Evening star., 1932-10-16

~ piled by Latins to Americans ans
countries of Southern Europe.
An Americini is native q Italy
Greece, Spain, France or one of the
Balkan states. who, having spent most
of his life in the United States. returns
with an impressive bank roll to round
out his remaining years in the land OF
his birth.
For so long as any one can remember
Americini have been coming back to the
European towns from which they emf
grated. and where there was a special
niche always waiting for any expatrlateo
son of the soil who chose to return home
with the spoils of his labor.
They have been found for years
among the residents of even the small
est villages. They were middle-ageo
or elderly men who had gone to the
United States in their youth or had
been taken by their parents when
small children After a quarter of a
century or more of toll in the land
of their adoption, they had reappeared
among their neighbors with fortune
measured in terms of Ira, pesos OF
francs. And one ambition alone pos
sessed them-to revel for the rest OF
their lives in idleneSs and comfort.
Supreme in Own Circle.
An Americini was usually a natural
led American citizen. with no sym
pathy for or understanding of his
countrys politics. He had often for
gotten his mother tongue. though in
many cases he was bi-lingual His
house-often the very hut in which he
was born. remodeled and brought up
to date with electric lights, bath room
and an iceboX-was the most ornate
and pretentious in the community. He
wore shoes, even on informal occasions
and a noisy little Ford carried him i'm
portantly over the eObbled road once
traversed by the family mule. A reei-
ment of relations surrounded and
"yessed" him in return for the crumbs
from the rich mans table And for an
incredibly small wage, dozen servants
answered his beck and call and waited
on him hand and foot. His was the
voice of authority in the small contro-
versies of the neighbors, and he pre-
sided over the simple affairs OF the
municipio
But beyond the family circle and the
confines of the village he counted for
little In any national movement or
plan for industrial expansion an Ameri-
cini was never the sparkplug to start
things locally. He couldn't be bothered
with the ambitions of his country II
they involved him in mental or physi-
cal exertion. For the virility generated
by his life of activity in the United
States was soon dissipated in an orgie
of idleness. He became fat and made
quate And in time of need. instead OF
being unit of strength to his country
because of his opportunities and wider
role of leading man. in an impressive
funeral cortege, and an excuse for one
more of those gorgeous marble monu-
ments. covered with chubby angels
that make show place Of the village
cemetery.
Type Disappearing.
But this is a type of Americini that
is disappearing He still flourishes in a
generation that is passing. but is seldom
found among recent arrivals. For the
last two years Americini have been
pouring into Europe III increasing num-
bers; but they haven't come home to
wither and die on the stem after a few
years of luxurious ease This new
Americini is returning with the def
/ mite intention of putting his shoulder to
the wheel and becoming an active par
ticipant in the political, financial and
industrial activities of his native coun-
try Like his predecessors he, too. has
his savings garnered through years of
labor, but his idea is to pool the money
he has brought back the experiences
he has gained and the lessons he has
| learned. for the benefit of the nation of
his blood. -...
In Russia this identical Americini