TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
 

CHAPTER V
HEALTH

_ INTRODUCTION—The American o.i..ItaliaB'-extrac-
tion is descended from a race that is noted for its ro¬
bustness and vitality.. Years of labor in the sunny fields
of Italy, a life almost continuously out of doors, hiij^e
Served to enricli the Italian with a native physical con¬
stitution and endowed him with a fund of rugged health
that stands him in good stead. This fact alone has made
p6ssible his standing up under the severe strain and
stress to which his physical constitution is siibjected in
doing such work as digging tunnels, erecting sky-scrap¬
ers, and building railroads. With his children however,
the case is different. An unusually high, in fact the
highest mortality rate for first generation of Americans
of all descents obtains among the offspring of the Ital¬
ian. With respect to tuberculosis, the disease that is
most i-5WgWHg™gHa*Tffls the highest toll, Dr. Stella,
who has made specific and detailed studies of Italian sec¬
tions in New York City, says, "If we are to accept the
principle of health, that a density greater than 25 persons
per acre and an aggregation greater than 2 people per
room which does not allow at least 85 cm. of air per
person, is bad for both the social well being and tlie ia-
dividuaF health, we must immediately conclude that the
homes in which the Americans of Italian extraction live
are absolutely responsible for their acquired susceptir,
bility to tuberculosis."* Other authors in attempting to
explain the higli death rate among Italians, have mis¬
takenly had recourse to the facts of diet as the entire
cause for this high mortality rate. Jones, for instance
believes that, "The necessity for a different food from
that to which he has been accustomed is not understood
at first. Italians learn to eat the proper amount of meat
only after they have been here some time and find them¬
selves unable to cope with the conditions of labor and

* Stella, Antonio—"La Lotta contra la Tuberculosis fra gli
Italian! nella Citta di New York", p. 48.