Evening star., 1924-08-24
What Europe Is Saying
-. ~, About America
i ITALY.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE

China and Russia, and might con-
ceivably become a casus belli with
the United States, as current events
are indicating. Italy has no colonies
to which she can export her surplus
humans, neither Tripoli nor Italian
Somalila nd offering the necessary in
ducements. The territorial accre-
tions that came to her boot shaped
peninsula out of the World War
brought population problems of their
own with them.
The Italians tell one they would
have borne with more equanimity the
blow our new immigration laws
struck them If the laws did not pill
lory Italy-as they view it-as an
"eighth-rate" nation. BY that they
mean the fact that the Italian quota
OF 3.S45 is outstripped by. that grant
ed TO seven other European coun-
tries. Italy was one of the five as
associated and allied powers that con-
quered the central powers and die
tated the peace Of Versailles At the
washington armament conference
Italy was elevated to the rank of one
of the five great naval powers and
placed on level with France. Those
hallmarks of international equality
having been achieved by them, the
Italians resent being stigmatiZed by
the American Congress as people
entitled to less consideration at our
hands than we bestow upon our late
enemy. Germany, which is assigned
| an immigration quota of 51.227; Great
Britain and Ireland. 34.007: the Irish
Free State alone, 2S,576; Sweden, g.
SCI; Norway, 6,453; Poland, $3.50, and
France, 1884. Italy compares these
totals with her flea bite" Of 3,845
| and calls it heartless Discrimination
She realizes that the immibration
| question must be regarded a closed
| incident, for the indefinite future at
any rate. She acknowledges our in
alienable right to regulate our do
mestic affairs without foreign inter-
ference. But she is aggrieved, new
| ertheleSS.
Amid her lamentations, Italy sug-
gests that America ought to remem-
| ber the role Italian immigrants have
played in the physical development
Of the United States They have not
been exclusively organ grinders and
ice cream peddlers The have puddled
our iron in the Pittsburgh mills, and
dug our coal East and West. If they
revealed preference for the towns
and cities. and stunned the farm
lands. Italians here say that was
mainly our fault, not that of the i'm
migrants themselves. The argument
is that American Industrial capital
for years has exploited the Italian
immigrant for capitals own purposes
and to suit its own convenience. II
capital had found it more profitable
to utilize Italian immigration for
agricultural purposes. it would have
been SO diverted.
1t preferred to use it as more or
less unskilled labor, and, in that ca
pacity, 1t is declared that the Italian
in the United States has never failed
to do his full and effective duty.
Just because we don't happen to need
Italian labor as much today as we
did 20 years ago is somewhat
heartless argument. Italy thinks, for
banging the American door in it's
face now. The idea is also advanced
that Italys sons in the past have
| come to us educated and bodily de-
veloped. ready for immediate en-
| trance into the American industrial
army, i.e., at no cost to ourselves.
There Is a reverse side to the Ital-
| ian emigration medal that is less
eagerly displayed for the instruction
of the American Investigator. The
italian governments emigration de-
partment ostensibly is concerned only
in seeing that transport facilities,
both at point Of departure and port