The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-02

city in particular and the country In
general"
Quite truly. ii is pointed out In this
admirable article that the average
American feels some uncasincss whom
he considers the Immense number of
Italian immigrants pouring; unccasinE
ly into this country. Three conditions
have tended to acccntuate this uncasi-
ness Into opposition to the Italian: the
conditions OF the Italian quarters. the
! personal appearance OF the Italian
laborcr. ana the headlines in the
newspapers about Italian criminals
! ~ clear intcrprcta tion of the life Of
| the whole mass OF tho members OF tile
race rather than of only u small part
| Of IL. is necessary for tho formation Of
an impartial judgment Of tho Italian
| In America. Taking New York rs q
place where conditions approx ima I Q
! those in other cities, DR.. Pccorini
| shows that four-Gfths of tho Italians
in Now York come from places Of less
! than 10000 populations Thcy know
nothing Of life in a metropolis ana arc
hurled into its active ana exciting life
inc Italian settlements in New York
arc collection OF small villages
with all the characteristics of village
! life Village rivalrics that existed in
the old country arc transplantcd to
New York. This keen rivalry between
village people. who can but slowly de-
vclop city consciousness is tho most
/ important cause" of tho lack OF CO.
hercncc in tho Italian mass" making
| Impossible united effort on the part of
tho Italians in any economic. social or
political direction
Tho Italians live almost exclusively
in tcncmcnts ana arc fcarfully over
crowded. The first result of this con-
dition is terrible decline in physical
strength Thousands of Italians who
come hero healthy 20 back TO Italy to
die. The death rate among the Italians
in New York is higher than that of
any other nationality. being 36.t3 In
tho thousand, as against an average
of 1871. The next highest nationality
death rate is that of the Irish. 235h
and the lowest that OF the Germans.
l2.13. The death rate of native Amcri.
cans is 1905.
All fair-mindcd people will concur in
the statement of DR.. Pccorini that
ignorance is. indeed. tho cause of most
OF tho evils OF Italian Immigration i'm
this country" Nearly 90 per cent. OF
all Italian adults in New York are H.
litcratc.
AS whole, they form a mass Of
faithful and honest worllcrs-thc most
useful. and in Il certain sense the most
needed, If not the most desirable
These arc the me. who cXcavate the
Suhway.. clean the streets. work AT the
cement foundations of the skyscrnncrs
and build tic great railway stations
Their ignorance. however. creates a
number of problems that otherwise
would not exist"
These Italian workmcn cannot make
their own contracts: they depend on a
boss or ''padrone" They work com
pletely under his orders and have TO
take. what he gives them. Unable to
read or write. they have to employ a
banker to write letters tn Italy ana
send money to the folks back home
This banker" writes their letters, re-
ceivcs their mail, sends their money
is. in fact. general adviser in all mat
ters 10 his countrymen Some Of these
bankers" have ahscondct with all the
money OF their poor clients
Naturally. sooner or later. the Gucs-
ton is always asked with reference TO
Handlers" DR.. Pecorini explains that
thesc are an "intcrmcdiatc Italian
! American type, somewhat above tho
others in cducation--who finally landed
in America without any trade and,
what is worse, no intention or incli-
nation 10 work" They arc mon who.
! failed 10 lie of any account In Italy
These dcrclicts unite with escaped
! Italian criminals ana form class of
half cducatcd malefactors.'' These
outlaws prey on the poor. nlltcratc
iahorcr and his rich half-illitcrate
/ boss. The laborer is exploited and
swindlcd at every turn Often he is
dupcd and done" in many ways, usual
! Is by appeals To his vanity. When
easier methods fall. money is demanded
with threatening letters. his children
arc kidnapped. or dynamite is placed
in his cellar.
"on the whole. however. the Italian
outlook in the United states is en-
couraging" asserts DR.. recorini. as he
advcrts 10 tic brighter side of the
picture. iliiieracy and the evils at
tcndant in its train are diminishing.
The organ grinder and the ignorant
peasant arc passing.
Italians in the cities are making
good in The trades in the professions.
and in business of all sorts. Fifteen
thousand Italian tailors arc i'll New
York. some of them In the hest cstab-
lishments, earning from $40 TO 500