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WHAT IS FASCISM
AND WHY?

EDITED BY

TOMASO SILLANI

(LA RASSEGNA ITALIANA)

NEW YORK. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

INTRODUCTION

ITALY AS COLLABORATOR IN WORLD PEACE

This volume demonstrates the tremendous effort which Italy through
the work of Fascism, its laws and the institutions created and perfected
by it, has made, and continues to make, in all fields of civil activity.
Its several chapters, which constitute genuine documents written by
men of the greatest authority and responsibility, describe how the Ital
ian State has been legally transformed, what is the nature of its cor
porative arrangement, on what financial bases the strengthening of the
nation proceeds, what are the developments of agriculture, of land re
clamation, of industry, of communications in Italy and her colonies, how
the regime fights for the solution of the demographic problem and for
the betterment of the race, how it works in the field of culture, schools,
education of the young, in what way it provides for the development
of the Kingdom - in short, it illustrates how imposing is the mass of
public works which bear the sign of the fasces and which will be num
bered in the future among the most eloquent testimonials of this period
of Italian history.

Naturally, of all the undertakings which the Fascist regime fosters,
coordinates, and promotes, there are recorded here only those of essential
importance and original stamp, to be considered almost as the lineaments
of the new Italy. But they are organic and definitive and from them is
derived the now evident character of all Fascist policy; the peaceful de
velopment of Italy, in open contrast with the biassed legends which depict
her as dominated by a dream of dangerous adventures, which even
denounce as menaces to world peace the words she pronounces or the
steps she takes in behalf of the elementary necessities of her own existence
and defence. Truth can be hidden but not suppressed; it is now begin
ning to appear in full lucidity.

In fact, (among the nations of the world, Italy is the one which, in
proportion to her rank as a great Power and her right of equality with
the greatest Powers, makes the smallest expenditure for armaments. She
has always sought with sincere and dignified consistency, not only to
establish peaceful relations with the peoples to whom her own interests
are most directly linked, but also to contribute, as--^4ll--beri?hown -below,
to the pacification of Europe, after the tragic events of the Great Wax)

How could she act otherwise ? When a nation carries out internally
the incessant work of which this volume represents the grandiose propor
tions, and dedicates to that work the greatest part of its financial re
sources and energies, it can certainly have neither the time nor the mater
ial possibility of thinking about preparing or making a chimerical war.
^Italy's international relations, as expressed by the organic develop
ment of her foreign policy, are throe in perfect harmony with the character
and development of her domestic policy. }It is therefore of primary

6 What is Fascism and why?

importance, in presenting this volume to foreigners, that her foreign
policy be methodically recorded, so that it may be seen to what extent
this runs parallel to the internal policy of peaceful improvement and
fall development of the soil and national resources, as well as the form
ation of a pacific spirit in the new generations.

-"""*" On its advent to power, Fascism found Italy's international posi
tion weakened and compromised by the Governments which had preceded
it, and European international relations greatly disturbed and menaced
by violently conflicting influences in the first uneasy period of the ap
plication of the peace treaties.

With unwavering firmness, in the space of a little more than eight
years, Fascist policy, dictated by Mussolini, has led Italy from the ruinous
state of the post-war period to the overcoming of that diffidence which
accompanied it; to the adjustment of uncertain international relations; to
the attainment of prestige, and financial and political autonomy. Conse
quently Italy, maintaining a position of the first rank among the great
Powers, has been able to develop together with them an efficacious
pacific policy in the face of the greatest problems of international politics.

Thus having reached an ever-increasing liberty of action, Fascist
policy began to take a leading part in solving the grave questions that
demanded world settlement in the period following the War. It has
been at hand during each of the phases of the long Franco-German con
troversy; it has shared in the systematize tion of the financial problems
arising out of the peace treaties, and has devoted its own efforts to
the policy of peace, participating with a loyal spirit in the meetings at
Geneva and in the various disarmament conferences, and giving its own
original stamp to the creation of the project of Pan- Europe. By the
Lateran Agreements it secured the inestimable gift of religious peace for
the Italian people.

Time and again, the various stages through which this policy haa
passed have revealed the singleness of purpose competing them and
the spirit that inspired the whole - a strong sense of national dignity
together with a realistic grasp of facts - a spirit sincerely devoted to
that peace which in the world today is tho indispensable condition for
common salvation and for the conquest of a better future.

The very first years of Fascist foreign policy, had been occupied with
the liquidation of the past, abstaining meanwhile from any conduct which
might have compromised the unstable European order. The aim was
to obtain that " certainty " in the political field and that liberty of
action which alone could permit the free development of Fascist political
autonomy. In short, it was a policy of " basic settlement. "

Thus one of the first acts of the Fascist government was that of
solving the burning question of Fiume, the complex problem which the
preceding Governments had left till then unsolved, Italy, by the accord

Introduction (Italy as collaborator in World Peace) 7

reached with. Jugoslavia, was able to annex the city of Fiume, while
Jugoslavia was assured a secure outlet for her export commerce through
the concession of a fifty year lease of one of the principal docks, modernly
equipped. ^ The Fiume accord was completed by a pact of Italo- Jugoslav
friendship, signed at Rome January 17, 1924. Fascist Italy hoped that
this would end the tension of political relations between Italy and Jugo
slavia and create between the two countries an atmosphere of reciprocal
understanding and peaceful collaboration in the great movements toward
peace.

Today, at a distance of seven years from the signing of the Pact of
Rome, one is perhaps led to conclude that the generous vision of the Fa
scist Government has not always found a response or complete under
standing on the part of Jugoslavia. It is certain that the authorities
of the neighbouring State have shown themselves little disposed to use
the port establishments at Fiume, for the dock leased to Jugoslavia has
been little or not at all utilized by her trade while, in the political field,
the treaty of friendship has not brought all the fruits which could and
should be expected from it.

Nevertheless, the agreements signed at Rome January 17, 1924, by
settling the territorial question, have ended a dispute which had lasted
for more than five years, causing anxiety in all the chancelleries of
Europe, and constituted a grave disturbing element in the relations
between the two neighbouring countries. The Pact of Rome has thus
been one of the most significant acts of Fascist foreign policy and must
be considered as a success of essential value for the cause of peace.

Convinced that Adriatic peace was a condition indispensable to Euro
pean peace, the Fascist government proposed to remove the possibility
of disturbance on the Albanian chess-board. Its policy, on an obvious
foundation of reason, has thus been directed toward giving internal se
curity to Albania, guaranteeing its government a period of tranquillity
and peace, and assisting in the development of its economic resources.

