THE POVERTY OF ITALY.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 128, 26 November 1904, Page 13

THE POVERTY OF ITALY.

The general standard of prosperity in Italy is still very low, and what would be regarded as a modest competence in this country would pass as a large fortune in Italy. On the other hand, the general expenses of life are lower, and the necessity and even the opportunity for large outlay are smaller, especially in the middle and in the working classes. Less is expected of them, and indeed the wellknown frugality and simplicity of the Italian people make them less inclined to spend money on luxurious living, and to prefer to save and invest superfluous in come. It is this, says a writer in the Cornhill, that reduces expenditure rather than the greater cheapness of living. Italians who go to England say that th«re "everything costs less, but one spends much more." Although paradoxical, there is much truth in the statement, many items being almost if not quite as expensive hi Italy as in England ; but the balance is more than redressed by the greater simplicity of life. This has its bad as well as its good side, and the love of saving, which in many cases amounts to a morbid passion, weakens the spirit of enterprise, and obliges people to bring up their children in an unsatisfactory manner, thereby unfitting them for the battle of life. At the same time it occasionally produces a reaction in the latter which irakes them fly to extravagance as soon as they are their own masters The lot of the Italian peasant is not a glorious one. Supposed the hnrvest to have been a fairly good one, the peasant himself honest and laborious, his wife thrifty and a good housekeeper, no member of the family a gambler or a drunkard, and no one affected by severe illness Even so the life is hard, though not an unhappy one ; there is enough wholesome food to keep everyone in good health, and clothes to keep out the cold, but very .ittle else. The margin is narrow, and a bad harvest or a long illness throws the whole household economy out of gear. Then even necessities must be cut down, the few luxuries suppressed, the savings go, and debts arc contracted. A large proportion of the Italian peasantry are in a state of almost chronic indebtedness either towards the landlord or, worse still, towards professional money-lenders, nl though much improvement has been achieved by the exceLent People's Banks and "Casse Rurali." There is, moreover, an immense number of labourers and artisans who fare much worse.