124 
THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM 
community which they serve has become firmly estab 
lished and, as a rule, immigrant business activities 
are confined to quite small establishments, restricted 
with some exceptions, as in the case of restaurants, 
fruit stands or shoe-shining parlors, to the sections of 
the cities and towns occupied by the alien population. 
The immigrant business man, by the mere fact that 
he is an alien, is placed at a decided advantage over 
native competitors, for the inhabitants of an immi 
grant community naturally patronize with one accord 
those of their countrymen who operate stores and 
shops. 
There are no general statistics which afford an in 
sight into the tendency of the different races to en 
gage in business. The Greeks have gone into the 
candy and restaurant business to a large extent, 
while the Hebrews favor the clothing business. More 
over, in any given community the proportion of cer 
tain races in business enterprises will be largely de 
termined by the racial composition of the community. 
A few statements, however, as to the business situa 
tion in a number of representative industrial cities 
will throw a light on the general situation. The 
tabulation opposite shows the number of immigrants 
in business and the kind of business followed in 
Lackawanna City, a steel manufacturing locality near 
Buffalo, New York. 
Another illustrative example may be taken from 
Steelton, also a steel manufacturing city located near 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1909 there were 85 
immigrant business establishments in this city with 
an approximate capital investment of $285,765. The 
number of immigrants in each specified business, by 
race, is shown in the table on page 125.