Ernest Alfred Vizetelly. The Anarchists: Their Faith and Their Record. Turnbull and Spears Printers, Edingurgh, 1911.

THE ANARCHISTS

THEIR FAITH AND THEIR RECORD

CHAPTER 10: King Humbert -- Bresci -- President McKinley -- Czolgosz

(1898- 1901)

Attempt on King George of Greece--Unrest in Italy- KIng Humbert and Queen Margherita--Their Life at Monza--Gymnastic Competition there--The King presents the Prizes--He is assassinated-- Grief and Indignation of Queen Margherita~aetano Bresci, the Assassin--The Anarchists of Paterson, U.S.A.--The Plot to assassinate King Humbert--Bresci offers to commit the Crime and repairs to Italy--He practices with a Revolver--Remissness of the Italian Police--Bresci's mysterious Friend " II Biondino" --Proclamation of the new King--The Vatican and Queen Margherita's Prayer for her Husband--Trial of Bresci--His Sentence to Life Imprisonment--Repressive Measures in Italy-- Death of Crispi--President McKinley's Career--The Pan- American " Exposition" at Buffalo--Public Reception by the President-- He is shot twice by a Young Man--One Bullet removed but the Second not located--The President Lingers and Dies--Identity of the Assassin--Age and Appearance of Czolgosz--His Anarchist Opinions--He is medically examined for signs of Insanity--His Trial and Conviction--He is sentenced to be Electrocuted--His last Statements--The Process of Electrocution--The Body destroyed by Acid--Sentence on Johann Most for Incitement to Murder--Law excluding Anarchists from the Right to enter the United States.

During the same year when the Empress Elizabeth was assassinated there was an attempt on the life of the King of Greece while he was driving with his daughter in the Phalerum near Athens. Two men named Karditzi and Kyriakos, both of them ax- soldiers, discharged six shots at the royal party, fortunately missing the King and the Princess, but wounding a groom in the leg and also one of the horses. These men were speedily arrested tried, and put to death. It does not appear that they professed Anarchist opinions. They belonged to one of the anti-dynastic societies aiming at the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a Greek Republic.

During the spring of 1898 Italy became the scene of tumultuous disturbances in which Socialists, Anarchists and Revolutionaries of all categories, took part. From Milan the rioting spread to Florence, Leghorn, and Pavia, and thence southward to Naples. The latter province and Tuscany were both declared in a state of siege. The economic situation of Italy was largely responsible for this trouble which greatly affected the King. He granted an indulto towards the end of the year, and in 1899 economic conditions began to improve slightly, and the country generally became quieter. Nevertheless the Anarchists gave some trouble in Tuscany, and numerous arrests took place at Leghorn; whilst in Sicily affairs assumed a very serious aspect owing to the doings of the Mafia, at the instigation of which society Deputy Notarbartolo of Palermo was assassinated. There were reports of various highly placed personages being implicated in this affair, which was certainly allowed to drag on in a very mysterious manner. Charles Malato, the Italian Anarchist, writing in the Paris journal " L'Aurore," repeatedly accused certain members of the Government of having been privy to the assassination of Notarbartolo and of favouring the escape of the principal culprits.

In June 1900 general elections took place in Italy, and a very incompetent Ministry, presided over by Signor Saracco, came into office. This year there was an international expedition to China, and Italy participated in it; and in July King Humbert repaired to Naples to witness the departure of some of the Italian contingent. He then went northward to stay at his favourite villa at Monza, the ancient capital of the Lombards, near Milan. The Prince of Naples (now Victor Emmanuel III.) was then cruising in the Eastern Mediterranean, but with the King went his consort, Queen Margherita, long admired for her beauty--she was in her younger days a delicate blonde with deep blue eyes--and her qualities of heart and mind. It had first been intended that Humbert should marry a daughter of Archduke Albert of Austria 1 but his destined bride was accidentally burnt to death through her carelessness in dropping a lighted cigarette, and the marriage with his cousin Margherita was subsequently arranged. She was the daughter of Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa (brother of Victor Emmanuel II.) by the Princess Elizabeth of Saxony, and was married to Humbert, then called Prince of Piedmont, at Florence in April 1868. We have already related that she was seated beside her husband when his life was attempted by Passanante at Naples, and we have seen also how great was her concern when Acciarito attacked the King on the road to the race- course near Rome. Now, at Monza, both were threatened with a decisive irreparable blow.

