The evening times., 1900-04-18

in which, the idea OF Just and impartial law
becoming weak, the inevitable alternative
of the rude justice OF revenge became
widespread. In our day, with the possible
exception OF some OF the outlying districts
Of EuroI can Russia. Sicily is the poorest
part Of Europe. The wages earned in her
sulphur mines and the horrible condition
Of the people employed therein have been
so completely exposed that IL Is not neces-
sary to dwell thereon. Suffice it 70 say
that with the two factors OF wTetched pow
crty and a long historical training ia
crime, superacded 20 a quick k-bloOdeA vio-
lent people, We may understand the grow th
and power In Sicily Of that murdetous 90
ciety the Maha, which the Italian Gov
eminent is now attacking in earnest al
Messina.
Private Revenge a Nainspring.
The Malta is to all intents and pur-
poses a murderous organization which
sticks at nothing TO secure its ends. But
formally, and on one side, Il is kind Of
mutual benefit society. Its members are
bound 10 protect and benefit one another
under given conditions or pay the dread
penalty for failure OF neglect. Il may
seem unfair 70 Iiken il TO that great Sc
cret political society Of the Carbonari, and
yet there Is a certain common spirit ami
hemcnt reyeugeful. yet subtle and
stealthy spirit Of southern Italy When
Louis Napoleon had broken the oath OF
the Carbonari 70 liberate Italy as soon as
he had OF was believed 10 have the power
20 do so Orsini prepared his terrible re-
yenge. II may OF course be said that Or
sini's ultimate object Of a free Italy was
noble one. while the object Of the Malta
is probably as criminal as the method But
. a he ula hpi NJ L ing 2
is mainly with the method that the Ital-
ian Government IS dealing; and. therefore,
We say that in both cases the dark tor
tuous revengeful spirit Of th mixed pop
ulatiOns Of southern Italy is manifest AS
plain matter OF fact. the objects Of the
Maf3 are not always criminal member
Of the society has been injured. IL is nee
essary 10 aid and protect him. and 10 pun
ish those who have wrouaht the injury.
Now these are quite legit mate objects.
what is not legitimate is the fact that
private persons take the re, ense for wrong
into their own hands. In the ma ne Of one
victim they create several They attack
In the dark lane or the lonely suburb;
they plunge the knife into the side cf the
unarmed man; without warning they strike
home, and generally with fatal accuracy.
Here, then. is the outcome Of the historic
past-the contempt for law born Of geuer-
NJ.
child OF centuries OF organized Oppl ession
and misgovernment- The idea Of impartial,
impersCnal law of justice as b-tween men,
is well nigh inconceivable 10 such a people
and the society for private re venge is the
inevitable outcome. This notion OF private
revenge is aided by the awful poverty Of
Sicily. No one who knows anything OF the
conditions OF labor IN Sicily will wonder
that the anarchical instincts OF human na-
rAh 10 -
point OF seryile degradation and grinding
toll when the red blood coursing through a
man S veins viii make OF him an Ishmael
among his fellows his hand against every
man. II this is true even Of men in the
frozen North with their cool heads and
heavy spirits how much more true is il of
hot-bloCded races that live in the sun, and
who are glad enough Of an excuse TO escape
from mine or workshop ard hire them
selves out to an association which viii re-
yenge their own wrongs in the persons OF
their oppressors. This revenge the Malta
can accomplish. By its mutual confedera-
cy, its many-linked chair Of human con-
nection, its secrecy (the violation OF which
Is punished By death. it ran strike home
with unerring aim; and tits is just what
the poverty stricken victilh Of misfortune
calls for.
An OFFSPRING Of PaEanISm.
1t must be remembered that South italy
is still virtually pagan. Under the vest
ments Of Christian Saints the old pagan
deities still reign, and consequently the
Christian virtues of patience. forgiveness.
brotherhood have but little real power
among South Italians. There is kindlfness.
no doubt, but It is the heather quality, not
the renewed Christian feeling toward
others Think Of men as they were when
ID,
the spirit which creates and sustains the
Mafa but also think of the absence of
that sentiment Of security which animated
the Roman provincial IL the days of the
empire.
The members of the magisteTial and DO
lice force may almost be said to take their
lives in their hands when dealing seriously
with the Malta. 1t is also not difficult TO
conceive Of the very guardians OF order
drawn into the comradeship Of guilt But
the italian Government owes il to Italy 70
purge the land Of secret conspiracy TO
crime. If the Municipal Government Of
Rome has done so much TO change the
morale of the capital, We must believe that
the Government of Italy cannot fSI In
dealing with criminal conspiracy. II the
seal OF the confessional stands in the vav
the Government will have to consider
where the liberty OF the Church must he
distinguished from license II local Official
ism is TecalcitTant. the Government must
see TO it that its designs fre not balked bv
corrupt bureaucracy. But above all
things while graphing with actual crime
the Government must not fail 10 deal with
one Of the chief causes of the kind Of
crime that prevails in Italy-grinding pow
erty. The past cannot be blotted out. the
direct causes Of crime which that past has
contributed to the character OF Southern
Italy cannot be rooted up: they can only
yield to the slow pressure of time and OF
the melting out to all of even handed jus
tice.-LOndon Spectator.