Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-09-24
OUR STREET MUSICIANS.
where shey Come From-HOw they arc
E8pIoyed-HOW Paid and Treated.
Efforts OF AmerieosItaflans 20 Suppress
n Busihess-ItaIian Law TO the
Reseae.

-... .".r. ...H p n.. "..... ..".H"
Few, II any, of the citizens Of this flourish.
ing burg, possessed " the smallest particle OF
the milk Of human kindness" but have
noticed the little Italian harpers who
perambulate the streets-those little, musical
Arabs who pick up n scanty living by dis
coursing discOrdant strains IN street-corners
and in saloons. In America they are an es-
tablished Institution, and travel about the
entire country a sort Of wandering minstrelsy,
None would take this boy 10 be a scion OF Ital-
lar nooihty His pale, puny and ptnched-up
1 countenance looks from beneath an old hat,
from which prOtrudes a few scattering locks
OF jet black hair; his clothes are old, in most
cases ragged, and Of a size TO Mt his father;
MS shoes are several sizes tooiarge Tor MIN,
never blackened, and he shuffies as he walks.
There Is something weird and old about his
little upturned cOuntenance as he asks you
Tor a penny, after he has performed some
simple piece on hts musical instrument; there
Is n depth of untold sorrow in his large, round
and Iustrous black eyes, as he receives the
mite Of the charitably inclined; and yet,
with all his old-fashiOned ways, with his sOr-
Tow-marRed cOuntenanCe, his form tells you
he is, as yet, but a mere child.
As he rambles along in his ~listless, lacka-
daisica manner, he carries his violin and
bow under his coat, and the ends stick out
from below. He has no real idea of music,
and occasionally he Will vary the mOnotony
notes, sung in a harsh and discordant voice.
or course there are exceptions 10 this
with boys, as well as girls, with
sweet. winning faces, and musical, childish
voices, but they are the exception to the gem
eral rule, as the type above described are
more frequently met. II this little wanderer
has his faults, and many glaring ones, can II
be wondered at? for he has good reasons for
his faults. II he sits in the close, sitting at
moSphere Of a barroOm, reeking with the
fumes of whisky inc tobacco, for long hours
after children OF his own age are comfortably
slowed away for The night, for q mere pit
lance Of pennies, he has good reasons for so
doing, for he has q master-a cruel, cold
hearted, sOrdid master-tO whom he has to
render a strict account of the day, and who
holds the same relation as the master does to
the peOn, and for whom he is compelled to
work day and far into the night, and his only
reward is scanty food and constant abuse.
These boys are frequently advertised for as
captured by detectives, and
brought back TO a life that is nothing more
than a lingering death.
WHENCE COME THE BOYS.
The provinces or counties of Calabria and
BaSilicata form the instep and the arch of the
sole of the vast boot of Italy, and from these,
and AbruzzO and other counties in 1talyis
ankle and leg, are taken the white arabs who
Hood our streets with music from harp an q
violin. Their romantic surroundings and the
dellghtfuI climate seem to have tnstiled
some OF the spirit of poetry into the unedu-
Gated peasants, and musical instruments are
as common as any article of household furni-
lure. 1he children are pretty, n they take
TO music almost as naturally as to their food,
and begin on some instrument at a very early
age. Very few ever learn notes, but al, from
" 1AI EEEAA ~ "a III GdA
Tor music. This is the source of the supply
OF the street boys and girls with harps and
violins who may be seen throughout the
country, and the trade in them is OF consider
able magnitude.
Tn buyer agrees 70 pay the parents one hun
dred and fourteen dollars for the services Of
me child Tor three years, TO furnish il with a
harp or violin, to dress, feed and return it to
italy when the term Of service shall nav eX-
plred. II the child breaks his instrument the
damage is TO be deducted from the one nun
bred and fourteen dollars. A part of this sum
Is paid in advance, serving in a great measure
to enable the buyer to secure the child.
