The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-14
ROMAN STRIKE
and EFFECTS
Example of Cutting Off Nose
to Spite Face
NEXT MORNING AT TER
Story From Pen of One on the
Grounds
EXT MORNING AFTER

Rome. Italy, May 13.-Up to Tuesday
night nobody believed in it; Wednesday
morning Rome woke to the accomplished
fact Putting ones head out of the win
dow, not a cab, no bus was to be seen.
Shutters were up; a few doleful pedes-
trains strolled aimlessly about; most sig
hificant of all, piles OF paper and dust
filled the immaculate cutters Of the most
swept city on earth. A new and dread
full kind of Sunday, strangely reminis-
cent of home. brooded in the air. The
general strike" was here, and it was ac-
cording to ones point of view "a superb
exhibition of solidarity" or "a most CO.
lossal cutting off of ones nose to spite
ones face"
With holy week here, with Rome full
of foreigners gathered for the Church
ceremonies. with the harvest moment Of
the year actually at hand a general strike
amounted TO killing the goose and re-
nouncing the golden egg at the same
time Sympathy with the printers strike.
of which this was the sequel, had teen
universal. Even the governmSnt hal rot
hestated to show its sent<aents by turn
ing certain mild scr<rrs concerning its
own unfinished cork in the Offices. in
the hope of ..nducing concessions; but
even with their ten hours day and mol
crate pay the condition of the printers
is relatively so much better than that
OF the other Italian working classes. that
one hesitated TO believe they would ac-
cept a sacrifice from their poorer broth
ers; sttll less, force that sacrifice at this
particular moment. Milan, Florence, Tur-
frr E.1 In a H. 10
futility of the general strike and the
central committee at Milan al formally
snunciated as an axiom that general
Strikes should never be undertaken ex-
cept for purely political reasons. and
against the government itself" Yet here
The thing was.
There was bread-the familiar Vienna
roSi-on the breakfast table. and the meat
shop opposite was open. This seemed in
defiance of the first number of the pro-
gramme, which had announced: Rome is
20 be left without bread and meat" We
hurried forth to consult the faring mani
festo on the corner wall (Romans sim
ply cannot conduct their business be it a
strike or a funeral, without 'manifesting"
early and late). and here we had our
first perception of the advantage Of a /,
government which can, on emer gency, /
govern. The placard called attent on to |
the existing police regulations. under
which bakers meat merchants, and oth- /
er dealers in comestibii are OBLIGED - /
keep their shops open at least until two /
O'Clock in the afternoon" and any one
wishing TO retire from business is equally
obliged to give mot less than fifteen days /
notice to the authorities; any one found !
in contravention of these regulations
would be proceeded against without fur
tter warning. This was signed by the
Sindaco, Prince Colonna. Bakeries and
markets. therefore, remained open, as
best they could of neces sity. Meantime. +,
bakers and butchers from all the armies (
in Italy were on their way to Rome; !
three hundred head of cattle were requi
sitioned by the government. and hundreds
of quintals of bread ordered from all the
neighboring cities. Frascati and Civita .
Vecchia alone failed to respond. BY eve !
ming mountains of bread began to arrive, |
and were stacked in the great caserma in
Via Geneva. -Four hundred and eighty
bakers and seventy-six butchers likewise
arrived. and seventy-six butchers like
wise arrived. and were distributed
throughout the city. Evidently a city of
half a million was not TO be left hun
cry.
In few hours the city had changed {
character totally. 1t was a Citta Morta
except in the centres. where mounted car .
abinieri sat motionless as statues. drawn
up across Piazzo Colonna or the Corso. i
From time to time these charged for
ward. scattering the gathered thousands
like chickens. while simultaneously the
foot carabineers marched diagonaily
across. breakin sthe mass into a help =
less confusion of small groups. limo !
cent-loolling palace doris burst open and
let out files of infantry. musSet in hand.
With all this. a perfect good nature-the
crowd laughed as il ran, and the caTab- !
i1ieri smiled sedately beneath their cor
rect mustaches. Only over towards Ponte .
Garibaldi and Trastevere. as time wore
on. a few OF the populace threw down 4
stones on the troops or on Via Nazionale
an abortive attempt was made to hold
up the trans running guarded by SOL
diers Nobody whatever was seriously
hurt. and the whole effort SEEMED con
fined TO breaking up large assemblies
and arrestng every doubtful person to
get him Oft the streets temporarily over
zoo arrests were made and l am told but
ten were held actually to answer to the
charges when all was over.
One who has witnessed nome riots AMI
mobs is struck above all by the mingled
gentleness and efficiency of the Italian
military police. Not for nothing is the
arm yof Italy the idol Of Italy. Signor
vfllari bears extraordinary witness TO
this in his Writings on Social Cues
tons" Speaking of Sicily he says:
''Traversing IL from end 10 end one
hears a general comp'a Mt, discon
a blaming of everything and everybody.
They accuse the ministers the projects.
the mayors. the common, and provincial
councils. the senate. the Genera. or the
army alone. no one has a word OF in 70
say but instead every one praises il
highly Il has put down tumults with
force Of arms: II has in its military trib-
un'ais condemned leaders to what seemed
excessive penalties and vet for II alone
there IS unanimous chorus OF praise
And this. because even in s,ippressing
sides. and because even in suppressing
outbreaks il has acted as fulnllsng a
duty. showing always a sympathy fer
the oppressed and the miserable. often
after the suppression being the first to
open a subscription in aid OF the suffer
ers. ard always manifesting supreme
contempt for all iupositions for all in
justices ! should not know how 20 de-
eS-rff,1 -x-r,va fr,r-