Enough has been said of King Humbert to show that he was very brave. During the earthquakes, the inundations, the outbreaks of cholera which afflicted Italy in his time he never spared himself. On succeeding to the throne he had found it necessary to pay off heavy debts contracted by his father, and in order to do so he had for a time practiced strict economy; but his nature was a generous one and, in the presence of repeated public calamities, he ended by casting financial prudence to the winds, in such wise that when he died he left his private affairs in as unsat~sfactory a state as his father's had been. There was no personal extravagance on his part. He delighted to throw the pomp of royalty aside, and lead a simple life, spending much of his time in the open air. An early riser, he was temperate in regard to food and drink, fond of hunting in the Alps, and partial to the breeding of horses and cattle. At Monza he usually rode in the park from an early hour until about ten o'clock, when he returned to his villa and busied himself until lunch- time with all sort of public affairs, applications for assistance and so forth. Later in the day he would perhaps drive out with the Queen, and in the evening there might be a little family party or a series of audiences.

On Sunday, July 29 (1900) the King and his consort heard mass in the chapel of the royal villa, where a limited number of the public were also allowed to worship. Among those who attended the service that day was a certain Gaetano Bresci, who had come expressly from America to assassinate the King, and of whom we shall soon have to speak at length. Bresci must have been a mere spectator of the ceremony in the chapel. He can hardly have taken any part in it, for one cannot imagine a man praying to the Deity whilst harbouring murderous designs.

It had been arranged that during the evening the King should distribute the prizes won at an athletic competition organised by a gymnastic society of Monza calling itself Forti e Liberi. These prizes included a gold medal given by himself. The scene of the gathering was only some three hundred yards distant from a side- gate of the royal park and at the appointed time the King, who was in civilian dress, drove off in an open carriage drawn by two horses d la demi- daumont. In the rear sat a couple of footmen in red liveries,] beside the King and on his left hand was General Ponzio Vaglia, and in front of them General Avogadro di Quinto--both these officers being in mufti like the monarch.

On the King's arrival on the ground the royal march sounded, and there was some scattered applause--by no means such as would have greeted an English sovereign, but it should be remembered that, although Monza was the favourite royal residence, the townsfolk were largely infected by the subversive ideas which had long made the neighbouring city of Milan a hotbed of revolutionism. There were only a few police agents and Carabinieri on the ground. A couple of the latter mounted guard at the gate of the royal park, and the King's carriage had passed a few more on the road, but no special precautions had been taken for the monarch's safety. Having been received by the Syndic of Monza and the town's deputy, Signor Pennati, an advanced Radical, he repaired to the royal box or tribune and engaged a few officers who had lately returned from Erythrea in conversation, then witnessed the conclusion of the gymnastic display, and began to distribute the prizes. The first was gained by the Societa Monzese, and the second by some gymnasts from Trento, with all of whom the King shook hands.

The distribution over, Humbert descended the steps of the tribune to return to his carriage. A great many people had now pressed forward, and he had some little difficulty in reaching it. Recognising Colonel Masoni among the throng, he said to him: " Don't you ride now, Colonel ? I never see you doing so." " I ride every morning in the park, your Majesty," was the reply. " Indeed. Then we shall meet there. Good- bye, colonel, good- bye." That said, the King got into his carriage, followed by Ponzio Vaglia and Avogadro. He did not immediately sit down, however, but remained standing, hat in hand, and waving it towards some of the gymnasts who had begun to acclaim him. " Thank you, young men ! " [Grazie, giovanotti] he said once or twice; and then, as the municipal band again struck up the Royal March, and the horses were about to start, he prepared to sit down. But at that same instant four shots were fired at him in rapid succession. The first bullet wounded him in the left clavicle near the neck, the second in the chest, and the third between the fifth and sixth ribs, whilst the fourth went wide of its mark, the assassin's arm having suddenly been struck down by a spectator named Giuseppe Salvadori.

