THE MARCH ON ROME 33!
in a speech : ' We await with confidence the imperial Italy
which is to come.5
The population everywhere stood by, surprised but
passive., while these decisive events were taking place.
There were a few incidents here and there, such as took
place every Sunday in Italian towns and countryside.
Barricades were set up in Parma ; in Rome shots were fired
in the suburb of San Lorenzo, through which the black-
shirts of the Bottai column passed on their way to the centre
of the town. That was all. The fascist squads, on the other
hand, took advantage of their mobilization in almost every
district to occupy newspaper offices, set fire to Chambers of
Labour, ransack private apartments and turn out such
socialist councils as had survived previous offensives.
The so-called leaders of the working class lost no oppor-
tunity of showing their incapacity, right up to the last
moment. The communists, although persuaded c that no
defence is possible against such overwhelmingly powerful
forces V suggested that the Alliance of Labour should be
immediately reconstructed and a general strike proclaimed.
They were quite aware that nothing could come of this,
but their own reaction to the tragic events which had sealed
the fate of the Italian people was to suggest this feeble
manoeuvre, which would give them a chance to do nothing
and cry c treason ' at the General Confederation of Labour.
The leaders of the Confederation very properly denounced
this as a piece of communist provocativeness, but did so in
a statement which contained this shameful passage : ' The
General Confederation of Labour feels that it is its duty
when political passions are running high and forces alien
to the workers5 syndicates are disputing the power of the
state, to warn the workers against the speculations and incite-
ments of political parties and groups which would drag the
proletariat into a struggle in which it must take absolutely
no part.'
Most of the anti-fascists did not realize how serious
things were. People's nerves had been on edge for too
long and the first impression was of relief and resignation.
They mostly thought: c On the whole, things are better
1 Ramgna communista^ 31 October, 1922, p. 1454.
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