BLACKMAILERS BITTEN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 229, 20 June 1908, Page 5

BLACKMAILERS BITTEN.

THREE. KILLED.. »Y TELEORAPH —PRESB ASSOCIATION —eorTRIGHT / t ' Now York, Juno 18. Gracoma, a rich wine merchant of New Orleans, shot and'killed with a revolver threo Italian desperadoes belonging to tho Black Hand Society, who attempted to blackmail him with threats. ' "Tho 'Black Hsfnd' Myth" is the subject of an article in tho "North Amorican Review." Tho writer says every newspaper reader is familiar with i the outrages in New York that, in tho name of the "Black Hand," have been porpetratod among tho Italians, beginning some ten years ago and increasing coincident]? \fith tne Italian immigration, but reaching a limit two or threo years ago. • "Murder has been a common, crime, and dynamiting of houses' and shops, tho kidnapping of children, with every species of blackmail and extortion, were of so frequent occurrence that the mind bocam© dulled to the enormity of these offences. In Now York conditions havo been' worse than anywhero else; and yet, with half a million of Italians in the population, there are to-day only forty Italians in the Polico Department. Along miles of street in Now York there aro no guardians of the people who understand, the language of the residents. As Maribn, Crawford] says, the employment of Irisli policemen in Romo would be an analogous circumstance, sines thero are more Italians in New York than in the capital of Italy. How little tho polico have understood the situation may bo gathored from tho fact that,_ during the height of tho wave of Italian crime three years ago, re-' spectablo members of that race wero not allowed permits to carry weapons of defence, evon when their lives wero threatened."