The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-01-13

world over though we condition our
morals as We approach or leave the
home iireside,
Little Italy Is grief.stricken, 10
the thousands Of sons and daughters
Of fair Italy who make up what the
world commonly knows as NewYorks
Little Italy," the blow which has
Just befallen their compatriots in
Sicily has come with stunning force,
But this calamity which has cost some
100000 lives has significance not to
Be comprehended except by the ltal-
ian mind. To be bereft Of relatives
and lifelong friends in cataelysm
coming as did that at Messina, Reggio
and Catania IS all bad enough, but the
thought that this fair country being
devasted, making il impossible for the
sons and daughters Of Italy in Amer
iica to return 10 spend their declining
years, uakes their lives now seem
empty of purpose.
It may not be understood by the
Anglo-Saxon people OF America, but
the average Italian comes to these
shores largely because OF the possibi-
lity of winning a fortune and then re-
turning to the land of his birth, there
TO live in comparative affluence. That
Hand to him is always brighter, its
skies SUMMER and its government bet
tier, than any spot on earth. To the
italian, particularly those Of sunny
Sicily, his residence in the United
States is only the means OF the end.
Italy for him is the ultimate goal To
tell him, therefore, that his Sicily is
closed to him forever is like killing
his hope of a future heaven. Little
Italy will stretch forth the hand Of
charity to its stricken bretheren, but
long after the present force OF the
great cataclysm is spent there will re-
main in the Italian heart that longing
which comes OF hopes blasted and am
Ibitious unattained.
In this respect Italy's immigrants
coming to these shores differ from
those sent by England, France, Ger
many, in fact, all those lands not Lat
in. From most Of the countries of
Europe arrive annually thousands Of
hardy immigrants who readily and
with enthusiasts born Of hope Of fu-
ture citizenship amalgamate with the
great body Of the American people.
On the other hand, the Italian, with
few exceptions, may be regarded al
ways as an alien. Whether this hom-
ling instinct Is due to patriotism or
temperament or some other reason, it
remains that sunny Italy with its un-
doubted attractions is the Italians
ideal Of home.
In substantiation OF this, we may
look to the immigration records Of
the past two years. These records
show that more Italians by several
thousands passed through New York
outward bound than arrived at Ellis
Island, that great gateway for the in
coming immigrants. Some authori-
ties laid this to the financial depress-
ion in the United States, with its re-
sultant lack Of employment for thou
sands of unskilled laborers, Granting
this had something to do with the out
go, to the Italians who remained be-
hind there was a deeper meaning. Ask
any son or daughter Of Italy and they
may lay bare this secret Behind it.
too, may be the explanation Of the
Italians dissemination to leave the
crowded precincts Of the big Ameri-
can cities when the farm lands Of the
West and South call insistently for
cultivators The cities, they soon
learn, offer the greatest inducements
for the fortune making. On the other
hand, they take hold Of agriculture
reluctantly because, BY the very nat