The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-10-20
THE OUTBREAK AT NEW ORLEANS.

A few nights ago HenneSsey, Chief of Po-
lice of New Orleans. was shot dead on his
doorstep in the act Of opening his door. The
assassinS, OF whom there appear to have
been two. used shotguns loaded with buck
shot. As Chief HennesSey had been partcu-
larry active in hunting down certain Italians
who were said to be members of the Italian
secret society known as the Matia, suspicion
fell on the Italian residents of Rev Orleans,
and they became the object of a wild out
burst of popular rage. A message was sent
by the Mayor to the City Council directly
charging the murder on The Italians, and
alleging that leading citizens of that nation
atty were responsible for tine acts of the So
cety whose emissaries had murdered Hen
uessey for executing the law. An appar-
entity trustworthy dispatch states that
nearly all the leading men in the Italian
colony have been arrested, and some thirty
are confined in Jail on suspicion. being TN
able t. obtain bonds. a committee OF fifty
citizens has been named by the Mayor to
take initiatory steps to drive these people
from the United States. A vessel being re-
ported as coming up the river with Italians
on board, the city authorities propose to pre-
vent their landing.
The people of New Orleans have evidently
lost their heads. In their wild excitement
at the murder of a faithful official aud at the
failure of tile police TO discover the assassins,
they are making a scapPgolt of whole
nationality, and. obedient to the instinct of
persecution which is born in our race, they
are likely to commit excuses before they
cool off II is deplorable state of affairs.
In those portions of Italy such as Gala
bria and Sicily, where education is neglected
and poverty Gle rule among the peasants,
the people rank low in Intelligence and NOR
atty. Brigandags has fiOurished for cen
turtles, and the calling Of a robber and muir
derer is to some extent tolerated. Blnditti
have enrolled themselves in societies, an es-
sential rule Of each being that a wrong to
one member is the concern of all and must
be avenged by all. The Malta OF Sicily and
the Camorra of Naples are examples of such
associations. They came into being under
the rule of the Bourbons. and have not been
entirely eXtinguished by the present enlight-
ened Government of Italy, though their out
RACES are now infrequent A portion of our
Italian immigration is derived from Southern
Italy. and it is likely that it includes occa-
sional members of these societies. 1t is pos
sfbIe that not only at New Orleans but else
where there are members of the Malta who
steal to live, murder to conceal the proofs of
their guilt and take bloody vengeance on
those who try to punish tlteir crimes.
But that does not justify au enlightened
American community for trying to hold a
| whole nationality responsible Tor the
offenses of 4 few of its members. The mem
beers of the Mafa are not the only criminals
who infest this country. If every nation
ality is to be bounded because two or three
| Of its members commit crime we shall have
| to enlarge our jails. To pursue such a
course Is to raise the question whether our
| civilization is, after all, 50 much superior to
| that Of the poor unlett cred semi-savages
| who were born in the hills Of Calabria or
| the back country of Palermo.
We, in this city, know the italians pretty
| we'll. There is large italian colony here,
| which supports church and newspapers of
| its own. is liberal patron of amusements,
| and controls two important branches OF
| trade, the wholesale trade in vegetables and
| the wholesale trade in fish. Some of our
| best citizens are of Italian birth. 1t has
never been observed that crime is more fire.
! quent in proportion to numbers among the
| Italians than among the other races which
| go to make up our community. Once or
! twice in past history there have been rea-
sons for believing that the Malta had estab-
lishad branch here; it did not flourish for
the simple rea ION that its members came to
grief, as other miscreants do, whether they
are natives or foreign, and the inciden. left
no prejudice among the people at large.
| Our friends at New Orleans had best keep
cool and follow our example, Their bust
ness now is to catch Hennessey's nurderers
and hang them. They will not reach that
end by fomenting prejudice against race
which happens to be in minority.