THE MAFIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 170, 20 July 1935, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE MAFIA.

SICILY'S BLACK HAND.

ITS ORIGIN AND HISTORY. EXISTENCE TO-DAY. (By E. D. Ward, in "John O London's Weekly.") Secret societies are a very useful stand-by for novelists and romantic writers, and the Mafia, perhaps the best known of the lot, is an almost eseential ingredient in any lurid tale of Latin vengeance. Signor Mussolini lias, so he says, etamped out this famous Sicilian society. However, before we waste any sympathy on the authors of best-sellers, it will be wise to wait and see if Signor Mussolini has been any more successful than his predecessors: while waittng, it may be of interest to examine the origin and methods of the Society, its self-appointed functions, and its general influence on the social and domestic life of Sicily. For the Mafia does exist, and, in spite of Signor Mussolini, will continue to exist, unless he can entirely change the Sicilian character. But it does not, of course, exist in the form in which the writers of

thrillers present it.

A glance at the map will show that Sicily lies roughly mid-way between Europe and Africa. By reason of this geographical position the island has always been coveted by a succession of paramount rulers of the more neighbouring parts of those two continents. Throughout the centuries Sicily ha 3 been continually under the heel of some foreign tyrant—the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Saratens, the Normans and the Bourbons have all in turn held domination over the inhabitants. As the power of each conqueror waned, so did his hold on Sicily weaken, and any attempt at fair government was, after the manner of times, replaced by a regime of violence and intimidation, accompanied by gross extortion with a view to replenishing empty exchequers.

A Weapon Against Tyranny. This continual oppression and lack of responsible authority gradually bred into the Sicilian character the policy of regnlating domestic affairs, so far as possible, without unnecessary and futile recourse to alien courts. Partially with this object, but mainly with the idea of vengeance and resistance against tyrannous authority, the Mafia came into being.

The society was never properly constituted with a fixed code of conduct, or administered by responsible heads, nor was any one person the progenitor. Just as unnatural pressure on any part of the human frame will produce an unhealthy growth so did the Mafia grow up in secret, automatically, as the result of continual oppression.

At the inception, therefore, the Mafia may be said to have been a secret society —secret of necessity, because it was in effect opposed to what the legitimate government of the country—formed of all classes of the community in order to safeguard domestic life against the gross corruption and feebleness of a succession of tyrants, and to exact vengeance for wrongs done.

This ceaseless underground struggle with authority and the ruthless methods adopted by authority whenever it was temporarily victorious, was not likely to encourage adherents of the society to boast of their membership, and thus arose the Mafia tradition of silence. To this day, in spite of the vicissitudes through which the societv has passed and the depths to which it lias degenerated, no member will betray or give evidence against his fellow, nor will any person admit to being a member.

Demands of Tribute. It must not be supposed, however, that the Mafia was ever entirely composed of higli-souled patriots, imbued with a nice sense of right and wrong, and animated by a universal determination to avenge their country's wrongs. The very circumstances which called the society into being made blackmail and extortion an everyday occurrence, and this naturally attracted the more desperate and violent characters in the island to the ranks.

I In practice, therefore, even in the early days, the Mafia resolved itself into an instrument of blackmail and intimidation, though, to be just, it must be admitted that such measures were usually directed against the rich, and against landowners and others notorious for the ill-treatment and under-payment of labourers. But even landowners who treated their men fairly were forced to pay tribute. Orchards were ravished, walls and hedges broken down, and the unhappy proprietor reduced to despair, until he had the wit to send for the local head of the Mafia, and adjust matters to their mutual satisfaction by the payment of hard cash.

And so the Mafia carried on until 1800, the year of Garibaldi's famous campaign which resulted in the liberation of Sicily from the Bourbons and the formation of a United Italy. With the formation of a just and stable government the necessity of the Mafia as a political instrument passed away.

"Mafioso" Means "Blackguardly." Unfortunately, the power for good in the society has been waning for many years; it had degenerated into an association of bad characters loosely bound together by the common object of illicit gain by underhand means; and such is the Mafia in Sicily to-day. The Mafia of 1935 differs from the lowest stratum of the population of any other country only in that its members are linked together by some indeterminate bond, and by reason of a numerical superiority which enables them to some extent to impose their will upon the community at large. Into such disrepute has the society fallen that the adjectival derivative of Mafia, "Mafioso," has acquired the meaning of "blackguardly," and constitutes a deadly insult when applied to a Sicilian, although most of them are Mafiosi in the true sense of the word, i.e., they are members of the Mafia.

The real bar to any effective repressive action is the fact that so large a proportion of the population either belongs to or tolerates the Mafia—not from preference or genuine inclination but because to do so is the line of least resistance. Any inquiry, even from educated persons, regarding the Mafia is met with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders, and frequently by a flat denial that any such society exists at all. Least said, soonest mended, and the individual who betrays too much interest in the society, or talks too much about it, is likely to find his life rendered most unpleasant by numberless pin-pricks. His poultry will disappear, his mail will not be delivered, his baker will be unable to supply Bread, and so on. In remote districts he may, and will, suffer personal violence.

Tolerated, but not Admitted. To turn to the other side of the picture, I it is quite possible, even for strangers, to derive a certain amount of benefit from the machinations of the society; for a price, and if they go the right way about it. Suppose that a Journey into the interior is contemplated (and it must be remembered that certain parts of the interior of Sicily, particularly the sulphur districts, are still somewhat civilised). By judicious application to the right quarter through carefully chosen mediaries, and by the equally judicious bestowal of a sum of money, a far greater measure of security can be assured than by applying to the police. To take a further instance: should a resident find his fowlrun empty one morning, delicate and tactful negotiations will ensure the return of the birds, but of course no questions must be asked. Most owners of outlying property or of large grounds pay tribute to protect themselves against depredations, but very few of them will admit to doing so or will even admit the existence of the Mafia. It is this universal spirit of tolerance, largely the outcome of fear, that makes counteraction so difficult.

The Mafia, as it exists in Sicily to-day, is not a great force for evil. Most of the crimes committed in the name of the society are the work of criminals who would always do wrong, Mafia or no Mafia, and lurid tales of vengeance and bloodshed will not stand the cold light of fact. The real danger of such a society, recruited as it is from the more reckless and dissatisfied classes and perforce tolerated by the more educated, is that, in the event of a general outbreak of anarchy or Bolshevism in Italy or Sicily, the machinery for social destruction is already assembled and in good working order.