The morning news., 1897-06-06
EVERY MAN A MURDERER.
Artena the Bloody ViIage of OLD
Rome.

Rome.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer
Rome.-The discovery that Pietro Ac-
ciarito, the latest would-be assassin of
the king, is a native and citizen of Ar
tena, has induced Caesare Lombroso, Per-
rero, Bergenzoli Sotfiantini and other re-
nowned students of criminology to turn
their attention to the little city in the
Volscian mountains. some forty miles, as
the crow flies, from the capital.
This town of 400 inhabitants, born
criminals every mothers son and daugh-
ter of them, lives in history as the south
ern Matching oven Of evil-doers and fell
ons, and as long as four and a half cen
turies ago Corrado Celtic said of it's citl-
zens mo possible punishments can de-
ter them from heaping up crime upon
crime, for their perversity Of mind is more
fertile in inVenting new offenses than the
Imagination of judges is in new punish
ments,' and at that period new-fangled
methods of torturing and executing Grim
inals were almost as plenty as such relat-
ing to the bicycle to-day.
Either for patriotic or geographical rea-
sons, or both, has Artena never figured in
the criminology literature of the present
period that branded other places in Italy
as homes of the born delinquent, but that
badly aimed dagger thrust of last week
of April will cause an overhauling Of
records. ancient and contemporary, by all
the wel-known authorities on medical
jurisprudence and everything that relates
to 1t. and soon we will know all about
this romantic spot where assassins grow
wildl where fair browed mothers educate
their children in the noble art of cut
ting throats and where revenge is a pray
er on the lips Of young and old
Meanwhile the Enquirer correspondent
has done some investigating of his own
To begin, he ascertained that while the
crop Of murderers-and this does not in
clude homicide or mere manslaughter-in
1he whole OF Italy is on a ratio Of 30 to
every other kind of 10000 deaths in the
kingdom, nearly per cent Of men, women
and children buried in the mountain Gem
etery Of Artena year by year die by vio-
.ence Readers Of blood and thunder sto-
ries, who feel like sneering at these Stats
tics, should be reminded that the Italian
national murder crop Is The largest in the
civilized world, being four and half times
larger, for instance, than that of England
which is not reckoned among the most gem
tie countries
When | asked al the railway station for
"A ticket to Artena / was told that no such
place was on the route, and an old map
shown me cOrroborated that statement
However. l insisted that this town had
been a reality somewhere Ia the southeast
OF Rome, between the western main chain
Of the Apprentices and the Alban noun
tans, for five or six centuries, or even
more. Then a council of officials was call
ed and one Of them, who had once been in
the service Of the papal government re-
membered that Artena was a new name for
the old robber stronghold Of Montefortino
where a tribe of the ancient Voscians, who
gave the Roman republic 50 much trouble
is still hourishing.
"Artena." he continued, has no railway
station, for we could probably not find a
station master who would trust himself In
that neighborhood. The nearest station
is at Volm0ntone, on the Rome-Naples line,
via Delletri"
/ found the town, which ! reached on
mule back, one OF the most plcturesqueiy
situated in the kingdom. Artena crowns
the summit Of mountain 200 feet higa
Half way up stands mighty castle built
like a fortress OF the middle ages. with
towers and moats galore. II belongs 10 tho
Borghese, but no member Of that princely
family has set foot in 1t since shrts OF
chain mail and steel bonncts went out OF
fashion. In fact, they ceased taking any
personal interest in their property since
their neighb0rs above acquired the first
blunderbuss. The town consists OF a sin
gle street crawling up the mouutai IN In zig
gag fashion. The houses are low and mar.
row in depth Behind the small back
yards the rocks descend abruptly as II
hewn by "A mighty rush OF waters. From
the summit an enchanting outlook can
be had into the Roman Campagna, the
Alban and Sabine mountains.
The 100 citizens OF this town are, ac-
cording 70 the mayors statements. among
the best situated ln Italy as far as means
anu comfortable LIVING are concerned. even
the poorest Of thcm owning enough rich
land in the valley 10 supply their wants.
while the bottor-to-do families are among
the heavy wheat sellers and speculators
Of the province. That actual want does
not exist i'm Artcna was further demon.
strated 10 me by the surprising fact that
during my visit there not "A single beggar
approached me. not even children asking
Tor sentesimos. Under these circumstance
to which may be added "a particularly
mild climate one should imagine that the
Artenaons were a happy -go-lucky lot. a
little lazy perhaps but certainly unwilling
10 habitually walk the path OF the trans
grcssOr Such surmise would completely
coincide with the writings Of Lombrosos
Morrisons. Forrises and others. who In
slst that the majority OF criminals are
bred under anomalous social conditions.
and. moreover. 10 would concur with the
latest year book Of the New York state
roformatory on hand which says thar So
per cent Of criminals IN New York came