Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-04
BAND WAR ON
At LONG BEACH
Fifteen ITALIANS DROPPED
FROM ORGANIZATION
Director Gattone Holds the Fort and
Expects to Weather the Diff
Guilty at the Ocean
City

Italian musicians at Long Bearch are
on the warpath.
Ze knife has been sharpened.
Ze threat has been made,
There is trouble in the air and Moth
ing short of bloodshed will atone for
the insults which members of Gattone's
band have been made target for.
Spaghetti!
Macaroni!
Red wine and other things!
Outbreak expected at any moment.
Local police have been reinforced by a
regiment of soldiers and several COM
panies of volunteers. The Italians are
intrenched behind a lunch counter and
swear they will fight to the last. 1t IS
known that the have sling shots and
pocket knives, and no one would be
surprised if the men of music were
also armed with Gatling guns.
At midnight cigarette smoke curled
upward from their stronghold. The
revolutionists, or anarchists, whichever
you are pleased to call them, were
talking loudly. This is taken as sure
sign of war
At l O'Clock this morning the CONVEX
sation was still on and cigarette smoke
ments. This also is taken as sign
of war. Cigarette smoke, by the way
of explanation, is not a sign of the pipe
of peace When Italians smoke cigar
cites they are ready to fight, and as
they always smoke they are ever pre-
pared for mortal combat.
Still Talking
At 1:10 the revolutionists were still
talking. This bulletin has been verified
as authentic by both the wireless and
grapevine telegraph reports
At Ills the mayor of Long Beach
ordered out the light brigade and caused
three skyrockets to be shot in the air
at an angle of As degrees. This was
the signal agreed upon in case worst
came to worst, for the women of the
town to take the first "OwT' for Los
Angeles. The women were ready to
depart, but the car failed to arrive.
At Ill the greatest excitement pre-
vailed.
The waves were chasing each other
down the beach and from the direction
of San Pedro came the roll of distant
thunder.
1t was awful!
Tourists hastily consulted their time
tables and began looking for express
men to convey their baggage to Los
Angeles.
Just at the moment when it was
feared the Italians would emerge from
their stronghold prepared to do their
worst someone yelled that the white
flag had been raised.
And there, in all it's glory, swinging
in the breeze, was indeed a white hand
kerchief. oh, what relief!
The Cause of War
Here's the story in a nutshell
To- NOt
leader of the Royal Italian band, has
been having his hands full, yea, full to
overf1owing.
For, as the man who played the kettle
drum thumped and ratified away he
realized Cor thought he realizeD that
he was being underpaid. Others of the
band thought likewise. Presently sHv-
eral of the members got their heads to-
gether and while partaking of red wine
and spaghetti nursed their imagined
wrongs. The result might be likened
unto a mutiny, for the men rebelled.
Gattone pleaded.
The musicians sWore.
Then Gattone swore, and the musi-
clans wanted to fight.
Things went on thus until several
were fired. Then came more trouble,
for the elected one began talking
Socialism and other things Finally
content microbe and the kettle boiled
over.
Engages Other Musicians
Coming to Los Angeles, the Long
Beach bandmaster engaged fifteen
(more or less) of Chiaffarelli's musi-
clans, and when they reported for duty
Saturday Gattone selected the men he
wanted to retain and fired" the others.
The new men took up You can go
as far as you like with me-" where the
others left off, and the strike was
ended.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
there were many mutterings and threats
by the ousted fifteen, but no blows We're
struck.
Once when the men called at the
auditorium and started to stir up
row Long Beach policemen stepped in
and threw the Italians out, but that
was all.
AS a result there is said to be a
movement on foot to establish another
band. with one of the former players
as leader, but this is only rumor.
In the meantime Gattone and his
cornetists, and bass horn blowers, and
kettle drum warblers, and re musicians
in general are still playing the same
old tunes.