Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1897-11-03
As Seen at Home By the Hawaiian Con-
sui at Rome.
Important and Interesting Monograph Written
10 the Minister Of Foreign Affairs for
Information Of Planters.

cultural industries of these isl
ands, Dwight Benton, Hawaiian
Consul General az Rome, has
written a letter to the Minister of
Foreign Affairs on the Italian
people. Mr.. Cooper kindly ten
ders il to the BULLETIN for pub
lication in full. Its length
forbids printing entire in
one issue, but the document ia so
subdivided under different heeds,
by the author himself, that it will
very well bear publication serial
ly. Both as a really fine piece of
literary work and for its bearing
upon the labor problem Ot the
Hawaiian Islands, this monograph
cannot fail to enthraii the attpn-
ton of every reader OF this paper.
CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE
REPUBLIC OF HAWAII, :
ROME, Aug. Il, 1897.
To Mr.. HENRY E. COOPER, Minis
ter of Foreign Affairs, Ho
nolulu.
Sir: l have the honor to ad-
dress you on the subject of Itaii
an labor, aud to communicate
such information as l have been
able to obtain up to this time, and
which appears reliable and prac
tical for your consideration in de
,ermining it's availability for the
Islands. Much of il, as you will
doubtless infer, is the result OF
personal observation aud of an
interest in the social and econo
mic conditions of this people, who
certainly deserve u better place
than circumstance have assigned
to them in the never ending
struggle for existence.
CHARACTER.
The character of the italian
laboripg classes is variable and
distinct, according to the province
which represents their nativity
and residence, and may be cor
rectly called an heredity. The
northern end of the Peninsula, in
regard to educational acquire
ments, honesty, industry and
thrift, is far in advance of the
more southern portions. In fact,
these qualifications diminish, as a
sliding scale, from North to South.
In Northern Italy, the proportion
of persons able to read and write
is, on an average, rs per cent of
the adult population, many sub
provinces showing 80 per cent,
while one THAT of Sondrlo) reaches
SO per cent. On the contrary,
there are whole sections of Gala
bria and Sicily, where only from
5 to 10 per cent are able to read
and perhaps write their own
names.
The Italian laborer, speaking
generally of Italy north of Flor
ence, is industrious, patient, very
obediept and not more quarrel
some than the same class of other
nationalities. Since 1870 the
military system has been extended
over all Italy, aud it's rigid dis
ci pline, which applies to all young
men for three years following the
attainment of majority, unless
exempt by reason of disability,
has educated the present genera
ton to an unquestioning obedi-
ence to superior orders, and to a
degree of punctuality formerly un
known. He works in most primi
tive ways, and with primitive
tools, but by dint of application
manages, often from the scanty
soil of the mountain heights, to
live, where many another of less
endurance would starve. He
borrows no trouble for the NOR
row, in the somewhat fatalistiC
belief that whatever happens tc
him was to he, and that the future
is not within his scope or control
If i'll comes, he meets it with g
cheerfulness, an omnipresen'
shrug of the shoulders, and the
never omitted expression of
"Pazienza, Speriamo per il meglic
domani," Patience, Let us hope
for the better tomorrow). That
many of us might be glad to emu
late If we could. He is generally
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