Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1894-03-28
ohlId-Life In the slcIIl.n Sulphur

Chf1d.Lffe In the siciIIan Sulphur
+ Mines.
from the London Lancs,.l
1t is ut once q startling and q rssssuring
fact that tie labor question In SIcily seems
mainly TO have interested the medical phi
lsnthropist, such well known biologists as
Angelo Mosso of Turin, Cessre Lombroso
of the same school, and Nspoleone Cola
j.nni of Me- sini. having each from his
own standpoint contributed powerfully to
Its elucids;ion. We cay startling" be-
cause q social evil that makes the medical
man intervene is ons that sftects the vitsl-
ity of the population, and We say "ress-
suring" because when such intervention
has como about there Is hope that the con-
dition of things will be improved. We
leave on one side for the present DR.. Cola
jsnni's luminous expose of the horrors of
the sulphur mines In Sicily. and we Also
postpone confederation of DIR. Lombroso's
Psychological study of the sffects of the
system on character and development.
Our present purpose Is rather to draw at
tention to DIR. Mosso's in nstruetive facts and
/ uRufos 4e 70 TUG ppysiCel uctcIIotatlOu lu-
duced by such labor on the Sicilian prole-
tariat.
| Take, for example, the province Of Cal
/ tsnisetta in the heart of the Island, aud
| ponder the following s.stistics. In the
i four years from 1881 to 1884 the officers
of the military levy had 3.672 young sol
farari under scrutiny. OF these cnly 2oS
were found to be ft for service In the
army; 1913 were riformsti-thst is, were
| tentatively declared to be ft, then broke
| down after the regulation trials and had to
be dismissed; and ,ssS were remanded
/ for surther inspection at the mex. levy.
OF the riformst !. .24s proved to be dsfsc-
tive ss TO stature, sixty nine were incnra-
bly, narrow-chested, sixty four had consti-
tutionsl debility, twenty-five developed
i mslformation of the thorsx, forty eight
i were hunohbseked, twenty had other cor
poreal deformities, eighiesn laborsd under
/ the mslsrisl cschex!s, eighteen became
| blind, and eighty suffered from diverse
| ailments. 'And this," says DR.. Mosso,
| '1u q province under the resplendent sky
of Italy. on . coil bursting with fertility,
10 land prolific in intelligent sons-out
| of 8 672 young men of twenty only 203
found capable Of military service. IL 10
i with great grief and dismsy that we Pc
ruse these figures and think on our native
i land"
Other provinces of Sicily showing sbout
i o third fewer rejections for the military
| levy than Catlaniseita were still far from
presenting the normal development proper
| 10 youth mainly agricultural In occuPs-
ton; but the nadir Of physical aud mental
sbasement was resched In the mining d.s-
tricts. whore the number of spalfsbeu
unable TO read and wri,e) is about ninety
per cent. But there is an sptecedent con-
Il dftiou even vorse than want of education.
i The lives led By the poor children of the
i mines are In point of d.cency, TO say moth
ing of sanitary observsnce, ss degraded 90
humanity has ever sunk TO. A small room
Il Will accommodate" the yUurg solfararo
with SIX other persons of both sexes and
Of all sges. As often % not the pig. the
goat. the ass or th- niue have q share Of
fhs said 'room,n and eye Witnesses liis
DR.. noeso and Signor Sonnipo lthe pretent
finance minister Of the italian kingdom,
vhose book on Sicily is as pAinfnl a. 10 ID
instructive) could not penetrate into i's
Interior, such wels the filth and the Of
fence to svsry ssntient organ.