The King had strength enough to put on his hat, and sat down, gazing reproachfully, so it seemed to others, at the man who had shot him. Then addressing the postillion, he exclaimed: " Avanti ! " and, turning to Ponzio Vaglia, remarked: " I felt a blow, but I do not think I am wounded." But immediately afterwards he added: " Yes, I am wounded," and falling sideways against his aide- de- camp's shoulder, became unconscious. For a moment the two generals who were with him hoped that his injuries were not mortal, but the last agony set in, and as the carriage passed through the gate of the royal park, the King expired.

When the villa was reached it became necessary to break the terrible news to Queen Margherita. The first intimation was that the King had been seized with indisposition. Then, however, Ponzio Vaglio intimated that he had been attacked, but was only wounded. The Queen did not wait to hear more, but bounded down the staircase into the hall, where the royal physicians had already recognised that King Humbert was dead, and that their services could be of no avail. Hurrying to the corpse, Margherita gazed at it with mingled grief and indignation. The latter feeling, in particular, carried her away: " What a crime ! What a crime ! " she exclaimed: " It is the crime of the age ! " Meantime the assassin had been apprehended by a sergeant of Carabinieri and a couple of police agents. His name was Gaetano Bresci, and he was born on November II, 1869 (the same day as the present King of Italy), at Cojano, a hamlet of the commune of Prato in Tuscany his parents being Gaspare Bresci (died October 1895) and Maddalena Godi (died July 1889), who had been small land owners and had also practiced silk- weaving. Gaetano had two brothers, Lorenzo, a bootmaker, Angelo, a lieutenant in the artillery service, and a sister, Teresa, married to a certain Marocci, a man of private means. After receiving a little education at an elementary school, Gaetano had engaged in the calling of a silk weaver. Later, however, he quarrelled with his relations, separated from them, and incurred a short sentence of imprisonment for participation in some Anarchist disturbance. On his release he emigrated to America, and taking up his residence, at first, at New Hoboken, he there met a girl of Irish origin named Sophy Niell, whom he married in 1897, and who presented him two years later with a daughter. Before that occurred Bresci had moved to the manufacturing city of Paterson, some sixteen miles north- west of New York, where a large Italian colony was assembled, many of its members holding Anarchist opinions. Bresci associated with them, and was gradually drawn into their schemes, the chief of which was the assassination of King Humbert, whom they held responsible for those economic conditions which caused so much suffering in Italy, and impelled so many Italians to seek new homes across the Atlantic.

The story runs that the principal Anarchists of Paterson met in solemn conclave for the express purpose of carrying their designs against King Humbert into effect. A hundred and thirty- two names were inscribed on tickets, which were shuffled and thrown into a box The name then drawn from among all the others was that of a certain Luigi Bianchi, called " Sperandio Carbone," who was then without work, but had been in the employment of a manufacturer named Pessina. Bianchi shrank from the duty assigned to him, and offered, as a compromise, to dispatch anybody who was inimical to the Anarchists at Paterson. That offer being accepted, he was ordered to kill his former employer, Pessina. Such a mission seemed to him even worse than the other one, and in the end he committed suicide, leaving behind him a letter which stated his motives for doing so. It is urged in Italian works respecting the assassination of King Humbert that if the American authorities of New Jersey, who secured possession of Bianchi- Carbone's farewell letter, had only communicated it to the Italian Ambassador or Consul, the crime of Monza would never have been committed.

