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ORIGINAL OB. OR.7AR !Jar* (Cheek one,)
PUB, Livia, LGr muIngle*
TITLE Shoe Naohineg Worker. Silvery 41 (I. 1. lapiett)
DATE 2/109 WDS. rP,. 5
CBECKER DATE
BOMBS GIVEN CO TtuitivellthAletAva
CC/BENTS
Paper No.-IDIF
INTERVIEW
with
Roland Damiani
364 Cabot St.,
Beverly, Mass.
by
7)961--
Employee at United Shoe Machinery Co.
Merton R. Lovett
"As well as remembered."
INTERVIEW WITH ROLAND DAMIANI
by Merton R. Lovett
(from memory)
"I wish you could see, Mr. Lovett, the town where
I lived in Italy. It was called Cartoceto. It was builded
on the top of a high hill. All around was a stone wall.
Once upon a time this wall protected the town from bandits,
from pirates and other enemies.
"You have heard of Carthage? For ma* years Carth-
age and Rome were the great rivals. Sometimes Rome was badly
beaten. Sometimes the Romans were successful. Finally Hanni-
bal, he was the great general, was completely defeated. The
Africans ran away. At Cartoceto, where I was born, they made
their last stand. Behind the walls they fired arrows and
spears at the Romans. For months they put up a great fight.
"Why should I not know history? In Italy I attend-
ed the good schools. In this country I have studied much.
"Thank you, Mr. Lovett. If I did not get a good
education would I be the officer in your evening schools? And
my fellow Italians have elected me to many positions, because
they appreciate learning and wish themselves to become true
Americans.
Page 2
"You are right. The children of Italian immigrants
wish most of all to become Americans. They make haste to
adopt the American customs and speech. In fact they worry
and grieve their parents, who cannot understand or keep pace
with them. It is not a little tragic sometimes, this con-
flict between the children and their elders.
"Yes, that is true. But a price must be paid for
progress. In this case it is the parents that ppy. They adapt
themselves slowly to new and strange conditions. That is why
we have emphasized adult education. It prevents misunderstand-
ing. Too often the Italian youth seem cruel and disrespectful.
The elders appear tyrants and kill-joys to their children.
"We lived first in Portsmouth, N. H. My father
worked at the Navy Yard. The next year we moved to Beverly,
where the United Shoe Machinery plant was under construction.
Already my uncle, Emilo, was a boss there. He was a graduate
from an Italian college and had charge of Shantyville. That
was the rough village, where the Italian workmen then lived.
"I think I inherited mechanical skill. My grand-
father was a smart man and successful. His name was Zefferino
Clini, a metal worker. I remember the shop. He made many
wagons. He cut his own lumber, which he seasoned for from five
Page 3
to twenty years. He made his own axels, rims and screws.
His wagons were made by hand and would last a life time.
"As a boy, I played games outside of the walls
of Cartoceto. It was a lovely town. From it you could
see the blue ocean eight miles distant. I was only eight
when I came here to live.
"My father, in 1905, was a boss carpenter. He
worked for the Aberthaw Construction Company. I think
Tomasello did the excavating and cement work.
"Sure, I was acquainted with Shantyville.
family did not live there. Mostly the residents were
single men. The shanties were built of boards. The roof
was covered with tarpaper. They were not plastered inside,
but they were clean. They were kept neat and they were
comfortable.
"ky Uncle, the boss, made many rules for the bene-
fit of the men in bhantyville. Every man must make his bed
in the bunk, before breakfast. They must wash their clothes
and take turns scrubbing the floors. Always the camp was
neat as an American home. Always it was healthful and sani-
tary.
My
"Yes, the work was hard but the Italians were very
Page 4
tough. Each man cooked his own supper on the big stove.
Sometines two or three joined together. After supper they
played games, made jokes, sang songs. Many of the men had
mandolins, guitars, or violins. A visitor to Shantyville
heard a lot of fine music.
"Sunday was wash day. The clothes were cleaned.
Everywhere on the grass and the trees shirts and blankets
were dried.
"No, there was little disturbance. The Italians
are not quarrelsome. There was noise, yes; sometimes what
you call horse play. These men were young, they had no fam-
ily ties.
"There was hardly ever any drunkenness. Certainly
they drank a little wine. They had some beer. It was against
the rules to bring whiskey into camp. Nor do Italians often
like intoxicating liquor.
"Perhaps some day I can tell you some interesting
stories of Shantytown. I must first exercise my memory.
"The people here in Beverly never did understand
the Italians of those days. Very, very tlOwly, their ignor-
ance is being destrayed. In 1905 they imagined that terrible
things were done in Shantyville. The police were given orders
Page 5
to watch closely. People thought the Wops or Dagos, as they
called them, were dangerous. They thought they were always
ready to draw a knife or stick someone with a stileto. Perhaps
they considered the Italians reckless, bloodthirsty and dis-
honest. If so it was because they read stories of the American
shanty towns in California and the West. Compared to them, the
camp in Beverly was like a Sunday School. A child or woman
could visit there night or day with perfect safety. It is ig-
norance that causes suspicion and prejudice. It is still ig-
norance, that makes it hard for Italians to take their proper
and natural position in the community. Thank God, conditions
are getting better each year."