Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-03-28
TIE MAElA.'
What the Organization H. and OF "hA'
Is Composed-Its Powor in Sicily mn"
Its Influence in hi Country

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what the Organization IL, and OF WhA' ~
Ia Composed-Its Power in Sicily Ant
ITS Influence in This Country.
The .Mafa," says the Chicago lntc
Ocean, is a Sicilian organization ana ID
that country is an aggregation oil all
the criminal classes on the island. IL
corresponds with the Camorra oil Ma
pies
The name "NIaha" has its origin in
ia Mafa," a comedy Of prison NE
written in 1860 by n Sicilian dramatist'
Sirnor Rizzoti. The name itself Is
meaningless, a sort of prison slang usSd
in the Sicilian prisons expressive Oh a
covenant made between warders ana
prisoners whereby the prisoners were
to keep order and levy blackmall on
the weaker inmates, the ~jailers sharing
in the profits.
To the Sicilians manliness and BRAY
cry recognize no law to atone for
wrongs done them by their ~neighoors'
To appeal to the law for protection
would be dishonorablc, and the strong
est naturally rule the weaker ones
Whoever can provide for his own pro-
lection and the protection Of his prop
erty, he Is ''mafoso."
Tho Sicllian b,list l. that might
makes right, and il ? man nas been
done q wrong his WI hand Will protect
him. 1t may take years to DO avenged,
and treachery and cowardico may be
the weapons employed, but if he finally
revenges himself it will be looked upon
by the Malta as honorable and just. If
the injured Sicilian be not strong
enough to resent the injuries received
he must suffer in silence and bide his
time. This hatred Of an appeal to the
law and the resort to sclf-venGcance Is
innate in every Sicilian.
1t follows, then, that in Sicily, where
no law but strength is recognized, it
is necessary for the proprietors of the
great estates to hire protectors for
their persons and possessions. This is
done by bodies of ex-brigands, the
Malta, who have such great influence
that it is absolutely necessary for a
landed proprietor to court their friend
ship. He is then secure. But if he is
not friendly to the Malta he cannot
venture out Of his house without great
danger of being shot.
From these conditions arise innumor-
| able associations which are subdividcd
into many nor as they go down the
| scale.
There is that of the outlaws,
| whose chiefs are the clients Of some
| great landowner; these clients of the
landowner are in turn the patrons of
other lesser powers in the robbcr
world, and so on. In this way all the
vast unions of persons, of every pro-
fcssion and grade of life, are intimately
united, from the member of parlia-
ment and lawyer in the capital to the
professional bandit or petty thief of the
interior. Every mar that tills the land,
and is not a day laborer, must, in one
way or another, be carried by the tide
into the vortex of these associations,
whose great object is to promote their
mutual interest, irrespective of the
laws of justice or public order. The
poor man is left alone unless he hap.
rens to thwart the interests of the NAL
efactors, in which case he is summar-
lily disposed of.
All this makes the Malta very power
full and they are respected by the PEG.
pie accordingly. In the interior of the
island a brigand riding up to a farm OF
villa has everything at his disposal, and
should the authorities enter the house
the proprietor suddenly loses al
knowledge of the whereabouts of the
brigand, his guest. Even if TIE cara
bineers should capture him thu chances
are that he would be dealt With very
leniently, as they, themselves, or {
large portion of them, are ex- bandits
and they are in sympathy with their ole
friends.
The Malta made great pretense of be
f~riending the poor, and say they are OPP
posed only TO the rich people, In fact
they occasionally dover some poor cir
or enrich some ~unjustly treated peas
ant to keep up such prestige.
Therefore it is not only fear which
aids the Malta and gives it the greaf
moral authority it Yields, 1t is the
custom of taking the law into one
own hands and making it dishonorabl,
to do otherwise. A noblcman of the in
terror who is wronged by another
whether he be noble or bandit, doe.
net appeal to the law; he would b,
laughed at in his district, and entirely
abandoned by the only efficient protec
tors he has. But he appeals to tn,
Malta, and repels force with force
There are parts of Sicily where Who'll,
communes are under the protection o.
this potent association.
In this country there are probably NJ
organized Malta societies, but tn;
Malta spirit is retained by the Sicilians
and any crime committed in this spirit
either to right a wrong or to seek IT.
venge, Is acquiesced in by nearly al
the other Italians. There seems to be
tacit understanding between them, aut
on any such subject they are as silcn
as the grave. They are by nature al
uncommunicative people, but on occa
sions where the Malta spirit manifest
itself they are more quiet than ever
Thus it has always been impossible t,
trace the Malta members whenever il,
dicial Investigations have been insti
tuted.
New Orleans contains more Sicilion
than any other place in this country
hence more Malta crimes are heard o
there than elsewhere. New York ha
the second greatest number and Chica
go ONE third. The Italian resident
of this city deny the existence of an
such society as the Malta, saying it /
the creation of the newspapers. The,
say the last remnants of the Malta svs
TEN disappeared under the regime o
Baron Nicotera, minister of home al
fairs, in 1874.
November 10 last the Inter Ocea,
published interviews with a number o
well-known Italian citizens, who wer
greatly incensed at the Malta report
then being circulated thick and fas,
Among, the persons interviewed wa
John G~innocchio, the lawyer, VIII
called the Malta a myth. He has live,
in America for twenty-thrce years an,
is very familiar with Italian habits an,