• 224 THE RISE OF ITALIAN FASCISM
to be closed once more, and closed more firmly than before ;
but socialist officials were to be replaced by fascist ones, or
were to change their labels. In the meantime two great
results were obtained : a death-blow was struck at the
political and economic mainstays of the ultra-reformist
socialism of Genoa, and wages in the port were considerably
reduced.
The method by which this victory was gained is not
without interest. The orders of July 311 had been carried
out, and on the summons of the Genoa fascio^ the squads of
Carrara, commanded by Renato Ricci, reached the town
in a short time c after destroying the Chamber of Labour in
Spezia on the way 5.2 Other squads came from Alessandria,
led by the fascist deputy Torre. The Fascist Party attached
exceptional importance to the conquest of Genoa, and the
committee of action formed in the town included, besides
Ricci and Torre, Massimo Rocca, a member of the party
executive, Edmondo Rossoni, the secretary of the Con-
federation of Fascist Syndicates, and the deputy De Stefani,
afterwards finance minister in Mussolini's first cabinet : in
short, a small general staff for the direction of the campaign.
During the strike there was fighting almost everywhere, and
the workers held out until August 4. The state forces came
to the help of the fascists ; armoured cars and machine-guns
were brought into action and the last barricades destroyed.
The railway staff were forced to give in, and on the morning
of the 5th most of them returned to work. But the fascist
leaders were determined to gain all the objects for wrhich
the ' march on Genoa9 had been planned. The co-
operative societies and socialist unions in the port had to be
destroyed. All the economic activities of the port were
under the control of a public body, the Autonomous Con-
sortium of the Port.* representing all the different interests
and presided over by the senator Ronco. The Consortium
controlled and distributed labour and without it the fascists
could not have gained their hold over the * system'. On
August 5 the strike ended, butc in the morning the committee
1 P. 219, section 4.
2 The passages quoted are taken from Ghiurco's History.
8 Consorzw Autonomo del Porto di Genova.