The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-04-21
THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 21.
Precautions Against Assassina-
tiOn


There is, so far as we can see, no possible
method of preventing repetition of such
crime short of locking up the sovereign in
some well-guarded prison. The bowling has
permanently beaten the batting. Modern sci
ence has applied itself to the work of destruc-
ton, and there is no longer any possibility of
protecting life for which resolute enemy is
willing to give his own. The use of the knife
can be prevented, for it presupposes contact
and what with guards rapid driving and in
cessant watchfulness contact between a SOW
ereign and an enemy can be rendered nearly
il not qnite, impossible. The sovereign can
be armed, too, and can make as good fight
for his life against the dagger as any ether
soldier. Even the use of the rifle can be pre-
vented, partly by armor, partly by mailed
carriages, and partly by the constant interpo-
sition of attendants between the sovereign and
any point from which he could be threatened.
1t used to be said of Napoleon, as he drove up
the Champs Elysees that it was impossible to
"cover" him with a stick, and that was very
nearly, though not literally, true. No man
along the line could have drawn pistol with
out some Corsican seeing him. The move
tAcuto VI kodIuo uiStTdCb tIl6 dlu6IlGlOu Vi
marksman. who, though he does not care
whether he kills the innocent or not, does ex-
ceedingly care not to miss his aim. But neith-
or these precautions, nor any other, are of avail
against one or two men throwing in succession
bombs powerful enough to blow up carriage
or shatter a crowd. There are always points at
which cavalcade really enters pass, or ap-
proaches some foreseen angle, and assassins
stationed at the side have only, as it were, to
pitch cricket-ball tolerably straight, to
change the succession TO a throne. If the
murderer knows how to measure distance, the
speed of the carriage is useless, the iron plates
give way, the guards are destroyed like him
they guard, and the sovereign is slain as he
would be slain If shell reached him in the
midst of armies. Of course, if by any chance
he leaves the carriage, the chances are increas-
ed by his immobility. The only conditions re.
quired are that the assassins shall be careless
OF escape, that they shall have bombs, and
that they shall just have nerve enough at
the moment to pitch straight; and none of
these conditions can be absolutely prevented.
True courage is hardly required, only a kind
of resignation, very common in some races,
especially among women. Few of the assassins
of recent days have cared to escape Hodel
made no effort, nor did Solovieff, nor, till her
acquittal, did Vera Sassulitsch, nor is there
any method of shaking their nerve. They
risk always one of the most horrible of fates-
lynching by an excited mob, which breaks
their bones Horrible punishments, even if
modern feeling would allow them, would not
do it, for you could not go beyond breaking on
the wheel or burning alive. Both of which
have been tried. the one in France, the other
in the Southern States of America, and both
have failed. The modern fanatical assassin
is always ready to commit suicide, and
on a man raised or lowered to the suicide
temper, threats of inf1ioting torture have no
effect. He will only kill himself, and SO baf-
fie inquiry into his motives and resources
Nor is it possible to confne the use of explo-
sives to known persons. Laws to that effect
only drive the criminals to learn chemistry for
themselyes-that is, invest them with new
power of keeping their own secrets. Any
student of chemistry can make gun-cotton or
nltro-glycerine, and powder is an article which
must be manufactured, and, if manufactured,
can be stolen. Granted a few resolute conspir-
ators, with one man of education among them,
and some little command of money, and no
conceivable laws or rules of Police, or detect
i've. arrangements, can prevent their making
and carrying and throwing bombs, which are
as dangerous to the victims as hostile batter
:es only 80 yards off, Science has armed the
assassin, and Governments, with all their end
less resources in men and material, are almost
as powerless as if their opponents could WELD
the lightning or direct the course of earth
quakes-The Spectator