The Corsican Bandits The French Government has instituted a campaign
against the Corsican bandits. So long as they were merely outlaws who, in satisfaction of some private feud, had killed their enemies and taken refuge in the " maguis " or wilderness, the authorities took little notice of them. Blood feuds are traditional in Corsica, and Merimee, Seton Merriman and many other novelists have used the melodramatic theme to good purpose. The outlaws rarely interfered with ordinary travellers. But in recent years Corsican desperadoes have adopted the methods of American gangsters, dividing up the island into so many " rackets " and preying upon postal contractors, mill owners, and other civilians. A rascal named Bartoli, who was recently shot by one of his intended victims, had burnt down a hotel because he was refused blackmail. The French Government rightly feels that crime of this sort cannot be tolerated. Large numbers of gendarmes, with armoured cars, have been drafted into Corsica and they began on Monday to beat up Bartoli's headquarters on the eastern side of the island and to arrest his followers. Within a few weeks Corsica should once again be safe for tourists.
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