Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-06-22

49, $3.50 80 49, ''VN " s''|'s
native land. They love II dearly. But
there IL too little standing room there
FOR comfort, The dream of nearly
every Italian emigrant Is to go away,
gain a modest competency and re.
turn TO where he was born. and at
last lie down and sleep where his an
cestors have slept for many centuries.
J o crowded as Belgium Is. and SO low
as. wages are In that kingdom, there
are thousands of Italians there COM
peting for n chance to gain a days
living. In France fhere are more
Italians than Belgians. In both u
tries the intruder Is by no means a
welcome guest among the portion Of
the population with which he comes
In direct competition. Collisions are
by no means rare, and often red blood
flows on both sides In the bitter strug-
gle for life.
italian Emigration.
The number of emigrants who are
leaving Italy in these first years of
the twentieth century runs at 100000
annually, and even considerably more
than that figure. In the first three
years of the new century 1,727,635 per-
IONS abandoned their native country
to do as their ancestors did $500 or
5000 years before--seek their for
tunes in lands beyond the seas, or at
least beyond the mountain heights
that cut Italy off from the rest of
Europe. or the total figures given
for last year, nearly half of them, viz,
204 900 Italians, sought to better their
conditions in other portions OF
Europe. France got 1000 Of them,
about the same number took refuge
from want in Switzerland. another
section as numerous In Austria, while
no less than s. 5000 went to Germany.
There were estimated to be In France
over $4,000 Italians at the end of the
first year of the century, and this
number is steadily increasing, as seen
above. The superior opportunities of
making a living in France are seen in
this fact of there being not only SO
large a number of Italians in the
republic, but also GOO, 900 Belgians,
who so reluctantly quit their native
country. The Belgian has the great
advantage that French is his native
tongue.
But if the words, beyond the Alps
lies Italy, exercised such a magic
spell on those who knew the sunny
land only by hearsay, what wonder if
its spell is potent in the mind of those
born on the soil. These quarter Of a
million sons of Italy who went into
other lands of Europe last year never
thought of living forever as exiles
from her bright skies. When the
ice forms on the waters of the bleak
north. they flock like birds Of pas
sage back to the warmth of their ma
tive skies. This is the general rule.
Beyond the Seas.
More than 800, 900 persons a year
are leaving Italy to go far beyond seas.
They follow in the patch found by
the great Genoese navigator 500 years
ago to seek the shores of America,
North and South. But. although they
go in such numbers and go SO far, they
do not go with the intention of stay
ing permanently. Thousands do so.
They find business or employment so
much to their liking that their stay Is
prolonged, at first for short terms.
But the great majority come back to
Italy yearly. Some Of them have
found a way to overcome natural laws
to some extent. They defy winter,
with it's terrors. to touch them. They
make hay, in literal sense, all the year
round. Thousands of Italians spend
half the year in Argentina during the
harvest season and come back to Italy
to reap the harvests of their native
lands the other half. Other thousands
seek employment in the United States
in summer and return to Italy in the
winter. Their case is not SO enviable
as that of those who go to Argentina.
They spend in winter what they save
in summer. while the others are earn
ing money all the year round.
A Grave Question.
President Roosevelt, in his message
to congress last December, did one of
his characteristic acts of boldness
when he called attention to the need
of making proper changes in our laws
governing immigration to the United
States. in view of the character OF
some of the elements found In the i'm
migrants of these latter days. Thought
full Americans have seen this more
or less clearly before nov But the
pressing need of labor in our country
has made us all conservative in pro-
posing any limitation to immigration.
Up to a few years ago. our immigrants
nearly all came from northern Europe.
They brought the average high NOR
| atty of the British isles, the hard.
good sense of the Germans, the hardy
lsturdiness and inherent honesty OF
purpose of the Scandinavians in their
| veins. This is changed. Southeastern