -- -- 791 29179 1895 -- -- -- 871 26191 1896 -- -- -- 276 32848 1897 -- -- -- 535 20372 1898 -- -- -- 322 23654 1899 5 81 9 52 37415 1900 -- 114 17 49 60764 1901 -- 154 20 49 58098 1902 -- 138 9 21 57688 1903 -- 211 11 74 76203 1904 8 313 32 196 106236 1905 11 173 327 772 129910 1906 429 461 479 1297 153748 1907 1818 918 306 952 149182 1908 2393 635 425 1079 103387* 1909 2780 690 325 748 57551* 1910 2262 1388 339 801 84260* ----------------------------------------------------------- Total 9706 5276 2299 14903 1562800

* From 1908 immigrants were classified in the reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration as "immigrant aliens," those intending to reside permanently in the United States and "non-immigrant aliens," those making a temporary trip to the United States. In the figures of 1908, 1909 and 1910, only the "immigrant aliens" are considered.

TABLE VII

PERCENTAGE OF ANNUAL JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTED BY EACH COUNTRY OF NATIVITY, 1881 TO 1910

Austria- United Year Russia Hungary Roumania Kingdom Germany 1881 54.8 44.7 0.5 -- -- 1882 79.5 20.1 0.4 -- -- 1883 70.4 28.7 0.9 -- -- 1884 68.7 29.2 2.1 -- -- 1885 63.1 23.4 4.8 -- 8.7 1886 66.6 25.2 2.4 -- 4.6 1887 69.9 20.8 6.3 -- 2.4 1888 70.0 20.7 5.7 -- 2.5 1889 72.3 19.7 4.2 -- 3.0 1890 73.3 22.5 1.6 -- 2.2 1891 84.6 11.5 1.6 -- 1.2 1892 84.1 11.3 1.1 -- 2.2 1893 71.2 18.0 1.6 -- 5.1 1894 71.1 20.3 2.1 -- 3.8 1895 63.9 23.1 2.0 -- 3.9 1896 61.4 29.9 2.3 -- 2.5 1897 64.1 27.9 2.5 -- 2.9 1898 63.2 31.1 3.0 -- 1.3 1899 64.9 29.5 3.6 .5 1.1 1900 60.9 27.8 10.2 .2 .6 1901 64.8 22.4 11.8 .2 .5 1902 65.6 22.3 11.4 .1 .3 1903 62.6 24.6 11.2 .6 .6 1904 73.0 19.0 6.1 .8 .6 1905 71.1 13.4 3.0 11.0 .6 1906 81.5 9.7 2.5 4.0 .6 1907 77.1 12.7 2.4 4.7 .5 1908 69.6 14.8 4.3 6.1 .8 1909 68.0 14.7 2.4 5.9 1.2 1910 71.1 15.6 2.0 4.9 .8 -------------------------------------------------------- Total 71.6 17.9 4.3 2.8 1.3

Year Brit. All N.A. Turkey France Others Total 1881 -- -- -- -- 100.0 1882 -- -- -- -- 100.0 1883 -- -- -- -- 100.0 1884 -- -- -- -- 100.0 1885 -- -- -- -- 100.0 1886 -- -- -- 1.2 100.0 1887 -- -- -- .6 100.0 1888 -- -- -- 1.1 100.0 1889 -- -- -- .8 100.0 1890 -- -- -- .4 100.0 1891 -- -- -- 1.1 100.0 1892 -- -- -- 1.3 100.0 1893 -- -- -- 4.1 100.0 1894 -- -- -- 2.7 100.0 1895 -- -- -- 7.1 100.0 1896 -- -- -- 3.9 100.0 1897 -- -- -- 2.6 100.0 1898 -- -- -- 1.4 100.0 1899 -- -- -- .4 100.0 1900 -- -- -- .3 100.0 1901 -- .2 -- .1 100.0 1902 -- .2 -- .1 100.0 1903 -- .3 -- .1 100.0 1904 -- .3 -- .2 100.0 1905 -- .1 .2 .6 100.0 1906 .3 .3 .3 .8 100.0 1907 1.2 .6 .2 .6 100.0 1908 2.3 .6 .4 1.1 100.0 1909 4.7 1.2 .6 1.3 100.0 1910 2.7 1.6 .4 .9 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------ Total 0.6 0.3 0.2 1.0 100.0

FOOTNOTES:

[48] The year of the United Hebrew Charities is from October to September, that of the Philadelphia society is from November to October, that of the Baltimore society is from July to June.

