The times., 1901-06-27
FENCING EXPERTS ANGRY
Resent Lanzilli's Charges That
Foils Were Tempered With.
Dnrieuiat's Judges Mt the Combat
Are Inclined 20 Ignore the Accusa-
tions = The Frenchmnn Regarded
the Italians Equal With sabres

the itaiian's Equal With snbres.
Signcr Pietro LanziIi has evidently not
disturbed the parties most concerned with
the statement he made in the morning
papers yesterday that NJ. L. j. Darieulat
had been awarded the victory in the
fencing bouts at Columbia Theatre Satur-
day night through the vaccinations of
his seconds, DR.. Rufus Choate and B.
Norris DIR. Choate, who, his associates
IN the Washington Fencers' Club say, is
swordsman well able to judge a contest,
ignores the accusation OF LanzilT. Mr..
Morris, accounted first-class swordsman
in the club. also ignores the matter, but
explains that the judges, in giving out
the score, did not divide the total num-
Der of strokes marked by the number of
judges who kept tally. This accounts for
the fact that the aggregate score mounted
to something over 800 points in the COM
bat with sabres
And then all the members of the Wash
ington Fencers' Club, under the auspices
of which the bouts were given, come to
the front with indignant protests against
the statement of Lanzilli that the foils-
he had used were tampered with.
Dr.. F. A. Mazzei, who acted as second
for Lanzilli, expresses incredulity at the
pressed the belief that the foils used by
Lanzilli had been tampered with. This
statement is met by the other side with
the remark that DR.. Mazzei, while per-
fectly sincere in his assertion. does not
know the fencing game, and Dr. Mazzei
admits this point.
seThe members of the Washington
Fencers' Club are much provoked that
any trouble should have arisen. Darieu-
lat states that he cares to have nothing
further to do with Lanzilli.
The whole trouble seems to have CEN
tired in the contest With sabres. In this
contest DR.. Mazzei marked 50 points for
Lanziih and 30 for Darieulat Cheyalier
Trentanove, the referee, marked the vic
tory for Lanzilli by score of AZ strokes
against 81. When the bout was over the
judges added these scores and those
marked by DR.. Choate and Mr.. Morris
with the result that the points footed up
I76 for Darieulat and III for Lanzilli. The
explanation by DIR. Choate and Mr. Nor
ris that they did not divide these num-
bers by four, the number of the judges
marking the strokes, seems to dispose of
the apparently great discrepancy between
their scores and those of Cheyalier Tren-
tanove and DR.. Mazzei.
In the conflict with the foils the great
cause of complaint upon the part of Lam
zilli was that the foils were not in good
condition. He asserts that they had been
tampered with. In his statement in the
papers yesterday morning he also takes
occasion to speak of the score, which was
declared to be SS against Il, in favor of
DarieulatN The reason given by the
judges for not dividing the total score by
the number of seconds was the fact that
in each case the score accredited La nzilli
could not be divided evenly by four, and it
was decided to read the total instead of
the result with a fraction.
E. II. Droop, of the firm of z. F.yDroop
& Sons. on Pennsylvania Avenue is
member of the Fencers Club, and was a
close observer of the contest on Saturday
nisnt. he expresses the opinions that
Darieulat was far superior to Lanzilli in
the contest with foiiS, and that hC fully
held his own with the SABRE. Mr.. Droop
said furthermore that both DR.. Choate
and Mr.. Morris were well qualified to
judge the bouts.
In regard to LanzilIfs assertion that the
foils had been tampered with, Mr.. Droop
said that LanzilH had his own foiIs in
his room during the intermission and that
he placed them on the table at the back
of the stage just before the bout COM
menced. He expressed the opinion that
the vigorous efforts which Lanzilli made
apparently to straighten his foil by-pull-
ing it beneath his foot had more to do
with its breaking than anything else.
Chevalier Trentanove is at present out
of the city. He is an expert swordsman
and a competent and impartial referee
The judges who are accused Of partiality
assert that Trentanove would not permit
an announcement obviously unfair 10 be
made.
The statement made by LanZilli that he
would take the matter to court if repara-
ton were not made him by DIR. Choate /
and Mr.. Morris does not appear TO worry /
those gentlemen. Just what charge Ian !
zilli would bring against them has not I
bean diyIlIged bV the latter