The Washington herald., 1909-01-10
TWENTY-ONE RULERS SLAIN
With Record Before Him, Tmidity
Of the Gar Is Easily Explained.
POrtugaTS Recent Regicide Has 8
Practical Parallel in Terrible
Deed in Servia in 1903.

Twenty-one rulers Of civilized countries
murdered in just over a century, No
wonder a timid man Ike the Car shuts
himself up in fortified palaces and every
one IS constantly quoting Shakespeare
words: Uneasy lies the head that wears
a crown And il has remained for Por-
tugal, which. like her neighbor. spain,
has been practically free from royal as
although attempts have been
made by anarchists and political regi-
cides-to establish a sad record, for never
within modern history, at any rate. have
a sovereign and crown prince been muir
dered together. says a writer in Tit-Bits.
The assassination of King Alexander
and Queen Draga OF Servia, in June. 1898.
IS The nearest parallel 10 the terrible deed
which has recently Mortified the world
How the young King disguised his min
listers and the army and rendered him
self generally unpopular by marrying
Nine Maschin, his mothers lady-in-
waiting. is too recent history TO need
more than a passing mention here. It Is
interesting 10 note. however. that most
plot and actually murdered the King and
Queen in the palace are not only alive,
but still hold prominent military appoint
ments- Moreover. they were paid $1,000
for the deed.
Three years previous 10 the Servian
tragedy King HUmbert Of Italy vas slain
by the anarchist Bresci while in 1885 the
cruel and utterly pUrDoseless murder Of
the beautiful and gracious Empress OF
Austria took place The Empress was
passing through Geneva on her return
from Wiesbaden, where she had been
for treatment for a heart affection. when 7
she was stabbed with a small fle-shaped 4
stiletto. which pierced her heart King T.
HUmbert was shot while entering his 4
carriage. and il is an extraordinary fact F!
that he had twice previously escaped be /
ing murdered only by hairs breadth. /
In Naples in ISIS a man rushed up and 4
tried 10 stab his majesty with a pOnisTd. 4
but the King escaped with a slight 4
scratch. while, nineteen years later. as
King Humbert was driving 20 the Capa-
nellie race course. q workman struck az
him with a dagger. Luckily, the blow
was averted
Included in the twenty-one rulers al
ready mentioned are eight President who /
have been assassinated, and it is singu-
lar fact that three OF these were Presi-
dents OF America, and they have all been
murdered within the last fOrty-ive years.
First came President Lincoln in 1865
Garfield IN 1SS1. and Mckinley twenty
years later. The murder Of President
Lincoln came Ike a thUnderciap 70 the
people Of America. just when they were
rejoicing that the great Confederate war
had come 10 an end. Lincoln went 10
FOrds Theater n Washington and sat
with his family in a box watching the
performance Of Our American Cousin"
when J. Wilkes Booth. an actor. who,
with others, had prepared a plot 70 as
sassinate the several heads Of the gov
eminent, entered the box and shot the
President through the brain.
He then stabbed Mai. Henry RathbOne
with knife. and crying out. The South
is avenged rushed across the stage.
through the back door. and ESCAPED by
riding OF on q horse which was kept
waiting for him. He was captured
twelve days afterward, however, and
forthwith shot.
President Garfield was shot BY dis
appointed Ofice-seeker. while Mckinley.
Il may be remembered, met his death at
the hands OF CZolgOsZ, the anarchist. al
the Buffalo Exposition.
Four Of Russia's cars have been as
sassinated. the last being Alexander II,
n 1881 SIX times did assassins attempt
this nnonsrch's life. On one occasion he
only escaped through the barrel Of the
assassin's pistol bursting. while in 1856.
when the dining hall Of the winter palace
was wrecked by an explosion proceeding
from the, cellar beneath the Emperor
owed his life TO a breach OF his usual
the company not having sat
Down 10 dinner whenNhe explosion took
place
His majeSty-s guardian angel" how
aver. was pOwerless against the Nihilist-s
bombs OF ISL The Emperor was return
ng 10 the winter palace after a military
review when his carriage was suddenly
shattered by bomb. Several Of the
escort were killed. but. strangely enough.
the Gar himself remained unhurt. After
nqUiring about the wounded, his mai
ssty, with phenomenal cooiness, con-
1nUed his progress on foot He had ad-
Fanced but a few steps,~when another
bomb exploded al his feet. and mangled
MS body in the most frightful manner.
He died a few hours later
From 1872 TO 1876 four rulers were as
Col Balta. President
n Peru, Moreno. President Of Ecuador
5uttierez. President of Peru in IS72-3. and
The Sultan Abdul-Aziz- At the tine Il
vas given out that the latter, having
gone mad. had committed suicide by cut
ing the arteries Of his arm; but IN June,
NJ various high officials, including the
Sultan's brother-in-law. were convicted
y the murder Of the Sultan.
Perhaps the most barbaTous assassina-
ion on record was that Of the Queen Of
Korea in 1886. when a band OF hired
japanese assassins. backed by Korean
troops, entered the palace and hacked
he Queen and Two ladies Of the court
to pieces. afterward burning the bodies
with parsfin.