TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY                       11

PART II

SURVEY OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

CHAPTER III

POPULATION AND DISTRIBUTION

DIFFICULTIES OF ACCTJRATE ENUMERATION
—It is difficult to ascertain with absolute accuracy the
number of Americans of Italian extraction located in
the greater city. The reason for this is that no organi¬
zation, social, educational, political or religious exists
today which is sufficiently interested in collecting and
keeping statistics of the type of American under con¬
sideration here apart from Americans of other racial
stocks.

If one were to attempt this task the ideal method
would be a house to house canvass. The thousands of
homes that would thus have to be canvassed make this
impossible. Instead therefore, the figures of this pop¬
ulation under investigation are derived from other
sources.*

The only study ever made and bearing on this problem
is not a recent one and many changes have occurred
since to modify the findings then reported . As an ap¬
proximation tho it can still be instructive. In 1903 the
Italian Chamber of Commerce decided to find out how
many Italians were domiciled in both the City and the
State of New York.

* Since the war Italian immigration has become nil.   Never¬
theless, the process of Americanization is still going on among
those  who  have  come  here  from  Italy and  among their  de-
scendents.   As these latter people become more and more ma-.
ture, they move away from the settlement formerly inhabited \
and locate elsewhere.   It is safe to say that nine out of every .\
ten such individuals the moment it is possible for them to do y
so  move  out  and  locate   elsewhere  than  in  the original  set¬
tlement  of   the   parent,   thereby   mingling    inextricably   with
Americans of other extractions.   Because of this fact and also
because of  a  definite  percentage  who  thru  marriage  become
inseparably   intermingled   with  other   stocks  any  attempt  to
deal  conclusively  with  the  numbers  of  Americans  of  Italian
blood in New York City is well-nigh futile.