Newest and Biggest of the Atlantic Liners
Day Is Saved
by Golf Ball
Amateur Champion Sees His
Shot Go True by Remarka
ble Roundabout Drive.
MOUSE IS CAUSE OF IT ALL
Champ Hurls Ball at Fleeing Rodent,
Misses, Ball Rebounds, Hitting
W aiter, Who Drops T ray and
That Ends Mouse.
With a full psKsenger list of persons and “personages," the latest and biggest and most luxuriously-equipped ad
dition to the fleet of the French line docked nt New York recently. The photograph shows I-a Paris ending her
maiden voyage at the pier. The vessel Is of 33,700 tons. Its four screws driven by oil-burning engines of 45,000
horse power.
__________________________________________________________________________
Where Vendetta
Still Prevails
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the crimes, no one was ever punished
by the law.
Code of Honor as It Is Enforced
in Sardinia, Corsica and
Agreed to Attend Mass Together.
Then some one huvlng authority
Elsewhere
suddenly listened to reason. All the
OIFFICULT TO STAMP OUT
Most Persistent Disciples Are Among
the Most Mild-Mannered and Most
Hospitable People In the World
—Ceremony of Reconcili
ation.
New York.—Vendetta still flourishes
In many purts of the old world, but
In no place Is It more flrmly estab
lished than In the Island of Sardinia.
Why It flourishes there Is » mys
tery still unsolved, for the Sardini
ans themselves are probably among
the mildest mannered men In the
world. Travel all over their Island
und you will he received with the
greatest hospitality.
There are few Inns, except In the
two or three chief towns, but Inns are
not needed, for every door Is open
to the stranger, the best of fare Is of
fered—nay, lavished with open hands
—the futted calf Is Instantly slain, the
cellars are ransacked for the oldest
wine. Indeed, you might almost start
a vendetta by refusing hospitality or
wanting to hurry away too soon I
So long ns you do not stnlle at the
women folk you are an honored guest
for a much longer time than you wish
to remain. Hut the etiquette about
women Is ns strict as lit any harem
land In the East, nnd no Intercourse
Is allowed with strangers.
Next to Sardinia lit the vendetta
business comes Corsica, where the peo
ple, utter all, are not very different.
There Is plenty of bloodshed In Sicily,
but It Is organized by a secret so
ciety und has nothing to do with ven
detta.
Alhanln runs the blood-feud on very
similar lines und Albania's hereditary
enemy, Montenegro, oddly enough,
cherishes almost the same traditions,
whereas the Serbians, the cousins of
the Montenegrins, are bloodthirsty In
quite n different way. It Is probably
not an accident (hut feuds and feudal
ism have the same derivation, and
clannish traditions must have some
thing to do with the custom, writes
Herbert Vivian.
hostile families—the Leporls, the I’es,
the Seazzus, the Spezzigas and the
Vasas—fur more hostile than the Mon
tagues and Cupulets, agreed to attend
a service of reconciliation together.
Their famous feud has been respon
sible for no fewer than 75 homicides
during the last 15 years. It ull began
'with the murder of Prof. Pier Felice
Stangonl, a widower who lectured at
the technical Institute of Sassarl.
What he had done Is not quite clear.
Some say lie had flirted with a Miss
Pes and then refused to marry her.
Another story Is that he was unin
tentionally killed by a mischievous
boy from nn unfriendly village. Any
how, the professor was taking a coun
try wulk with his three boys, Albert,
Mario and Arnold, when some one
lurking In the thickets suddenly bit
him on the forehead with a bullet
from a catapult and killed him ln-
stnntly.
There was a sensational trial and
tlie suspects were acquitted. A few
months luter, however, one of them,
Martin Pes, was killed. Thereupon
the authorities arrested Professor
Stangonl’s father-in-law, Paul Leporl,
a vigorous old man, und he was ac
quitted for lack of evidence. Assas
sinations followed with furious rapid
ity. Nicholas Vasa was seriously
wounded one day and killed the next.
Members of the various families
were found dead in lonely places or
disappeared and were never seen
again. An Immense amount of prop
erty was destroyed. Great numbers
of Innocent people went In dully fear
of tlielr lives.
Ceremony of Reconciliation.
son of Martin Pes, whom old Leporl
was accused of killing. Salvatore Is
now some forty years of age. Then
there were Mario and Arnold Stangonl,
sons of the first victim, well able to
remember the horror of their father’s
murder, Arnold In the uniform of an
ardlto (storm troopers), with two sli
ver medals earned by prowess In the
war.
After the benediction, old Paul Le
porl nnd Salvatore Pes solemnly em
braced nnd wept on each other’s
shoulders, amid the Intense emotion
nnd loud applause of the crowd. The
kissing became general nnd there were
solemn vows of mutual love and re
spect.
The Last Combat.
