Evening star., 1901-07-20
PEASANT LIFE IN ITALY
MEN AND WOMEN LABOR IN FIELDS
FROM DAWN TILL DARK.
Sunday Not q Day of Rest A Little
Meat on Holidays-No school
ing for Children

From the New York rre-s
From sunny Italy came the anarchist
who slew the Empress Elizabeth. President
Garnet. Prime Minister Canovas and ANAL
ly Humbert himself. In sunny Italy is
probably the rankest growth Of anarchy
and socialism in all Europe. And in the
sunny plains and valleys OF northern Italy
10 what perhaps Is the worst condition Of
serfdom that exists in Europe today Her.
in the provinces that border on the river
Po-Lombardy, Venetia and Emilia-the
peasantry stagger under burdens SO de-
pressing and unending that 1t Is no wonder
that the extract from this human press Is
anarchy and socialism. II is In these prov
inces that the ferment of socialism has
worked the most. Here the peasants are
organized more or less completely into So
cialistic groups. Whatever of worth there
was In the old system OF labor In these
provinces disappeared twenty years ago
when many OF the old mobiles were forced
to give up their landed estates because Of
the fall in price OF wheat and cattle. due
largely to American competition. With the
ruin OF the mobiles came that OF many OF
the tenant farmers and small proprietors
who were compelled TO leave the fertile
and smiling country and so into the towns
for work, or else enigrate to America,
there TO begin life anew.
Glasses OF Laborers.
The field laborers OF Italy are divided In
to two classes. the obbligati, who a.e hired
by the year. and the disobbligatl who are
employed by the day. The former class Of
course, are a little better OF than the lat
ter. for their contract runs longer and they
can look further ahead. But In either class
the outlook Is miserable enough. For not
only does the peasant bind himself to work
for his owner. but he binds his whole fam
ny, with the possible exception OF babes.
VINO would be included, except that they
can produce nothing, and therefore are
LEFT In the corners Of the fields. For this
reason, that an employer can get the ser
vices or an entire family for the price OF
one man, an unmarried man, or the man
with Vile and no children, Is at a great
disadvantage. for work for him is not to
De mad as long as there are unemployed
families at hand. Yet another hard feature
OF OF thls system Is that the head OF the fam
liy must stipulate. il he has unmarried
daughters, that they shall not marry for
the period OF time which the contract has
to run.
A days work in this part OF sunny Italy
is from In the morning TO at night
that Is. from the first flush OF dawn to the
last light to be had from the setting sun
There is no Sunday in the calendar OF the
italian peasant. On the day OF the week
which all Christendom observes. as on
other days. he is in the field at O'Clock
IN the morning. and between and has
MS breakfast; he gets an hour at midday
eAiN LieiaA al HOur at d OF % o CLOCK. ana
then ne works on till he no longer can see
Women In the Fields.
The women go into the fields with the
men They hoe In the maize fields feed
the cattle and cultivate ;he flax II the
children are babes they can do nothing-to
the great sorrow OF the employer. for they
eat. II eve- so little. but do not produce
But when they get to be few years old
they are useful in looking after the pigs
etc, ana as soon as possible they are sent
to work with their parents. The situation
In the green fields Of Italy is about as com
plete refutation OF the Malthusian theory
as ITS most ardent opponent could desire
Tor 1t is the man with many children who
gets the most out of life as 1t is lived In
sunny Italy.
The wages OF the peasants family ere
partly in money and partly in kind and he
has the privilege OF rent free In cash he
gets from sl5 to $50 a year; IN kind he gets
IA bushels OF maize. bushels OF wheat and
from 300 to 20 bundles OF firewood n he
Is In a vineyard section he receives in ad-
dltIon 500 to 800 pounds Of grapes while I'm
other sections he gets 8 TO bushels of rye
he may get some rice. which he mikes
with the millet to produce the indigestible
bread which is responsible for the disease
called pellagra
Then he may have the privilege Of a
little patch OF ground on whicn he nav
raise maize. two-thirds OF which goes to
the employer. and he may raise silk
So the average PEASANTS family OF six
persons may earn altogether from Sl2O to
S125 year.
Houses of the PeaAantry
The house of the Italian peasant usually
contains several other families 4 lodging
consists OF a kitchen. a bed room and two
other small rooms. In the older houses
oiled paper answers for a window. and the
houses are damp. moldy and smoky.
OF course the food of q family whose
united income is about six cents a day Is
bound to be rather meager Polenta which
Is flour Of maize cooked in water Ia the
main dish Breakfast consists Of polenta
and a little cheese. For dinner there Is
polenta and bacon soup. with pc rhaps fish
from the brook. or eggs. At 5 O'Clock Do
lenta and cheese is the meal and at sup-
per polenta and salad of the cheapest
vegetables. On Christmas and on + lster
meat is set on the table sparfngly, and In
the vineyard districts a glass OF wine
cheers the heart.
The frewood which the peasants get Is
rarely sufficient to cook with in the sum-
mer. and in the winter the family takes
refuge in the COW shed. where the en-
ployer. under pretense that he provides a
light In the stables. lays claim to a portion
of the flax spun by the women in the
barns.
OF schooling for the children there is
none. except in the winter in the I'LL ages
Consequently, many of these Italians who
come to America in the hope of bettaring
their condition neither can read nor write
their own language. Great wonder IL Is IL
anything good can come out of modern
Italy.