Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-22
AGAINST ALL ORDER
Regicides and Their Connection With
the Anarchist Movement.
HATE POWER AND NOT THE PERSON
A Condition of Affairs That Might
Have Been Expected.
HOW IT HAS DEVELOPED

Written for The Evening Star by James Bryce.
NJ. p, author of The American Common
wealth. etc.
The assassination of King Humbert, all
| the more detestable because he was per-
| sonally possessed of many noble qualities,
and had faithfully walked in the steps of a
| father of whom all Italy was proud, has re-
| called the mind of Europe to the danger
which threatens the heads of states,
| whether monarchical or republican, from
! those who are commonly, though perhaps
rather loosely, called anarchists. Yet the
| impression of horror made by this depior-
able event seems less than might have been
| expected. People have become much ac-
| customed to see crimes of this kind per-
| petrated as to have grown comparatively
callous.
Since the murder of the Car Alexander
ii in 1882 sort of epidemic of political as
sassination has prevailed in Europe, like
that which marked the latter part of the
sixteenth and earlier part of the seven
teenth. centuries. King Henry " in France
and the Regent Murray in Scotland were
only two of the most conspicuous among its
many victims. The massacre of St. Bartholo-
news eve and the attempt to blow up the
English king and parliament, which is called
after Guy Faxkes, were instances on
great scale of the effort to attain political
objects by the slaughter in time of peace of
political opponents; and both were approved
or condoned by the public opinion of large
sections of Europe Many plots were formed
to kill Queen Eliza beth, and again to kill
Oliver Cromwell, but SO far as England is
concerned the habit practically died out till
it was recently revived in the plans directed
against Mr.. Gladstone and Mr.. w. E. Fors-
ter and in the murder of Lord Frederick
Cavendish and Mr.. Burke in 1882.
The Significant Feature.
All these cases, however, were cases in
which there was some hostility to the in
dividual victim, either on personal grounds
or because he exercised a power which the
conspiratOrs desired to remove from their
path. The significant feature of the pres
ent assassinative epidemic is that 1t is di-
rected against persons merely in respect 10
their position as rulers or connected with
regning families, altogether apart from
their personality. There was no personal
hatred to President Sadi Carnot, an esti-
mable man and merely the titular head of a
free nation; still less to the Empress of
Austria, a woman whose character and mis-
fortunes might have been expected to win
sympathy from the hardest heart. Indeed
it is remarkable that the victims have
usually been the most amiable and benefi-
cent men. OF President Lincoln there is
no need to speak. The Car Alexander had
ished trying to liberalize Russian admins
tration. Lord Frederick Cavendish had
gone to Ireland en- mission of conciliation
Do Not Try to Escape.
There are two phenomena about these So
called anarchist-the word must be used
under protest Demonstrations which are
felt to be specially formidable. One Is the
fact that, just observed, the victim is
selected quite Irrespective of his or her per-
sonality and merely in respect of his or her
position. SipidO, the Italo-Belgian boy who
tried to kill the Prince of Wales, had no
animosity to the prince, but merely knew
he was the Queen of England's son. The
other is that the assassin is in many cases
Indifferent to his own escape. He would
doubtless prefer to escape, but he is ready
to attain his object at the cost of his own
death or lifelong Imprisonment Against
such asSailants it is almost impossible to
take complete precautions, and punishment
has comparatively little deterrent effect
Here again we are reminded of the assassi-
nations of the sixteenth century. They
were largely due to religious passion, and
the man who thinks he is rendering a ser
vice to his religion seeks little of his own
life. Mohammedan fanatics, such as was
the man who killed Lord Mayo (viceroy of
India) in the Andaman Islands, are equally
diSregardful of their own safety and will
ingly accept death which secures their en-
trance to paradise Something like this IS
evidently the case with men like the as
sassins of President Carnot and the En-
press of Austria and King Humbert. They
possessed by a hatred of society and
government as at present constituted which
has all the effects of religious fanaticism
and takes no heed of the consequences to
themselves.
All in the Dark.
Notwithstanding the excitement caused
by these assassnatons and the attention
which has been directed to the whole sub
ject, the European public knows extremely
little about what it calls the anarchist
movement. 1t has not data for finding even
how far the assassinatons are to be con-
nected with the speculative doctrines of an
archy, and probably eXaggerates, in its ig-
norance, the extent of such connection as
exists. Many of those who hold anarchiSm
a speculative doctrine are perfectly
harmless and Well-meaning men, who would
give encouragement to slaughter. II is
unjust to them to brand them with respon-
sibiity for deeds of violence. Some at least