Evening journal., 1914-10-16
Columbus Day and Italians
lBy Ponn. IN PhiladelphIa BulletInl

tured or represented as villains rath-
err than heroes; the late Joe Mala-
tesla was popularity supposed to ex-
ercise sort of feudal supervision
over them at the time when he was
recognized" by the South admins
tration in the old City HALL as a new
force In downtown affairs; and the
Italian who was pictured as a crouch
ing slave Of the padrones was on the
same level. in the general estimate,
as the cheap scrub q a peddler in
corduroys who might have come over
from New York after having tarred
long enough in Baxter street to learn
how he could pick up pennies by
singing viva Garibaldi."
Today there are perhaps not far
from fifty thousand Italians that Is,
those who were born in Italy-living
in Philadelphia. and not far from as
many more who are the American
sons and daughters of Italians in the
first generation. Their Little Italy"
in the old Southwark and Moyamen-
sing region has expanded into large
proportions. One may sometimes
feel there as a visitor that he is in
some of the streets of Naples or Pa
lermo These Italians have supplan-
ted the Irish population which was
once dominant in the regions they
now occupy, and which looked up to
Bill McMullen and "Sweeney's lot"
and the Moyamensing Hose as to the
fountain-head, the local point and the
true seat OF authority and leadership.
Among the Italians today, laboring
there as he did when there we're not
/ as many hundreds Of them as there
now are thousands, may still be found
one of the earliest who performed for
them the offices OF spiritual consola-
ton in Little Italy"-thc good Faith
er Isoleri. Few clergymen here or
! elsewhere I'm any church have re-
manned so long as he has in one post
/ OF duty; I think that ne took part i'm
| the ceremonies of dedication at the
| Columbus statue i'm the Centennial
year, and even then he was known
as a devoted pastor in the midst Of
his humble countrymcn I'm Philadel-
phia But nowadays many Of them
/ have their habitats In other parts Of
the city; / notice IN the accounts, this
morning, of one of the parades that
it took place in Germantown. Hardly
anyone else can appreciate how much
this means in the retrospect of a
single lifetime as Father Isoleri, or
how much the process of assimilation
has enabled us TO absorb this popula-
ton without disturbing or impairing
the general character of the city.
One Of our fellow citizens and re-
I spected men of the press. Mr.. Thomas
A. DAILY, long ago dlscorned the true
and best features of tha mental and
moral characteristics of these people.
His verses on their hopes. their aims,
their passions, their loves, their ha-
bits, their fOibles. their pleasures and
their sorrOws have sometimes denoted
both finely and faithfully the soul OF
the lowly Italian, man or woman,
who is passing through the process
Of becoming "Americanized." The
majority Of them seem to show APP
probation Of the opportunity which
this means; and Days work as a
bard has had no uncomfortable effect
in gaining for them something like
sympathetic or good-natured attitud,
on the part of the native public. w,
no longer hear the term "dago" ap
piled to them with the sort of almos
general contempt and disgust il
, which it used to be expressed
Enough has been seen of the goo
habits and intelligence and thrift ii
tho progress OF the early corners Il
show that a considerable portion o
them has gotten entirely out of tina
stage of poverty in which their shah
biness was against them or I'm whicl
necessity as well as unfamiliarity
with our own ways. fOrceG them into
penurious or unpopular customs
When we bear in mind that most Of
those who were born in Italy hav,
come hither in only the past twenty,
five or thirty years, ard that they
found themselves in the midst oil
people speaking a language widely
variant from their own. the credit
which is due them becomes the NOR,
notable. The facility with which
many OF their poorest artisans, me
chanics and laborers pick up Englisl
is proof of alertness and ambition
] am not sure whether a similar mum
Der of Americans of the same typ,
and under the same conditions, gOinl
to Genoa or Rome as immigrants an,
earning their livelihood in the sam,
sort of pursuits there. would SHOW
quite the same readiness in gaininJ
a lingual, everyday use of Italian an,
its idioms.
Our Italians in Philadelphia stan,
well, too, i'm some of the prime vir