Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-02
Foreign News


Rome.-Public interest from one end
of Italy to the other has been excited
to an extraordinary degree in the ques-
ton whether the virtually inestimably
valuable art collection of the late
Prince Marcantonio Colonna, the head
of the historic house, is to be kept in
tact or sold by the four members of the
family to whom it has been be-
queathed.
II the four owners transport their
shares of the collection to their respec-
tive residences, it is, of course, lost by
all except intimates Of the owners, and
that this should happen would be con-
sidered a public calamity
No one who has ever visited the Co
lonna palace can forget the magnifi-
cent hall where the pictures hang, and
which was the seat, unique and mem
orable of the Postal Congress. 1t is
decorated with painted mirrors by
Mario de- Flori and cupids by Carlo
/ Muratta. There are several Tintoret-
tos and Palma Vecchios, Paul Veron-
eses' Portrait of a Man." some Ii
tians, with many lesser, though we'll
known, works Of art, but the most prec-
ious and interesting are ~ water-color
/ landscapes of inestimable value by
Poussin.
The palace itself is one of the most
attractive, historically, In Rome.
chitecturally, outside it is plain to hid
eousness, but inside gorgeous in the
extreme. 1t was left to his brother, as
the bearer of the name of Collona.
Prince Marcantonio leaving no sons.
The history of the Colonna palace Is
the history of medieval and renais-
sance Rome and that it has been made
the House of Colona, should be a
cause of rejoicing to those who love
the history of their country.
After the fall of the Temporal power
in 1870, the Vatican mobiles felt strong
ly, and each made some visible protest,
each in his own way. 1t had been the
habit of the pontiff to occasionally
honor his great mobiles by a visit, and
in the imposing throne room of the Co
lonna palace stood a gold and red bro
cade chair in which only his holiness
ever sat. When the pontiff became a
prisoner" and his visits ceased, this
chair was turned towards the wall,
| and from that day to this, AZ years, it
has never been moved; there it stands,
and there it will stand until probably,
in dim future, it falls to pieces.
Prince Lancellotti, another BLACK
noble, declared upon his word of honor
that he would never enter a Roman
theatre while the city belonged TO the
House of Savoy. When Mascagni's
"Cavelleria" was first given the prince,
who loved music passionately, was hor-
ribly tempted to break his VOW, but he
would not, and went instead all the
way to Vienna, heard it once, and re-
turned. He also permanently closed
half OF the great door of his palace
with the Romans sign of mourning
and only opened it just in these days
because of domestic festivals.
The Colonna are one of these aristo-
cratic families who seem to be torn be-
tween an ancient loyalty to the papacy
and stirring of the blood due to new
conditions and fresh points of view
which take them into the opposite
camp, that Of the royal house. The
prince just dead showed this uncer
tainty to a very marked degree. As q
young man he chung TO the pope, but
as he grew towards middle age he
thought that to cling to the vatican
meant to be outside every forward
: movement of his country, and he &C
, cepted the position of gentleman-in
waiting to the then reigning queen
Margherita. In his later years he fel
heir to the hereditary position of "as
sistant to the papal throne" threw VI
his post at court and assumed the posi-
ton waiting for him at the vatican.
One of his brothers. Don ProsperC
Colonna, has been major of Rome, the
other. Don FabriziO, is a senator of the
kingdom, and although he has inherit
ed the "assistantship," has passed 4
on to his son, who for his part, has new
er appeared at court and has all hi.
Interests at the vatican.
The late prince had no sons, but o
his two daughters, one married Prime.
Teano. a radical deputy, and the othe
Prince Ghigo, Of the blacklist vatican
nobility.
Prince Colonna's death has mad,
more of a stir in Italy than any othe
non-political event in many years.
ST. Petersburg-A rather stron
indictment of state ownership, as IA
as Russia is concerned, was made re
Gently In the dams, when the ehnrt
comings in various branches of tn
Russian state management we're i
Illustrated in the report of a commits
tee of inquiry read by Deputy Goo
neJ
The navy headed the list for ruinou
neglect OF the interests of the treai
ury as well as those of the servic,
One fragrant instance of lack of bus
ness method was given. In repair
s. ing the icebreaker Yermak in Ems