[49] _Cf._ table II, p. 159. The figures for Baltimore were furnished by the Baron de Hirsch Fund.

[50] For an example of this distribution _cf._ table III, p. 159.

[51] _Cf._ table IVA, p. 160. Thus, from November 1885 to October 1886 there entered the port of Philadelphia 2165 Jews, of whom 1624 or 75 per cent were from Russia, 260 or 12 per cent were from Austria-Hungary, 43 or 2 per cent were from Roumania, and 238 or 11 per cent were from all other countries. From July 1, 1885 to June 30, 1886, there entered the port of Philadelphia 1625 Jews. To ascertain the numbers of each nationality for this fiscal year, we may use the percentages given above for each nationality. Calculating these, we find that in the fiscal year 1886 of the 1625 Jews entering the port of Philadelphia, 1218 were from Russia, 196 were from Austria-Hungary, 33 were from Roumania, and 178 were from all other countries. In like manner, the numbers of each nationality for the other years were obtained.

[52] _Cf._ table IVB, p. 160.

[53] As corrected by the methods described.

[54] For the four years mentioned, the figures are as follows, those reported by the Jewish societies preceding those from official sources: in 1886, 518, 494; in 1887, 2063, 2045; in 1888, 1653, 1188; in 1889, 1058, 893. For the official figures _cf._ Immigration Commission: _Statistical Review of Immigration_, pp. 40-44.

[55] _Cf._ table V, p. 161.

[56] Out of a total of 505,078 Russian immigrants from 1886 to 1898, the Russian Jewish immigrants constituted 315,355, or 62 per cent.

[57] In calculating the number of Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary the percentage the Jewish immigration was of the total immigration from Austria-Hungary from 1886 to 1910 and not, as in the case with the Jewish immigration from Russia, from 1886 to 1898, was used through an oversight as the basis for calculation. As the immigration of Jews from Austria-Hungary for 1885 at the port of New York alone constituted 14 per cent of the total immigration from Austria-Hungary, this figure was put down _in toto_, being a higher number than the one obtained by calculation. As the Jewish immigration from 1886 to 1910 constituted 9 per cent of the total immigration from Austria-Hungary and the immigration from 1886 to 1898 constituted 14 per cent of the total immigration, the difference is not large. Following is the table indicating the difference for each year from 1881 to 1884.

Year. Total Jewish immigration. Difference. immigration. at 14 at 9 per cent per cent 1881 27935 3882 2537 1345 1882 29150 4051 2648 1403 1883 27625 3840 2510 1330 1884 36571 5083 3340 1743

The increased numbers from the higher percentage involve no change in the relative position of Jewish immigration from the three principal countries of emigration, except in 1881, when the Jewish immigration from Austria-Hungary would have exceeded that from Russia.

[58] _Jewish Encyclopedia_: "Migration," vol. viii, p. 584. _Ibid._, "Russia"--Emigration, vol. x, p. 547.

[59] Ruppin uses these figures in _Die Sozialen Verhaeltnisse der Juden in Russland_, p. 11.

Hersch, (_Le juif errant d'aujourd'hui_), subjects the figures given in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ to a thorough analysis and shows their absurdity. Unaware, however, of the nature of the error committed by the writer and of the existence of authoritative sources for the figures of Jewish immigration, he drew the conclusion that it is impossible to obtain any really accurate figures of Jewish immigration before 1899. This leads him into serious errors owing to the fact that he discusses the movement of Jewish immigration from the basis of the twelve years from 1899 to 1910, representing the height of the movement, instead of for the entire period of thirty years. This vitiates his principal conclusions regarding the character of the Jewish movement to this country. Particularly noticeable is his neglect of the phenomena presented by the Russian and Roumanian movements and his elevation of the movement from Austria-Hungary as the type of Jewish immigration to this country.