Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1909-05-14
new YORK POINTERS
Unusual Honor to a Fine Man Who
Knew Nothing About It.
THREE THOUSAND GROWN PEOPLE Elm
ONE SCHOOL.


ONE SCHOOL.
New York contains more Italians
than any city in Italy, Naples perhaps
excepted, and a few days ago the entire
half million of them found cause to feel
bigger for the time being than all the
rest of the city. The reason for this
sudden enlargement of hearts and swell
ing of heads was New York's general
and wonderful demonstration of respect
forthe memory of Lieutenant Petrosino,
The Itallan-American police officer who
was murdered several weeks ago in
Italy, where he had gone to dog the
| "Black Hand' gang to its native lair
and get line on it's American opera
tors. Traffic in many streets, includ-
ing large part of Fifth Avenue, was
entirely suspended for hours, more than
thousand policemen and nearly five
hundred firemen took place in the fu-
neral procession, accompanied by the
Mayor and the Police Commission,
many carriages full of flowers followed
the hearse and after them marched
more than fifty civic societies with
with bands of music and draped colors.
But the most interesting spectacle was
the mass and quality of the citizens
who stood for hours along the line of
march and crowded every possible
point of view. The remains passed for
five miles between two dense walls of
human beings. On the sidewalks of
the only block on which I wes able to
look down and count hats there were
more than a thousand persons. 1 saw
other sidewalks that were crowded to
their full capacity and with every re-
spectacle class of the populace. Of
course all Italians not in the procession
were among the spectators, but they
herded together and as near their homes
as possible, as is their custom at all
times when they are not at work, but
such of them as marched behind the
remains took back to their families and
compatriots the astounding story that
all New York had turned out in honor
of one single Italian. Evidently their
modest race was getting it's innings.
And why shouldn't it? What race in
New York has smaller proportion of
vagrants, do-nothings, office-seekers
and nfhor fhiovoc What 100. .o,x.u
more dimes out of every dollar earned,
drinks less liquor, has fewer maraud-
ers and fewer women who are no better
than they should be? A trifie too
quick with the knife, perhaps, but
knives make cleaner wound than |
clubs or pistols, and they generally re-
strict their cold steel to their own kind. |
The worst of them, whoever he may be,
has consuming desire that his sons
shall become good and self-respecting
Americans. The Italian race, measur-
ed by its average poor immigrants, is
so useful and valuable that New York
simply could not get along without it. |
Another race largely represented here
and which focks by itself as closely as |
the Italians, is that whose forbears |
came from Afric's sunny fountains. 1t
is the fashion to speak of it condescend- |
ingly, almost contemptuously, yet
many white New Workers of Southern
birth admit that if most Southern ne
groes were as good as most of their
Northern cousins there might be no
race problem in the South. New York's !
negroes are quite as fond of soap and
water as any other class in their hum
BILE station in life, they dress decently
and modestly and they do not press in
where they know they are not wanted.
Although not many of them see a
chance to the above domestic service,
except among their own people, they
seem to have the full share of human
ity's aspirations. One of the show in
stitutions of New York's Board of Ed
ucation is an evening industrial school
which contains three thousand colored
pupils ranging in age from sixteen
years to sixty or more, and all of them
eager to learn. The school is free to
anybody between the ages named,
without regard to race, sex or creed,
but the only whites in it are the teach
ers. The students are men and women
who work all day at home or for wages,
but at night, when most working peO-
pie loaf and invite their souls or their
neighbors these weary caeatures hurry
to their class-roons. The curriculum
is not unlike the indoor course at Tusk-
egee, Hampton and other great negro
schools at the South; bookkeeping is
not neglected, but many kinds of handi-
work are taught and exhibitions of the
students output indicate that the ne
gro modiste, Tailor, mechanic and artl-
zan may yet come to the front. AS to
that, know of high-toned organiza-
ton of white men who recently invited
a colored architect to prepare plans for
a contemplated building. The world
does move, so the cOlored man can't
be blamed for pulling himself together
and looking for decent place in the
possession. GARGOYLE.
Peat as Fuel.
Peat is partly decomposed vegetable
matter that has Termed either where
the ground is saturated with water
most of the time or where it is perma-
nently covered with water. 1t is the
dark-colored or nearly black soil found
in bogs and swamps, commonly known