The St. Johns herald., 1891-04-02
MaGa as ATiSt0CratS.

of the Mala, of which order h. says he was once q member:
 "In 1848 the Mafa constituted the most powerful element of the Sicilian revolutionigts. They com. prised some of the most influential subjects on the island and in the city of Palermo, its capital. Nearly all the important lawyers, bankers and business men belonged to tbe organization. As a matter of fact, uo one not a gentleman, and schol- ar as well, could belong to the so- ciety, and it's membership com prised only the aristocracy of the then plotting revolution.
 "They were not then conspiring so much againstthe King, who was as good as he was harmless person ally, but rather against the nenage of state, which was infamous. The Chief of Police ran the entire State, and his methods were worse than unbearable.
 Tn order to preserve himself in the favor of the King he took care to allow his Majesty know no ene- mes. Whenever the King even hinted at his objections to any in d.vidual's behavior, that individual died or disappeared.
 Suicide, they said; 'suicided because he was detected conspiring against the King
 Corruption was no word for the state of affairs, and it was openly il 'Gerstood that the mysterious deaths and disappearances were the work of band of brigands then infesting the adjacent mountains, and whom, it was generally under stood, the Chief of Police regular ly hired 10 perform all the more risky work attached to his position as de facto despot of the people.
 When things were ripe the revo- lution came. This Malia held the winning cards and the brigands were clever enough to recognize the fact that it would be profitable to transfer their allegiance from the Chief of Police to the organization which held the balance of power in Sicily. With the revolution came slaughter. Over 2,000 people were slain and the brigands did their share toward earning the victory.
 When the fight was won they turned to the Maiia for their reward and one of these was permission to join the society. Under the circum- stances the revolutionists could do nothing but accept them into mem bership, and the mountain brigands were duly enrolled and initiated in to the secrets of the most aristo- cratic society of conspirators in Italy.
 Then the war for freedom began and the Mafia went out in their red shirts to serve under the colors of Garibaldi. Liberty was gained and peace returned to the kingdoms which merged themselves together as one united Italy. Their labors done, their victories over, the orig inal Mafa retired to private life, while the brigand element in their ranks, through dire stress of cir cumstances, remained Mafa still.
 At this point commenced the history of the Mafa of to-day, the Mafia who are blackmailers by in stinct and murderers by trade, the Mafa who exist by levying tribute on honest men and blackmail on honest women. One of their most rigid rules was the punishment of all their betrayers by death even to the seventh generation. That means that if a man himself managed to escape their vigilance they could get quits by murdering his son, grand son or nephew; or visit with a ven geance even still more dire some of the feminine connections of the family.