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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



158 



house where Garibaldi and his wife, 

 Anita, were given hospitality. 



In the far-off sixteenth century, the 

 Duke of Urbino found a haven here from 

 the Borgia confiscator, the Sammarinesi 

 helping him to escape to Venice, dressed 

 in peasant's clothes. 



SAN MARINO SENDS HER YOUTHS TO WAR 



Although doves soar undisturbed above 

 the Piazza della Liberta and San Marino 

 nourishes its ancient desire to be left in 

 peace, the Republic feels how impossible 

 it is to remain unaffected by the world 

 war. Naturally, the great effect on San 

 Marino is economic, but the spirit of hu- 

 manity, of liberty, has pulsed too strongly 

 for centuries in this little community to 

 permit it to be indifferent to the con- 

 flict surging about it. And so San Ma- 

 rino has shed its blood for the great 

 cause. Fifteen of its youths volunteered 

 in the Italian army. Two of them have al- 

 ready fallen upon the field of honor, three 

 are Austrian prisoners, and four have 

 been wounded. And San Marino, thrill- 

 ing with the cause of liberty against au- 

 tocracy, maintains a finely equipped hos- 

 pital at the Italian front, enthusiastically 

 replacing the one lost in last October's 

 disaster. 



Officially, San Marino is neutral. The 

 report that the Republic had declared war 

 against Austria — which was largely cir- 

 culated — is without foundation, say the 

 Sammarinesi. 



"What a ridiculous figure we would 

 cut — a little republic, without a standing 

 army, declaring war against a great bar- 

 baric horde," said Professor Onofrio 

 Fattori, councillor of 23 years' standing 

 and former regent. "The truth of our 

 relations is this : Several Sammarinesi 

 are prisoners, and when we attempted to 

 have them restored to us the Austrian 

 government replied that we were no 

 longer neutral, since our citizens were 

 fighting for Italy, and therefore the re- 

 quest could not be granted." 



The world recognizes San Marino as 

 an ally on the side of democracy. 



PRESIDENT WIDSON BREAKS A SAN 

 MARINO CUSTOM 



War has brought an unprecedented 

 breach of tradition in conservative San 

 Marino. It is only natural that the littlest 



republic in the world should admire the 

 biggest one; but as for the breaking of 

 an ancient custom — President Wilson has 

 accomplished that. Sammarinese babies, 

 at least one in every family, are named 

 after the patron saint. The others bear 

 names of different saints or of distin- 

 guished men of the Republic. On April 

 25, a son was born to the daughter of the 

 Sammarinese historian, the late Marino 

 Fattori. The family was pulsing with 

 President Wilson's historic address in 

 which he announced the breaking of re- 

 lations with Germany, and the parents 

 decided no other name should be given 

 the baby than that of the man they call 

 the great apostle of peace and liberty. 



So in La Pieve, with all the quaint 

 Sammarinese customs, Baby Reffi was 

 christened Wilson, and the records of the 

 Republic were given a decided innova- 

 tion. The fact that the letter "W" does 

 not exist in the Sammarinese alphabet 

 introduces a slight deviation from the 

 American pronunciation, but "Vilson" 

 conveys the idea quite satisfactorily. 



Naturally, the language of San Marino 

 is Italian, but the people use a dialect 

 which, though based upon Italian, is not 

 always recognizable. 



San Marino's love of established calm 

 has been disturbed by the same economic 

 problems which agitate the entire world. 

 On all supplies received from Italy this 

 land of peace is paying its war tax. 



Products which come from within the 

 Republic have not reached the high prices 

 of other countries. As cattle abound in 

 great numbers, meat is cheap. Eggs, 

 when selling for 7^ cents apiece in 

 Rome, were obtainable at 4^2 cents in 

 San Marino. It is doubtful if in any 

 other civilized country in the world a pair 

 of fine young chickens could be bought at 

 this time for four lire (about 80 cents). 



TAXES ARE INSIGNIFICANT, RENTS LOW 



Milk in bottles, carried in bag-shaped 

 baskets of straw by girls and women 

 from the farms below to the city, created 

 an unheard-of scandal when it sold for 

 50 centimes (about ten cents) a quart. 

 Though prices have increased enor- 

 mously, on account of buying from out- 

 side markets, living is cheaper in San 

 Marino than elsewhere. 



Taxes are so insignificant and rents so 



