New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-26
WORKINGMEN'S RACE WARS.
THE TROUBLE CONTRACTORS HAVE
WITH IRISH AND ITALIAN LABORERs.

laborers that will succeed In keeping tho peace
/ among themselves for any length OF time. The
Fundamental difficulty lies In the intense racial dis
like amounting sometimes to hatred. that exists
between the various classes OF laborers whom IL Is
necessary TO employ for the coarser and heavier
forms OF work in building or the improvements on
streets and railways. In the case OF smaller JOBS
II Is possible to avoid the dicuty by hiring only
Irishmen Italians or Portuguese. but when work
Of considerable importance is to be done, or when
great haste is required on small Job 1t II I'M
possible to pick and choose your men,
What with trouble about the rate OF pay and
the hours Of labor. the life OF contractor Is far
from n happy one but the fights and quarrels
| that are constantly arising among the dinerent
races in his employ and for no other reason than
that they have been born in different countries
make his lot more unpleasant. nave been
badly delayed In finishing several important pieces
| of work simply because the Irish who carried the
hods could not get along we'll with the Italians who
| mixed the mortar. IT. one case was obliged oy
| the delay to pay q forfeit amounting to several
| thousand dollars because the job could not be
| finished on contract time. 1t was pretty hard
luck to have lay down lots OF good dollars be-
cause the Dagos' wouldn't cheer for st. Patrick"
Although It is in the field OF labor that the race
pretud,ces OF foreigners most apparent to the
public yet only those who are familiar with the
life of the East Side know perfectly vel how
intense those dislikes are. The chief disturbing
element Is the Italian. Whenever they make up
yantages as a residential locality all the other In
hab,tants OF the same district pack up their PEN
ates their frying pans and their windowsl ger
aniums and fly the neighborhood. 1t is matter
Of East Side history how the Italians dispossessed
the Irish first from Cherry-st. and swarmed down
upon the houses In Single Alley and Double Alley;
how they routed them from Mulberry Bend; how
they sent the negroes flying from B.eecker-st and
its environs horse, foot and Dragons. all IN one
wild rush. The conflict is now raging at the north
ern boundary of Little Italy, which Is One-hun-
bred md fftcenth-st, and victory seems likely TO
perch still tho italian banners.
There are two characteristics that make the
Italians bad neighbors The first Is their absolute
disregard OF all habits Of cleanliness. In this re-
gard they are Objectionable that-well, the irish
OF the Sixth Ward couldn't stand them and moved
away Enough said. The second undesirable trait
which is Of their national CHARACTERISTICS Is an
extremely fiery temper. a disposition to hold
grudge and to allow nothing to stand in the way OF
revenge. They seldom come to blows with their
| neighbors. seldom use gun" or bludgeon. but
| they do great work with the silent knife. These
are the reasons why they are feared and hated by
almost every race in the whole East Side; this Is
why they 70 In and possess the land with so little
| opposition
THE JEWS NOT AFRAID.
But there IS one people who do not fear the
| Italians, however much they may hate them ana
| that people Is the Jew. The Irish may nee IN
|
| Italy. the sons Of Ham may seek new pastures
| and the Teuton may lay aside the ph.egmatic dis
position with which he was born in his anxiety to
| avoid tho "verfuchte schweinhund." but the Jew
goes sereney on his way. rejoicing in the con-
seriousness that when It comes to fthness OK living
| habits no Dago give him a handicap
II tell you how 1t is said a good friend OF the
reporter who is also policeman. and in the
discharge Of his duty has unexamped opportunities
for observation. they're both so rotten neither
! one Of en- minds the other. It's Ike when you've
been eatin' onions. You don't mind then how many
| OF 'em your folks eat; but so be they eat en- an
| you don't why there's the divil TO pay
| What makes the Italians worse than the Jews Is
| the fact that they are not content to stay In a
sty when they have made II. The Board OF Health
IS the only enemy that has ever been able to con-
tend with them to any extent, and even the efforts
| of that body has been perforce somewhat spas
| modic 1t is no small task to keep dirty nation
clean Hercules cleaned the Augean stables" said
a building Inspector the other day. but III bet he
| didn't keep EN- clean. The only way to DO that
| would be to pull EN- down the minute he got EN-
washed"
Those who have studied the subject thoroughly
believe that tn. only WY TO prevent the italian
from constantly forcing the better class OF for
eigners to change their abodes Is TO tear down the
worst Of the old rookeries in which they intend to
settle and build ones In which the ENFORCE
ment Of the regulations OF the Board OF Health
Will be more nearly possible To this end the laws
recently framed by the Tenement House Commits
sion and passed by tho Legislature are expected
to be a great help as we'll as the Work planned
and already begun by the Improved Housing
Council.
International dislike and hatred strongest on
the East Side between the Italians and the Irish.
owing to the fact that the Irish have been the
greatest sufferers from the rowing and restless nap
It's OF the Italians. Consequently these two races
are the most difficult for the contractors to handle
together Scarcely week goes by without an
open conflict arising In some part OF the city be-
tween representatives Of these two dissmilar races
Often the trouble arises over the employment OF
the Italians smaller wages. since the irish argue
that some Of their Hibernian brethren are thus
shut out of a Job For" say they. mo sensible
contractor would hire Dago when there were
Irishmen to be had. except he work for less
money" Which Is most true.
RACE HATRED ENDS IN BLOWS.
Rut much oftener blows and bloodshed arise
.,r,ply from the hatred the two natonalties bear
each other. The foremen OF construction gangs
are nearly always Irishmen. which causes the
hearts OF all true Hibernians to swell with pride
and which also results in the said Hibernan twit-
ting the Italians their condition OF servitude.
The contempt Of the Of Erin for their fellow
laborers Is boundless.
Some three years ago. when the Hotel Waldorf
was IN process Of construction huge Irish FORE
man ordered six Italians to move small iron
e,rder from one spot another. In vain the olive
skinned laborers tugged and strained at the weight
They could not raise II.
The foreman surveyed the Italians with disgust
"Git away. we little limbs Nv misery he howled.
It'll we show yez how to do II. Tim. Pat, Mike.
t'row der bloody ting over dere"
Thu three Irtshmen addressed found no dificuty
in the task. and accomplished It with grins Of
lofty superiority.
whist" calculated the foreman. with a wave
OF bis hand at the six scowling Italians, and
look OF ineffable disdain. An thim's Their guys
they make Popes Nv"
Only n fortnight ago there was a small
riot among gang OF Italians and Irishmen who
were engaged I'm digging and laying the foundatio
Of a new building in West Thirty-seventh-st
which was reported in the papers, and which was
distinctly traceable to Italian suspicion Of his fell
low-laborer Foley. the foreman. ordered an italian
named Sandow 10 mix mortar. while a
Irishman named Patrick Smith kept hose playing
upon H. Notwithstanding his name Sandow COM