THE GAPORETTO OF SOCIALISM 193
In the Italian penal code there were clauses forbidding
armed assemblies and punishing the formation of armed
companies.1 The Facta government made no more effort
to apply them than had the Bonomi government which it
succeeded. Decrees of dissolution were very rare, and were
imposed only when the scum of the population, lavishly
distributed among thefasci, and particularly in the fighting
squads, got out of hand and threatened to compromise
fascism and its allies too greatly. The following, for example,
were the grounds for a decree of dissolution issued by the
prefect of Venice against the squad of the c Knights of
Death ' in June 1922 :
c. . . The Association of the Knights of Death in the
town and province of Venice largely consists of elements
which, in view of their penal and political antecedents,
must be adjudged dangerous to public order; . . . the
said Association, while affecting patriotic and humani-
tarian aims, actually directs its activities to personal ends
and for unlawful profit, for it carries out unjustified and
illegal reprisals ; imposes on traders, business men and
private citizens levies which are fixed by the leaders of
the Association themselves ; settles disputes of a private
character by illegitimate means and through intimidation
of the public by the arrogant bearing of its members ;
seizes houses against the will and the interest of those who
have the right to dispose of them ; aids arrested persons
to escape ; forces citizens to submit to the violation of
their rights of assembly and circulation ; imposes lock-
outs and the closing of shops, the removal of badges and
emblems and the flying or lowering of flags. . . .'
Similar crimes and worse could be imputed to all the
fasci ; but they were allowed to carry on their illegal and
even criminal activities quite openly, without being dis-
turbed and without any legal sanction being invoked
against them.
Nevertheless, in spite of this unending and widespread
violence, and partly because of it, Italian public opinion
was turning away from fascism. Mussolini referred to this
1 P. 169.
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