Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-01

| When Italian immigration first set to
| American shores ignorance of the Eng
| fish language and lack of knowledge of
| labor conditions in the United States
compelled laborers from Italy to depend
upon their employers almost as children
depend upon their fathers. These en-
ployers usually were small contractors
who had acquired working knowledge
! of English and fair acquaintance with
American labor conditions through sew
eral years of apprenticeship as laborers.
They would hire their fellow countrymen
to work for them, usually board them,
and be their advisers in all things. This
peculiar situation led the new immigrants
to call their employers padrones." just
as in Italy the wife usually called her
lord and master her padrone
The padrone system in this country is
at present confined to those races which
have little aptitude for acquiring a work
ing knowledge of English. The Italians,
with whom the padrone system began
in the United States, have Outgrown 1t
and manage their own affairs. There is
an exception in the case of organ grind
ers and few women and children. Con-
| tact with Americans always ends the sys-
tenn.
The Syrian peddlers who peddle dry
goods and notions in the city and coun-
try were for
Padrone System number Of
for Syrian Peddlers. ne ean a' ar. d
tenn The peddlers were furnished. their
outfits by the padrone. who also boarded
them. and they were given either a salary
or commit ssions on their sales. But ped
ding became Improbable, and the Syr-
ians who continued to engage in the
work son learned to manage their own
affairs. until now the padrone system, as
applied to Syrians, is seldom encoun-
tered.
the Bugarians. Turks. Macedonians,
Greeks and Mexicans. Among the Bull
garians and Turks it is on the decline.
but 1t still affects laborers of these races
i'm factories, mills, foundries and on the
railroads. Among the Macedonians the
system. for the most part. affects the
peddlers of fruits and candies. Among
tn Greeks the system still affects some
railroad laborers and prevails to some
extent among the flower, fruit and vege-
table vendors of New York and Chicago,
but 1t principally exists among the shoe
shining parlors, where boys from twelve
to seventeen years Of age are in demand.
The Greek flower vendors in New York
are usually boys under sixteen years of
age, hired by flor
Life OF Hardship lists who send them
for Greek Boys. other t rA points 't to SELL
old stock that cannot be sold in the
stores. The boys employed by the florists
usually live In good quarters, are given
their board and paid from $50 to 500
year for their work. The boys who
sell vegetables, fruits and candies usually
live in Easements or other filthy sur
roundings, sometimes over horse stables.
Their bedrooms are small, poorly venti-
lated and usually filed to their capacity
with beds. These have no sheets. no pill
only coverings are cheap blankets from
prolonged absence from the wash tub.
in one bed. The supply of unsold stock
is kept overnight in these quarters,
usually under the beds. Each peddling
company has from three to four wagons
and from four to eight boys. Three or
four nights out Of each week they have
beef stews and beans or potatoes for
their one square meal for the day. The
other nights they get nothing but bread,
cheese and black olives. They start to
work by sun-up and work until sun
down.