Bresci, however, had offered to take Bianchi's place with respect to the attempt on King Humbert; and under the auspices, it is alleged, of an Anarchist group of Paterson, called " The Right to Existence," he embarked at New York on board the French liner La Gascogne (May 17, 1900) for the purpose of carrying his horrible design into effect. A fund having been raised by his confederates, he was fairly well provided with money and clothes; he wore a gold watch and chain and a diamond ring, and would have been taken by most people for an inoffensive member of the middle class. Landing at Le Havre, he first repaired to Paris, and then made his way to Italy, where he wrote to the keeper of a saloon at Paterson, where some of the Anarchists frequently met, apprizing him of his safe arrival. On June 4 he was at his native place, where he met some of his relations and began to indulge in revolver practice. Finding, however, that he could not carry a revolver without police permission, he applied for it, whereupon the matter was referred by the local police to the superior authority at Florence. An answer came back, refusing the desired permission, on the ground that the applicant was an Anarchist, and had undergone a sentence as such some years previously. Nevertheless no further action was taken by the Italian police; Bresci was suffered to retain possession of his weapon, and to go undisturbed to Castel San Pietro in the Emilia, where he stayed with a relative, an innkeeper, in whose yard he practiced revolver shooting without let or hindrance. On July 8 he repaired to Bologna to witness the inauguration of a monument to Garibaldi; but on the very day (July ZI) when the King arrived at Monza, he received a telegram in consequence of which he hurriedly departed for Milan.

He there hired a room by the day, of some people named Ramella, living Via S. Pietro all' Orto, where he was visited by a man named Luigi Granotti di Biella, familiarly known as " I1 Biondino." On July 26 Bresci and Biella quitted Milan for Monza, and rented rooms there, at 4 Via Cairoli, which was tenanted by a widow named Angela Cambiaghi, formerly Rossi. During the next few days he studied the King's habits and watched his movements. On Sunday, the 29th, he reconnoitred the royal park, and, as we previously mentioned, attended mass at the chapel. Then, in the evening, he repaired to the gymnastic gathering and committed his crime. At this time Biella, alias " I1 Biondino," suddenly disappeared, and the police were unable to find him. On November 25, 1901, however, the Assize Court of Milan sentenced him by default to imprisonment for life.

The assassination of King Humbert was followed by< indignation meetings in various parts of Italy. The Prince of Naples, who now became King, and who, as we previously mentioned, was cruising in the Mediterranean at the time of his father's death, immediately hurried home. When he passed through Milan on his way to Monza, the Socialist Municipal Council refused to wait on him. He made himself momentarily popular with the great majority of his subjects by issuing a vigorous proclamation in which Rome was declared to be untouchable (intangibile); but naturally enough this greatly incensed the Clericalist party. Queen Margherita had prepared a beautiful prayer in commemoration of her husband, which she asked her sympathisers to repeat in church. But the Vatican, angered by the new King's proclamation, expressly forbade even the temporary introduction of this prayer into the liturgy; and on August 24 the Holy See formally renewed its solemn protest against the " usurpation " of the King of Italy.

Meantime, after a preliminary service at Monza, King Humbert's remains had been removed to Rome, where, amid a great display of pomp and power and pride, they were laid to rest, beside his father's, in the Pantheon. Then, on August 29, Bresci appeared before the Milan Assizes, carrying himself with the jaunty impudence of his kind. An advocate named Martelli had been assigned to him by the court, but he preferred to entrust his interests to a Socialist agitator named Merlino, who compared his crime with Orsini's attempt on Napoleon III., expatiated on the deplorable condition of the country, and imputed all the responsibility for it to the late King, who, in the eyes of the people, said he, had exercised an absolute sway. This was altogether incorrect, for Humbert's chief fault was that he had been too constitutionally inclined, accepting the decisions of his parliaments and ministers without regard to the corrupt motives which sometimes lay behind them. He thus fell under the domineering influence of one and another politician, and was unable to shake it off. Merlino's address certainly did Bresci no service; Martelli, the other advocate, was better inspired in urging that the prisoner had received but an extremely rudimentary education, and that his mental powers were very limited. Nothing, however, could save Bresci from the extreme penalty of the law, which, the death sentence being abolished, was imprisonment for life, the first seven years to be spent in secret cellular confinement.

