Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-10-15

Then DO wear the crown
With wheel or whoal
Our Italians.
Among all the fereign people who
have emigrated to the United States,
the Italians, with the sole exception oil
the Chinese, have kept closer and more
exclusively TO their own national habits
and to enter into the localities they
haye almost entirely peopled seems
more like stumbling among tho mar
row streets Of Genoa than the midst OF
New York city. All those tenement
houses lying on Baxter, Worth, Crosby,
Mott and Mulberry streets and Five
Points are inhabited chiefly by Italians,
and few people who do not visit those
places colld imagine that Q limited
space within our midst eslld seem 30 en-.
tirely another country in all the chief
characteristics, chiefest among them
boing the utter and entire disregara foe
cleanliness, 10 far surprising the dirti-
ct Of the lowest tenement houses
where the other nationalities congre.
gate.
Il has always been . sort of reproach
in America to be called an Italian. and
tho reason IL found in the class OF peo-
pie who come here. OF oil the male
omigEants in America Of that nation,
there are but few who did not leave
their country out Of pure laziness, ex-
pecting TO pick mp gold in the very
streets here, fiction that still exists in
nearly al parts Of Europe among the
ignorant. and because they objected to
being drafted into the army, or they
came here TO escape the consequences
Of some crime. In Genoa, Naples,
Florence, Messina and Palermo, a.
wall - Ill the interior cities and the
county, strong man might work q
whole day with all his strength and
earn but about twenty cents per day,
whereas here they can earn six or seven
times that amount and not work 90
hard. The italian nature is one OF su-
perlative lasiness, and not even the
greed OF money can make them love
10 work. With them, in their own
countries, begging 10 . trade, and would
be here were IL permitted, and they
feel themselves defrauded Of . birth
right when not allowed to beg.
Ina previous article on tenement life
mention was made Of the fact that the
Italians will not herd with people Of
other nations, il it can be helped, but
the writer failed to mention that they
also object most strsnuously against
any stranger making any inquiries
about their way Of living, 20 that it has
mot been easy TO get an insight into
thsir peculiar home life nor their diff
ferent industries, but still, enough was
discovered to say that the Italians in
America are industries after their own
fashion and the trades or callings they
mostly adopt are the sale of fruit on
street corners and in baskets, barber
ing, boot-blacking, selling toy balloons
and other small wares, picking and
travelling with hsnd.organs and harps
ana other musical instruments. The
musical branch Of their industry ID.
without doubt, the hardest work they
do, for In addition to walking miles
and carrying the heavy instruments they
must practice at night in their homes,
II such they may be called. That is
TO Say, those who play on the harps and
violins. Some of them play really
very we'll, and in the summer season
frequently mako long trips. The writer
Of this saw three young fellows in
Huntsville, Alab4ma, who had trsmped
al the way there with harp and VIC.
Inns. The musical line suits them bet
ter probably, for they are all born mu.
sicians, loving the music 80 we'll that
perhaps even the doleful strains of q
broken-down hand. organ have no ter
rors for them. To visit the tenements
where they congregate at night is to
hear confusion Of opera and" Captain
Jinks,"" No One to Love Me-" the
Harseillsiss, and other morceaux,
Al mingling in one deafening medley.
How they can each keep track of their
own music il marvellous. Formerly
little girls and boys went around also
with accoraeons, violips and tambour-
ines, but there il less Of that now. The
organs cost from twenty dollars up.
ward to one hundred. Monkeys seem
In the musicians houses to thrive and
prosper like the children. It 10 work
Of patient kindness to teach them the
tricks thatthey learn for the owners
profit Some Of them are wonderfully
intelligent and docile, but the majority
are more mischievous than anything.
Tho average earnings of . man and
woman and baby, or monkey. with an
organ per day, 10 about two and shalt
dollars.
Very few Of the Italians care to learn
regular trades. It involves too much