Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-08-07
WORST TOWN OF ALL.
MURDER Is THE MOST COMMON
FOIBLE OF THE MAINTAINS.
Artcnn, in the VoIscian Mountains,
aas This UnenviabIe Distinctions
istic Fate of n POstman.

tftOfub Letter IN courier rJOQrn0L)
Armed with a government commission,
Cesare Lombroso and other renowned stu
dents of crimnology have turned their
attention TO the little city Of Artena, in
the Nolscian mountains. some forty miles
as the crow flies from the capital. Lom-
hroso Will write a book on Artena.
This town Of 1000 inhabitants lives in
history as the southern hatching-oven OF
evi-dOers and felons AS long as four
and one-half centuries ago Corrado Celtic
said Of its citizens: NO possible punish
ment can deter them from heaping up
crime upon crime, for their perversity OF
mind is more fertile in inventing new
offences than the imagination of judges
is in new punishments." At the period
mentioned new-fangled ideas for exc
cutting and torturing criminals were al
most as plentiful as such relating to
bicycles are to-day.
Either for patriotic or geographical
reasons or both. Artena has never figured
In the criminology literature Of the
present period. which has branded other
places in Italy as homes Of the born de-
linquent; but now an overhauling of re-
cords, ancient and contemporary, by the
well-known authorities on jurisprudence
is promised and we will soon know all
about this romantic spot, where assas-
sins grow Wild where fair-browed
mothers educate their children in the
noble art Of cutting threats, and where
revenge is the prayer on the lips Of
young and old.
Meanwhile. your correspondent has
done little investigating on mis- own
hook. To begin with, he ascertained
that while the crop Of murders-and this
does not include homicides or mere man
siaughters-in the whole Of Italy is on
a ratio Of thirty to every other kind OF
10000 deaths in the kingdom, nearly 2
per cent OF the men, women, and chill
dren buried in the mountain cemeteries
OF Artena year by year die by violence.
And let the reader remember here that
the Italian national murder crop is the
largest in the civilized world, being four
and half times larger. for instance.
than that Of Great Britain, which is not
Teckoned among the gentlest countries
When l asked at the railway station
here for a ticket to Artena. l was told
that 10 such place was on the route. and
the map corroborated that statement.
However, l insisted that this town had
been reality somewhere in the south
east OF Rome. between the western main
chain OF the Apennines and the Alban
mountains for five or six centuries, or
even more. Then a council Of officials
was called, and one of them. who had
formerly been in the service Of the Papal
Government. remembered that Artena
was a new name for the old robber
stronghold Of Montefortino, where a tribe
OF the ancient Volscians, who gave the
Roman republic so much trouble is still
h0urishing
'Artena. he continued. had no railway
station. for we could probably not ind
a station master who would trust himself
IN that neighborhood. The nearest sta
uon Is at Nolmontone. on the Rome
Naples line via Delletri."
/ found the town, which I reached on |
mu.eback, one OF the most picturesquey- |
situated in the kingdom. Artena crowns |
tne summit Of a mountain 200 feet high. !
Half way up stands mighty castle, built |
Ike fortress Of the Middle Ages. with |
towers and a moat galore. Ii belongs |
10 the Borghese, but no member of that /
prlncely family has set foot in il ever
since shirts OF chain mail and steel bon
nets went out of fashion. In fact, they |
ceased taking personal interest in their
property since their neighboTs acquired /
their first blunderbluss.
The town consists OF n single street
Crawling up the mountains In zig-zag
fashion, The houses are low and mar
row In depth; behind the small back yards
me rocks descend abruptly, as II hewn
OH by a mighty rush of waters. From
the summit an enchanting outlook can
DC had into the Roman Campagna, the
Aloan and Sabine mountains
The 1900 citizens OF this town are, ac-
.ofding to the Mayors statements. among
.Ae best situated In Italy. as far as means
ana opportunities for making a steady and
-oMIortable living are concerned, even
me poorest OF them owning enough rich
"no IN the valley 10 yield all they need
while the better-to-do families are among
ne heavy wheat-sellers and Spectators
p the province. That actual want does
'ot exist in Artena was further demon
utted 10 me by the surprising fact that
''rhg my visit there not single beggar
Ppfoached me; not even the children ask
% Tor centesimos. I
Under these circumstances. to which
nay be added a particularly mild climate. {
me should imagine that the Artenians !
'ele hsppy-g o-lucky lot, a little lazy J
y maps but certainly unwilling 10 habit &
a'y walk the path OF the transgressor.
ucn sufmise would completely coincide +
nun the writings OF the I.ombrosos. Nor
SONS Ferris and others who insist thar Y
nc majority OF criminals are bred under !
"V"alous social Conditions. Moreover c