The two Tirana Pacts of 1926 and 1927 have established the basis
on which Albania, with Italy's loyal support, is rapidly taking her place
among civilized nations. The last Albanian revolution occurred a week
before the conclusion of the first Tirana Pact; since its signature, No
vember 22, 1926, Albania has at last experienced that internal harmony
which has permitted her to advance toward prosperity. Five years have
passed in unbroken calm; and the progress of the country in all fields
- economic, cultural, and technical demonstrates that, thanks to Ital
ian policy, in the place of a former element of European preoccupation,
there is now a new element of Adriatic and international peace.

One may say that France has followed a single policy since the
Great War - that of attempting to obtain security against the renewal of
the German menace through guarantees from the other Powers. Both the

8 What is Fascism and why?

hope of the Rhine frontier and the British- American guarantee promised
by Wilson and Lloyd George, having failed, France embarked upon the
strong policy of intransigent application of the letter of the Treaties, and
decided to occupy German territory. At this stage of the controversy,
Europe's desire for peace acquired an importance at least equivalent to
the direct interests of the two contendents. Therefore, the right of in
tervention on the part of the signatories of the Versailles treaty assumed
the aspect of a genuine duty from which no Power guaranteeing the peace
of Europe could think of withdrawing itself. Britain, now more closely
bound to France by virtue of the recent peace, proceeded to occupation
in a lesser degree, but in line with the French and Belgians. Italy, less
closely bound, was able to strike the happy compromise of being present,
as was essential, at an event where the near future of Europe might
be settled, while holding in reserve the trump card of her position as
a balancing factor; and thus resolved to send a mission of experts,
through whom she gave evidence of participation in events, while actually
abstaining from military sanction.

The period of sanctions was soon outlived. Economically disadvan
tageous and politically dangerous, since a progressive isolation was be
coming manifest as Britain withdrew her support, and resistance and
rancour were being re-kindled in Germany, the policy of sanctions gra
dually diminished in value until conditions developed which rendered
possible an alteration of the course.

Finally convinced that Britain had ended her dispute with Germany
and was returning to her traditional policy of maintaining a balance of
power on the continent, France was constrained to seek in a new policy
of accords that security which was no longer possible through a policy
of sanctions. At the same time the possibilities of a direct understand
ing were facilitated by the almost simultaneous appearance of the Cartel
in France and the Labour Party in England, of the parallel development
of democratic institutions in Germany and the first approaches between
French and German industries of the Rhine and Ruhr.

Germany cordially welcomed this tendency toward a direct under
standing, and thus a new phase in Franco- German relations was begun.
In this phase, Italy sought to become, as she had planned, one of the es
sential elements in the eventual Franco-German accord which was to con
stitute the point of departure for any successive development of European
politics. Italy's clear policy had successful issue, and she became one of
the guarantors of the Locarno pacts of 1925 and of Thoiry of 1926, with
rights and duties equivalent to those of Great Britain. The moral posi
tion which she assumed at the side of Great Britain, between the two
major European contendents, had a value which surpassed the actual
content of the stipulated accords.

The Franco-German understanding did not last as long as was hoped

Introduction (Italy as collaborator in World Peace) 9

in the beginning, but Italy's new prestige outlived it and assured her
steady ascent from a position little less than humiliating to one of recog
nized parity, in fact and in right, with the other great Powers.

Through the Locarno pacts Germany obtained admission to the League
of Nations and introduced there the anti- Versailles policy which had pre
viously developed outside. Thus was closed the period of exclusion of
this great nation from international society. Italy now proposed two objec
tives: a better regulation of reparations, with their annulment as the ulti
mate ideal; and the gradual disarmament of the Allies, as provided in
the Covenant of the League. At the same time, the gradual receding of
the war years, the hard experience and disappointments resulting from the
frequent change of political methods and ideals, the diffusion of a sense
of solidarity among peoples interested in attaining a balance indispen
sable to economic recovery and political and social security - to the
very conservation of western civilization itself - all contributed to direct
international political forces toward the same problems with which the
new German policy was concerned. Thus the whole recent phase of in
ternational politics has hinged on a double aspect of the problem of re
construction: the settlement of international financial relations, and the
realization of disarmament.

In the recent period of international politics, Italy has had the merit
of formulating the solution of problems which time and necessity have
finally led all the Powers to accept: for problems of a financial nature,
the connexion between debts and reparations, with the tendency toward
the progressive reduction of all burdens; and for the political problems,
disarmament accepted as the basis for the attainment of security, in con
trast with the current conception which, subordinating disarmament to
security obtained by means of the guarantees of conventions, creates
the vicious circle of so-called pacific measures which arouse distrust and
rancour and necessitate an increase rather than a reduction of arma
ments.

Italy's policy has therefore been preeminent in the last years, which
have successively brought about the Dawes Plan, the adjustment of separate
war debts, the Young Plan and the creation of the Bank of International
Settlements; and, in the political field, the signing of the Kellog Pact,
the agreements between Italy and the Vatican, the London Conference
for naval disarmament, the project of Pan-Europe and, finally, the Franco-
Italian naval accord of 1931.

While Italy saw her thesis gradually predominate in the develop
ment of each international problem, she was evolving at the same time her
own particular policy of peace and concluding treaties of friendship and
collaboration with other States, more actively than any other European
nation. Among these treaties, of special importance is that with Soviet

10 What is Fascism and why?

Russia, marking the first real recognition of that new political force (1), to
which it extends the invitation of collaboration which may have incalcu
lable effects in the future; and the treaty with Turkey and Greece in
1928, clearing the horizon at a time when an ancient and dangerous rivalry
seemed to be reviving in the Mediterranean. By virtue of Italy's timely
intervention, a dissension which threatened grave repercussions in the
Balkans and the Near East was replaced by a political and economic
collaboration which benefitted all Europe.

International financial policy hinges on two associated questions:
the systematization of international debts, and the settlement of repara
tions due to the Allies. After the indecisive period of sanctions following
the treaties of peace, the first step toward the settlement of financial
problems was made by the adoption of the Dawes Plan which, although
it left undecided the amount and duration of payments, had the merit
of a first definition of terms and a determination of sanctions in a
manner more favourable to Germany.

