The state journal., 1884-08-30
WHITE SLAVES IN GOTHAM.
THE ITALIAN PADRONI AND THEIR
VICTIMS.
Ignorant Rag-Pickers, Beggars, Thieves
Organ Grinders, Et Id Omne Genus
MIR. CeIso Caesar MOreno's Good
Work i'll Behalf of His En-
shaved Fellow COuntrymen.

1T Is great mistake 10 suppose lHit
the business of the Italian padroni has
been suppressed, (" observed Superintend
ent Jackson, of Castle Garden, TO a re
porter for Tie Star one day last week.
The fact of the matter is, he added,
'that the importation of Italian slaves is
still being carried on to an alarming eX-
tent When l say Italian slaves do not
mean merely the children who are brought
here to beg and steal, but full grown men
and women. Less than week ago about
thirty men arrived here among the steer
age passengers of a steamship from the
Mediterranean ports. These poor fellows
were brought here by man who had
made peculiarly one sided contract
with them. He purchased passage tickets
for them, with the understanding that
each of the men was to pay him $50 out
of their earnings when they secured en-
plOyment in this country. As the tickets
cost him only $50 each, he made hand
some profit by the transaction. The poor
Italian laborers are easily imposed upon,
for they are ignorant of the language
and customs of this country. The prob
ability is that these men will be hired out
to work upon railroad construction at
very low wages, and that the man who
brought them over will receive bonus
for procuring them for the railroad con-
tractor.
In one of the principal streets of the
city the writer saw one of the padrone's
pet beggars. She was little girl with
bare feet, and her dress was in tatters.
The poor little thing was soliciting aims
from the passeTs by, and she was reap
1V,pr ,oh INoY Nf oNs1 fO,-
kind hearted person dropped a silver
piece or a nickel into her outstretched
hand.
Mr.. Celso Caesar Moreno, an Italian gen.
tleman who resides in this city, was seen
at his hotel by Star reporter yesterday.
He said:
81 have just sent a large bundle of
copies of The Star, containing my letter
to King Humbert of Italy, to my friends
in that country. l am trying to get the
King and people of the upper classes to
give proper attention to the abuses which
are heaped upon the poor and ignorant
class of Italians who are brought to
America by the padroni. The padroni
are terrible taskmasters. Their slaves are
more to be pitied than were the negro
slaves in the Southern States before the
War of Rebellion. The negroes, as a
rule, had plenty to eat and were comfort
ably housed. The Italian slaves are COM
PEELED to 60 hungry, and are huddled
into dirty and and unwholesome lOdg-
ings."
How is it that the padroni can keep
their slaves in subsection p was asked of
Mr.. Moreno.
Because the slaves are ignorant and
fear the padroni.' was the reply. 81 will
give you an illustration of how far the
fear can be used as means of tyranniZ-
ing over poor people. The other day |
saw an old woman who was staggering
along the street under the weight of a
huge bundle which she had upon her
back. Near her walked a spruce looking
well dressed fellow. He was padrOne
and she was his slave. l asked him why
he required a woman old enough to be
his mother to carry such n burden. He
replied that he was her master and he
had right to do with her as he pleased.I
threatened to call policeman, and then
the padrOne ran away. l asked the poor
old woman where she was taking the
bundle, and she said she was going to
Newark, N. j. Although her load would
weigh fully $50 pounds, she intended TO
walk all the way TO Newark with it upon
her back"
''Then the padrones slaves are not all
children p
''By no means. Full grown men and
women, young and old, are tyrannized
over by taskmasters. The poor slaves be-
lieve that they have real friends in the
taskmasters. The slaves are sent out to
beg, pick up rags, grind hand-organs and
steal. If they do not get enough money
to suit the tyrantS they are abused in the
worst way. 1t is bad enough to have
men and women treated in this way; but
when children are abused it makes my
blood boil with indignation.
'Why does not the Italian Consul at
this port take steps to stop this abuse?"
Simply because he is friend of the
padroni. ] have endeavored to arouse
him in the matter, but he is deaf, dumb
and blind to my appeals. He does not
Wish to interfere with the perquisites of
the taskmasters. The padroni's slaves are
ragged and hungry, and live in
novels in Mulberry and Crosby streets.
while the padroni dress in fine clothing
and live on the earnings of their dupes.
All of this sort Of business tends TO cast
L
do not think l exaggerate when | say
that there are nearly one hundred pad
roni in New York alone, and their slaves
are numbered by the thousand. have
written letter TO the Commissioners of
Emigration calling their attention to the
matter, and am waiting for their ac-
tiOn.
Speaking Of the Italian organists,
correspondent of an out-of-town paper
has called attention to the fact that there
is place in New York which many peo-
pie would be happy to see mobbed 1t
is the establishment where those terrible
instruments of torture known as barrel
or hand organs are manufactured and re-
paired Here is the source of supply for
the "infernal machines" that are carried
about the city and country by Italian
crank musicians. If this place could be
thoroughly and effectually wiped out of
existence the public would be spared an
infinite amount of misery and one of the
greatest woes now endured by humanity
would be at an end. The correspondent
found the organ fiend's headquarters on
the second floor of an old rickety build
ing in one of the obscure streets in the
Fourth Ward. The presiding genius
said:
Il can supply you with an organ and
monkey for S75.
OF course the visitor did not invest; but
he felt amply repaid for his trouble in
having discovered the organ grinders
headquarters. 1t is said that there is only
one establishment of the kind in the
United States and it is to be hoped that
no more will spring into existence. The
organs are generally owned by the pad
roni, and the slaves are sent out to tor