The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-08
WAR MAKES ITALY'S
KING POPULAR HERO
Previous TO Outbreak Of Hos
tilities Monarch Was
Little Known.
SHOWS HE'S A SOLDIER
Sp,cial Corresponde nee 10 THr SLY.

WYNN July Nht N"i NV
King OF Italy's only claim to popularity
consisted In his domestic virtues. Every
body admitted that he was a model
husband and father. a very good man
and essentially a constitutional SOW
ereign. Victor Emmanuel MS father
and his grandfather. the first King OF
united italy. were immensely more
popular. Both had fought In the wars
of independence and. Ike all the mem
bsrs Of the House of Savoy. were SOL
diers and their aspects were martial.
The present King does not look n SOL
d;er. His subjects thought his lnclina-
lions were peaceful and that he pre-
ferred numismatics TO sold ering. When
the war came the KIM Immediately
assumed supreme command OF the land
and sea forces and rushed TO the front
Now everybody is convinced that the
King Is as much a soldier az his father
and grandfather.
Victor Emmanuel. III. Is very modest.
almost bashful. At public functions
he always appeared very nervous Dur
ing the Messina and A,ezzano earth
quakes the King lost his nervousness
and calmly supervised relief and rescue
work. Italians then began 10 know
him better and To admire h IN too. The
few who had occasion TO come In close
contact with the King knew that he
was a very clever man ard said so.
but then the man in the street took II
for granted that had the KIM not been
clever those who met HIM would have
said he was.
The war has entirely changed the
mistaken opinion about the King Sol
diers write to their families describing
what the ng Is doing. what he says
~ them and how he exposes his life
Jus, as they do. The letters have firmly
established the Kings popularity. The
King at the front spends his time among
the soldiers and often shares his meals
with them. .
81 was going TO one of the advanced
posts up a steep hill" writes a soldier
to his family, carrying the Generils
raincoat over my arm. The General
had ordered me to bring his coat up
In case II looked like rain, and az soon
as I saw the clouds gathering | oheyed
his orders. ! had two miles to 90 and
bad hardly covered nait ,se q sian
ran, as ] had no coat myself. and
besides I knew the General was waiting
for me. Half way up the hill a gray
automobile came rushing down. i
halted n saluted. as | saw two Of
ncers inside. one of them put out his
head and waved to me. Then the
automobile stopped suddenly and one
Of the officers jumped out and ran
oward me.
Recognizes King Victor.
s'You are soaked to the skim ne
said, and you are carrying "A ralncoat
on your arm instead of wearing IT..
Why on earth don YOU put 1t on"
IT Is not my coat. your Majesty, /
stammered. recognizing the king IT
belongs to Gen. y. and l am taxing
II UP to him. Put 1t on. put II on
yourself the King said. and tell the
General I ordered you. of course you
were right. as discipline is discipline. but
then there are exceptions and this is
onA'
"Th King helped me on with the
coat, gave me a couple Of cigars, patted
me on the shoulder and shook han1s
with me. Before he started he waited 10
make sure that I would not take the coat
of. When | explained to the General
why ] wore his coat he said he expected
me to wear it without saying anything
u mn anu d'ihths - eNFf
that there is no other king In the world
who would have stopped his automobile
and gone TO the trouble OF preventing a
soldier from getting wet ! could not
help shouting, Long live the King - as !
saluted the General"
When the King inspects the battle
line he occasionally meets wounded sol
diers being carried to the ambulances
He stops to talk with them, cheers them
IN taEaa THAR ma mos and DfferS 10 ylrlta
TO their families, and in urgent cases
ne helps the surgeons giving first aid.
A soldier, one of whose legs was almost
severed from the trunk, far from being
down hearted, told the King that he felt
proud of being wounded serving the
King mo, my SON." said the King,
SERVING your country"
While visiting an -encampment the
King noticed that one OF the men was
sitting alone deep in thought. He went
up to him and asked what was the mat
ter and whether he had any complaint
to make. The soldier answered in the
negative, but the King insisted on know
ing why he was 80 sad. The man then
conhded that when he left his home one
OF his children was i'll and that he hal
not had any news,
II understand your sadness very well, -
said the King, las | too am a father
and know that we are always thinking
Of our children when they are far away
Nc news is good news, however, and Il
does not follow because YOU have not
heard from your family that they are
not well. | have not heard from mine
for over a week"
The King then promised that he would
telegraph to the mans family and gel
new for him and ordered hat the mar
should have a fortnight's holiday as
soon as his regiment left the firing line
Soldiers Are Enthusinstic.
Nearly all the soldiers at the from
have seen the King and many have
spoken to him. Every one Is en-,
thusiastic and such simple but signih'
cant expressions as I'VE W. a rea
King and ale is Just like one OF US
occur in every letter. The letters ar.
full OF episodes about the Kings courage
The King Is an artillery specialist anC
often personally directs the FIRE Of {
battery or a section, He spent an entire
day with "a sub-lieutenant in commint
of a section of mountain artillery In q
dominating position, Both the office
and the runners admired the way II
which the King regulated the hre AM
his unerring aim. but his repeated eNort
TO demOlish a farmhouse in tho distance
from behind which the Austrians wer'
firing, proved useless. "Try Yourself
the King said to the Lieutenant, 81
you succeed you will hdve accomplished
something wonderful The Lleutenan
tried and succeeded. The admiration o
the King was unbounded, He shooI
hands with the officer, congratulate
him warmly, made the gunners chez
him and finally he said he was going
since the Lieutenant was a much bette