After I rediscovered the New York Times Archives were still free, I did some searching and found this little gem about the influx of immigrants into the US in 1904. This is a "letter to the editor" and it probably captures the general views towards Italians common during the time. There are a couple interesting comments in this letter not far off from what one hears from the fringe of the anti-immigration movement..."The majority of Italian immigration is from Southern Italy [my grandparents] - Naples, Palermo, and Messina. Most of these immigrants are undesirable from the standpoints of morality, cleanliness, and citizenship."
There are stories in my family about how Italians were treated in the mining camps and towns during the early 20th century that kind of match the attitude coming through in this letter - namely that Italians were immoral and dirty. Another comment I find interesting is where the letter writer calls Italians "...this ignorant, but very cunning people..." It still amazes me people actually looked at my grandparents this way. The strange part about this letter came when I read all the way to the bottom and saw the name of the writer...I felt like grabbing this guy and shaking him!
I'm glad readers cleared up my initial thought that the New York Times Archive stopped being free. I just love finding interesting articles like this one.
