SIGNIFICANT FEATURES OF MIGRATION 41
Country of Origin—the “Old” and “New” Immigration.
So much of the discussion of immigration in recent years has
revolved around the relative merits of the so-called “old” and ‘“‘new”’
elements in immigration that it seems desirable to indicate their
relative contributions to the immigrant stream. The “old” immigration
 came from northern and western Europe; the “new”
comes from eastern and southern Europe and Turkey in Asia.
An examination of Table 4 and Chart 4 reveals that prior to 1896,
CHART 4
THE CHANGING CHARACTER OF IMMIGRATION:
in,
5
sol
04 ai (oh
gi Te = : :
ot ‘of . i
OTHER HamERATIN | i ¥
Years Ending June 30
sNumerical data in Table 4.
the majority of immigrants were of the “old” strain. In the year
ending June 30, 1896, the “new’’ immigration rose to 57 per cent of
the total and since that date, until the Great War, held a clear
preponderance over the immigration from northern and western
Europe. During the conduct of hostilities a large proportion of the
immigrants came from Canada and Mexico, and in more recent
years, the quota acts have been a restraining influence upon European
 immigration, particularly from the countries furnishing the
“new” immigration.
Leading Immigrant Races or Peoples.
Recognizing that a German immigrant does not always come
from Germany or an Italian from Italy, and that it may be desirable
The term “race” is used throughout this volume, not necessarily to designate a
group defined according to strict ethnological principles, but to refer to one of the some

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