New-York tribune., 1907-04-24
DIFFERENT CLASSES OF ITALIANS.
Why the People of That Nation Have Not
Pulled Well Together.

To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: The why italy to-day is not the
greatest nation IN the world, as it was centuries
ago. is seen from the fact that the different kinds
Of Italians have never pulled well together The
Sicilian has been hated by the Roman, the Roman
has dcspised the Tuscan some one else, and
on. The different principalities of which ITALY was
composed I'm the beginning Of the nineteenth
tury and before have always found JOY in quar-
relng among themselves. usually for the mere
pleasure of having a quarrel. and they made an
easy prey to the foreign usurper-the Anjou. the
Bourbon, the Hapsburg
In yesterdays Tribune as I'm to-day's ''Progresso
Italo-Americano," appear articles on the letter
signed by two hundred Italian women denouncing
the Sicans apropos Of the recent fracas The
claim OF these women is that the Sicilian is a
"cutthroat. falsiier. coward" etc. Now. the fact
Is that there such men among Siciaus but
those qualities are not necessarily monopolized by
people OF Sican blood. You have them, and many
of them exemplded in people OF American birth.
These italian womeu DO not say that the Sicilian
criminal is and they state that the SicilianS
Gas people) are criminals
Lest people think that am prejudiced In favor
of the Siciians, / may we'll say right here that
/ am not OF Soilian extraction. do believe how
ever that all Italians Italians. whether they
from Sicily or from Rome or Venice. II
particular italian is criminal. 1t does not neces-
sariIy signify that every person coming from his
part of the country is criminal Neither are all
than all OF your Southerners are. In the
South negroes frequently lynched yet this does
not mean that all Southerners favor lynch law!
There is certain class of Italians, of peasant
extraction. whose fathers came to this country
poor uliterate ht only for manual labor who
have become wealthy by means of these selfsame
Gespsed Scilians. Now. this offspring of "padron-
ism" lifts its head high in the air when a poor
ignorant, suspicious harm-fearinS Sicilian walks
by them. "Pah. These verUint' they say. How
dare they class themselves with u.s. for We are not
such as they" II is to laugh!
Yet IL need not be forgotten. as I'll PFogresso''
says. that in America many the foremost Italian
citizens Of Sicuan extraction and in Italy
foremost in the ranks OF patriots. writer's and
scientists Sicilians have shone. You may think
that / take optimistic point of view. but what
other view can any common-Sense. honest right
eous person take? Are they all wrong? Are all
eggs bad?
The whole case lies herein. Some Of these people
are ignorant. iterate and alone in a strange land
They every moment fearing that some one is
trying to do them harm They are allowed n,
carry arms. thanks To your highly defective police
system. and make no scrupe about using them
when provoked But why they allowed 10 be-
come provoked? Why are they mocked? Why are
they despised? II is they who have also right to
demand justice this point. l do not Justify
their carrying arms, but 1 certainly do denounce
their being mocked; And America claims TO be a
Christian nation! Even lIe other Italians cast or