l88 THE RISE OF ITALIAN FASCISM
almost two-thirds of the Chamber abstaining. Under the
Facta ministry the local authorities, now entirely reassured,
placed themselves more and more at the service of thefasci.
Italo Balbo noted this with satisfaction in his Diary : e We
are masters of the situation,' he writes, with reference to
Ferrara. c We have not only broken down the resistance of
our enemies, but we also control the departments of state.
The Prefect has to submit to the orders I give him in the
name of the fascists.'
Justice had become a one-sided affair. In the early
months of 1922, in Rome, Venice, Vercelli, Cerignola
(Apulia), Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Florence, Alessandria, all
fascists accused of murder and e private violence' were
acquitted and borne away in triumph by their friends.
Those who had gone too far were sent for a trip abroad, to
Flume, or simply to another town. In Signor Chiurco's
History one can trace the wanderings during several months
of one of the squadrista leaders, Giovanni Passerone, an
ex-lieutenant, who had distinguished himself in several
engagements at the head of the Montferrato squads. He had,
for example, attacked the Chamber of Labour at Casale
(March 6, 1921) ; he had taken part with his squad in puni-
tive expeditions with the fascists of Lomellina (Marches) ;
he had burnt the Balzola (Casale) Chamber of Labour ;
he had gone to Valenza (Alessandria) to complete the
destruction begun by the local fascists (June 9). After May
his progress became more colourful. On May 19 he went to
Casale Popolo, and * as a revenge against the local Chamber
of Labour band, which had refused to play at a fascist
celebration % he entered the hall where the band was
playing, turned out the women and children and beat up
the musicians, forcing them to surrender their instruments,
'which were carried in triumph to the Casale fascia \l
About thirty people were wounded on this expedition.
Next day he was arrested for robbery with violence, but the
fascists mobilized, c and the authorities were forced to free
him a few hours later'. On June 12 he went to Asti with
eleven squadristi from Casale, e Avoiding the Royal Guards,
the soldiers and the police, the squadristi did their work
1 The passages quoted are taken from Ghiurco's History.