The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1907-08-23

generally raised, lnlS years
crop appears light, continuous
cultivation with lack of fertiliza-
tion shows that the land is not
rich enough TO grow such crops
as we have. Frequently | saw
as many as twenty working in
field of ten acres or less-men
and women. All grain is cut by
an old-fashioned sickle and
bound by hand. Many wheat
fields saw no larger than twen-
ty feet by forty feet. And on
the steep mountain sides where
the ground had been leveled like
steps wheat had m; red in
patches like flower gardens, and
a few small bundles scattered
here and there. Every head of
grain is picked up and the grain
carefully stacked. The bundles
are hauled to the stacks by sin
gle horse or OK hitched to cart,
and in many places the bundles
are carried to t.e stacks.
Beautiful v neyards are to be
found everywhere in Italy, and
the land seer"s best suited for
grape culturer These people,
however, ca..not live on wine
alone; and more grain than | ex-
pected was grown eve ywhere.
Wages for harvest hands are
twenty cents a day for man.
Women and children receive
their board only. With such
wages one can easily imagine
what a hard lot the average Ital-
ian farmer has. Italian naasons,
either brick or stone, receive in
the cities sixty cents day with
cut board Girls working as
servants in hotels or boarding
houses receive from eight cents
to twelve cents a day. The Ital-
IAN pays very high taxes. The
struggle for existence is sharper
there than in any of the SIX Eu-
ropean countries | have visited,
An Italian farmer can not bring
a load OF garden truck into the
CITY but what everything is care
fully examined by a city officer
ann a city tax paid He is hard
working and saving, a much
better citizen than we ! mel. cans
think. Most Italians we get are
the poorer si.iftless class from
southern Italy.
Italian cooking is hard to get
used to. Many things are
cooked in olive oil, such as
chicken, lettuce and all kinds of
Salads. At the table everything
is served in courses and one
thing at time. Many times |
tired to get meat and potatoes or
fish and potatoes at the same
time, but in the three weeks |
never succeeded. The custom
OF serving one thing at time is
established as thoroughly as the
laws OF the land. Wine is drunk
at meals the same as tea and
coffee with US. 1t costs one to
three cents glass. Italy is one
OF the cheapest countries to live
In Of all Europe. Board and
room can be had in Rome for
sixty or seventy cents a day, by
the week, and much less if one
stays month. Railroad men,
street car conductors and bag
gage men wear cheap cotton
clothing similar to our blue over
alls. This looks strange to an
American. Lace goods, silks
and fancy articles sell for less
than half what they do with US.
Rome, with all it's ancient. his
torical associations, is today
modern city with many broad
streets, abundance of electric
lights and we'll paved clean
streets, also a we'll equipped
rapid electric car system. 1t
has many pickpockets and rob-
bers, and although a large police
force is employed, the side
streets are not safe at night.
The Italian soldier is the best
dressed CLASS OF men IN Italy.
Yet his wages outside his board
and elegant clothes is only one
cent a day.
In almost every industry or
kind of business where there is
any money to be made, the Ital-
ian government steps in and
runs the buSineSS This fact
together with the policy of keep
ing one-sixth of the men of the
country in the standing army,
has given rise to the very strong
socialistic feeling which can be
found cropping out everywhere
among the lower and middle
classes.
It is common saying among
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