In this first period, Italy had already offered to the cause of European
peace the greater part of her financial benefits derived from the treaties,
by conceding a moratorium to her principal debtors - Austria, Hungary
and Bulgaria. In regard to Austria, above all, the Italian sacrifice had
been heavy, considering that it was precisely on the Austrian debt that
the greater proportion of Italy's quota of reparations was based.

In practice, the Dawes Plan functioned satisfactorily for a period of
four years, permitting the gradual establishment in Europe of new economic
and political conditions which were instrumental in further lightening
international financial encumbrances. In addition, the accords between
the three Western Powers and America, and between Italy, France and
Britain themselves, greatly reducing the debts and scaling them over
a long period of years, thus making possible an eventual parallel reduction
of the German debts; the increasing recognition on the part of the victors
that the transfer of riches constitutes for the creditor, if not a danger,
at least an economic benefit small in comparison with what had been expec
ted; the removal from the spirit of war, and the prevailing conviction
of the absolute necessity for a reconstructive peace that would benefit
all, prepared the ground for a reconsideration of the financial obligations
resulting from the war.

The Conference of the Hague assembled in the summer of 1929 for
the purpose of adopting a settlement of reparations which could be sub
stituted for the Dawes Plan. Inspired as it was by the concept of further
reduction of transfers under the title of reparations, and of a precise
definition of the terms and quotas, its conclusions marked a decisive Ital-

(1) The British treaty, although preceding Italy' s by a week, was ja bare recognition
without concrete content - a mere affirmation of a principle of the Labour Cabinet on its
coming to power.

Introduction (Italy as collaborator in World Peace) 11

ian diplomatic success - a tactical success in the negotiations, and a
final political success in so far as the Young Plan accepted the old
Italian thesis, " Mussolini's true prophetic foresight" of the relationship
between debts and reparations. In the Young Plan, in fact, a clear
distinction is made between the sums due from Germany as reimburse
ment for war debts and those due as actual reparations. Thus these
latter will no longer be due in the last twenty-two years of the duration
of the pact, while the former will continue until the inter-allied debts are
extinguished.

The creation of the Bank of International Settlements, provided for
by the Hague accords of 1930 in which the Young Plan was adopted,
made a visible connection between financial policy and the general ques
tion of world peace, thus giving evidence of the unification of all tenden
cies directed toward the political and financial reconstruction of Europe.

To the policy of disarmament, which in recent years had become th&
I backbone of international politics, Italy has given her fullest cooperation]
\anticipating events in her characteristic manner of considering problems.
While in the rest of Europe there still prevailed the severity of the first
narrow interpretation of the treaties, Italy adopted the policy of friendly
collaboration with her enemies of the war, concluded accords with Hungary,
brought military control in Austria and Hungary to an end, sacrificed
all or almost a 1 ! of the sum due to her, in order to reach the internation
al agreement of the Hague in 1929, and was the first to disseminate,
through the words of the Head of the Government, the idea that it would
be of universal benefit to re-examine the onerous conditions dictated by
the spirit of war and incorporated in the Treaties of 1919.

As in the financial field, with her principles of the interdependence
of debts and reparations and of the necessity of proceeding toward the
ideal annulment of financial claims which tend to perpetuate the dangers
of war, so in the parallel field of disarmament, Italy's principles have been
affirmed in the progressive development of international policy. The
Italian thesis of the relativity and interdependence of armaments, and
the principle she constantly kept in mind of reduction and not mere
limitation, have now orientated the policy of all States in the most recent
phase of the disarmament problem.

Even before the London Conference of 1930, Italy had proclaimed
the essential lines of her policy of peace, in the formula of Mussolini:
" Any level of armament, even the lowest, as long as it be unsurpassed
by any other continental nation." In London this thesis was made more
precise by the proposals for the abolition of capital ships, the eventual
correlative abolition of submarines, and for a naval holiday until 1936
in the construction of large ships permitted by the Washington treaty.
And it was due to Italian diplomatic initiative, which did not abate its
efforts during the course of the year 1930, no less than to the increasing

12 What is Fascism and why ?

prevalence of a pacific spirit in French and English policies, that at the
beginning of 1931 it was possible to hasten the settlement of the dead
issues of London, and to conclude the Franco-Italian agreement on na
val disarmament. This perfected the Five Power Agreement of London,
and indirectly extended to all seas its pacific influence; it cleared the po
litical horizon as perhaps no other international pact could have cleared
it, laid the foundation of the Disarmament Conference of 1932, and -
last but not least - it lightened military budgets by curtailing the expen
ditures already planned, and by avoiding the even greater expenditures
which would probably have resulted from a race of armaments. Arul
it did this at a moment especially difficult for the various State budgets.

Along with its policy of disarmament, the Fascist government iSfe
been constantly working for peace in other fields; in 1928 it was arncfca^
the first to sign the Kellog pact with its undertaking not to have recourse
to war; in 1929 it concluded the Lateran Agreements; in 1930 it took
a very active part in the negotiations for the project of Pan-Europe;
and at the opening of the year 1931, from the lips of the Head of ti^e
Government its great desire for peace was proclaimed in a message to
the American people.

In the Lateran Agreements of 1929, one of the oldest and most thorny
political questions, held to be insoluble, which had disturbed both the field
of international relations and the internal harmony of the Italian people,
was definitely solved by means of a pact that is one of the greatest
demonstrations of the spirit of peace in the history of the world. ^

The following year, in the course of the negotiations for the project
of Pan-Europe, the Fascist Government, represented by its youthful Min
ister of Foreign Affairs, Signor Grandi, succeeded in directing a strong
current towards the broadest possible interpretation of the right to mem
bership in the new Pan-European organism, in such a way as to include
Soviet Russia and Turkey, and towards their admission to the League
of Nations. With these two proposals, the misgivings roused at the ^jjp-
pearance of the project were removed, and all forces tending to the
peace of nations were unified in one direction.

A year later, almost as an announcement of the forthcoming comple
tion of the Naval Agreement, in his message to the American people Mtis-
solini expressed the feeling of satisfaction with which Italy regarded the
wise use she had made of her prestige in the interests of international
peace, and proclaimed, in a clear and loyal voice, her desire to continue
steadfastly in that path.

CONTENTS

I INTRODUCTION (ITALY AS COLLABORATOR IN WORLD Page
PEACE). By Tomaso Sillani, Editor of "La Rassegna

Italiana" 5

II THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE STATE. By Alfredo

Rocco, Minister of Justice 15

III THE CORPORATIVE STATE. By Giuseppe Bottai, Min

ister of Fascist Corporations 30

IV THE CONCILIATION BETWEEN ITALY AND THE VATICAN.

