Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-03-30
A VILE TRADE.
The Cruelty Of the Traffic II. Italia,,
Children.

Children.
Naples Cor. of the London Times
1t is not long since reported the dis
covery of vile trade which was being car
ried on in Naples, that of the expectation of
women under false preteness to Alexandria.
The expectation of young boys and girls
who, under the direction of cruel masters,
haunted and stunned all the capitals of Eu-
rope, has long been known. Much has been
done in London, as we'll as in this country,
for the suppression of this trade, and both
the evils to which have adverted have late
ly been under the strict investigation of our
active and intelligent Qusestor. The result
has been that four men were recently arrest
ed as agents in procuring and sending off
young musicians who, in some cases, had
scarcely emerged from infancy.
can not do no better than illustrate the
vileness of this trade by reporting two or
three cases which have come under the notice
of the police. The Province of Basilicata has
been
THE PRINCIPAL SOURCE
from which these victims have been derived,
and it is from the neighborhood of Potenza
that two of those recently discovered were
brought up to Naples. In a house in the
Strada Florentini two boys were found one
fifteen years of age, performer on the harp;
the other eleven years of age, performer on
the violin. They had been confined there
by their taskmaster for sixteen days, waiting
for a passage on a steamer. During that
time they had been fed on bread and water
only, and slept on the bare ground. They
had been given up to a co1atzatttorre del
naus5c0ntS Nnabalt1nt by their parents
for four years for the price of one hundred
ducats, or about four hundred lire: the other
also for four years, on condition that the
profit of the first year should be paid to the
parents; for the remainder of the term twen-
ty ducats year were to be sent to the
parents.
The poor children made some extraordi-
nary revelations, showing yet more the cru
city of the trade, and among other facts re-
lated that their conductor, who is called
Frainbent, went to America not long ago
with twelve or thirteen children. Ricci, an
other agent, who, like his fellows, has been
arrested, had a register in his possession
showing that last October he undertook to
send off to America three persons on the re-
celpt of L, 800 lire in gold. Another feature
in
THE VILE AND FRAUDULENT
trade which has long been carried on in
Southern Italy, is clandestine emigration.
These poor fellows, as ignorant as poor, were
provided by the agent with passports only
for the interior, so that at some point they
were sure to be stopped minus their money
and sent back to their homes poorer if not
wiser men. During the inquisition which
the officers of justice made, they came on
5000 lire, which there is reason to believe
was part of the profits wrung from wretched
emigrants.
Here, then, have reported three distinct
crimes, which have been practiced in South
ern Italy against the weaker and more un-
protected classes of society-women, chill
dren and Ignorant peasantry-and it is salts
factory that the government and local au-
thorities have taken up this subject with
great energy, and some of the results of their
investigation I have given you. 1t is apropoe
of clandestine emigration that the IScco1o
published telegram from Marseilles to the
following effect: A mutiny had arisen in
that port among $50 italian emigrants from
Genoa on their way to America; the cause OF
the revolt was this: They had been pro-
missed by the agents passage on board 8
steamer, but instead of the promise being
fulfilled they had all been crowded into {
sailing vessel and packed like anchovies one
on the top of the other. The crew had also
made
COMMON CAUSE WITH TIE EM1GRANTs,
and, as this was to them much more com
promising, it may we'll be believed that thu
complaints were amply justified. Thu
Italian consul, it is said, has telegraphed fol
instructions to his government, and protec
ton will no doubt be given to these victim.
of fraud and punishment melted out to thos,
who have practiced it.