The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-03-27

This winter there are still games played in
Monaco, but the greatest athletes are with the
colors. This winter there are still plays in the
theaters, but the actors are fighting and the
actresses are nurses. Visitors still come, but
they are few. Some American tourists are there
hoping for the war to end and afraid to go home
or stay away. With conditions as they are Mo-
naco declared for war. The people flew to arms
in the hopes Germany would be beaten, so the
business at Monte Carlo could thrive again.
Now that Monaco, the smallest principality in
the world, has declared war on Germany, San
Marine is shaking it's fist at the kaiser. San
Marine is a dot of 9S square miles in eastern
Italy. Its quarrel with Germany is the result Of
the kaiser's protest that the San Marino wire
less station was intercepting his messages,
San Marine, literally, is a mountain and three
little villages. Its total population is 11,000.
jefferson City or Moberly would make a more
populous nation. 1t has no railroad, the visitor
having to ride four hours in a diligence from
Rimini, an Adriatic resort city.
The founding of San Marine is somewhat Of a
myth. The local tradition is that MaEiuus, a
Dalmatian stonecutter, fathered the nation in the
fourth century. He was working on a gateway
at Rimini. The nearest rock quarry was Mount
Titanus. AS a reward for faithful work Marinus
was given the mountain, where he established a
refuge for Christians. Since that time San Ma
rino has maintained it's independence.
In the seventh or eighth century it's monastery
was turned into a fort. Many invaders marched
by without attacking the republic. For one rea-
son. it was difficult to attack, and for another, it
had no wealth to attract the conqueror.
Once a pope attempted to collect taxes in the
state. San Marine appealed to a judge in Rimini,
who held that it was an Independent nation and
therefore no taxes could be collected. Italy has
never tried to incorporate the republic in its realm.
True, today, Italy maintains the San Marinan
g~endarmerie and medical staff, but the republic
turns in enough revenue to the Kingdoms treas
ury to recompense it.
San Marine is proud of its claim as the oldest
republic. All around its SO miles of frontier one
can see monuments marked Italy on one side
and The Republic of San Marine" on the other.
But while it claims to be a republic. it is an oil
garchy in fact. The government is a grand coun-
Gil of 60 elected for life in equal numbers from
the landed proprietors and the bourgeois. The
council elects its own members when vacancies
occur. An inner council of II chosen from the 90
forms a kind Of a senate. 1t has two presidents
or captains regent, as they call them. They are
elected every six months at a grand public gath
ering. The main reason for the frequency of
those elections is that they are the principal
amusement the citizens have.
There is only one level spot in San Marine.
That is a plaza in front OF the national palace.
1t is used as a parade ground for San Marino's
citizen army of $50 men and 3S officers. San Ma
rino's army is not a professional one. Its SOL
diers all make their living at some other occupa-
ton. Thus the commanding officer of the army
is also librarian of the national library and a
professor in Belluzi college.
The people generally work in the quarries and
do some hillside farming. AS the expense Of
maintaining the government is small, taxes prac-
tically amount to nothing. San Marino has a
diplomatic force of IL consuls. Three are In
Italy, one In England, one In France and the
others in neighboring countries. Their only pay
is fees. San Marine once thought it would send
a consul to the United States, Not that it needed
one here, but 1t was a happy thought that the
Oldest republic should be represented in the
largest republic. The captains regent of that
date investigated the matter. They saw a way to