The general elections having taken place so recently, the Saracco Ministry, which they had brought into office, was retained by young King Victor Emmanuel III. As is usual with all weak administrations, it decided on a policy of strict severity. There were arrests, often quite unjustifiable ones, all over the country, and turmoil soon prevailed. It was only early in the following year, 1901, that the new monarch got rid of Signor Saracco and called Zanardelli to the head of affairs. There was great want throughout Italy at this time, and the new Government did something to remedy it by considerably reducing the taxes. It also passed several fairly liberal measures, and the aspect of affairs had considerably improved by the time when the King's consort, Helen of Montenegro, presented him with a first child, the Princess Yolanda. A little later, in August, the veteran statesman Crispi passed away, and with him a whole period of Italian history may be said to have ended. Although Crispi had not held office for a considerable time, his powerful personality overshadowed the field of politics to his last day. As soon as he was gone, but not till then, the King was able to shake off the bonds which had fettered him since his accession.

Let us now cross the Atlantic to the United States, where the year 1901 was made memorable by the assassination of the Republic's twenty- fifth President, William McKinley.

The first United States President to be attacked by an assassin was Jackson, whose life was attempted by a man named Richard Lawrence in January 1835. Thirty years later, on the evening of April 14, Booth, the actor, assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre at Washington. Then, at the expiration of another sixteen years, President Garfield was shot by Guiteau, as we previously recorded. There was no connection between Anarchism and any of those crimes. But it was different with respect to the assassination of President McKinley, which was the outcome of the propaganda carried on by Johann Most, Emma Goldman, and others, and the examples successfully set in Europe by Luccheni and Bresci.

Born at Niles in Ohio, on January 29, 1843, McKinley was of mingled Scotch and Irish ancestry. His great grandfather, a native of Pennsylvania, had fought in the War of Independence. His father, named William McKinley like himself, married a Miss Nancy Allison, and the future President was their seventh child. The majority of the family were engaged in the iron industry, but young McKinley was doing duty as a school teacher when, in 1861, the War of Secession began. He at once enlisted on the Federal side, and ultimately rose to be brevet- major or, each step in rank being gained by his bravery in the field. The war over, he applied himself to the study of law, and ended by joining the bar of Canton, Ohio. He was afterwards gradually led towards a political career, and in 1876 was elected as a Republican member of Congress, in which he retained a seat for seven terms. By 1890 his name had become widely known as that of the chief advocate of a high tariff policy. He lost his seat in Congress, but was elected Governor of Ohio in 1891 and again in 1893, and still remained the leading exponent of Protectionism in the United States. Men began to talk of him as a candidate for the Presidency, and in 1896 the Republican party officially adopted him as its nominee. Opposed by William J. Bryan of Nebraska, the zealous advocate of a silver versus a gold standard, McKinley was elected, and four of the most eventful years in the history of the United States ensued. War broke out with Spain, which ended by surrendering Cuba and the Philippines, and extreme Protectionism became one of the chief tenets of the Republic's policy, and led for a time to acrimonious relations with more than one foreign country. In 1900 McKinley secured re- election, and on this occasion the Vice- Presidency of the States was secured by Mr Theodore Roosevelt, who had figured prominently in the war with Spam.

During the followiing year a so- called Pan- American " Exposition " was held at Buffalo (N.Y.), and early in September the President repaired thither. At his first visit he made a great speech on the prosperity of the country, and advocated peace and goodwill among all nations. Then, on the afternoon of Friday the 6th, it was arranged that he should hold a public reception in a building, somewhat pompously styled the " Temple of Music." Naturally enough some thousands of people assembled to defile before the President and shake hands with him, according to the usual practice. He stood in front of a kind of palm bower, with Mr Milburn, the President of the Exhibition, on his right hand, and his secretary, Mr Cortelyou, on his left. Quite near were two secret- service men named Foster and Ireland. Amid the strains of the organ which played Bach's Sonata in F, the crowd, which included many women and children, approached along a kind of aisle which was lined with police officers attached to the exhibition, and with men of the 73rd Sea- Coast Artillery.