By Amedeo Giannini, Councillor of State ... 40

^Q V INTERNATIONAL LABOUR AND ITALY. By Giuseppe De
Michelis, Senator, President of the International Insti-

y tute of Agriculture 53

\] VI AGRICULTURE UNDER THE FASCIST REGIME. By Gia-

como Acerb o, Minister of Agriculture .... 58

\fj VII INTEGRAL LAND RECLAMATION. By Arrigo Serpieri,
ff* Under Secretary for Land Reclamation .... 72

VIII FOREST POLICY. By Arnaldo Mussolini, President of

' the National Forestry Committee 88

IX PUBLIC WORKS. By Araldo di Crollalanza, Minister of

Puhlic Works 95

X THE COMMUNICATIONS POLICY. By Costanzo Ciano,

Minister of Communications 112

XI THE ITALIAN COLONIES (with 4 maps). By Emilio

De Bono, Minister of the Colonies 125

XII THE DEVELOPMENT OF RHODES FROM THE POINT OF

L-s VIEW OF THE TOURIST AND OF AGRICULTURE (with a

ft map). By Mario Lago, Sen., Gov. of the Egean Islands 144

vv XIII ITALIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION AND THE " BALILLA "
ORGANIZATION. By B albino Giuliano, Minister of

National Education 152

XIV THE ITALIAN ROYAL ACADEMY. By Gioacchino Volpe,
CN Secretary General of the Italian Royal Academy . 163

O XV THE NATIONAL FASCIST INSTITUTE OF CULTURE. By

the Direction of the Institute 167

\ft XVI THE ITALIAN ENCYCLOPAEDIA. By Giovanni Gentile,

\> Senator, Editor of the Encyclopaedia 169

v XVII THE TRANSFORMATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF ROME.
^ By Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi, Senator, Gover
nor of Rome 174

XVIII THE ITALIAN DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEM AND THE FA
SCIST POLICY ON POPULATION. By Corrado Gini, Pre
sident of the Central Institute of Statistics . . . 189
XIX ITALY'S NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROTEC
TION OF MOTHERS AND INFANTS. By Gian Alberto
Blanc, President of the National Institution for the

Protection of Mothers and Infants 201

XX ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL
" DOPOLAVORO " INSTITUTION. By the Direction of the
Institute 209

14 What is Fascism and why ?

XXI THE ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS CAMPAIGN. By the Health

Authorities 215

XXII FASCIST FINANCE. By Antonio Mosconi, Minister of

Finance 221

XXIII THE BANCA D'!TALIA. By Bonaldo Stringher, late

Governor of the Banca d'ltalia 234

XXIV SAVINGS BANKS. By Cesare Ferrero di Cambiano,

Minister of State, late President of the Association of

Savings Banks 244

XXV THE BANKING POLICY OF THE FASCIST GOVERNMENT.
By Giuseppe Bianchini, Deputy, President of tfre
Fascist General Banking Confederation .... 250
XXVI THE ORGANIZATION OF CREDIT IN ITALY. By the Fa
scist General Banking Confederation 254

XXVII THE NATIONAL SOCIAL INSURANCE FUND. By Paolo
Medolaghi, Director General of the National Social

Insurance Fund 258

XXVIII THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT ASSURANCE FUND. By Giulio
Calamani, Director General of the National Accident

Assurance Fund 262

XXIX THE NATIONAL INSURANCE INSTITUTE. By Ignazio
Giordani, Director General of the National Insurance

Institute 267

XXX AGRICULTURAL CREDIT AND THE WORK OF THE NAT
IONAL CREDIT CONSORTIUM FOR LAND IMPROVEMENT.
By Arnaldo Sessi, Director General of the National
Credit Consortium for Land Improvement . . . 270
XXXI THE NATIONAL LABOUR BANK. By the Direction of

the Institute 273

XXXII INSTITUTE OF CREDIT FOR PUBLIC UTILITY UNDERTA
KINGS 276

XXXIII THE ITALIAN FEDERATION OF AGRARIAN CONSORTIUMS 278

XXXIV THE INDUSTRIAL GROWTH OF FASCIST ITALY. By An

ton Stefano Benni, Deputy, President of the Fascist
General Confederation of Italian Industries ... 281
XXXV HYDRO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY. By Giuseppe

Volpi di Misurata, Senator, Minister of State . . 290
XXXVI THE ITALIAN MERCANTILE MARINE 1922-1930. By the
National Fascist Confederation of Maritime and Air

Transport Companies 299

XXXVII GENERAL SURVEY OF ITALIAN INDUSTRIES . . . 304
XXXVIII APPENDIX 341

WHAT IS FASCISM AND WHY?

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE STATE

by ALFREDO ROCCO, Minister of Justice.

The imposing achievements of the Fascist Revolution, which has
established a new legal and moral order in every field of Italian life, have
as their central and fundamental point the transformation of the State.
This transformation has taken place gradually, but continuously, since
the day of the march on Rome. But two phases, divided by an historic
date, can be distinguished.

From the day on which Fascism took over the Government, a se
ries of vast and radical reforms began. Especially memorable among the
changes effected in the first period was the great educational reform which
laid the foundations of a system of schools for the education not only of
the intellect, but also of the character, schools which by their national
spirit should form the modern Italian.(The financial reforms were very
important also, for they contributed to the financial readjustment of the
State and made possible the balancing of the budget^ - an indispensable
condition for the reconstruction of Italian finance and economy. Besides,
there was also a reform in the organization of the bureaucracy, which
brought back order and discipline into a sphere long a prey to the con
fusion and mismanagement of the demagogy. In the administration of
justice vast and substantial reforms were made, principal among which
were the revision of judicial districts, and the unification of the Court
of Cassation; these changes had long been desired but had never been made,
because of the invincible opposition of regional interests which the old
parliamentary regime had never been able to overcome.

These reforms, the great importance of which must be emphasized,
have already been tested by the experience of recent years, which has
revealed their soundness, though, of course, some modification in detail
has since become necessary to correct particular errors, inevitable in such
a colossal work. The Government at once availed itself of long studies
and legislative work that had already been going on for decades, and
put them into practice, thus demonstrating the active strength of Fa
scism, which accomplished more in a few months than the preceding
Governments had been able to carry out in the course of long years. The
reforms had some rather important political aspects, but on the whole
they were of a technical character. There was no real political reform of
legislation in this first period, which was of necessity one of transition
and of sound preparation for the work which was to follow.

