The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-10-11
Huerta Must Give Place 70 Prince
William Of Wied Who Hung
on Like a Hungry
Leech.
FINALLY WAS oUsTED
Ruler Of Albania Had Hard Time
Remaining on His Throne
But Stuck There for
quite 4 While.
lily Berry Wood, United Press Stan
Correspondent.y

lily Berry Wood, United Press Stan
Correspondence
ROME, Sept. 25-(By mall to New
York. )-When some future Gibbon
writes the history Of "The Decline
and Fall Of the Worlds Greatest
Stickers," It now seems certain that
right along ut the top Of the list with
the name Of victoriana Huerta OF Mex
leo viii be found that also of Prince
William OF WED.
| Prince William stuck to the Alban-
| ian throne until August 31st, eight
months From the standpoint OF pure
| longevity General Huerta OF Mexico
has first place, but reduced simply to
| the question of which stuck under the
greatest obstacles there can be no
question but that the old Indian OF
Mexico will have to be content with
second place.
/ It is now about eight months since
Prince William, at the request OF his
wife and the European powers, left
his little principally Of Wied in Ger
many and accepted the Albanian
throne. 1t also lacks mighty little Of
being Just eight months when the
! world in general conceded that it
would be impossible for the prince to
maintain his throne and that the
sooner he might give it up. the better
would it be for all concerned. In
spite OF that and in spite Of the fact
that he had been absolutely abandon
ed by all Of the powers which invited
him to accept the throne, Prince VIII
! liam stuck until just recently, and
that, too, in the face OF an ever ca
cumulating list Of obstacles that
might well rob JOB of the place he
now occupies in Biblical history.
Prince William had hardly taken
possession of his throne and had not
had time even to think Of organizing
an army when he was confronted with
rebellion, largely Of Turkish-Mo-
Mammalian nature against his rule As
christian prince. In the very first
clash Of arms, Colonel Thomson, the
Dutch officer chosen by the powers
to organize an army for the prince,
was killed, and the princes few men
so badly routed that his immediate
finish was at once predicted.
It was precisely then that the prince
entered into contest with Huerta Of
Mexico for first place as the worlds
greatest sticker Although the rebels
! quickly occupied all Of the rest Of Al
bania save Durazzo and Vallona, the
prince ordered absolutely every resi-
dent of these cities-war correspon-
dents included-to the Notifications
and succeeded in building up such
series of barbed-wire and other de-
lenses as to enable him to stick on
his throne for awhile longer.
Between just sticking and building
Qualifications, however, Prince Will
liam has had few other obstacles to
meet. The few troops which still re-
NAMED faithful after the first defeats,
seeing the situation hopeless, later
began deserving. Not content with
Just deserving, they smugg1ed out OF
the trenches most Of the cannons and
gatling guns and carried them over
to the enemy.
Then the Dutch officers, sent by the
powers to help the prince, after hav-
ing finally quarreled with everybody
else in Albania and finding it impos-
sible to pick quarrel with the prince.
could see no use in remaining longer,
and resigned. Still later, the war
trtke out between Austria and Ser
via, and still more Of the remaining
supporters Of the prince liked out to
nllav themselves either for or against
Servia.
Then, too when every other Euro
pean ruler was enjoying his summer
vacation, Prince William was obliged
to stick in a ramshackle palace
it is called a palace purely out Of
courtesy to the prince-on a barren
coast, in heat equalled only by that
OF Africa, swept with pestilent.a1
winds and infested to the maximum
with mosquitoes and other man-eating
insects. Finally the princes two little
chil6ren succumbed to the malaria
and had to be taken to Bucharest for
medical help.
Alone with his wife, Prince William
| then daily saw the rebels perch them
selves on the hills surrounding Dur
azzo so close to the city itself that
| It was practically impossible for him
/ to leave the palace without someone
taking a potshot at him. The only
avenue of safety which the prince
had was towards the sea, and recent
| ly he took advantage of this for the
one and only day of vaction he had
in the egiht months on the throne.
Accompanied by the princess he sail
ed en- board an Italian man-of-war for
vallona, the only other city still re-
naming under his rule, but which like
Durazzo is SO surrounded by rebels