260 THE RISE OF ITALIAN FASCISM
a telegram to d'Annunzio hoping for his return to health,
one of the leaders of the syndicate said :
c A few days before his accident some of the railwaymen's
delegates had a long conversation with d'Annunzio.
We are certain to have the support of the majority of the
railwaymen, and with d'Annunzio we shall soon have a
formidable organized bloc of workers. At the moment
we have only the sailors and the railwaymen, but other
strong and important federations are ready to follow our
example.'
A Rome paper announced that' for some time there have
been signs of d'Annunzian tendencies among the post office
workers, and it is not impossible that before long the P.T.T.
may make a decision similar to that of the railwaymen'.
The Federation of Legionaries of Fiume busied itself about
preparing a c Syndical constituent assembly', which was to
build up working-class unity afresh round d'Annunzio and
his programme.
All this time d'Annunzio was also trying to gain the
support of various politicians, among them Nitti, who at
the time of Fiume had been his bite noire. But he preferred
Nitti to Giolitti, because he could not forgive e that butcher'
for turning him out of Fiume. Besides, to the poet Nitti
seemed an c expert3 in economic and financial matters, and,
moreover, an expert with culture and imagination.
D'Annunzio's envoy went to Agnano, where Nitti was
taking the waters, and laid before him the soldier-poet's
scheme for a great ' reconciliation of all ex-soldiers'. Nitti
agreed to meet d'Annunzio, but on certain conditions.
He refused to go to Gardone, because d'Annunzio had too
heinously insulted him in the past; he knew that d'Annunzio
would never so humiliate himself as to come to him. So it
was arranged to meet at a neutral spot, half-way between
Gardone and Rome. Nitti also pointed out that no pacifica-
tion would be possible if Mussolini were not present. Further
he demanded guarantees for his personal safety, since to
reach the rendezvous in Tuscany he had to go through
country swarming with riotous fascist squads to whom he
would be fair game. All arrangements on these lines were