The San Francisco call., 1896-10-09
ITALIANS AROUSED.
Bryan's Editorial Insult to the Sons
of Italy Has Caused Excite
mant.

The large Italian colony is much stirred
up by controversy arising out of the
gratuitous insults to the Italian people of
America which were uttered with ruth
lessness and brutality short time ago by
Bryan's newspaper, the Omaha World
Herald.
AS was reported in THE CALL at the
time, the World Herald, of which w. J.
Bryan was then the responsible editor,
discussed the Italian population in its
editorial columns on August and
II last, and spoke of the Italian i'm
migrants to America in many terms
of scorn and contempt, calling them
the most undesirable class that
came to our shores and asserting that as a
whole they were of the criminal class,
ever ready to ply their stiletto. The mat
ter was taken up by the italian press
throughout the country, including 'Italia
of San Francisco; but it lid not reappear
in the local English papers until Monday
morning, when the Examiner presented
a report of meeting OF the small Italian
credited DR.. Pescia with saying that he
was glad to see that PItalia had come out
for Bryan and had thrown to the winds
the Republican accusation that Bryan's
paper was opposed to the Italians.
Either this speech or this newspaper re-
port or both were pure fakes, and the
Italian colony, three-fifths of which is
for Mckinley, IS much stirred up about it
and about the vigorous articles which are
appearing in PItalia.
The incident is of much Importance and
interest among the Italian population, and
L'Italia in its issues of Saturday and Mon
day last gives much space to a clear expo
sition OF it. By Saturdays issue of the
paper it appears that the editor, weeks ago,
sent to the editor of the World Herald a
telegram of inquiry which was never an
swered.
Then PItalia of Chicago took up the
matter vigorously Soon q. Dondero, Sec
retary of the Italian Chamber of Com
merce here, wrote personal letter OF in
quiry to Mr.. Bryan and he received a
reply in which Bryan inclosed a copy of
brief denial of responsibility which he
had sent TO PItalia OF Chicago, which did
not publish it.
In this denial Mr.. Bryan simply said
that he was only the financial editor of
the paper and was not accountable for the
particular utterance in question.
II was in spirit of fairness that PItalia
published the letters of Dondero and
Bryan on Saturday. but the paper ac-
CONF panied them with its unmistakable
declaration that as Bryan had recently de-
cIared through the press that his only in
come was that derived from his editorship
of the World Herald he was responsible
for the utterances of his paper.
Thus the absence of foundation for the
Examiners report of Monday morning,
and yesterdays issue of PItalia devotes
considerable space to forclbly refuting the
fake story and reasserting in a fair spirit
the opinion of the paper that Bryan was
morally responsible for the wanton insult
of the Itailan people offered by the paper
of which he is editor.
''But. after ALL" says I'Italia," these
outrageous sIurs on the Italian people are
not the chief, or indeed very Important
reason for our opposition to Mr.. Bryan's
candidacy. This matter. important as it
may be, is incidental. We will continue
to oppose Mr.. Bryan, because we honestly
believe that his election would bring ruin
to the American people,"