The Alaska citizen., 1911-04-10

mediaeval town about fifty
 miles from Rome Here an old
 Franciscan church has been chang
 ed into court house and an iron cage. large enough to hold a hun dred persons, has been erected in the center of the long wide hall to serve as dock for the pris oners Cn trial
 Another old building, originally convent and still retaining its name of santa Maria Gardi. al ! though used as a prison since 1870, | has been enlarged and repaired, while it's massive walls have been made higher 10 prevent the es-
 cape of the Camorrists just con- veyed there from Naples. Apart ments have been provided inside the prison for the two judges who will preside at the trial and the TWO attorneys s-gene ral. or kings procurators. who will conduct the i case against the prisoners, as at l tempts on their lives are feared. The garrison of Viterbo has been increased from a company to a battalion, the prison guard has been doubled and the small 1 town is crowded with carbineers, policemen and detectives. Extra ordinary precautions have been taken to prevent camorrists from
 entering the town and the police
 of Naples have orders to shadow | the relatives and friends of the pris ners. watch their movements and report by wire their departure i from ..e city in order to prevent
 their entry into Viterbo. The home office has authorized the arrest of
 every Neapolitan found at Viterbo i without q certificate of good con duct and armed sentries have been posted outside the town gates
 with orders not to allow strangers ! to enter the town at night.
 1 In the court house squad of
 soldiers mounts guard day and | curely locked and sealed, which
 contains the written evidence for i the trial. This evidence consists
 of 50 folio volumes weighing 11O i pounds and includes the reports of
 the carbineers and the proofs col i lected by the examining Judges
 during the four years investigation l f the case. The box was convey
 ed from Naples to Viterbo guarded 1 by armed soldiers who travelled in i the luggage van.
 The town since the arrival of the prisoners, 90 of whom were es- i cortcd from Naples by a detach ment of carbineers numbering 30 men under the command of a cap ! tain. and who were divided into
 seven gangs chained together, is practically in state of siege. The trial marks the climax of ! the long struggle between the gov ernment and the Camorra. The struggle has been long and fierce | The Cam0rra, which is the oldest, most powerful and best organized i criminal association in the world and which fer seven centuries has l flourished at Naples and invaded with it's ramitications even North
 and South America, is fighting for l it's very existence. Practically all he chiefs of the Camorra have 1 been arrested and are awaiting trial and for the first time in his
 tory, it is said. Camorra exc cution may be avenged. It's com plicated organization, it's disciplined and formal rule and it's secrecy have for once been powerless to protect the members of the Hon i 9rable Society" from the carbi l neerS.
 The result Of the trial is of course impossible to forecast. The | trial will last ever six months and ] less complicated trials have ended
 with an acquittal in Italy. But it 1 is certain that the Camorra still
 retains some power. Had the Ca
 nora been eXtirpated the precau- ! ions taken at Viterbo would have been unjustified. The judges and
 attorneys-general would not have considered their lives to be in dan
 ger. There would have been no | fear of an attempt to rescue the prisoners and the elaborate pre-
 cautions taken to prevent Neapoll- i ans from entering the town would
 have been useless. If the Camor-
 ra is still feared it must exist. The Camorrsts now at Niterbo
 are well supplied with money. | They have secured the services of
 the best lawyers ill Italy for their
 defense and all are hopeful of ac- quittal The police have decided i to have each member of the jury guarded. an unprecedented measure
 in Italy.
 Besides. during the last four years, when all the Camorra chiefs have been under arrest and the Camorra was supposed to have been disorganized, the Naples civil police 1 have on several occasions surpris- ed secret meetings of the Honor
 able Society" held for the cleo
 ton of new members, The Naples
 newspapers even gave the names
 of some of the chiefs who had been
 elected in stead of those arrested 1 by the carbineers. The number of
 picciuotti or boys" generally beg
 gars and pickpockets, who aspire to
 belong to the society and ask to be | initiated has not diminished and
 many have been admitted on trial and after performing the expected proof of courage have been promoted camorristi or full members of the society.
 Burglars continue to pay regular percentage of their spells. Taxes are levied on every unlawful resort while
 money lenders who practice usury pay small share of their profits l to the Honorable Society" All the cabs that enter Naples from the
 neighboring towns and villages con-
 tinue to pay the usual Camorra toll of cent and the farmers who
 bring their produce to market do likewise. In short every event in
 the everyday line of the city Is to certain extent influenced by the Ca ;aI,