Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1896-10-01
SMALLEST KNOWN REPUBLIC.
Commonwealth of Tayolara Boasts a
Population of Fifty-Five Souls.

y
moment when the rulership of the
United States for the next four years
is being battled for another presiden-
tial contest is starting. The smallest
republic in the world is looking around
for new chief magistrate, and,
or financial planks' are raised, the
fight promises TO be just as exciting.
Tayolara, the little republic, is ou.num
bered a million and a half to one by
the American commonwealth, its popu-
lation being ifty-five souls. yet its
enthusiasm, long bottled up for this
occasion, is rising quite as near fever
heal. The mighnest and the least o.
The free governments of the world ale
passing through the same throeg
In one way the presidential election
of Tavolara has even more of interest
about it. All Of the people within its
boundaries are taking part Woman
suffrage is one of the foundation stones
of its government and every petticoat-
ed being there has a vote to cast. 1t
would not be out Of the question, in
fact, for woman to be elected pres
ident, though altogether unlikely. Yet
the miniature constitution does not
prohibit it, and by the time our next
president is determined upon there
may be sister chief executive already
settled at Tayolara
Lost to the world to all intents and
purposes, because of its isolation from
the haunts and routes of commerce and
tourists, is this tiny republic. Not
only is it the smallest republic on the
face OF the earth; it is the smallest gov
eminent Of any kind as wen. SaI
Marine on the eastern hills Of Italy,
overlooking the Adriatic, generally
considered to be the tiniest republic,
Is, with its 5000 inhabitants, a great
nation beside Tayolara. San Marine
too, has thirty-tm &c square miles of
territory, while Tavclara is but five
miles long and half mile broad.
1t lies on the northeast coast of Sar-
DINA, an island a dozen miles or so
from the mainland Tapped by the blue
waters of the classic Tyrhenian sea.
On the Italian maps it is shown as
lsola di Tavolara, and the only time
the outside world ever regard it is when
the lookout on some little trading
vessel sees at night the CLEAN of the
lighthouse on its eastern end. And
this is but seldom, for this corner of
the Mediterranean is at all times de-
serted. Sardinia's days of glory and
active commerce are long since past,
and whatever trade comes to her now
collects at Cagliari and Alghero. on
the other side of the island
Away from these towns, and up at
the northeast corner especially, Sar-
dina is still wild and uncultivated,
region of forests and primitive people.
The best hunting in all Europe is to be
found there today, and what vii
lagos there are have not changed
whit in the last 500 years The old
customs of the inhabitants-the Sardes.
as they are called--continue to be pre-
served, and cut off from all the world
OF travel and trade, these people still
keep up modes of life closely resem-
bling those of the ancient Greeks. AS
some stray tourist has said: They
are like people in Homer and the Bible
in all their ways"
If this is the case with the Sardes
on the northeastern end of the main
land of Sardinia, it is much more so
with the men and women of Tayolara.
whom no traveller ever visits, and who
are as far away from the world as If
they were some little, savage nation on
desolate island of the South sea.
They are a republic OF fishermen and
farmers, fishing being the main in
dustry and little of the land being Gull
tivated. Not much of it is fit for Gull
tivation, in fact, as 1t is, for the most
part, high, rocky tableland, rising
steeply from the sea, the wild goats for
which the island was famous century
ago continuing to browse and disport
themselves as freely as ever and with
out restraint
Romantic in the extreme is the his
tory Of this tiny republic. No war or
revolution has ever touched 1t; no
foreign power has ever laid its hand
upon it; yet it has passed through the
stages of monarchy into those of free
government Sixty years ago II was
part Of the kingdom Of Sardinia, then
an independent nation under the rule
of Charles Albert. That monarch gave
the island outright to the Bartoleoni
family late in the '30s and that Sardin-
ian house set up at once miniature
,.ae nth +btrt, to forty subjects