The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-05-20

Specie; Correspondence Of IA. IateiigInaa.
VENICE, ITALY, May sit was tho
boast OF the Emperor Augustus that lo
found Romo br:ck and stone and
changed It into marble. This was a tig-
urative expression OF course. lic never
mad SO tluo q city as is here to-day. An
cicnt Rome does not survive go strik.
ingly in marble, even IN what there Is
OF II, as in stono-massivc Stone
the Trevortine blocks, for instance, Of
the Colosseum, tile Pcperino blocks Of
tho Great Sewer, the Tuta blocks of tho
servian wall, and the PROSTATE granite
columns OF tho forum. To look upon
walls and arches and acqucducts and COL
umns that arc not only older than
America, but arc older than all other
nations us woll--ioldcr than England,
France, Germany, Russia md Austrin-
older than any SPOKEN languagc-older
by far than christiani:y--so old .tha.
they werc hoary with ago, indeed were
ruins long enough before tho era Of
sunpowder or the mariners compass,
this, 1t Is, that lascl mates the imagination
ut Rome.
Rome to-day, whatever Augustus loft
it, is back to STONE again. Tile main
walls and tho simmer walls OF every
house are stonc-all fire proof (even II
they used iiro)--all OF them constructed
OF rouble or co6blo stone laid in u CO.
ment that cements and cndurcs, and
iaced with stucco that gives the whole
city 4 light and Upright appearance and
makes 1t look %outwardly surprisingly
clean. The poor were never 80 well
housed as now, the result Of accident
and not OF design. In tho last twenty
years Rome has immensely overbuilt
herself, and Is in q bad way financially
in consequence. Beyond the Tiber,
within rifle shot Of st. Peters, there is
aperfect waste OF hugo buildings OF the
kind described put up on speculation
put up by the1boomers who followed
the political and military operations OF
Victor Emanuel, Garibaldi 4 Co. with
agrand scheme for rebuilding Rome on.
u scale trulyIAugustan, and go they
went to work and borrowed and mort
gagged and built on Il tremendous scale,
not only beyond the Tiber, but on this
side as well, and dragged into the
: speculation the banks, the money-lcnd-
ing corporations OF one kind and an
other, and all sorts OF private capt.
%talists, and but for the government
comingto the rescue OF the banks there
would have been a collapse and a crash
such as would have caused tho old
Colosseum, and the very walls them
selves, to topple il not to fall.
THE CONSEQUENCE.
Well, the consequence OF this collapse
in real estate values is that these great
Jour storied blocks of cream colored
houses having become both unsaleable
and unrentable are occupied for the
time being by nominal renters-by poor
people, indeed. who have filled the lower
stories with wine shops and meat shops
and truck stalls and all sorts Of small
fry business, while up stairs, in each
successive story, live the unke,npt peo-
pie who hang out OF their windows all
the family washing, and there it haunts
in the breeze, red shirts and white, and
other garments, male and female,
that have been patched worse than Jc-
seph's coat OF many c%olors; q sight that
would kill any region dead that did not
have st. Peters church to keep 1t alive.
This stato,of things is tho compensa-
tion 10 the poor for the prostration in
business that cuts short their. employ
ments. How can people pay much rent
whose average wage, for common labor,
Is only about 30 cents per day, and who
eat less than a pound OF meat. per head
per, week; who 1.-Two on poicnte (mush)
and scant vegetables, or soups con-
cocted out Of still scantier meat bones:
or macaroni-made out OF mixed wheat
and chestnut flour; who never use tea
or coffee and but little or no milk, and
who never sat By q good fire. and felt
real warm in winter in their lircs?,
Yes, 4 poor man can live very cheap
in Italy, but this is the way he will
live. Some little better and some n
little worse than tho above average in
Rome. Living the same way in America
hc could live still cheaper, at all vents
quito as cheap, and would have the nd.
vantage OF higher wages. l am glad
that tho Italians rs 4 whole are 30 at-
tached to their native land that they
would rather endure all this than to
emigrate to America. Wo get moro
than enough as it is.
What would really become Of Italy un-
der the present burden that sho is carry
ing were the tourists to cease coming to
her shores it would be difficult to say,
but she would speedily collapse. She
can hardly keep atloat now in spite OF
the one hundred millions of dollars an
nually spent within her borders bv
tourists, OF which the Americans spend
thirty-tive millions, according to the
official figures OF the ex.secrotary of the
British ambassador in Rome. As YOU
havo seen, they had a crisis the other
day, which arose over tho army budget
between those fayoring 4 reduction and
those opposed. and tho opposition car
ried the day, and now the question is,
will Italy be able to 20 on with hcr end
Of tho Tri-partite alliance, and keep the
stipulated force and equipment in the
Held n on water; and further, will
Germany andAustria kick and read her
out Of the alliance il sho. does not?
This is Iii eiquestion.
WHAT WEIGHS ITALY DoTH:
At Washington, in 1850, 1 had a
slight acquaintance with n foreign.
minister to tho United States, which I
havo renewed here at Rome. I talked
over this situation with him tho other
day in company with our consul-gen-
cral. He admires Italy very much and
has OF course q very Intelligent UNDER
standing OF her people and resources.
lie sympathizes with hor situation.
thoroughly, and said, among other
Things, how happy these people might