This Is the story of the latest rec
onciliation. Two families carried on a
feud until they were both nearly de
stroyed. They fought like wild beasts,
concentrating every nerve, every emo
tion, In the business of killing the tra
ditional foe. Year after year, In am
bush nnd open fight, members of both
families fell victims of the Implacable
rancor.
Oddly enough, however, tlie two
heads of the respective clans, sturdy
old
men,
remained
unmolested.
Youths and even children were laid
low, but the chiefs remained, like stal
wart oaks, undisturbed by the raging
tempest of crime.
At last they remained almost alone.
A few more murders and they would
have been the solitary representatives
of their slaughtered lines. They took
no special precautions to guard
against attack. In fact, one afternoon,
one of them was riding quietly back
to Sasearl, accompanied by a servant.
A few miles from home a shot re
sounded from behind a bill and he bit
the dust, lie shook himself and rose
to bis elbows, but lie knew that bis
hour had struck.
He called quietly to his servant.
“Take off the saddle,” he said. •
When tills was done lie took cover
very stealthily behind It, pointed his
gun In the direction from which death
had been let loose upon him.
Then he bade Ills servant run to
ward the town, shouting as he ran;
“My master Is dead 1”
Two hundred members came from
Deceived by Ruse.
fur and near to attend the ceremony
The man who lmd fired the shot
of reconciliation.
was completely taken In by this de
The boys of Templo seminary vice. First, he peered out cautious
walked first In the procession. Then ly; then Ills whole body appeared
came Monslgor Sanna, bishop of Tem above the hill. It was the chieftain
plo and Castelsnrdo, followed by the of the other family.
parish priest, the mayor with an Ital
The wounded man took a long, de
ian ling and an enormous crowd from liberate aim, fired nnd saw with sat
the whole countryside.
Penitential isfaction that he lind lilt Ills mark.
hymns were sung nnd mass was cele The servant came running back, re
brated In the oiien air uinld deep emo called by the shot, nnd to liim the old
tion.
man said grimly:
Then Father Dellglos, a famous
“Tell them to bring two biers, for
Franciscan preacher, spoke of the we are two dead men.” And so it
beauty of Sardinia, the hospitality of proved.
Part of Their Code of Honor.
They found the chieftain with his
The great difficulty that govern her people, always generous except
ments find In suppressing vendetta Is when carried away by traditional ha head resting on the hard pillow af
that Its disciples regard It ns part of treds. lie nlluded to the 75 victims forded by Ids snddle, and In death he
their code of honor. Men who go to nnd Invoked the blessing nnd pardon still clung to Ills gun. After this last
tragedy the few survivors of the two
church regularly nnd observe all the of heaven on the survivors.
Then the members of the hostile futilities consented to make pence, for
religious feasts—black-coated gentle
men o f Infinite respectability, who fnniilles were divided Into two long It seemed to them that they bad car
could be trusted anywhere with un flies and went up side by side to re ried out the law of vendetta to Its
told gold und frivolous females—nev ceive (lie episcopal benediction. There bitter end.
But vendetta Is In their blood—the
ertheless consider It their sacred duty was Paul Leporl, “Uncle Paul,” ns he
to slay the second cousin twice re Is known to the whole countryside, the very children play at vendetta. Just
moved of some one who has killed a Inther-in-lmv nnd nlleged avenger of as little Spaniards play nt bull lights.
member of tlielr family In legitimate the first victim, now ninety years of A trifling accident or a petty quarrel
self-defense, indeed, there Is a stigma 1 age, and very hoary, but still erect may easily lend to another feud last
ing for centuries and spreading a reign
on their whole clan If blood has not und vigorous.
Reside him was Salvndore I’es, the of terror over whole provinces.
been wiped out with blood. If many
molars lime not repaid a single tooth.
It ceases to be—It never Is, In fact—
a personal affair. It Is Just primitive,
savage justice.
lu Sardinia church and state have
been frantically at work for genera
tions trying to suppress the veudetta. I
but It Is very slow work.
From lime to time, however, rec- |
onetllatlous do take place. Sixty five !
years ago there was a solemn cere- j
niony of forgiveness between two fam- !
llles that had been at war for two een- '
turles, killing one another ami de
stroying one another's cuttle and j
farmsteads. It made an enormous
seusutlon, und marked an epoch In the j
history of the Island. Only the other 1
day there was a similar event, for ;
which the parish priest and the mayor
of Templo, amid the savage rockland
of Angina, are Jointly responsible.
Almost endless negotiations preced- I
ed the formal kiss of |>ence. No one (
wished to forego his vengeance; the
honor of five hostile families was nt
stake. Again and again, for a whole
A recent terrific » lud and * torrential rain conspired to drive this XTts-
generation, men anil boys have been sisslppl steamer on the tuod lints. The old vessel, on« of the last of the stern-
stabbed, and though everybody knew' driven variety for which the Mississippi was once famous, has been abandoned
the culprits and all the reasons for by her owners. Her back la broken and her sides are all wrenched.
