The "Black Hand" in Chicago.

The American press, always ready to exaggerate when it comes to the Italian, has been filling its columns with stories of the existence of a "Black Hand" Society in the Italian Colony of the city.

Anthony Sbarbaro, an undertaker located at 183 Wells, has received a letter signed with a black hand and written in perfect English, demanding $10,000 and threatening his life if the demands are not met. Sbarbaro gave the letter to the police and the newspapers, always ready to print anything detrimental to the Italian in the most sensational terms, have not failed to paint the affair in the most vivid colors.

The fact that the letter was signed with a black hand is to the American press, conclusive proof that this organization exists. We are of the opinion that it does not, and since the letter was written in English, feel that it is the product of a jokester, who, influenced by the Mamino case in New York, which after all the furore, ended so ridiculously, decided to have a little fun at the expense of an Italian and the Police Department.