Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 August 1900 — KING OF ITALY SHOT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

KING OF ITALY SHOT

Humbert Dies at the Hands of an Assassin. V 7 -— - - - THREE SHOTS FIRED. Victim la Entering His. Carriage After a Distribution of Prizes. Cheers of the Great Crowd Are Stilled Suddenly by the Report of the Pistol —ReglcMe Is Arrested and with Difficulty Saved from Fury of Populace —Gives His Name as Angelo Bressi, of Prato, in Tuscany. King Humbert of Italy has been assassinated. He was shot at Monza Sunday evening by Angelo Bressi of Prato and expired in a few minutes. The king had been attending a distribution of prizes in connection with a gymnastic cotflbetition. He hnd just entered his carriage with his aid-de-camp amid the cheers of the crowd when he was struck by throe revolver shots, fired in quick'succession. One pierced the heart of his majesty, who fell back and expired in a few minutes. : The assassin was immediately arrested and with some difficulty saved from the fury of the populace. He gave bis name as Angelo Bressi, describing himself as of Prato, in Tuscany. Died Without a Word. The King had distributed the prizes, laying a few complimentary words to each of the recipients, had made a brief speech encouraging the practice of ath-

letics and had entered his carriage, accompanied by his aid-de-camp. The street was crowded with people, who were vociferously cheering the King when a shot startled everybody as it rang out. It came from the crowd close to the royal carriage. It was followed immediately by two other shots. The King was seated? At the first shot he arose and turned toward the direction from which the bullet came. At she second shot Humbert raised his hands and started to say something. Then the third shot came, he pressed bis hands to his breast and fell back into the arms of his aid. It is not known which of the shots killed him. The King lived only a few minutes. The assassin was less than thirty feet frtrtn the King nnd used a steady aim in his handling of the revolver with which he killed the King. He tried to fire a fourth shot, but the surrounding crowd had recovered from its stupefaction and he was seized and disarmed. The populace immediately attempted to mob the assassin, but the police nnd soldiers, in large numbers, kept, the angered people back and conveyed the murderer to prison. The assassin gave his name as Angelo Bressi, nnd declared that he was a native of Tuscany. He admitted, in fact looked, that he was an anarchist nnd a member of the International Society, the same association to which Cnserio. who assassinated President Carnot, of Prance, and Luccheni, who assassinated the Empress of Austria, belonged. Bressi had been a worker in the Serpentine mines at Prato, Titsenny, where tjfe miners are nearly all members of anarchistic societies. l>res»ii Cannot Be I'.scecuted. Unless on especial punishment of King Humbert’s assassin is ordered either by legislation ot by a royal decree, his sen-

tone© can be no worse tbnn that of Luigi Lucchcni, the Assassin of the Empress of Austria. Like that of Switzerland, the Italian code does not permit of capital punishment for nny crime, no matter how heinous and horrible it may be. The assassin of the King of Italy can be imprisoned for life, bnt he cannot suffer the death penalty. Sketch of the Queen. Queen Margherita, the wife of Humbert, is his first cousin, n daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa, brother of Victor Emmanuel, nnd who died before Humbert came to the throne. Iler mother wns Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King John of Rnxony nnd Dnchess of Genoa, who after Ferdinand's death married the Marquis Itnpelio. Queen Margherita was born in November, 1851. and was married to Prince Humbert in 1808. Their first child. Victor Emmannel, was <>orti in 18(10. Queen Margherita is beloved by the Italian people.

LIFE OF KING HUMBERT I. Eventful Career of the Late Ruler of Italy. Humbert L, King of Italy, was third ruler in the line of monarchs of that country belonging to the house of SavoyCarignan, a younger branch of the first reigning house of Savoy. He was the eldest son and second child of King Victor Emmanuel, was born on March 14, 1844, and came to the throne on Jan. 19, 1878. The mother of Humbert was the Archduchess Adelaide of Austria. When the house of Savoy-Carignan came into power in 1831, on the failure of the older branch, the house of Savoy, and Charles Albert became King of Sardinia, his realm included the principality of Piedmont with the territory of Genoa and the hereditary Duchy of Savoy, besides the Island of Sardinia. In 1849 Charles Albert abdicated the throne after the defeat of Novnra. leaving his crown to bis son. Victor Emmanuel. The latter was enabled, by the remarkable political and military events of 1859 to 1870, to annex to his dominions all the other parts of Italy. He was proclaimed King of Italy in March, 1801, by a vote of the Italian Parliament at Turin. On the accession of Humbert to the throne. Italy bad a population of nearly 27.000,000, a revenue of over $230,000,900 annually, and a national debt of 82,000,000,000, so that, though the youngest

