The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-04-15
GRAJBALDI AND THE CAMPAGNA.

hotonists than they are likely to prove in
he consultations of engineers whose aid
tho veteran champion Of Italian unity
hall invoke in behalfofhis latest scheme
ror benetiting the Italian people. Inc
Roman Campagna which he purposes
with the aid of the Italian Government
to drain and otherwise improve, was
never particular healthy region, though
IN trutb nobody seems ever to have given
satisfactory reason why it should re-
main. as it has remained for the better
part of eighteen centuries, particularly
unhealthy region. In the earlier perloG'
of Roman history it was pretty thlckIy
4 ,ttpd with towns and villages, in the
sr rh;rcotion of which the descendants OF
Romulus gained their first experience IN
the arts of making military conquests ana
of governing conquered people In the
pa days of the Roman repuOlic large
M ,tions of the Campagna were occupied
by peasant farmers who titled the sou
aft n their primitive fashion, and IN thls
w,y did more or less effective battle
og inst the malaria. Then came the
Aa.h days of the empire when Roman
cornat.bagrers returned to Rome bloated
with wealth from plundered provinces 10
buy up the lands in the neighborhood OF
Rome for villa sites. The peasants pock'
eted their cash, threw side their Wooden
nIows.and sought the cities to llve upon
Egvntian corn and sour Italian WINE ana
tn divert themselves at public shows al
the pubiic expense. Hence IN grea'
measure the turbulence OF the Roman
nonnlace. which would patiently tolerate
no Emperor who faileu liDerally 10 pro,
vide it with "bread and the circus, anu
hence. also, in equally great measure, tie
unhealthiness of the Roman Campagha'
By degrees the country immediately
,round Rome which required the mosl
careful culture and drainage to KEEP, II
from becoming mere breeder OF mala,
rial vanors was more and more neglected
until it became the uninhabltaDlr region
which Garibaldi proposes to reclalhl'
The problem is an old one when sue
cessive Pontifis and potentates nave
earnestly contemplated but seldom taken
seriously in hand, because they have
lacked the vigor or the leisure to Attack
il. Napoleon the First once appointed
a commission to inquire, among othel
things, why the Campagna had Deen iel'
uncultivated, and why it was unhealCny
When Garibaldi comes to look ABOUT nm
for answers to these questions he VIII
doubtless learn that IatterIy thG Nalutae-
no has bpen left uncultivuied because 1t
is so desperateIy unhealthy, and thaC II Il
30 desperatelv unhealthy largely because
il has been left uncultivated. 1t seems
TO be demonstrated that no progress can
be made towards reclalmlng these ueaui!
fields until some well devised system VI
public improvements shall nave given
the apriculturist Il ioothold there, ana
lhut no progress thus gained can be Sc
c,lrely held until the proprletors Vi Iiie
land and the thrftless lazzaronl, WHO are
set to till it, are converted to more III
Imstrions and thrifty system OF tlllagt
than they have ever yet practlsed' Inc
laws of murtmain and entail uloel
which a large portion of this territory
was held, have in the past been the mos
seriou obstacle to the institution OF any
,,nrrl system Of public improvements
IN the iumpagna. These laws were
abolis red in 1870, and II Victor Emmah-
No, really intends TO cooperate IN the
scheme Of recIaiming the Cmnpash,s tlere
Is now NO legal obstacle to prevent Ills
lninr So But whatever may be ine teas,
ibility of the scheme it cannot be carried
"A, ,n,.4dv or sudden success. The malaria
which renders the Campagna SO lataily
unhealthy is attributed 10 the sWamps
nro1u ed bv the inundatlons oi the IlDer
and of the mountain sire ms, and these
.,uuudutions are in turn attributed 10 Tie
destruction of forests on mountain slopes,
,Is somewhat sim.la inundations Ill New
England are attributed to the same 3ause.
rhe CamnaUna is dotted with stagnanl
nnnls and swamps of greater or less area,
which nohodv ever thinks of attempting
IN drain because the prOprietors OF the
and take no interest in it except to
rollec; the rents. and the farmers who
lease it are ouly anxious to plant their
,.rops and Get out of the way Of the nlula'
ria as spee,liIy as may be. For diminish
mo tbe volume of the Iiber's inundatlons
Gsribaldi we believe, proposes atthe out
Let of his investigations TO divert a por-
ion Of its Aool-Waters by a canal The
nlan of building leyees which has been
ira tised along the valley Of the Pc tor
80 many centuries with such remarkable
results. both of danger and of beneh-
rence, was never popular in the valley OF
The Tiber It's mountain tributaries are
nrobably too numerous and too violent in
IN air floods for the easy application OF
rhe Ieyee system to the problem in hand.
But leyeps are now also suggested for the
Finer and as il is a smaller stream than
lhe Po it might be successfully leveed
without incurring the same danger from
.nrrassInllv co,. fininr the river and build