Here's another interesting article from the New York Times Archives titled Italians Coming in Great Numbers. The back drop of this article is post World War One Italy and the impact it had on the country and immigration. The reporter writes that the Italian government is now allowing US Public Health physicians to examine immigrants before they got on the ships so only healthy people would board. He also details the process the immigrants have to go through before they board the ship. First there is a medical examination, then they have to bathe and shave "...Whiskers and beards are barred under this ruling and only a mustache is allowed." The immigrant's clothing is disinfected, and they receive vaccinations. It also says "if the surplus population of Italy does not go to the United States it will go to Brazil or Argentina or some other country in South America, because the people must emigrate, as there are too many to earn a living in the own country."
The best comment in the article is "...the birth rate increases by leaps and bounds each year and the children grow more rapidly into manhood than they do in colder climes." In spite of some silly comments, the reporter gives a good "on the scene" description of the conditions in Naples in 1921.
