Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-17
Nearly 100000 Italians in New York and but Fortv
Policemen Speak the Italian
Language
language.

erence to the facts about the so-calIed
BLACK Hand Society,""
| There is no doubt that among the two
million or more Italians living in the
United States there are many criminals"
Mr.. Castiglione said, land if journalists
would confine themselves to studying the
especial characteristics of Italian GRIM
inals it would be legitimate, but so many
unscientif1c and uniformed writers strike
! not only at the Italian criminals, but at
Italians themselves, and for no other rea-
son than that they are Italians.
! THE Black Hand is not a tree spread
/ ing it's roots deeper and deeper in the
national life Of the United States, as so
many hysterical writer's have affirmed. 1t
/ is not closely woven system, as others
have written. 1t is only general name
appropriated by individual Italian Grim
/ mails, under which they hide their own
wrongdoings.
THE publication Of these hastily pre-
pared and sensational articles is an Of
i fence against American common sense and
against the Italian American citizens
Articles of this kind powerfully contrib
ute to the creating of an unfair feeling
| all over the country against large part
lof the Italian population. These stories
circulate not only in the larger cities,
where the readers are more sophisticated,
but they filter their way into the interior
! VI Tic Country, INTO the Snall6r towns,
and are read by the gentle and peaceful
| farmers
These supplemented readers believe
firmly that every word printed in these
articles is correct. that the stories are
founded on fact, and in every italian they
meet, even if it be only poor worn out
laborer with his dinner pail, they see a
/ Black Hand member. And if in these
portions of the country there are no
Italians the residents take steps to pre-
vent any from ever settling there.
! rs it fair to the Italians, is it useful
for this country that this feeling should
be created and spread among its citi-
zens?' Mr.. Castiglione continued. "Of the
two million Italians in the United States
many have taken out their papers and be-
come naturalized Americans. Many of
them have settled here with their families
are sending their children to American
schools, are investing their savings in
American real estate, in American indus
tries, in American business enterprises. In
the city of New York alone conservative
estimates place the value of real estate
owned by Italians at twenty millions Of
dollars"
Gaetano D'Amato. in his North Amer
lean Review article, places the wealth of
the Italians of the United States. and
which he says has all been earned within
the last twenty-five years, as follows
property, Sl2O, OOO, eco; invested in wholesale
commerce. $1OO,OOOOOO real estate, $50, OOO,-
900; deposits in local banks, $50, 100000.
The large majority Of the Italians work
hard to build the subways, to ditch the
sewers, and they are obliged for the
limited wages they receive to live in sluns
where many of them contract tubercu-
losis and other dreaded diseases Others
are building the railroads, excavating the
canals, and they live in labor camps
far from any civilization, sleeping in
shanties, nourishing themselves with poor
food. Still others are working in the
mines, the quarries, risking their lives
every moment Of every day, without prac-
ltically any protection of the law in case
of accident. Many Italians devote them
selves to agriculture. Prosperous agricul-
tural colonies are to be found-in VineIand
n. j.; Tentitown, Ark, and St. Helena,
IN. c. In California Italians own and Gull
tivate the largest and finest vineyards In
the United States In Louisiana MANY
Italians are working in the cottonfields
and in sugar plantations.
SIS it fair to arouse a national feeling
against them, and only because some of
them (and the statistics eloquentIy show