The secret- service men, who were on the look- out for any persons of particularly suspicious appearance noticed a short, heavily built individual with a brown face, a heavy black moustache, and glistening black eyes, whom they judged to be an Italian. Whether he was a confederate of McKinley's assassin is uncertain, but at any rate the assassin walked immediately behind him. Whatever reason the secret- service officers may have had to suspect the swarthy- looking individual whom we have mentioned, there was not much to attract their attention to the one who followed. He was about 5 feet 7 inches high, beardless, with light brown hair and of extremely youthful appearance, looking indeed very much younger than he really was. Clad in a striped suit, he had the air of a respectable mechanic, and the only thing really noticeable about him was that a handkerchief covered his right hand, which he carried raised and close to the back of the man who preceded him. The detectives imagined, not unnaturally, that the young man's right hand had been injured, a surmise which seemed to be confirmed by the circumstance that he offered the left one to the President when he at last confronted him. McKinley, smiling, was about to take it, when from under the young fellow's handkerchief there suddenly appeared the muzzle of a revolver, and two shots rang out sharply above all the buzz of conversation and the tramping and shuffling of feet.

The President drew his hand to his chest, threw back his head, staggered, and fell, half- fainting, into the arms of his secretary, Mr Cortelyou. At the same time a coloured waiter named James P. Parker, who was just behind the assassin, attempted to seize him; and with the assistance of the detectives Ireland and Foster he was secured. The crowd wished to lynch him on the spot, and before he could be conveyed to an office in the Temple of Music he was badly cuffed, kicked, and struck in the face. Ultimately, under the guard of a number of police and marines, he was removed in a hired carriage to the police headquarters at Buffalo.

Meantime the Sea- Coast Artillerymen drove the crowd out of the Temple of Music, fixing bayonets and using great violence, in such wise that there were several casualties. The President's friends, on their side, tore down bunting and overturned plants in order to convey him to a seat where they fanned him vigorously He was very faint and in great pain. Before long, however it was possible to remove him to the emergency hospital in the Exhibition grounds, and there one of the bullets was easily extracted, the wound which it had inflicted in the chest being little more than superficial. But the doctors were unable to locate the position of the second bullet, and matters remained serious, although during the first few days all the bulletins were distinctly favourable, so favourable, indeed, that Theodore Roosevelt, then in the West on one of his hunting expeditions, was advised that it would be unnecessary for him to return. On the ensuing Friday, however--that is exactly a week after the crime--the President's condition suddenly became alarming. The doctors could do nothing further for him. He sank rapidly, and at a quarter past two o'clock on the following morning (September 14) he expired. His last words were, " Good- bye. God's will be done. It is His way."

It was ascertained at the ensuing post- mortem examination that the bullet which the doctors had been unable to locate was lodged in the abdominal wall behind the stomach. It had damaged the abdominal cavity, and gangrene had supervened. McKinley's remains lay in state, first at the City Hall of Buffalo and secondly at the Capitol at Washington. Then they were transferred to Canton for the last funeral rites and interment (September 25). Mr Roosevelt now became President of the United States, and travelled to Washington with all possible dispatch.

When the assassin was first interrogated he declared his name to be Frederick Nieman, asserted that his home was at Toledo, and that he had arrived about a week previously at Buffalo, where he had engaged a lodging in the Broadway. A certain Walter Nowak of Cleveland, however, identified him as Leon F. Czolgosz, an iron- worker, and mentioned that he had relatives living at Cleveland-- notably his father, Paul Czolgosz, a brother named Waldeck, and a sister, Victoria. These relations repaired to Buffalo soon after the crime, but the prisoner refused to see them; and, in a measure for their own protection, they were placed under detention by the police.

Leon Czolgosz was born at Detroit in 1873, and was therefore twenty- eight years old at the time of his crime. His appearance, however, suggested that he was barely twenty, and judging by the medical report of the postmortem examination of his remains, we do not think that he was ever much of a worker. His body was described, indeed, as resembling that of a young man of leisure, the arms being far from muscular, but smooth, round, and fair. He was of Polish extraction, as his name indicates, and had been brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, which he had renounced, however, on attaining manhood. He could read and write, but apart from that he had very little education. His Anarchist ideas were beyond question, some Anarchist literature was found on him or at his lodgings after his arrest, and he admitted that he had belonged to a little unnamed " group " at Cleveland At the same time he strenuously denied that his crime was the result of any scheme preconcerted with others. It was his idea, however, that the actual form of government of the United States was extremely unjust, and that the most effective manner of remedying it would be to kill the President. For that purpose, on the day preceding his crime, he had followed Mr McKinley on an excursion to the Falls, and would have shot him then had he been able to get near enough. Briefly, his demeanour after his arrest was alternately callous and defiant; he failed to exhibit the slightest sign of remorse. At first he refused the assistance of counsel, but, ultimately, two lawyers, ex- Judge Loran L. Lewis and Mr Robert Titus, were selected to defend him. At the instigation of the authorities, who desired to treat Czolgosz with the utmost fairness, he was medically examined prior to his trial in order that it might be ascertained whether he was mentally deficient, in which case he would simply have been consigned to an asylum. But he spoke quite rationally, and nothing in his appearance suggested any degree of insanity.

