NATIONAL ORIGINS PROVISION OF IMMIGRATION LAW 157
of the first census (1790), published by the Census Bureau in the
Jocument entitled “A Century of Population Growth,” were sub-
ject to substantial correction in one respect. It was claimed that
in relying upon the Christian and surnames contained in the cen-
sus of 1790 to determine the proportion of people of English, Scotch,
[rish, or German descent, a certain allowance should be made for
the Anglicization of some of the names which were not in fact
English,
The revised national-origins report (S. Doc. 65) by the com-
mittee of experts, shows how this problem was dealt with. Says
the report (p. 4):
It was to be expected that whatever error there might be in this classifi-
sation would be in the direct.on of an overstatement of the English element in
the population, because that was the dominant element in most parts of the
United States at that period, and for that reason the name changes would
paturally be in the direction of the Anglicization of names of non-lnglish
origin. Moreover, there would be a natural and justifiable tendency on the
part of the class.fiers to assign to the dominant element in the population
111 names not clearly of other origin.
“The investigations carried on by the research experts employed by the
American Council of Learned Societies bore out this expectation, indicating
that the English element as given in the Century of Population Growth was
too large; and on the basis of data which they submitted and of information
derived from other sources your committee came to the conclusion that the
English element as there given should be reduced by a little over 10 per cent
and the amount of the reduction distributed among the other nationalities
represented in the population of the United States in 1790. This revision affects
only that portion of the several quotas which is derived from the 1790 popula-
tion, which we termed ‘the original native stock.” It does not affect that
portion which is derived from immigrant stock coming into this country after
1760."
It is quite apparent from this that the experts, after much con-
scientious work and corroboration of their work by expert assist-
ance of the Council of Learned Societies, gave liberal recognition
of the claim above referred to. This resulted in the only changes of
any importance made in the revision report of the national origins
quota board as compared with the original report, namely, changes
affecting the quotas of Great Britain and Ireland and to a less extent
Germany, as shown in the following table:
National-
origins quotas
SO iain and North Tn
Jreat Britain and North Ireland... o.oo... IIIT
rish Free State. A
i
Revised
fiotirae
%, 908
65, 804 |
17 497
Prelim-
inary
report
23,428
73,039
13. R62
Considerable testimony has been offered during the present hear-
‘ngs to show that the final national-origins quota awarded to Ger-
many is fair and corresponds very closely with the claims as to the
number of persons of German origin in the United States by author-
ities having a high standing with the German element in the United
States. But there is also evidence, not alluded to during these
hearings, that the national-origins quota allotted to the Irish Free
I5RR5— 929.11