kingdom in Europe, it ranked fifth of the great powers. Humbert, like his father, was a soldier whose personal courage hnd been proved on the battlefield before he was made King. On Saturday, Jun. 19, 1878. when he took the oath of fidelity to the constitution before the united Senators and Deputies comprising the Italian Parliament, he declared the policy of his reign. On Nov. 17. 1878, shortly after he hnd been crowned, nn attempt wns made on Humbert’s life while lie was entering the city of Naples. Giovanni I’assnnantc, n cook, waving a flag, approached the royal carriage and stabbed the King in the arm. His majesty drew his. sword nml wounded tiie mnn. Members of the royal suite came to his assistance, but not until one of them had been severely wounded wus the would-be murderer secured. On the duj’ after this attempt at assassination demonstrations of loyalty to tiie King in Florence and Pisa were the occasion of riots nnd the throwing of Orsini bombs. The Government thereupon decided to net with more rigor against political Organizations that threateneil the peace of the kingdom. In Jhe following year, 1879, when political agitation and demonstrations in favor of a republican form of government still were rife In Italy, Giovanni Passnnanto, for his attempt to assassinate the King, wns sentenced to denth. Humbert he're evinced his policy of leniency, and at his instance a decree, signed by the ministry, wns Issued commuting the sentence of death to one of imprisonment for life. I’ussauante accordingly wns sent the sanic year to the Island of Elba. The Oregon’s hull and machinery cost $3,222,810. Fitted out for service this great ship represented an outlay of s(>,575,032. A decision the Supreme Court of Massachusetts Is to the effect that the bicycle is a machine rather than n carriage, nnd that bicyclers Injured from defects in the public roadway cannot recover damages. Over $3,500 has been raised nt Moscow to buy a silver punch bowl for Gen. Cronje, the chief Bber prisoner at St. Helena. , At Wilkesbnrrv, Pa., George Rosengrant soldjMis wife to ICiiiinond Miller for $lO. The Hoseugranbi were married eight years 11 go.

DEFIED BY CHINA. European Ministers Detained iu Pekin Pending Negotiations with Nations. An imperial edict saying that the European ministers at Pekin are held as hostages to deter the allies’ advance on the capital leaves no room to doubt that China has been deceiving the powers. The edict orders the viceroys to prepare to oppose the march on Pekin of the European army at Tien-Tsin. A Washington correspondent in summarizing the Chinese situation Saturday says that this government, while continuing to maintain the theory that the imperial government is in no way implicated in the anti-foreign uprisings in China, is prepared at any moment to abandon this position and regard the Chinese empire as an enemy. The army and navy are prepared to act with the forces of the other powers against all opposition in China, whether from Boxers and insurgents or from the army of the Chinese emperor. Secretary Hay returned from his conference with the President in Canton and called a conference of the cabinet. In this conference the whole situation was gone over in the light of dispatches received from Consul General Goodnow and Rear Admiral Remy. Mr. Goodnow’s dispatches gave the result of the conference he had with Li Hung Chang at the direction of the State Department.

Members of the administration are reluctant to discuss the possibility of a general declaration of war by the powers against Chinn, but, at the same time, it cannot be concealed that matters nre drifting in that direction. If the other powers should declare war the President would at once call an extra session of Congress and the subsequent policy of the United States would be determined by tiie law-making department of the government It was admitted nt the State Department that there wns n missing copy of the department’s copy ot the code nnd thnt copy was in tiie possession of the Chinese government. This has led the officials to think thnt the proposition of the viceroy, Li Hung Chang, to deliver the ministers from their supposed danger in Pekin is merely a craftily concocted scheme to Iny the basis for an-, other story. Thnt will be to the effect thnt the ministers started in safety and with what seemed nt the time to be a sufficient guard, but nfter proceeding a short wny from the imperial city they wore besot by Boxers, the guards overpowered and the ministers and all with them slaughtered. Convinced that thte is the scheme, the administration has refused to sanction nny such proceedings. Its position is simply this: Should the ministers still live, which they doubt, any such journey would mean their denth, nnd to consent to such nn undertaking would be to connive nt their denth. If they are dead, then the government would bo aiding the Chinese officials in prepctrati'ng nn outrageous falsehood. Therefore the cabinet officers decided to stand aloof nnd insist upon the principnl clause in th* President’s nnswer to China's appeal foi mediation—the opening of communication with the envoy*

KING HUMBERT.

QUEEN MARGHERITA

OUTSIDE THE SOUTH GATE OF TIEN-TSIN.