The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-04-16
ITALIANS WANT TO FIGHT.


ITALIANS WANT TO FIGHT
Significant kilograms come from Pitts
burgh, Pa, and Wheeling, West Virginia,
relative to mysterious gatherings of ltai-
ians and rumnrs that uprisings are to oc-
cur in several cities III the country for
purpose of avenging the New Orleans
affair. No doubt ignorant Italians are
greatly excited and are talking foolishly
among themselves, but credence can
hardly be given the report that anything
serious is contemplated. The result of
such a movement on the part of the Ital-
ians as is outlined by late dispatches
would result in driving every Italian out
of the country.
The Italian troubles in New Orleans
and the miners riots in Pennsylvania are
important object lessons to American
citizens, suggestive of immediate, and if
necessary, arbitrary measures to restrict
undesirable immigration to this country.
The New Orleans trouble deals entirely
with rhe Italian race; the Pennsylvania
riots were caused by Poles, Hungarians,
and Italians. 1t is conceded that among
the Italians there is an assassination So
ciety called the Malta, composed chiefly
of the outlaws, brigands and other mem
bers of the criminal classes of Italy and
Sicily, who, driven out of their own
country, have found refuge in this land
of liberty, but unfortunately for us,
have brought with them their murder
loving propensities and do not hesitate
to wreack vengeance upon any one who
may be so unfortunate as to incur their
displeasure or hatred. All real or imag-
mary wrongs are avenged by this class
with the knife or the revolver. They
hold life cheaply. They are selected by
lot to commit murder and they do it with
as little cOmpunction as if it were an
every day occurrence. Every large city
is infested with members of the oath
bound gang of assassins, but New Or
leans seems to be unfortunate as the
abiding place of an unusually large num-
ber of the scOundrels, and their crimes
became so notorious that the chief of
police began some time ago and investi-
CATION into the methods OF the order and
the identity of its members, with the
view of Kidding New Orleans of their
presence. For this he was assasslnated.
The suspected murderers were arrested
and tried. The evidence against half a
dozen of them was conclusive, but to the
surprise and disgust of the citizens the
Jury acquitted some of the defendants and
disagreed as to others. RumOrs of brib-
cry were at once circulated. Some of
the jurors fed, and a private detective
who had been mixed up in the affair on
the side of the Italians disappeared.
Public indignation was aroused. A
meeting of citizens was called, and head
ed by one of the most prominent lawyers
of New Orleans, the jail was broken into,
the Italians were shot bowman then the
mob, as it is called, dispersed.
The method employed to avenge the
murder of the chief of police differed
little from that of the Malta except in
the matter of secrecy, and it is to be re-
gretted that lawful measures were not to
be resorted to instead of mob violence.
The claim that there was great prOvOca-
ton does not excuse resort 10 lynch law
even if there had been an outrageous
miscarriage of justice. The real culprits,
it would seem, were the bribed jurors
and the first legal step should have been
to prove the truth of that charge and
punish the offenders. The action of the
mob was hOt-headed proceeding that
this Government cannot Justify, and
some sort of reparatiOn will have to be
made to the Italian Government if it is
shown that the murdered Italians were
Italian subjects, statement that is de-
MED by the New Orleans authorities.
The original claims of the Italian Gov
ernment were preposterOus. They will
of course be modified, but something
will have to be conceded by the United
States. which seems to have the sympa-
| thy of the European press outside Of
Italy. There will of course be no war
There will be no modification
of our constitution to suit for
eign diplomatic notions. We will
continue to paddle our own canoe, but
we cannot turn this case aside with the
claim of justification when our own laws
were disregarded and disObeyed. There
is one line of investigation, however, that
Secretary Blaine may prottably pursue.
| Let him trace back to Italy the records
of these Italian subjects, find if it is true,
as alleged, that they lett Italy TO escape
the consequences of crimes there, and
then show the Italian Government that
the men for whom it is demanding re-
dress would have been executed had
they been caught on Italian soil.
This New Orleans incident suggests
something relative to Italian immigra-
ton that may well be commended to our
lawmakers at Washington. As a class
! the Italians who come here are industri-
ous and honest and make good citizens.
| They are welcome; but something must
be done to prevent this country from be
coming the dumping ground for Italian
| criminals-the worst class of criminals
in the world-even if an embargo has to
be laid against Italian immigration gen.
orally. We must protect ourselves. We
have found commercial protection good
/ ,.-l, aTantNr thn gNgtnn Tn
diyidual protection with the necessary
notifications; and this law could be
made applicable to all immigrants. All
we want is to keep the criminals where
( they belong. We have enough of om
own 10 care for.
As to the Pennsylvania riots, entirely
different causes creep out. 1t is notori
ously true that the coal miners of Penn
sylvania are the poorest paid laborers, as
a rule, in the country. As a result OF
labor disputes some years ago, foreign
ers, Hungarians and Poles, were brought
here to take the places of American
workingmen who had struck for higher
wages. These imported workingmer
have now rebelled and are in turn being
crowded out, and in their desperation
have unwisely undertaken to destroy the
property of their former employers
The coal barons are largely to blame foi
the existing troubles. But the lawi
must be enforced. Private property mus
be protected from mob violence by th'
State and the public treasury must pa!
the cost of the questionable efforts mad'
in the coal regions to keep wages a
starvation rates.
------s-s-s--. -
For bracing up the nerves, purifying
the blood and curing sick headache AM
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