The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-12-06
Like 4 LITTLE ITALY.
But It Is Right Here in Old
Jersey City.
BANKS AND TELEGRAPs' !.
The Financial Bureaus Are Branches
Of Foreign Houses-Discoyer-
les Of a aNews Reporter.

lathe veryshsarf Of Jersey City is lo-
Gated an Italsan Village"
That ports6a Of ths cits walled in on
the south BY he PsnnsylFania RAILWAY
ernhankment. on the north by Newark
ayeape, and extending from Brunswick
street westward to Merseles street, ha 5
for years been known as "The Village 9
Today it is Inhabited almost exclusively
By Italians and goats Here the num-
bered streets, after CROSSING Newa < K ave
nue. lose their identity amid the sunken.
empty lots partially filed with c0bbles
and knots Of tumbling shanties and rook-
cries along Colgate and other cross
streets.
Rckety, diiapidated, w0rm-eaten tene-
ments with smoked herring counte nances
peering from the windows: a wildern ess
Of basement junk-shops and mountains
OF rags; tue broken streets filed with
ashes and tins dumped Into black m srsh-
mud and stAgnant, greasy surfaced pools
bent and wrinkied faced women, some
with gaudy beadgear ana gorgeous ear
rings, others with great nlthy looking
bundles balanced upon their heads;
groups of dusky, matted haired children
holding in their arms. wide staring
browu-eyed babies in rags; hungry thin
haired dogs. knawning aud licking
polished bones, and sad eyed
goats. climbing piles OF cobbles
and broken flags, sleepy, grimvizaged
ssDag0es," bent beneath the weight of
greasy sacks of bones aud other refuse.
poking here and there with iron hooks.
fike hogs wallowing aud roofing amid
garbage dumps. Picture this conglom-
crate, kaleidoscope mass OF nnciean
things il you can, aud You will even then
have only faint idea OF this morass of
filth and sQualor in the very heart OK the
city. For refuse from all other sections
are dragged hither, to be sorted and the
offaI flung into the streets.
FEATHERsToSE's GANG.
Whether il was the title Lava Beds
that attracted the Italian colony TO this
particular section know not. But it is
certain the Italians monopoiize it. Even
did not the appearance Of niue out of
every ten you meet and the soft, rolling,
yet at times jabbering foreign jargon
suggest "Eetaly," the signs over almost
every shop, saloon and store and junk
shop in the vicinity would. In the major
ity Of instances these signs are mere
daubs on fly specked windows, bur they
convey to the reader sucn names as
Thomas Sistro. Michele Fazielo, S. Gio-
vanni. r. Polite. S. Archangelo. Jos.
Mastrogiovanni. and so on
Anu YET. 0eSQltc LIS RISfdIltuk lQG1
that these Italians who have been virtu-
ally kicked from the ''boat of Europe
are lazy, VOL tnless set of people. il IS
doubtful il there Is a single drove in this
hive Of Italian bees. They huddle to-
! geEher in small roonea teneinents at
night. rise early and start Of IN search OF
such em ploymenf as they are able TO per-
| form, nor do they give up the search I'M
til late in the day. That some can do
nothing but pick rags or coal is the fault
of European oppression That the bur
uen of raising them from the depths
should fail upon American civilization
is question that needs more space than
! brief newspaper stretch. The city
authorities may perhaps be to blame
somewh it for the improper drainage of
the village and the health boards for
not insisting upon proper sanitary pre-
cautions.
office of The JERsRY CITY NEWS this
description touching upon the present
state of affairs:-
aAt any time. day or night. there can
be heard the noise Of water flowing down
through old pieces Of gas pine from the
top floors OF the highest buildings in that
vicinity. The gas pipes lead TO grooved
box under the sidewalk and thence TO the
cutters in the streets, there to remain in
stagnant condition until dried up by
the sun A fearful odor is emitted there
from. There is also stagpant pool OF
water over In the back lots near Newark
avenue. and other refuse vaults drain
into some of the cellars. notably those I'M
der the houses Nos. 3S3 and 3S5 There Is
considerable talk about this nasancs aud
the Italians themselves are greatly moved
about Ii. When The cellars become filled
many of the men in the village lend
hand in pumping the water out"
DENsELY POPULATED.
There must be over thousand fuhabl-
tants IN the village above described
They have their own church, but that Is
located over IN Sixth street. They patron
ize their own stores and shops. and have
even their own banks. One OF these was
recently located at No. 70 Colgate street,
in a corner dnmbbell tenement. Mr..
Michele Penuetti, the banker, has moved
his safe into 70 im nearer the centre OF
the block, and will run beer saloon In
connection with il. Waen the writer
called there few days ago in company
with friend the banker was absent, but
his wife, at first regarding her question
ers as probable bank robbers, refused to
talk until ''two beers" were ordered
The writer's friend planked down ten
cents. Mrs Pennetti drew two quart
schooners of beer and handed back four
cents change. Then the visitors grew
suspicious OF the beer. Mrs. Pennetti
was by this tune willing 70 admit as
much as:--
Yes Somma Italians very lndusts
naka som mon, an save. Putta in bank,
draw Interest,". somma times Aya per
tent.
Italian aud American money is ex-
changed at the banks, aud the proprietors
act as agents for various steamship COM
nantes. On the Windows of the room re-
Gently vacated by Mr.. Pennetti are paint
ed the words ssBanca Italio. Italio Tele-
graphi'
This latter sign greatly amused Tommy,
NEWS. Office boy, who observed there
wese no wires running into the building.
but subsequently, found that the bank
employed two stability dressed messenger
boys, whose rapid transit" facilities
were two pairs OF udoleni Italian legs.
RANK no. 2
Michele Mastr0vretro, another proprie-
tor. was behind the wire screen of his
desks uhen the writer dropped into the
din1y little Sssss<sc &C with smoke begrimed
walls OF the rBancA Lombarda-' He
hapded the writer what appeared TO be a
blank certificate of some sort with
heading which read like this
"Michele Mastropietre. propriefario
Della Banca LoG1ba da, 800 401, 4J3. 405
and 407 Fourth street, Jersey City =
Beyond this but little could be learned,
IS no interprefer was present
The writer talked through an In
terpreter with Giuseppe Borchino, a shoe
coboler at No S97 Third street. A frecksed
faced maiden with q wealth Of brown
fresses aud pair of lu<trous brown eyes
acted as interpreter MIR. Bocchino was
!, . ~ . xrnrk brf was piftinfr To fAfk His