Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1911-12-29

iier there Is q stone hearth upon which
the cooking Is done, when there is
anything to cook Az there Is no
chimney, the smoke filters out through
he tile roofing.
remember well q picture saw In
passing one such house In front of
the house. a woman was standing hold
Ing In her arms perfectly naked
child. Another child with nothing on
but a shirt, was standing beside her,
holding her skirt. Through the open
door l could see the whole of the sin
gle room In which this family lived.
Back of the living room and connected
with II was stall for the cattle. This
was typical Of many other homes that
! saw.
A German author, Mr.. s. Wermert.
who has studied conditions closely in
Sicily and has written great book on
the social and economical conditions
of the people. says, in regard to the
way the people live in the little VII
lagos:
In the south, as Is we'll known, peo-
pie live for the most part out Of doors.
One sits In the street before the house
door; there the craftsman works at
his trade! there the mother of the
family carries on her domestic labors.
At evening. however, all crowd into
the cave. parents and children, the
mule or the donkey The fattening pig
which decorated with collar has
been tied during the day In front Of
the house. where with all the affection
OF dog, it has glided about among the
children, must also find a place in the
house The cock and hens betake
themselves at sunset into this same
space, in which the air is thick with
smoke, because there is no chimney
to the house. All breathe this air. One
can imagine what q fearful atmos-
phere pervades the place. Every ne
cessity of physical cleanliness and
moral decency is lacking. In the cor
ner is frequently only one bed. one
bunk. upon which the entire family
sleeps. and for the most part 1t con-
sists Of nothing more than q heap Of
straw. In the fierce heat OF the sum
mer every one naturally sleeps with
out cover; in winter every one seeks
to protect himself under the covers.
Even when there are separate sleep
ing places all the most intimate
secrets of family life become known to
the children at an early age. Brothers
and sisters almost always sleep in the
same bed. frequently a girl sleeps at
the feet OF her parents. The degree
of stupidity and coarseness of such a
family existence is beyond description.
There is naturally no such thing as
serious conception Of morality among
a people that for generations has
grown up without education. For that
reason, It frequently happens that the
most unspeakable crimes are commit
ted. 4 Is. therefore, frequently diff
cult IT, determine with exactness the
parentage Of children born in the fam
lily. The saying Of the Romans, that
paternity is always uncertain" holds
good here. In fact, it is quite possible
thai this legal conception owes its
origin TO observations In regard to the
condition Of the rural population of
that period. It Is. however, probable
that In the country districts Of Sicily
conditions have changed very little
since Roman times" /. 5,s,gs. y !
From all that can learn the filthy
promiscuity of these crowded houses
and dirty streets have made the Sicil-
ian rural villages breeding places of
vices and crimes of a kind If which the
rural negro population in the southern
states, for example, probably never
heard.
Even In those parts of the southern
states where he has been least
touched by civilization the negro seems
to me to be incomparably better of In
his family life than is true Of the agri-
cultural classes in Sicily. The negro
is better of in his family life In the
first place. because, even when his
home is little more than a primitive
one-room cabin, he is at least living
in the open country in contact with
the pure air and freedom of the woods.
and not In the crowded village where
the air and the soil have for centuries
been polluted with the accumulated
refuse and offscourings Of q crowded
and slatternly population.
In the matter OF his religious life,
in spite Of all that has been said in the
past about the ignorance and even Inn
morality of certain Of the rural negro
preachers. am convinced, from what
I learned while / was In Sicily, that
the negro has a purer religion and q
better and more earnest class Of min
listers than Is true Of the masses of
these Sicilian people, particularly in
the country districts. d {.
In this connection, it should not be
forgotten also, that the negro is what
he is because he has never had a
chance to learn anything better. He
is going forward. The people Of Sicily,
who have been Christian almost since
the time that the Apostle Paul landed
in Syracuse, have on the other hand.
gone backward All kinds OF barbar-
GUS superstitions have grown up In
connection with their religious life and
have crowded out, to large extent.
the better elements.
While the condition Of negro educa-
tion In. the southern states Is by no.
means perfect. the negro, and particu-
larly the negro woman, hasSsome ad-
vantages which are so far, beyond the
reach OF the peasant girl In Sicily that
she has never dreamed Of possessing
them. For example, every negro girls
has the same opportunities for educa-
tion that are given to negro boys. She
may enter the industrial school or she