Chisago.—Seated about a table at
dinner In a loop restaurant recently,
three Hammond residents carried on
un animated conversation about golf.
Earlier the talk bad dealt with ani
mals, artificial lee und Admiral Sims'
speech, but bud v.-ered around due to
a sincere effort on the part of two
women present to pleuse tlielr male
escort, Freddie Beckman, champion
amateur golfer of Hammond.
Since this story deals particularly
with Freddy, It must be understood
be has several laudable characteris
tics und accomplishments. Beckman
really Is n good golfer. Back lu clvU-
lzation lie Is at a disadvantage be
cause of Ills acute bashfulness, but
this affliction Is remedied for him in
circumstances demuuding instant ac
tion,
Beckman was very polite and nod
ded briskly whenever he was uppealed
to during the golf discussion, but sig
nally failed to register enthusiasm.
Golf Ball to Rescue.
It was Just after the conversation
bad swung back to animals that Beck
man’s moment came. Ills companions,
Mrs. Elene Meyn and "L. M.,” bad Just
finished their dessert when an uproar
arose near the band.
A woman shrieked and another and
a third. As one person, patrons of
that entire end of the restaurant rote
to their feet and mounted chairs.
“It’s a mouse and coming this way,"
cried Mrs. Meyn to Freddy.
There was no question it was a sec
ond Just made for the amateur golf
champ of Hammond. Ills hand stole
Into his coat packet and brought out
a golf ball. It was one he had made a
hole In “1” with just the day before,
and he was keeping it as a souvenir.
Balancing the ball In his hand, lie
gazed earnestly at the fleeing rodent,
headed straight for him. Then he
swung his arm In a long underhand
stroke and let the ball fly.
It flew across the ten feet of space
between Freddy and the mouse with
a swlsli. Perhaps the mouse moved a
trifle or maybe the ball was not ex
actly round—at any rate, the shot
missed by a hair.
Get* the Rodent.
A gasp went up, und ended In a
shout of wild laughter, for the boll,
Widow Gets Half Cent in
Breach of Promise Suit
London.—One-half cent dain-
nges was awarded to Mrs. Wini
fred Coales, a widow with two
children, of Blackborough road,
Relgate, who sued William C.
Cromwell, a motor engineer’s
clerk, of Brighton road, Redhlll,
for alleged breach of promise of
marriage, which she said was
made a few days after the death
of her husband, who was serv
ing with the Rhine army.
striking the wall with a thump,
bounded back and fitted snugly In the
exact middle of a rotund waiter’s an-
utomy.
The waiter bad remained to all ap
pearances petrified after the first
shriek, following the discovery of the
rodent, but at the advent of the golf
ball he bounded up with a howl. A
platter of food and drluk In his hands
fell to the floor and his nouns rose
louder as he saw the extent of the
casualties.
As the platter fell, Beckman
watched It with pop eyes, and then,
as tlie last echo of the crash died
away, he murmured to his compan
ions: “By gosh, I got that mouse after
all.”
Yes, you have guessed It—the plat
ter killed the mouse, Freddy’s shot
cost him $7.70 and a g ilf bull, how
ever.
WALES GETS FEUDAL GIFTS
Ceremonies 600 Years Old Are Revived
on Visit of Prince to
Cornwall.
Launceston, Cornwall, England.—
Picturesque feudal ceremonies of 600
years ago were revived here when the
prince of Wales, who is also duke of
Cornwall, paid a visit to the old-time
capital of hlg ducliy. Launceston hus
been a royal borough since about
1086.
The ceremonies Included the presen
tation of rent and “offerings of fealty”
In kind, according to ancient custom.
The mayor presented to the prince 100
shillings and one pound of pepper on
a silver dish.
To Sir Hugh Molesworth St. Aubyn
fell the duty to offer a brace of grey
hounds. According to ancient usage,
they shcnld be pure white, but the
nearest obtainable approach was a
well-matched piebald couple.
Another ducal tenant tendered a
pair of gilt spurs, and others present-
Octopus Seizes Boy,
Who Is Saved by Sister !
Eureka, Cal.—Word reached
here that a 16-foot octopua was
killed at Samoa, Humboldt
county, after It bad seized In Its
tentacles eight-year-old George
Peterson, son of a Eureka tug
captain. The octopus lashed out
with the other tentacles and
wrenched an oar from the bands
of a stater, who was trying to
rescue the lad. With another
oar she stunned the animal,
which loosened Its hold on tho
boy and crawled to nearby
rocks, where It was beaten to
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ed a pound of cumin, a salmon spear,
a faggot of wood, a pair of white
gloves and a rose.