In reality a vast legislative reform in the constitutional and political
field, in order to be solid and effective, had to be preceded by a profound
transformation of the public spirit. The enormous driving force of Fa
scism acted rapidly on the mind of the Italians, and in a brief time re-

16 What is Fascism and why ?

novated the public life of the nation. Then came the moment for Fascism
to govern alone. The Head of the Government, with the infallible intui
tion which assists him in times of crisis , had the clearest understanding
of this, and his memorable discourse of January 3, 1925, opened the
second phase of the Revolution. Every trace of collaboration with other
parties was eliminated. The remains of the old political system disap
peared, and Fascism alone dominated the State. Public spirit had been
matured by the complete abandonment of antiquated judicial and political
forms which had already proved themselves behind the times. Then be
gan the constitutional reform, which was to give a new structure to the
Italian State.

On the ruins of the liberal democratic State arose the Fascist State,
whose edifice, strong and well built, was rapidly completed.

In its spirit as in its exterior form, the Fascist State is the exact op
posite of the liberal-democratic State, which had brought the Italian na
tion to the verge of ruin. It is solidly rooted in the theories of Fascism
which the Revolution has thoroughly realized with inflexible consistency.
/ The creation of a State of truly sovereign authority, which dominates
' all the forces in the country, and which at the same time is in constant
contact with the masses, guiding their sentiments, educating them and
looking after their interests: this is the political conception of Fascism.
This conception is the very antithesis of democratic and liberal ideas,
which are all derived from the doctrines of an exotic philosophy, indivi
dualistic doctrines, which regarded the individual as the ultimate end of
society, and society simply as the aggregate of the individuals of a given
generation,\,without any aims of its own but those of the indivi
duals which compose it. Thus the State could have no other essential
function save that of coordinating the will of its members so a$ to prevent
the liberty of one from encroaching upon that of another. This lack of
an entity, an ideal, a will of its own, was therefore the characteristic of
the liberal and negative State, which was thus incapable of controlling
the real forces existing in the nation; these forces therefore organized them
selves, lived and prospered outside the State, and ended by mastering it.
The State, in fact, having no character of its own, had to await the
impression of exterior forces, all of which had the right to stamp it with
their own spirit and their own will. The result was paralysis of the State,
and the familiar inconsistency in which its daily activity operated be
cause, by virtue of the fact that it lacked its own ideal and program
and was therefore compelled to borrow those of its components, the State
was always faced with the contradiction of opposing doctrines which ren
dered it incoherent.

The triumph of this liberal-democratic conception was to have much
more serious consequences in Italy than in other countries. The existence
of the liberal-democratic State, which is in itself a fragile structure, is
bound up with conditions which are lacking in our country.

The Transformation of the State 17

Outside Italy, and especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, the liberal-
democratic State has heen able to flourish and to achieve great results,
because in the social and political conditions of those peoples it found
correctives which we do not have. In the Anglo-Saxon countries, and also
in France, there is a great national tradition, and the idea of the State
has been fortified by centuries of struggle maintained by the State to
affirm its own supremacy. Besides, in England the individualistic and
disintegratory spirit of Germanism is counteracted by a rigorous moral
education, so that the individual, while theoretically maintaining perfect
liberty in the face of the State, knows of himself how to keep it within
limits. All these conditions are lacking in Italy. The old Roman tradi
tion, splendidly renovated by the Catholic Church, was certainly inspired
originally by discipline, by the subordination of single individuals to the
State; but it was a tradition now distant, profoundly modified by the
disintegrating influences of Germanism, medieval anarchy, and foreign
rule; this latter, above all, made the State appear for centuries as the
instrument of foreign oppression, and in the mass of the Italians gave rise
to a profound spirit of distrust and of revolt against public authority.
This spirit ought to have been transformed by a steady political education
and discipline on the part of the State. But the liberal- democratic State
was incapable, spiritually and materially, of carrying out this task which
should have been its first and most urgent duty^

Thus it happened that even after unity and independence were
established, the Italian masses preserved towards the national State the
same distrustful and hostile attitude which they had for centuries main
tained towards the foreign State. In these circumstances, the liberal State
in Italy could maintain its position only with difficulty, and its weakness
increased in proportion as the development of national life led to the
organization of new forces in the country. The innate qualities of the race
and the military organization of the nation in arms saved the State dur
ing the War, but the great disturbance which followed the war found the
State still weaker, and more than ever negative and lacking in energy.
Undermined in every direction, the liberal State could not, and did not,
hold out any longer, with the result that after the War camejijgeriod of
total anarchy, in which the State became the shadow of itself and had
to look on passively at the outbreak of the civil strife which it was power
less to restrain or to overcome.

The painful period of anarchy was arrested by the coming of Fascism,
which, by restoring order an$L discipline to the country, was obliged to
bring about the transformation of the State in accordance with its own
fundamental doctrine, which is eminently social and therefore clearly
anti-individualistic. Fascism has indeed an organic and historical theory
of society, opposed to the traditional conception - atomistic and mate
rialistic as it is - of liberalism. Society must be considered as an imperish
able organism where life extends beyond that-tef~-ths~4fidw4diJ^^

18 What is Fascism and why?

are its transitory elements. These are born, grow up, die, and are substi
tuted by others, while the social unit always retains its identity and its
patrimony of ideas and sentiments, which each generation receives from
the past and transmits to the future. According to the Fascist conception,
therefore, the individual cannot be considered as the ultimate end of
society. Society has its own purposes of preservation, expansion and
perfection, and these are distinct from the purposes of the individuals
who at any one moment compose it. In the carrying out of its own pro
per ends, society must make use of individuals. This entirely reverses the
expressive formula of Emmanuel Kant, " the individual is the end and
cannot be considered as the means to the end. " The State, however,
which is the legal organization of society, is for Fascism an organism
distinct from the citizens who at any given time form part of it; it has its
own life and its own superior ends, to which the ends of the individual
must be subordinated.

The Fascist State is, therefore, the State which develops the legal
organization of society to the fullest degree of its power and cohesion.
It is not negative, like the liberal State, but in every field of collective
life it has its own mission to fulfil, and a will of its own.

