SOCIETIES, Criminal. To find the origin of the idea that has given the world its criminal associations it would be necessary to conduct the search into the realm of fables, for if there has been a time when bands of outlaws have not levied tribute upon poorly protected property, history is silent upon that point. Modern brains only have comprehended the full possibilities of the co-operative idea as applied to the commis sion of crime, but the earliest applications of the theory, however crude, were probably quite effective. When in the 11th century, Assan ben-Sabbah, the "Old Man of the Mountains,° securely protected in his rocky fortress, in spired and directed the horrible crimes of his great band of devoted, hashish-drunken fol lowers, he taught the world a new truth and presented it with a new word, neither of which have been forgotten. The truth was the first clear demonstration of the fact that when asso ciated crime is well organized and carefully directed, ordinary methods of protection are powerless to cope with it. The word was "assassin,° the title derived from his own name, which he bestowed upon his band. From that time the criminal association has been too serious a matter to be the inspiration of either song or story. Any attempt to tell the story of the modern criminal society begins with the Camorra and the Mafia, the two most powerful organizations of the kind the world has ever known. Born and nurtured in Italy, at the dawn of the 19th century, they grew and waxed strong until the one-time clubs of petty crimi nals had become the gigantic octopus which overawed the entire country and threatened to cause the downfall 31-41e government which had so carelessly development of a lawless course. Efforts ham been made, of late, to cast the shadow of uncert ty upon the primary purpose of these societies. t has been suggested that they were originally ganizations of patriots who had banded together to protest against existing tyrannies. A careful study of the history of the time, however, and a close examination of the earliest works of the associations will prove the fallacy of such a theory. Instead of having a noble past to look upon, these organizations have always been bands of me most heartless criminals, a con stant menace to any government and to all laws.
For some time before the Camorra's time, Italy had been writhing in agony beneath the heels of the most corrupt and incompetent body of officials who ever attempted to rule a nation. The one .object of the government was to ex tract as much money as possible from the peo ple and to give absolutely nothing in return. Taxes which were high were collected relent lessly, but little of the money obtained wz.s ex pended for the benefit of those who had been taxed. Governmental works were at a stand still, government officials were unpaid and the immense sums of money which had been ex torted from the people were wasted upon royal favorites. Little by little the corruption in high places permeated the whole fabric of society. Justice became a thing unknown. If suit was brought the richest man won, for there was not a judge in the land who was not willing to sell his decision to the highest bidder. Acting upon the same principle the police became the partners of the criminal. As personal wrong and of fenses against the laws were never punished, crime became 'rampant. The poor, robbed by the rich, proceeded to recover from their op pressors by force that which had been taken from them by process of law, and life became a thing of little value.
Then came the French, with their peculiar form of oppressions, which culminated in the theory that a man in prison was a more tracta ble subject than a man at large. In pursuance of this idea thousands of arrests were made, and the men, unconvicted, were left behind the bars.
In a week the poor penal accommodations of the country were taxed to the last limit, but, as the work had only just commenced, castles were seized and turned into prisons. Having arrested their men, however, the French dis missed them from mind. "We will watch them to prevent their escape," they said, "but we will let the local authorities feed them.° But as the local authorities had too much trouble to raise the indemnities demanded by the con querors to think of bothering themselves about men who were securely locked behind iron bars, prisoners who were not blessed with independ ent means had no other option than to starve. As the natural result the strong commenced to prey upon the weak and anyone who had money was robbed without mercy. Among the prison ers there was one in whose brain lodged the seed of socialism. This man was Antonio GiapereHi, and to him belongs the somewhat doubtful honor of having organized the first society of the Camorra. He had noticed that, while new prisoners were always robbed im mediately upon their arrival, few of the inmates of the prison profited by these robberies, and he suggested a plan providing for the systematic fleecing of all newcomers, the plunder to be shared equally among all the prisoners. The suggestion met with the approval of the ma jority and the scheme worked so well that it was not long before the plan was adopted in eVriric prison in Italy. For a time the organiza tion of4he Camorra was thus confined within prison walls, but as the members were released it was suggested that a plan that had worked so well under circumstances in which the oppor tunities for plunder were so meagre might ad vantageously be extended. Up to the year 1828 the word Camorra had no meaning except to those who had made the acquaintance of the society in some prison, but during that year the name was written in letters of blood that made all Italy tremble. One day -t merchant in the city of Naples was visited by a stranger who asked him to contribute to support of the "Camorra." Not knowing the n:an, and never having heard of such an orgApization, he naturally refused. The visitor insbted and the merchant was finally compelled to, eject him from the shop. Other stores were visited, with a like result, and the strange collector disap peared as he had come, unknown to all. The next day Naples had its sensation. When the wife of the first merchant had attempted to waken her husband she had found him 'lead in bed, and the stiletto that pierced his heart held to his breast a placard on which it was stated that his death was the result of his refu4a1 to assist in the support of the Camorra. A diy or two passed, just time enough to allow the story to become generally known, and then another stranger appeared upon the streets of the city. Store after store was visited and the same re quest was made, but this time the words, the Camorra" carried such frightful import that many merchants submitted to the black mail. Some refused, however, and the gext morning the murder of another business than warned the people of the uselessness of their attempt to withstand the demands of the order.