Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-01-28

Dispatchl d.
Signor Celso Caesar Moreno, whose
name and figure were familiar in Was
lngton ten years ago or more, who was
then prominent as the author of the law
directed against the system of Italian
slavery in this country, is here again.
He has been all over the world pretty
nearly since leaving here, visiting China,
the Sandwich Islands, and his old home,
Italy, but returns to take up the cudgel
again for those of his countrymen en-
shaved, as he says, in this country.
$50 long as [ was here to urge the
enforcement of the law passed in 1872"
he said, sand to watch those who wanted
to violate it, it served the purpose for
which it was enacted. That law, how
ever, was especially framed to stop the
S2adroni' system as applied to children.
Now on my return j find the same gen.
eral system of slavery, in slightly diff
ferent form, in full operation. This is
supposed to be q free country. What
would you think if should tell you
that there are more than seventy-fve
thousand slaves held in this country by
less than seventy-fve men? Well, it is
fact"
"You refer to the contract system?"
Yes. It is the same evil that ex-
listed twelve years ago. Then the Ital-.
ian fpadroni' or taskmasters, brought
over large numbers of children whom
they kept and sent out into the streets
of the great cities to beg or steal. By
this system they made much money for
themselves and ruined the lives and
morals of many thousands of innocent
children, causing much misery besides.
[ called the attention of Mr.. Sumner
in the Senate, and of Gen. Negley
in, the House to it, and the result was
the enactment of the law which for a
time broke it up, But in the last few
| years the system has been resumed.
Children and grown persons are brought
! here under contract with. the pretext
of teaching them some trade and giving
them homes. Adults of both sexes are
induced to mortgage their homes in It
ally for three or four times
the d, amount of their passage
money and Il to q enter into con :,
tracts with these spadroni' to work from
one to six years, under promise thst at
the end of the contract and when the
money has been repaid. they, will be
given farms In the United States.
When they arrive here children and
adults enter upon life of slavery
worse than that which existed in
the y South. They are compelled
to do any sort of work, from rag pick
ing and begging up to labor on a rail
road, and are charged such exorbitant
prices for the vile food and wretched
quarters, that they are enabled to keep
them at work long time after they get,
them here" ssA%
"But how do they manage to evade
the law2"s vs~,sa ss~ y srat 49,
.""They get passports to go to Italy as
merchants and, while there, make these
contracts with men, women and chill
dren. When they bring them over they
divide the children up among the men
and women, directing them to claim
them as their parents and the adults to
claim the children as their own Once
they get the people here, they send men
among them who represent themselves
as from the Consul General who says to
them that if they do not keep their con-
tracts they will be arrested and impris-
oned twenty years"
Sand do these men really represent
the Consul in aiding this system of
slavery?" a 5,
81 do not suppose that they are sent
by the Consul to do this thing, but I
am frank to say that persons high in
authority in both New York and Wash
ington at least shut their eyes to the
system, and, am satisfied, profit by it,
Men who came here poor from Italy
have gone back millionaires, and there
is no doubt that men of prominence are
at the bottom of the whole system and
profit by it. I could mention names of
attaches of the italian consulate in New
York, editors of Italian papers in that
city, man whose name has been in
everybody's mouth in the past year in
connection with noted museum there,
and others who are secretly connected
with the accursed system and profting
by it."
Glow many persons are there held
under this contract system in this
country ?"
"About $4,000, one-third of whom
are children. There are 1000 in
Philadelphia, in Pittsburg nearly 1000,
in Cincinnati 1000; 1000 or more, in
st. Louis, 1900 or 5000 IN Chicago, IN
Baltimore 1000, and quite large num-
Der right here in Washington, under
the very shadow of the capitol, beneath
the very eye of the goddess of liberty"
"And you think this is going on with
the knowledge and consent of the
representatives of the italian govern
ment in this country?"
"In all my inquiries for thirteen years
in attempting to crush out this nefarious
traffic, and from all the information
had from the padroni and their victims,
the certificates from the consulate OF
New York to the padrones were always
transmitted through their accomplices.
"And what do you propose doing now
that you find the system again in opera
ton on your return here?"
"Press to passage bill prohibiting
the bringing in of any laborers or
children under contract, and making |
void any contracts of this sort on the ar