Some of these may have been counterfeiters at home.
They come to America either as stokers, sailors, stewards, or
stowaways, and, while they can not get passports, it is
surprising how lax the authorities are in permitting their
escape. The spirit of the Italian law is willing enough, but
its fleshly enforcement is curiously weak. Those who have
money enough manage to reach France or Holland and come over
first or second-class. The main fact is that they get here
--law or no law. Once they arrive in America, they realize
their opportunities and actually start in to turn over a new
leaf. They work hard; they become honest. They may have been
Camorrists or Mafiusi at home, but they are so no longer.
They are "on the level," and stay so; only--they are "men of
honor." And what is the meaning of that? Simply that they
keep their mouths, eyes, and ears shut so far as the Mala Vita
is concerned. They are not against it. They might even
assist it passively. Many of these erstwhile criminals pay
through the nose for respectability--the Camorrist after his
kind, the Mafius' after his kind.
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