The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-10
GOLD SPRING IN ITALY.
NO ETHEREAL MILDNESS
Cold and Raw Weather All Around the
 Country.

The White Star liner Cretic, Captain Kelk, in last night from Mediterranean ports and the Azores, brought nearly 2,5OO passengers, of whom 2,177 were ' in the steerage.
 The Rev. William B. Farrill of the / Shurch of Our Lady of Loretto, Hemp
 stead, L. L, and several others of the
 Cretic's passengers had been traveling through Southern Italy, where most of the Italian immigrants who have come to America recently had their homes. The stories told by several of the re- turning voyagers of the desolation of Southern Italy would make @ compan- ion piece to Oliver Goldsmith's '"The
 Deserted Village"
 Until about three months ago the immigration from Southern Italy was ! just about the normal. Then, as one of l tho passengers expressed it, the scream of the eagle on the American dollar was heard in the land" and
 whole families began dlsposing of their household effects and soon after set
 sail for America. Stories of great
 wealth that shortly coud be acquired
 in the United States were circulated
 and soon what was at first small
 procession became an army marching
 to the sea.
 Those wno were left took advantage jof their opportunity and bought farms 1 for almost nothing, so eager were the owners to reach the land of plenty, where they were told silver dollars ! rolled around the streets" Soon after
 ward the recent purchasers of these
 farms felt the "gold fever" and they
 in turn sold out. Soon there were more farms than those who remained could manage. Village after village became depopulated in this way.
 About month ago still more won
 derful stories of the great prosperity of America were spread. With this dream of wetalth before them, those who were left hastened to board the first ship for New York. This rush
 soon became stampede. It was like that in which children followed the 1 Piper of Hamelin. Most of these peo- pie did not even try to sell their farms, { for there was no one left to buy. Even when they arrived at the large cities
 they made no attempt to dispose of
 their property, fearing 1t would entail , loss of time.
 { Now that part of Southern Italy, 5 which is described as a magnificent country with soil of the richest kind,
 whose farms yielded crops in abund-
 ance, with prosperous well-tilled vil- 4 lages every few miles, is a scene of desolation. In some of the villages there was not a living soul Houses, with the ir doors and windows left open, were deserted as though their tenants had fled from a pestilence. In some of them tn etables had not been even cleared of the remains of the last
 meal. In nearly all the household fur niture had been left. In some of the homes stray dogs prowled.
 On many of the farms blows had been left in the furrows, with heir and there coat or an old hat hanging on the handles, as though the owner had been suddenly called away and had had no time to return. Crops were left rlpenin gin the fields, no hand being left to harvest them. In several places
 horse were seen grazing in the mead
 ows, their owners probably 5000 miles away.
 This great emigration has become a
 matter of serious concern to many
 prominent Italians who say "Who will
 take the places of those who are ?'-From the New York World