The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-07
Childhood in Little Italy.
A PHASE OF LIFE IN MULBERRY
STREET AND ITS VICINITY.


away in the tenements, Falls and injuries,
unknown and disregarded at the tme'
develop later into deformity.
The public school kindergartens on
Baxter, Marion and neighborinR streets
are boon. The parents are anxious to
get children into school as soon AZ possible,
to get them of the streets; so at or the
bambno often marches sedately away to
kindergarten.
Sometimes We say lie" admitted one
Italian mother simply, to explain how the
bambino occasionally gets into school at
40 early an age. Anxious to get the child
between the protecting four walls, they
shoulder an extra year or two of on the
little chap, that he may matricnlate the
sooner.
But alas! the education begun so early
comes to All untimely end. Wages simply
will not 60 round among 40 many small
mouths and sometimes the little chap
finds himself unit in the industrial
world before he has fairly had time to
forget how his little pappoose band felt
1t is the home work which enables the
employment of such small hands, and this
is principally Of two kinds, the finishing OF
boys clothes and of artificial flowers.
The children fell down the bindings at the
bottoms of the little trousers with few
long, struggling stitches. They sew on the
buttons at the knees. putting the needle
through once OF twice, 80 that the button is
nicely prepared to fall Oft the first time
the garment il worn. Sometimes they
make buttonholes- save the mark
II the child is smart he, or generally
she, can begin to do this at :, and many
boy and girl of this age is helping to exc
out the family excheouer by finishing boys
trousers at It or = cents a dozen pairs. For
those that have buttons all around the
waist, pockets and flies felled down with
fine stitches, and patches feled under the
knees, they get from l6 to - cents a dozen.
Children do not work on men $ trousers.
which have to be done better and COM
mand from 3 to cents pair. The chief
artificial flower season comes in March.
April and May, with a lesser one in the fall.
The centre of the manufacture is on the
West Side, around Bleecher street and
Washington Square. and along the line Of
the Sixth avenue elevated road
Boxes OF flowers and stems are given out
from the factory, and the finishing consists
in attaching the one to the other. Daisies
and buttercups are the easiest to do. and
bring only 10 to IL cents a dozen. Pansies
and peoples come next. and roses and
forget-me-nots are the hardest. command
ing from Is to 10 cents a dozen.
There Ia little girl of 10 on Mulberry
street who has been working till 10 or II
at night all these bright spring days Of
the rush season, finishing daisies and butter
cups, q somewhat grim substitute for pick
ing the same in the fields. When they are
little older many of the girls 60 into the
flower factories to work. for it is favorite
trade with the Italians. and Italian girls
never do any work which keeps them away
from home over night.
The candy factory takes more OF them
than anything else, They dip the almonds,
peanuts or creams in the chocolate. They
wrap the better grades Of candy in tissue
paper They pack and carry boxes.
They begin at $3.50 a week. Three years
later they may be getting IS. There are
plenty Of children Of II or ~ in the candy
factories. 1t is safe to say that the great
mass OF Italian children go to work at 10
il their appearance is mature enough to
warrant adding a year to their age.
There is a story floating about in philan-
thropic circles Of kind-hearted plutocrat
who made Christmas party for company
OF Italian children She had a gorgeous
Christmas tree. music, supper, and, as a
GROWING treat. box OF fine chocolate
bonbons for each child.
But what was her surprise to see all her
candy boxes left upon the chairs. Ques-
toned as to this. the children responded in
a chorus. with long suffering expression
10 fhnv
Poor little shavers! Candy had become
permanently nauseating to them.
Passing down Mulberry street one sees
here and there boy or girl sitting beside
| a basket or washtuh full OF leaves. These
are the little green sellers.
The fathers and mothers go out in Long
| Island, or over in Jersey and pick dande
| lions, or chickweed, or buy asparagus oil
! beet tops from the farmers. and the children
| sell them on the street. Italians eat greens
| all the year round, and consume for thi.
| purpose all sorts Of weeds and leaves un.
known to Americans
| Many Of the boys are bootblacks. They
do not get more than 2 or cents shine
and make from 20 to 80 cents day.
| Last winter the men with bootblackinG
stands, who must pay for licenses, organ
lied to get a law shutting these boys OF
the streets They argued that when the,
paid for license they ought to be pro-
tected, and that the few cents day which
the boys earned was poor compensation
for their entire loss OF education.
This attempt WAS regarded down Null
berry street way "a a typical example OF
the manner In which wealth ever seeks tc
Cypress the deserving poor. The news
boys do not necessarily stay out Of school
They sell before and after school. and otter
far into the night,
Some impecunious parents with CULVER
overfull, try to "put them away" by which
they mean to get some Of their children ad
| mitted to institutions. They do not love
their children less than other people; IL
fact, their very affection for them is on'
| Of the causes OF the effort.
II dis.resses the average Italian parent
to have his children, especially the girls
running wild on the street. But with thu
small crowded tenements, the immense
families and the frequent need for thu
mothers labor In money earning, he Otter
cannot help it, And when the children
contaminated by the life Of the street, ge
unrrly and resist discipline, the parent:
long to put them in a home where they
will be kept clean, we'll fed and out o.