Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Side 22

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LE NORD
felt, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe to an in-
creasing extent taking the place of those from Northern and
Western Europe, who were considered more desirable. — In
1924 a new basis for the calculation of quotas was introduced,
viz. the census of 1890, while at the same time the percentage
was reduced to 2 per cent. This was done with the object of
further reducing immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe,
an object which was fully achieved. An incidental result of the
new system was, however, that the Danish quota was reduced
to 2789. — As from July 1, 1927, so-called “national origin”1)
was made the basis of the quotas, a provision ambiguous in mean-
ing and arbitrary in its effects, which resulted in the further
curtailing of the Danish quota to 1181.
These restrictions caused the stream of Danish emigration
to be increasingly diverted to Canada, and during 1927—29
more Danish emigrants reached the Dominion than the U. S. A.
The economic world crisis of 1929—32 reduced Danish
emigration to America to a minimum, and the present war has
brought it completely to a stop.
Statistics show that the town which has most Danish in-
habitants is Chicago, with 12,502. Only 18 of the 87 municipali-
ties of Denmark have more Danish-born inhabitants than Chi-
cago. Next comes New York with 11,096. Relatively to the
size of their populations, the Danish element in these cities is of
course extremely small. The greatest percentage of Danish-born
inhabitants is found in Racine, Wisconsin, which has been called
“the most Danish town in America,” and in which a little over
6 per cent. of the inhabitants are Danish-born (3,466 out of
58,000). Of the counties, Audubon County in Iowa has pro-
portionaly the greatest number of Danish-born inhabitants, viz.
11 per cent., or 1400 out of a total population of 12,500.
No statistics are available relating to the occupations of the
Danish-born Americans, except for the farmers. Between one
seventh and one eighth of all Danish-born persons in the United
States are farmers. In this respect they are only surpassed by
J) The computations made in connection with “national origin” showed
that there were 735,000 persons of Danish descent in the U. S. A., viz
93,400 descendants of the few Danes who lived in America in 1790,
189,934 immigrants from Denmark according to the census of 1920, 277,149
children of Danish immigrants, and finally 174,600 grandchildren of
Danish immigrants.