The Wilmington morning star., 1947-02-09
REFORM EFFORTS
IN LAST STAGES
New Malta Organizes In
Sicily For Last Ditch
Battle Over Lands
..uICHAEL GOLDSMITH

C-R1IN = I1SNN =
o Malta" is reorganizlng IN
islands bitter, last-ditch
wv over land reform.
ciciliaY communiots-leaders in
Nv movement to break up the
oot estates-charge that 'Mafia
sssssins' were responsible for the
ao.ths of seven labor leaders in
%roo months, lin a campaign of
m,rder to prevent land reform.
The police frequently accused in
~. communist press of protecting
.hs Malta, say that n of the
.hreo persons they arrested
tor the latest murder was a local
"a Mafia' is not an easy sub
:,,t Of conversation. Time is re-
aMired for the stranger to build up
aaoroh confidence in the initiated
tor = frank talk. Those who do
t.lk do not wish to be quoted.
Those connected with the society
NV # now is known in Sicily as
49, Nuova Malta" THE New
M.fia"-and that it has been built
Vow out OF the centuries-old or
aanization which Mussolini all but
,'nrooted as a counter force to his
fascist regime.
ia Malta" had a foreign
orovth in the Uaited States during
tbe ~hi-jacking era of bootlegging,
rhicb occurred at the same time
Mussolini finally made the island
I'm hot for many Malta strong
.rm men. Some of these, people on
+bo inside say, have come back
~ tbe island to settle down as men
of substance and opponents OF land
reform.
In the old days, those here who
arc familiar with its history say,
The Malta was organized IN two
One was called Malta del
Feudo'' t"Feudal Mafia'). This,
they say, was the protector OF
estate owners
The other, called malta del
Giardini'' Gardeners Matia'N.
was for the little people with small
ORANGE or lemon groves or vege-
table gardens.
The owner of a large estate on
scily's north coast explained:
THE Malta never asked for
money. A Malta man would come
to tell me that l must employ a
certain person on my estate-a
Malta man, of course If l hired
him my land and property came
under Malta protection, and no
body would dare touch me or my
family or anything that belonged
to me. If | refused, my crops
would be stolen, my barns mys-
t~eriously catch fire, and l might
be killed by a falling boulder. 1T
was a very good system"
The old Malta thus created a
vast and powerful insular network
Of estate administrators and local
officials throughout rural areas. 1t
controlled elections and held the
countryside tightly until Musso-
lni's Fascist projects embarked on
an anti-Mafia campaign which by
1926 had nearly destroyed it. Many
leaders were kept imprisoned
throughout the Fascist era, and
were released only after the alice
capture OF Sicily, it is claimed
here.
But, those best informed locally
Or today's condition say, 1t was
rot these oldsters who made the
New Mafia'. It is. they say, ur-
der the orders Of men who came
back rich from America settled
down quietly to wait Fascism out,
and then assumed leadership IN
the new organization. These were
Joined by Army deserters, bandit
gangs born in the confusion of
war, and extremist "separatists''.
Insiders say that many of the
new Malta men are advocates of
Slcllian separation from Italy. be-
cause they believe that an indie.
pendent or autonomous Sicily
could be ruled completely by the
New Malta.
The New Malta, said a lawyer
VINO admitted that he was once a
Malta man, and who frequently
defends Malta members in court,
docs not have affiliations with any
italian party, but is anti-corn-
fnunlst and anti-land reform.
oVherS agreed with the lawyers
analysis. They say that Malta men
nave been elected to the national
constituent assembly in Rome by
pacing themselves on the tickets
ol parties for which they have no
particular affection, in order to ex-
Tend their influence. They say that
On outstanding candidate for over
al Malta leadership is today a
.epuly IN the constituent