The Fascist State has its morality, its religion, its political mission in
the world, its judicial function and, finally, its economic duty. Therefore
the Fascist State must defend morality and instil it in the people; it
cannot ignore the religious problem, but must profess and protect the
religion which it considers true, that is to say the Catholic religion;
it must fulfil in the world the civilizing mission entrusted to peoples of
great culture and great traditions, and thus it must interest itself in po
litical, economic and intellectual expansion beyond its own boundaries;
it must mete out justice among the different classes and prevent the unre
strained self-defence of one class against another; finally, it must labour to
increase production and wealth, using the powerful stimulus of individual
interest, and also interfering, when necessary, with its own powers of
initiative.

And since the State must realize its own ends, which are superior to
those of the individual, it must also have superior and more powerful re
sources. The force of the State must exceed every other force; that is to say,
the State must be absolutely sovereign and must dominate all the exist
ing forces in the country, coordinate them, solidify them, and direct them
towards the higher ends of national life. This conception of the State
has been completely realized in every act of Fascist legislation. But
the fundamental laws which have directly brought about the transfor
mation of the State may be reduced to a small number. The real Consti
tutional refc-rm began with the law of December, 24, 1925, no. 2263, on
the attributes and prerogatives of the Head of the Government, who is
both Prime Minister and Secretary of State; this was followed by the law
of January 31, 1926, no. 100, concerning the right of the executive

The Transformation of the State 19

power to issue judicial regulations, and by the law of April 3, 1926,
no. 563, on the judicial regulations which govern the relationship of the
various workers' corporations, a law which was completed by the Regu
lations for its application, issued by the Royal Decree of July I, 1926,
no. 1130, and by another document, which, though not strictly legislative,
is of great political importance, namely the Charter of Labour of April
21, 1927; the reform closes with the law of September 2, 1928, no. 1993,
on parliamentary representation, and with the law of December 9, 1928,
no. 2693, on the organization of the Grand Council.

The first two laws have reinforced and rendered preeminent the
executive power, which is at once the most genuine expression of the
State, and the essential and supreme organ of its action.

The decadence of the State, especially in Italy, became apparent in
the exaggerated growth of the powers of the elective Chamber, to the det
riment of the executive power.

The unrestrained parliamentary regime of the last ten years of our
political history was absolutely unknown to the original Constitution
(Lo Statuto) of the Kingdom, which established a simple Constitutional
regime, in which the ^principal functions of sovereignty pertained to the
executive power and to the King, its Supreme Head, while to the Parlia
ment was reserved the secondary function of collaboration and of cabinet
control.

But Constitutional practice through long years had modified the
Constitution, always granting more power to Parliament and thus to the
elective Chamber. As long as there was a majority, relatively homoge
neous, in the elective Chamber, this system might work well or badly.
But when by the imprudent introduction of proportional representation
into the electoral system, no party had any longer a majority, the crisis
became irremediable. The Chamber having become a collection of minor
ities, the Cabinet also had to become a coalition of minorities, in which
every party was represented. The conception of Government as an organ
ic and solid unit under one Head was entirely lost, since each Minister
took the road which his ideas and the orders of his party suggested to him.
This was to lead inevitably to the complete paralysis of governmental
functions.

The unity of the Government has been reconstituted on a different
basis by Fascism, and rendered much more effective and complete.

According to ancient Constitutional practice, Cabinet Government
was generally understood to imply not true unity of action and of policy,
but rather a total solidarity among the Ministers, so that each one was
responsible for all the acts of the others. In this way the unity of the Cabi
net was a cause of weakness rather than of strength, because it served to
multiply the vulnerable points, and thus make the Ministries more tur
bulent and ephemeral. Under the Fascist Government, the Cabinet at
once acquired a true unity of policy and of action, rigorously maintained

20 What is Fascism and why?

by the Head of the Government. The old idea of solidarity is abandoned
because it assumes diversity in action, and therefore has no longer any
reason to exist when there is only one policy, that is to say, when action
is unified. Technical matters alone remain outside the unity, for in this
sphere individual work may be carried on by the various Ministers.

The constitutional function of the Prime Minister, who is the true
Head of the Government, thus assumes special importance. No trace is
left of those water-tight compartments characteristic of the parliamentary
regime, in which each Minister, as the representative of one special force,
one group with particular economic and political interests, tried to further
his own policy. At the head of the Government, to direct the general
policy of the State, there must be a single_jpexson, not the Council of
Ministers, wbich--of course remains a consulting organ of the highest
importance, but which from its collegiate nature cannot be the effective
director of the political life of the country.

The law of which we are speaking frees the Government from
dependance on Parliament. Parliamentary Government arose when
suffrage was restricted and the forces of the State were pratically in the
hands of some minorities of the intellectual bourgeoisie* These minori
ties, which held the vote and governed, constituted the only efficient
force in the country, because social life was very simple, the conflicting
interests between class and class were few, and the masses, not being
politically minded, held aloof. Things changed when the masses entered
into political life for the guardianship of their economic interests. The
lower Chamber, elected by universal suffrage, became simply a numerical
representation of the electors, and could no longer be the exact expression
of the political forces existing in the country, nor could it be an accurate
reflection of the true state of the nation. There are, in fact, other living
and active forces not represented, or represented inadequately in Par
liament, because their qualitative value does not correspond to the num
ber of the votes at their command. The estimate and the interpre
tation of all real forces in the country is a very complex task, and is so
far from being indicated by an enumeration of votes, that it can only be
made by one who is above all the conflicting forces, and is, therefore, more
than anyone else in a position to give each its true value. Italy has the
great good fortune to be guided by a Sovereign, who belongs to a glo
rious dynasty which has had a thousand years of political experience.
It is, then, only the Sovereign who can be the judge and arbiter of the
situation at critical moments in the national life.

The Government being freed from its dependence on Parliament,
a return has been made to the principle of the Constitution that govern
ment emanates from the Royal power and not from Parliament, and
Ministers must enjoy the confidence of the King, the faithful interpreter
of the needs of the nation. In a period when the life of a great people has
become highly complex, it is no longer possible to give to the elected re-

The Transformation of the State 21

presentatives the chief power in the government of the country. Poli
tical representation is the representation of the interests of individuals
and of groups. If the organ of such interests acquires preeminence in
the exercise of sovereign power and dominates the executive power, the
traditional and permanent interests of society are lost sight of in the in
terests of individuals, groups, and classes; thus the sovereignty of the
State is reduced to a shadow.

