The Italians of Cleveland

THE ITALIANS O F CLEVELAND
New York .......... ... . 470,000
Pennsylvania . . ...... ... 190,000
New Jersey . ..... ....... 115,000
Massachusetts . ....... .. 90,000
Illinois . ... .. .. .. ..... .. 75,000
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 60,000
Connecticut . ............ 55,000
Ohio . .... .. ..... ....... 40,000
Rhode Island ...... ..... 30,000
Louisisana . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 25,000
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . .. 25,000
Michigan . ..... ......... 25,000
Colorado . . .. .. :. ... .... 20,000
Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,000
Mississippi . . .. ........ " 20,000
Minnesota . . ......... ... 15,000
Wisconsin .... .. ........ 15,000
Texas . . ................ 10,000
Maryland . ........... ... 10,000
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10,000
Montana . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5,000
Iowa . ................ .. 5,000
Oregon . ..... " . . . . . . . . . 5,000
In these states they tend to congregate in the capitals and large
cities.
3/7 of the Italian population in Maryland is found in Baltimore
5/6 of the Italian population in Delaware is found in Wilmington
3/8 of the Italian population in Illinois is found. in Chicago
2/3 of the Italian population in Nebraska is found in Omaha
3/5 of the Italian population in Missouri is found in St. Louis
1/2 of the Italian population in Oregon is found in Portland
2/5 of the Italian population in Louisiana is found in New Orleans
1/3 of the I,talian population in Michigan is found in Detroit
1/2 of the Italian population in Ohio is found in Cleveland.
New York is next to Naples, the largest Italian city in the world ; in
fact, 78.1 % live in the large urban centres, and 21.9% only in the rural
communities, a fact which may indicate the unwi\1ingness of these immigrants
from rural Italy, accustomed by tradition and training to agriculture,
to pursue their agricultural occupation here. America seems to
mean for them the deliverance from everything connected with the tilling
of the soil.
,Distribution in Cleveland
Cleveland is said to be the centre of Italian life in Ohio. Immigrants
have their first residence here, then branch out into the neighboring
towns. The U. S. Census of 1910 showed 10,839 Italian born within
the city limits. Four years later the City Police Census of 1914, a discriminating
piece of work, placed the number at 13,570, while Mr. E. M.
Avery (History of Cleveland published in 1918) baldly states "there are
23,000 Italians in the city." 23,000, in view of the war restriction of
immigration, strikes one as an estimate entirely too high, but after comparing
the increase in the number of children attending the public
school, together with the figures of the naturalization bureau and the
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