_The greatest wealth of any nation is its people._—ALLEN H.
EATON.
To paint an adequate picture of the part which the immigrant has played
in the economic progress of the United States, it would be necessary, as
Rudyard Kipling says, “to splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of
comet’s hair.” The industrial and agricultural greatness of the United
States has been made possible by the brawn and brain of the immigrants
and their children.
_Cotton_
The important part played by the _Negro_ in the agricultural life of the
South is nowhere more vividly portrayed than by the story of King Cotton.
Cotton production, which amounted to 85,000,000 lb. in 1810, doubled
every ten years for the following three decades. By 1840, two-thirds
of the world’s cotton supply was produced in the South and, by 1850,
cotton valued at $98,000,000 was raised. In 1937-1938, the United States
produced four times as much cotton as the rest of the world.
[Illustration:
U.S.A. 18,946,000 BALES
BRAZIL 2,107,839 BALES
]
Much of the credit for this amazing achievement goes to the _Negro_ whose
labor has been the foundation of our Cotton Kingdom.
_Tobacco_
The story of tobacco is, too, largely the achievement of _Negro_ labor.
In 1618, the Virginia planters exported 20 lb. of tobacco, which
increased to 1,500,000 lb. in 1639 and reached a total of 53,000,000 lb.
in 1773. In 1937, the United States raised more than one-fourth of the
world’s tobacco supply.
[Illustration:
U.S.A. 1,553,000,000 LB.
CHINA 1,400,000,000 LB.
INDIA 1,200,000,000 LB.
]
In addition to his labor in the cotton and tobacco fields, the _Negro_
has also helped to make profitable the production of rice and sugar.
_Railroads_
The railroad played a great part in the settling of the West. With the
completion of the Erie Canal, the _Irish_ transferred their energy and
labor to building tracks for the transcontinental railroad. The _Chinese_
also labored on the western end. Today, _Irish_, _Chinese_, _Italian_,
and _Mexican_ laborers help to maintain the railroads. In 1937, almost
one-half the world’s miles of railways were in our country.
[Illustration:
U.S.A. 238,539 MI.
RUSSIA 52,425 MI.
INDIA 43,128 MI.
]
_Automobiles_
Natural resources and inventive genius have enabled us to produce each
year three times as many automobiles as the rest of the world put
together. The work of the _Poles_, _Slavs_, _Mexicans_, and other groups
has been an important factor in this phenomenal growth.
[Illustration:
U.S.A. 4,808,974
BRITAIN 490,366
GERMANY 331,894
]
_Steel_
Early colonial iron mills were operated by the _Germans_, whose muskets,
made in Nazareth, Pa., were used by the continental troops. In later
years, the _Poles_ and _Slavs_ have labored in the great steel mills
of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York. It is the endurance and
physical heritage of these sturdy people that have made it possible for
us to lead the world in the production of steel.
[Illustration:
U.S.A. 50,569,000 T.
GERMANY 19,536,000 T.
BRITAIN 12,964,000 T.
]
_Coal_
The _Welsh_ with the _Scotch-Irish_ were the first to develop our coal
mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. These, together with the
_English_, _Irish_, _Germans_, _Poles_, and _Slavs_, have made us the
chief coal producer of the world.
[Illustration:
U.S.A. 488,692,000 T.
BRITAIN 224,000,000 T.
GERMANY 146,696,000 T.
]
_Farming_
Our debt to the _German_ farmer is great, for he made the wilderness
blossom in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri. To
Minnesota and surrounding states came the _Swedes_, _Norwegians_, and
_Finns_ with their advanced cooperative methods and the _Danes_ with
their dairy methods.... Sturdy _Czechs_ farmed Nebraska and Iowa. The
_Swiss_ in Wisconsin helped us to become the greatest cheesemakers in the
world. The _Russians_ brought us important seed varieties of wheat, rye,
oats, buckwheat, sunflowers, and millet.
_Finns_ and _French-Canadians_ in the lumber camps of Maine and
Washington have made it possible for us to produce more than 24 million
board feet of lumber in one year.... _Portuguese_ are prominent in the
New England fisheries as are the _Finns_ on the Pacific Coast.... The
_Greeks_ have developed a flourishing sponge industry in Florida....
_Italians_ are engaged in the marble quarries of Vermont and on truck
farms of New Jersey and California.
[Illustration: LEADING SOURCES OF IMMIGRATION FROM 1820-1938]