SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF RECENT IMMIGRATION 55 
September 30, 1909, and data relating to alien pris 
oners in the penal institutions throughout the United 
States, in 1908, were utilized, as well as the police 
records made in Chicago in the years 1905-1908. 
Many of these figures, of course, are not comparable 
one with another, but by a careful study certain gen 
eral conclusions may be reached. 
CLASSES OF CRIME 
The tables on pages 57 and 58, of the distribution 
of classes of crime, show that in all of the courts in 
vestigated, the proportion of natives committing gain 
ful offenses is decidedly larger than that of for 
eigners, altho in offenses of personal violence and of 
those against public policy the foreigner predominates. 
It should be borne in mind, however, that in the case 
of offenses against public policy many are merely the 
violation of a city ordinance, such as peddling without 
a city license, and it may be that in certain of these 
cases the newly arrived immigrant was not aware that 
he was committing an offense. Even, however, if he 
did know that he was violating an ordinance, it could 
hardly be assumed that it was such a misdemeanor 
as would imply a serious criminal tendency. 
When on the other hand we take up the offense of 
personal violence, we find that in the City Magistrate’s 
Court of New York and in the County and Supreme 
Courts of the same State, the percentage of offenses of 
personal violence is very much higher among the 
Italians than among any other race or nationality. 
This seems a matter of special significance. For ex 
ample, of the convictions of Italians in the County 
and Supreme Courts of New York State, 39.3 per cent, 
were for offenses of personal violence; of the convic