I am posting this here so others will see it. If you do not know Italian, it says, basically, that the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, read from a 1912 US Congressional report about Italian immigrants in the United States. The report contains the following:
“Generally they are short and dark-skinned. Many stink because they wear the same clothes for weeks. They construct shacks to live in on the outskirts. When they aspire to live in the city centre they rent ugly, run-down apartments; they appear at first, two of them looking for a room and a kitchen, and soon after a few days there are four of them, then six, eight, 10 and what have you.
They speak a language unintelligible, perhaps ancient dialects. Their children they use to beg with, while in front of the churches women and the old ask for pity in whimpering and irritating tones. They produce lots of children, struggling to keep them, while remaining strongly united among themselves.
It is said they are dedicated to thieving and, if confronted, violent. Our women ignore them because they are savage and repellent and it’s common knowledge that rape is widespread among [them].
The authorities have opened the frontiers of the country too easily and at the same time they have failed to identify those who come to work from those who intend to live either by expedients or crime.”
Report of the Inspector for Italian Immigration to the American Congress, 1912
This is what Letta read. You can see a keen report on this at the url below.
Indeed, the entire subject needs to be examined even further than it has been to date. We will see where this goes and reivist it at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute with those who are in the know and have had direct experiences with this. So keep your eyes posted here and on the Institute's website [2] for future details.
