The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-06-04
OUR ITALIANS
Eighty Per Cent, Of Them Unskilled
Laborers.

J. @, Speed, IN Ainslees.
The Italians. who have taken the
place in the field OF labor formerly oc
cupied by the Irish, constitute q very
important part OF our foreign popula-
tion. and as they are still coming in
great numbers, their presence with US
Is the cause of much interesting specu-
lation. In 1890 the Italians were only
1S25S0. OF these 1896 were in the
North Atlantic states; 1894 in the South
Atlantic; 2l,S37 in the North Central:
In the South Central 1884, and in the
Western 24,914. There is a general i'm
preston that these Italians, most Of
them men, come here TO work very
hard for a few years and then to 60
back to live in easy idleness on their
savings. There may be something in
this, for they do go back and forth n
great deal. For instance, in 1897, there
were 59.43l italian arrivals, and OF
these 1923 had been In the United
States before. 1t may be depended
upon that most OF those thus return
| ing come TO stay permanently. In the
| nine years since the census was taken
| 554,072 Italians have come into this
| country as immigrants and re-immi-
grants.
II half OF these who were here IN
1890 have gone back, and one-fourth
| OF those who have since arrived have
also returned, then the italian popula-
| ton may bet set down as oil, ,S4i. This,
! however. Is mere guesswork and has
no statistical value. But from what
am told by the officials OF the bureau
| of immigration, I fancy that the guess
Is pretty accurate, and that the italian
| population In American is not far on
| either side from half q million. They
| do not bring as many women as other
| immigrants, so II Is only natural for
| those who mean to make permanent
| homes to go back for their sweethearts
and their families. or the 1910 Ital-
ians who came last year only 400
were females. They are more illiterate
than any other immigrants that we
have. as only about half OF them can
read. The Russians (Hebrews) crowd
the Italians pretty closely In this re-
! gard, as IL per cent OF them are illit-
| crate. These Hebrews. however. set
about learning to read very quickly
! when they are still young enough,
while comparatively few OF their chill
| dren are suffered TO grow up without
| going to school,
The Italians, as have said before,
| are the public works laborers OF the
time. They work diligently with the
pick and shovel, and the Irish bosses
make them perform prodigious tasks
with these implements which the Irish
have In great measure discarded.
| Probably eighty per cent OF the Ital-
ian immigrants are unslilled laborers.
But they take to other things very
kindly. They have actually driven the
negroes out OF the bootbacking field,
and even the Irish porters now at the
best hotels no longer have a monopoly
| OF polishing the boots OF the guests,
They are amiab.e people. ard very
apt to be law abiding. They are hot
tempered, II II true. or rather quick
tempered. Their fights, however, are
generally smong themsely es, and in
nearly nine cases out OF ten these are
the result of jealousy. II may be that
| when there are women enough TO go
round they viii leave off using the
| stiletto entirely. In New York, at
| least, they are no lonFe= extensively
in the fruit business, which they once
| monopolized. The itinerants who now
! polish apples and carry them about In
carts are nearly all Greeks. At any
rate, the Italians are new doing very
useful work In America, work that II
| would be difficult to find others 10 do
unless we cIened the doors to the Chi
| nese.