Strangest of all these curious terms
of tenure Is one requiring the repre
sentatives of the manor of Swannacot
and St. Mary Week to present them
selves at the dneal court clad In man
tles of goatskins. The present-day
Incumbent, Bethuel Hutchings, stoical
ly endured this attire over the ordi
nary clothes on a broiling hot day.
His appearance suggested a blend of
a modern country tourist nnd Robin
son Crusoe.
The prince, much amused at the
vnriety of gifts, solemnly "confirmed
all the loyal tenants In their hold
ings."
TWO SWEPT THROUGH TUBE
Erie Workers Carried Nearly a Mils
When Temporary Dam Lets Go
in Storm.
Erie, Pa,—Carl Henderson and Axel
Mackl, employed in the construction
of the Mill creek water tube, were
swept nearly a mile through the 18-
foot concrete tube when a temporary
dam let go during a terrific rainstorm.
Both men were working Inside the
big tube when the dam let go. They
were carried to the lake and thrown
out upon the sand. Both will recover.
Nearly an Inch and a half of rain
fell In 20 minutes, flooding many cel
lars and Interfering with traffic.
REDS LOOK TO
SOUTH AMERICA
Bolshevist Leaders See Final
Haven of Refuge in Our
Neighboring Continent.
SAT LENIN IS WEAKENING
Intercepted Correspondence of Com
munist Officials Shows T hat Many
Octobrists
Are
Sending
Their Families Aboard.
Reval, Esthonla.—According to re
cently
Intercepted
correspondence
from communist officials In Moscow
to communist agents abroad, advising
them of the “Inside situation” in Rus
sia, South America Is looked on as a
final haven of refuge by many of tlie
less hopeful Bolshevik leaders In event
Russia becomes too hot for them.
One of these letters, recently pub
lished in n Reval newspaper, the Pos-
lednle Novostl, advises one of the offi
cial’s friends, who now Is apparently
Scouting for a New Scenic Road
In Germany, to "convert your valu
ables into dollars as frequently as you
can, or, better still. Into South Amer
ican currency.”
Saya Lenin Is Weakening.
"The Octobrists,” the letter adds,
meaning by them those communists
who participated In the October (1917)
revolution, "are frequently sending
their families abroad. Soon, It may
be, I shall send my wife across to you,
In which case try to put her up as
best you can.”
Referring to the political situation,
this communist wrote: “Illltch (mean
ing Lenin, that being, his middle name
by which he Is popularly known In
Russia) Is weakening. Zinovleff has
grown too fat. Trotzky alone re
mains as of old the unrecognized Na
poleon, but he Is ‘evolutlonlzlng’ also.”
In connection with the sending
abroad of the families of the Oc
tobrists, this letter goes on:
“Will you kindly keep a detailed
account of their arrivals and of their
means? Further, by a decision of the
military department of the party, I
want you to withdraw from the banks
all the deposits at your disposal and
put them In safe hands.
Bring It to Switzerland.
"Bring to Switzerland a third of the
‘Iron fund’ and hand It to B----- . The
rest can be left In Germany for any
eventualities.”
The writer constantly refers to the
ruling councils of the Bolshevlkt as
“the Olympians,” nnd remarks that
"our Olympus Is going the pace too
fast.”
"From January,” he says, "the situ
ation In the council of the party and
In the central committee hns come to
a point to the last degree. Tlie result
of these conflicts was the expulsion of
Comrades Krylenko, Bontch-Bouro-
vletch, Dubov, Blumenthal and many
others. This was the last gesture of
the gay party gods. For a word said
against Illltch, Krestlnsky or Zinovleff,
even not In public, ostracism Is immi
n e n t”
RACING FRAUD IN GERMANY
Old Steamship’s Back Is Broken
Promoters Fix Things So No One
Elee Gets Any of the Money.
Mrs. Mary J, Burton of Los Angeles Is pointing, for the benefit of Miss
Barbara Babcock of Salt Lake City, to the wonderful view of southern Utah’s
“Dixie country" as they stand on a high plateau. The girls are members of
a party opening the new scenic road from Zion National park, Utah, to the
north rtm of the Grand canyon.
Berlin.—Horse races In Germany
generally were honest affairs before
the war, but scandals are the rule
nowadays. Typical of the rest were
the recent Cartsliost races, under the
auspices of the Strausberg Racing
society, which so arranged matters as
to keep not only all the purses hut
also the amounts of the totalization
and registration fees.
Four horses ran In the so-called
Fredersdorf race. When the Jockeys
had galloped over more than three-
quarters of the distance they began
trotting, so that the first horse ar
rived at the starting point seven and
a half minutes after the agreed max
imum time.
According to the rules no purse was
paid and the money placed on the
horses and the registration fees went
to the treasury of tbe Strausberg Rac
ing society.