THE INTERNAL CRISIS OF FASCISM 169
their arrangements by the end of November. Between 150
and 160 deputies joined the new alliance. The fascists,
quit of the peace pact, which had not worried them much,
resumed their acts of violence, which included the assassina-
tion of the socialist deputy Di Vagno in Apulia, and of the
socialist Boldori, president of the Cremona provincial
council of deputies, who was beaten to death in the road.
For funeral speech he had the fascist comment: fi It was not
our fault his skull was so thin.5 A new attack was made
on the Ldvoratore in Trieste, and a compositor was murdered.
This caused a general strike in protest, proclaimed by the
Printers' Federation.
The government issued fresh regulations on the c disarma-
ment of citizens ' ordering searches to be made and arms
seized. These measures were ineffective, for the government
only went half-way and left to local authorities the final
responsibility for breaking up the armed leagues. According
to the regulations : c headquarters are to be occupied, arms
confiscated, the bearing of arms forbidden to all members of
armed bands, who are eventually to be reported to the legal
authorities in extreme cases, such as are mentioned in articles
253, 254 of the Penal Code (on those who cc organize armed
bands and belong to them") '. But how many of these
prefects and sub-prefects, when left to decide for themselves,
were likely to go so far ? The regulations left loop-holes for
endless evasion and connivance. A few searches were made,
chiefly in People's Houses and headquarters of socialist
syndicates, to seize any arms that might possibly still be
there, and leave the field clear for the fascist attack. Mem-
bers of several arditi del popolo were arrested and sentenced
by the magistrates without pity. Strict observance of the
law would have meant the occupation by the authorities of
each fascist base from which punitive expeditions set out,
and the arrest of squadristi. They contented themselves with
a few searches. But the arms which they should have found
were often supplied by the military, and when a search was
arranged the leaders offasci were warned, and had plenty
of time to take them to a safe place, sometimes even the
cellars of police headquarters or of the prefecture. Nothing
was ever found, therefore, and next day the squads would