His trial before the State Supreme Court of Buffalo took place towards the end of September and lasted only a few hours. There were no such frantic efforts to save him from his fate as were made in later years on behalf of the young " millionaire " Thaw. In fact, his counsel did virtually nothing for him. At the outset of the pro ceedings he pleaded guilty, but this was overruled by Justice Truman White, who conducted the trial, and who ordered a plea of not guilty to be entered on the record. The evidence of the secret- service men who had arrested Czolgosz and of a few other witnesses of his crime was then taken. No witnesses were called for the defence. Ex- Judge Lewis simply made a brief speech, saying nothing about the prisoner but lamenting the death of so eminent and good a man as McKinley. The other counsel--Mr Titus--did not speak at all, except to remark that he thought it unnecessary to add anything to what his colleague had said. As for the prisoner, he merely decleared, " I am an Anarchist and have done my duty." The jury retired, and at the expiration of about half an hour returned with a verdict of guilty. This occurred on September 24 and two days later the prisoner was again arraigned and received his sentence, which was that he should be executed according to the forms of law during the week beginning October 28.

The method of inflicting the capital penalty was electrocution, which was carried out at the penitentiary of Auburn (N.Y.), whither Czolgosz was removed under the guard of twenty deputy- sheriffs. He collapsed on his arrival, and for the first and only time expressed regret for his deed and sympathy with Mrs McKinley.

The execution took place about seven o'clock on the morning of October 29, after the prisoner had partaken of a hearty breakfast of coffee, toast, eggs, and bacon. He was brought into the death chamber by a couple of warders, one of whom supported him on each side. Davies, the official electrician, was in attendance, and the operations were directed by Drs Macdonald and Gerin, five other medical men also being present. When Czolgosz had been seated in the chair, and while the warders were strapping him, he said: "I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people--the working people. I am not sorry I did so, but I am sorry now that I did not see my father." The strapping being finished, electrical contact was established, the electromotive pressure being maintained at 1800 volts during the first seven seconds, after which it was reduced to 300. At first the body was thrown against the straps, which creaked perceptibly. The hands clinched, and the whole attitude became one of extreme tension. But on the pressure being reduced to 300 volts the body suddenly collapsed. At the expiration of 23 seconds Dr Macdonald ordered the pressure to be increased to 1800 volts again; and 4 seconds later it was once more reduced to 300 volts for a space of 26 seconds, after which the contact was broken. Dr Macdonald then examined the prisoner and noticed no pulsation, but as a precautionary measure, so to say, he ordered a pressure of 1800 volts to be reapplied for the space of five seconds. Czolgosz was then pronounced to be dead. From the moment of the first contact the operation had lasted exactly one minute and five seconds.

The prisoner's brother Waldeck, who had amazed the authorities by asking permission to witness the electrocution, had originally intended to have the remains cremated, but yielded to the proposal of the officials that they should be interred in the prison cemetery and practically destroyed by acid. This was carried out after the postmortem examination, and at the same time all the deceased's clothes and personal effects were burnt, much to the mortification of those souvenir seekers who abound in the United States. It should be added that prior to the execution of Czolgosz, proceedings had been taken for one or another reason against several - prominent Anarchists, and notably the notorious Johann Most, who was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for having published in his organ, a short time before the assassination of McKinley, an article inciting his readers to murder the heads of States. Early in the following year, moreover, Congress passed a law excluding Anarchists from the classes allowed to enter the country. Those resident there have since been subjected to strict supervision.