The law concerning the right of the executive power to issue judicial
regulations determines the limits between the legislative activities of Par
liament and those of the executive power. The tendency to restrict the
action of the executive power was a characteristic of the years before the
advent of Fascism. It may have been because of the encroachments of
Parliament, it may have been for other reasons, but the fact remains
that the true field of legislation was extended beyond every reasonable
limit, while at the same time there was a reduction of the regulating power
belonging to the Government. A strange result was thus reached: while
the rapid economic and social transformations of modern times necessi
tated a continuous evolution in the activity of the Government, and re
quired its action to be more watchful and effective, the liberty of the exe
cutive power became more and more restricted. It was thus necessary to
restore the exercise of the regulating power to its original sphere, to allow
the Government the exercise of its activity in its own ample field. At the
same time, the law filled up a gap in the Constitution which was made
for a small State at a time when economic and social evolution was slow,
and now gives the Government the right, in some cases, to exercise le
gislative power, even in the field normally reserved to Parliament.

Thus the Government was recognized as an organ of the State, not
only preeminent, but also permanent, and has the power to secure the
continuity of the State's existence at the most critical moments in the
national life.

The preeminence of the executive power, clearly affirmed by the two
laws mentioned, has since been completed by a series of minor reforms,
as, for example, those on the functions of the Prefects and on the duties
of the Podestas, and so the authority of the executive power, by means
of its own agents is forcefully radiated from the centre to the circumfer
ence, thus dominating, as it should, the life of the Provinces and of the
Communes, where in the past only local ambitions held sway.

The reorganization of the executive power in its form, faculties, and
relations with the legislative power, was followed by the reorganization
of Parliament.

While combating parliamentary and electoral degeneracy, and insist
ing on a strong State, Fascism has never failed to recognize the usefulness
of parliamentary collaboration. We hold that Parliament can no longer be
the only means by which the Government places itself in contact with the
masses, becomes acquainted with their sentiments, and influences their

22 What is Fascism and why?

minds. We reject, therefore, the conception of a parliamentary Govern
ment, and the omnipotence of Parliament. However there is no donbt
that among the vaxions Constitutional organs of the State there should
be a place for an assembly composed of men who, by virtue of their
origin and the manner of their selection are both interpreters of the ideas
dominating the various social groups, and agents conscious of the great
interest of the nation.

It is clear, however, that in the political system created by Fascism
the electoral system of the democratic-liberal regime could not be main
tained.

The Fascist doctrine denies the dogma of popular sovereignty which,
on one hand made the Chamber the only seat of sovereign power, and
therefore the chief organ of the State, and on the other surrendered the
election of the deputies to the caprice of the masses.

The masses cannot themselves have a spontaneous will, still less
can they Spontaneously proceed to the choice of deputies.

By a fundamental law of social life, which Maine calls the law of
46 imitation ", the mass of men tend to follow the will of some dominating
element, some so-called " guiding spirits." The problem of Government
will never be solved by trusting in this illusive will of the masses, but
must be solved by a careful selection of the " guiding spirits. " If a good
system of selection is not organized, circumstances often place the least
worthy in authority over the masses. When the choice of the candidates
and of the representatives is placed completely in the hands of the electoral
body, it means that the choice is in reality abandoned to the management
of a few intriguers, self-delegated to be the guides and spiritual teachers of
the masses.

Neither did matters improve when the nomination of candidates
was entrusted to the old parties. That duty was actually assumed by the
parties most lacking in scruple, least solicitous of the national interest,
most hostile to the State. The dogma of popular sovereignty in electoral
matters ended thus by resolving itself into the dogma of the sovereignty
of small minorities composed of intriguers and demagogues.

The old electoral sytems, moreover, failed to recognize the facts of
social life, in which individuals, taken separately, are of negligible value.
Society is not a mere aggregate of individuals; it is the complex of groups
interwoven and coexisting organically. These minor organisms charac
terize the national life, in which the individual is formed, and in which
he finds the basis for his spiritual life.

According to the Fascist doctrine which maintains the sovereignty
of the State, in contrast with the doctrine of popular sovereignty, Parlia
ment and consecjuently, the deputies who compose it, are among the
fundamental agents of the State. Their selection must be regulated in the
best way, so that the ends of the institution may be reached. And since the
Chamber of Deputies has forits first task that of collaborating with the Gov-

The Transformation of the State 23

eminent in framing the laws, by interpreting the needs and the sentiments
of the various social groups, and harmonizing them with the historical
and imminent needs of the nation, it is clear that a good electoral system
must depend, above all, on the support of the organized forces of the coun
try, and must then guarantee that the men selected for the Chamber
have full knowledge of the national interests, - that is to say, they must
be political men in the highest sense of the word.

The problem of the political representation of the nation had to be
solved on these bases; and the solution of this problem was, in a manner
quite original and true to the Fascist conception of the State, closely
related to the new organization given to Italian society by the law con
cerning the judicial regulation of labor problems.

This law, completed by the regulations for its application and fol
lowed by the Charter of Labour, has enormous social and political impor
tance, and is perhaps among those which have contributed most to give
its outward aspect to the Fascist State, and a concrete social signifi
cance to its policy.

The high social aim of the syndicalist reform does not need to be
illustrated. It has solved, completely and simply, the gravest problem
of our times -a problem which has troubled humanity for more than a
century. Not only the question of how classes might live peacefully to
gether and by what legal means the inevitable conflicts between them
might be settled, but also the problem of the better organization of
production and the better distribution of wealth, have been solved by
this reform. Unlike the old organizations which arose outside the State
and lived outside it, our new syndicates form part of the State, and
are for the State elements of force and of prestige. But, besides all
this, the syndical and corporative organization of the nation has given
a new order to Italian society, which is no longer based on the indi
vidualistic atomism of the French Revolution philosophy, but on a truly
organic conception of society, which cannot ignore the qualitative differ
ences existing among its component parts. Italian society is, in fact,
reorganized on a professional basis, that is to say, on the basis of the
productive function exercised by each individual.

This organization of society has made it possible to attain the- poli
tical representation of the nation by a new method. Electoral provinces
were abolished, a single national electoral college was constituted, the
number of the deputies was reduced, and the proposal of candidates was
confided to the syndicalist organizations legally recognized, and also to
other permanent organizations for the promotion of culture, education
and public welfare. An accurate selection of the proposed candidates
finally made by the Grand Council, the supreme organ which synthesizes
all the institutions of the Regime, assures the choice of those most fit to
exercise in Parliament their function of legislative collaboration and guar
dianship of the general interests of the nation. The unanimous votes of

24 What is Fascism and why ?

the people at the elections tinder the new system, shows how this is in
harmony with the renewed conscience of the Italian people. The elective
Chamber of the Fascist Regime is no longer the liberal-democratic
Chamber which was the expression of the unformed will of the amor
phous and indifferent masses; it is a Chamber created by organized votes,

-jand is close to the spirit of the people, - an active and conscious instru
ment of the national fortunes.

