WHITE SLAVERY IN EUROPE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1507, 17 January 1901, Page 47

WHITE SLAVERY IN EUROPE.

Attention has recently been called to the flourishing slave trade-which is carried on more especially between Italy and her'neighbouring countries, Switzerland and France, the victims being poor little Italian children, whom heartless speculators buy from starving parents in order to exploit their work abroad. Signer Socci, who is interesting himself in the question; has explained how the infamous business is run. The “slave-hunter,” usually an Italian who has been abroad and accumulated a little oapital, returns to his native town or village, andT persuades needy parents to give up. their children for sums varying from £1 to £4 a head, on the understanding that he will find lucrative employment for them. Having collected his little Kerd of frightened children, he applies for passports to the police authorities, obtains them on the strength, of his documents, and passes the frontier, bound for some great city or, manufacturing centre in France or Switzerland. Here be loses no time in finding work for his victims, sending some out into the streets to beg, while others he employs in manufactories (in France : these little slaves find ready employment .as stokers in glass manufactories) and pockets their salary at the end of the week, thus realising vei'y handsome pro-, ffits. .The supply of child-work far exCr ceeds the demand on the Italian market, and no sooner have the slave-hun-ters killed off one batch cf victims than they import a fresh one from Italy, xiie Italian Consul at Geneva has just forwarded to Rome an interesting report on the condition of child-workers in Switzerland, and steps will be taken by the Italian Government, in conjunction with France and Switzerland, to strike a decisive blow at the infamous traffic.