The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-29

revenge. Its effect is to produce an aepallins state of moral anarchy and lawlessness. It iE qistrtbutsd unequaiiy over the island, and. a by any means flourish least in the richos; parts of the country. There are three main divisions of the Mana-the Mana of Palermo, the 'Na1a of the district round Palermo and She Mana Of the provinces; Palermo Is the chief center of the institution and the resi- dence of most of the pezzi grosRi. or leaders. The youth who asplres to Mana honors begins as "ricettaro,' which means a man who women. Among the ''ricottari' are men of the upper bourgeose--idle students and smart
 men about town"-as we'll as members of the lower orders. They are arrogant. insolent and ready with the knife and the revolver. They act as the official cla1ue in the theatsrs and are commonly used as electioneering agents. men of civic and political importance Their houses are hke Government offices. They are Their halls are filled with all manner of peo- pie waiting fer an audience to ask some fa- yor-letters of recommendation. legal sdvice. the removal of some obnoxious official, pres sure on the judges na lawsuit, and so on. The "capt-mAtia are not paid for their ser vices but by this means they acquire innu- encs apd power among all classes. At cleo ton time their services are invaluable and the candidate who has the Mana on his side is litical views are.
 Violence Its Only Weapon.
 The Maha in the "conca doro' is respon- siole for more deeds ofsAviolence than the other sseNens This proves that the institution is region is the riche:t % in' siciy. % ana tha. t in holdings The orange and ienscn groves w neces- a, sttate large number of watchmen if fruit stealing and damage to the trees are to be property effectively is to come to terms with the Maha. accept its nominees as watchmen, and pay it a toll Otherwise every night thou sands of oranges and lemons will disappear. trees will be mutiated. and the landlord, if he diSregarAe these warnings, will probably be
 In the provinces the Maha has a somewhat similar character. but 1t devotes itself chiefly to vineyards and cattle. Here, again. the land or of being robbed and perhaps murdered But for most of the crimes which are committed. They are by no means identified with the Ma gands and ''maAosi'' are on friendly terms, and help each other out of difficulties.
 associations for criminal purposes have often been formed, generally for some particular ob ject. The history of these societies is a rec ord of treachery. murder. abduction and ex- tortion. Sometimes whole families and clans have been wiped out But one of the pecu- ltarities of these crimes is that the victims are usually themselves msSnbers of the Mana or at least they have had dealings with it. mainland are included. may i1 travel ali ali over yer Sicily in perfect safety. In fact. should they happen to be robbed by common thieves they will probably find application to a "capo- maha" more profitable than the help of the police.
 Curious Customs of the Order.
 Six. Cutrera describes some of the curious ceremonies and customs of the 'manosi." When a man wishes to enter one of the inner orotherhoods of the Mana he is brought into e room where several chiefs are gathered. On table there Is a lighted candle and q picture of saint The neophyte's thumb is pficskd and the blood is made to drop on the image He places his hand on the latter and swears burned and he adds: 'As this saint and these drops of blood are burned, so do I swear to shed all my blood for the brotherhood; and as these ashes and this blood can never re- turn to their former state so can I never gut the brotherhood" Possibly in this burn ng Of the image there may have been ori5i- naiiy some idea of desecreating it. The for nuia or recognition among members of these is usually as follows: How my eye tooth aches!'' How long has if been aeh | Ing ?'' Since candiemas' 1the date of the Who was there ?'' "A "a ~ stS:, Who received me a brotheri These associations have given rise to many sensational trials, but the authorities have always found 1t very difficult to bring tho Suilt home to the real culprits, because of the feeling or 0nesta, which makes evidence ai | most impossible to obtaln. and because inc whole machiner"- of the Maha is set in Tnotinn | 10 put pressure on judges, jury, counsel no ice and witnesses in favor of the accused | Moreover. the Mana obtained a considerShIs influence with the Government by aidin@ tt l n the revolution of 1860. The only hone f1r 1 ts final suppression lies in better education. combined with the strictest penal laws