OPEN DEFIANCE OF THE LAW.
The children are bought mainly in the vii
Iages n towns. sometimes the buyer Sc
cures a sufficient number in one place; but or
dlnarily he goes about from village to village
until he has collected a gang of from ten TO
twenty chlldren, these secured marching from
place TO place untilthe child traders cargo is
completed. The Italian Parliament recently
stringent laws for the prevention of
this traffic, providing tina no children so hired
OF Fought shall be taken from Italy by sea.
This law is evaded by taking the children out
OF the country by land. The law is sometimes
openly set at defiance, althOugh IL provides for
punishment by Imprisonment and fine. Five
men who in July attempted to start from &c
noa with agang OF children for the United
states, were apprehended and imprisoned,
and the children were sent back to their pa
rents. As there is no law TO prevent the emil
grafton Of families, parents frequently accom-
their children to the United States,
from some seaport in Italy.
To eVade the law the children are marched
across the country until they reach the from
Ter Of France, at Savoy OF Nice, and there
he original buyer is met by agents to whom
he children are sold or sub-let. The original
buyer returns TO the peOn country for m ore
took.
Formerly many OF the children were sold
. France, and they were numerous in Paris
md other cities. The Italian Benevolent So
ne government, under Napoleon, and asked
hat this class Of musicians might be forbid
len TO play. II was so ordered, and thet trade
n France was practically stopped.
France is the distributing point. England
nd the United States buy the largest number
II the children, and it is said that some are
TO South America. Those intended
or the United StaJeS are shipped at HaVre
nd landed at Castle Garden in this city.
THE TRADERS ATROCITIES.
when the children arrive in the United
states they are utterly wretcheda and ignorant.
dany of them are again sub-let and taken to
in Boston, Philadelphia or New York,
he majority remaining here. The headquar-
ers in New York Is in Crosby street. After the
TO their masters here, the infant
.rabS are frequently treated with brutality, /
nd a system Of espionage is established. One
set to watch another, and often a large boy
5 sent out with two smaller ones to see tina
II the money is turned in. ThisdemoraIizing
system makes one report whether John or
oseph has spent a penny for a cake or an ap-
lie, and whether he is reported against or
his clothing and shoes and stockings are
II he has, he is fiOgged or tied up,
II otherwise maltreated, and in any event he
generally gets Scant food and is compelled to
leep in a crowded and filthy room. When
ne meets these children late at night or early
n the morning, il is safe TO say that they have
lot secured the amount required Of them, and
hey are afraid TO so home. Instances have
'een known where, falling asleep in the
treets ia winter they have been frozen TO
.eath.
A NOBLE ITALIANS WORK.
Mr.. q. F. Secchi de CasaIi, of LEO dItdlia
lewSpaper, had long known OF the business,
nd had done all in his power TO suppress the
rade. In December, ISL he published in his
newspaper a series of powerful articles which
.ttracted attention in Italy. Hon. q. GGer-
oni, Liberal leader in the Italian Parliament, I
aid the subject before that body, and the
and suggestions furnished by
dItGfd articles were embodied in the
ill laid before Parliament and this law above
TO was passed. Chevalier +. De Lucca,
he Italian COnsul-General in New York, has
Ong tried TO suppress the trade, and has CO.
.perated in every movement TO that end.
treat credit Is due the above noble-hearted
Gentlemen for their praiSeworthy endeavors
o suppress this infamous business, and il is
o be hoped that every Italian worthy of the
of man, and whose soul is in any way
Ouched at the recital of the sufferings OF
talyiS children, will set his countenance
-gainst such a damnable traffic, and by doing
o speedily put an end to 1t. ltalys sons
throughout the whole civilized world nave
90 bright n record aud too fair a fame, not to
that OF the entire globe wakes pale and
Insignificant, to allow such a blot TO remain
lnefaced upon their country's escutcheon.
I