The Constitutional reform has thus completely transformed the tradi
tional and fundamental organs of the State. But other essential organs,
each having a characteristic aspect of its own, have been inserted in our
constitution. These new organisms do not find any parallels in the old
State organization, because their delicate function was unknown to the
liberal-democratic State, and is in absolute contrast with the very concep
tion of the liberal State.

The Fascist State has vast tasks, in fact, which the liberal doctrine
held to be foreign to the State. The Fascist doctrine rejects the conception
of the negative State, which has no substance and no ends of its own, and
is alien to the life of the individuals. Unlike the liberal- democratic State,
the Fascist State can never consent that social forces should be left to
themselves. Fascism has understood that the masses, which have re
mained for so long alien and hostile to the State, must be brought near,
and incorporated in the State, which performs its own function and its
own mission in every field of social life, directing, encouraging and har
monizing all the forces of the nation. This coordination raises the na
tional energies to their highest potentiality, directing them effectively to
secure their own ends, in the interests of national prosperity.

Thus the Fascist State is certainly an authoritative State, but it is
also a popular State, such as no other has ever been. It is not a democratic
State, in the old sense of the word, because it does not give the sovereignty

>to the people, but it is a State eminently democratic in the sense that it
is in close touch with the people, is in constant contact with them, pene
trating the masses in a thousand ways, guiding them spiritually, realiz
ing their needs, living their life, and coordinating their activities.

One of the most original features of Fascism is the number of insti
tutions which bring the State into contact with the spirit of the people.
I have already mentioned the syndicalist reform. Unlike the old organi
zations which arose and existed outside the State, our syndicates form
part of the State. The syndicalist phenomenon is an undeniable feature
of modern life. The State cannot ignore it, but must regulate it in a spir
it of absolute impartiality. The organized masses have thus entered
the State no longer tumultuous and discontented, but happy and calm.
The old struggle of classes - the curse of the nation - has been substituted
by harmonious collaboration among the various parts of the engine of
production. The corporative syndicalist reform has thus solved the
problem of how to organize the productive forces, and of how to unify

The transformation of the State 25

and coordinate the economic forces; this coordination has for its supreme
organ the National Council of Corporations which synthesizes all the
productive activities of the nation.

But it is not only in the economic field that this State action oper
ates. According to Fascism's all- embracing ideal, the State must preside
over and direct national activity in every field. No organization, whether
political, moral, or economic, can remain outside the State. Fascism,
therefore, is near the people; it has educated them politically and
morally, and has organized them, not only from the professional and
economic point of view, but also from the military, cultural, educational
and recreative point of view.

There has thus been created a series of institutions by which the
life of Fascism is more and more identified with the life of the people.
The fundamental institution of the Regime is the party, an organization
eminently political, which directs and stimulates every other activity.
The party lives the life of the people, interprets their sentiments, supports
them in difficulties, forms their civil conscience. It continually intervenes
to lend its disinterested aid: when some national problem presents itself,
the Fascist party is at its post, ready to guide and enlighten the Italian
people.

The military organization of the people is the militia, the purest
expression of the revolution, which constitutes, after the party, the most
active channel of communication between the people and the State.

From the operation of the Fascist organization have sprung the
young people's organization, " the Balilla, " the recreational organi
sation, the " after-work " association, the organizations for sport, the
women's organizations. No aspect of the national life escapes this wise
discipline; so it may be said that all the Italians participate actively in the
national life. More than ten millions of Italians are regularly inscribed
in these different institutions; all are animated by one faith in the great
ness of the nation, and cooperate in securing the prosperity of the re
newed Italy.

The numerous institutions created by the Fascist movement are not
outside the State, which, in conformity with its unifying function, has
gradually brought them into line. The Fascist Regime is thus identified
with the State.

But this new and wider order of the State made necessary a supreme
organ in which all the organized forces and all the institutions of the Re
gime should be brought into contact, thus creating a synthesis which
should provide both discipline and coordination of effort.

This organ of coordination and of integration existed already in prac
tice. It was one of the great institutions which arose, as a result of the
Revolution of 1922, in the heart of the Fascist Party. All these institu
tions, created to uphold the State, have been little by little incorporated
in the State. Then it was necessary that also the supreme organ which

26 Wliat is Fascism and why ?

formed a bond between the State and the masses should enter it and
/'become part of the State. The Grand Council of Fascism has thus become,
by the law of December 9, 1928, no 2693, one of the fundamental
organs of the State, the supreme regulator of all the activities of the Re
gime. Presided over by the Head of the Government, composed of the
representatives of the principal organizations of the Regime, the Grand
Council interprets the spirit of the masses towards the Government and
receives from the Government direction for carrying out the work of ma
terial and moral advancement.

The Grand Council has thus assumed an eminent position among the
constitutional organs of the State, but one which is quite distinct from
that of the Government and of the Parliament. It is an organ eminently
political; it collaborates with the Government, and has the delicate func
tion of an adviser in constitutional and political questions, but it does
not encroach upon the sphere of the Government nor on that of Parlia
ment. To this latter belong in full the functions of legislation and inspec
tion as established by the Constitution. The Government, to which the
Grand Council lends its collaboration, is always the driving force of po
litical action, which through the Grand Council is radiated to the Nation.

The character of the Grand Council was more clearly defined by the
law of December 14, 1929, no. 2099. This law, by reducing the members
to the most important representatives of the military and economic groups
of the Regime, made the Grand Council a fitter organ for its high po
litical functions. Thus was clearly established the coordination between
the duties of the Grand Council itself and those of other important orga
nizations, like and the National Council of Corp orations, the Supreme Com
mission of Defence, the Superior Council of National Education. Each of
these latter exercises its own co-ordinating function, in a given sphere,
limited to economic, military or cultural matters, as the case may be.

As the Grand Council of Fascism became an organ of the State, the
national Fascist Party, which gave rise to all the institutions afterwards
absorbed by the State, also became a part 'of the State. This occurred
gradually, and the law of December 14, 1929, marked the last stage
of the process.

The Constitution of the party is appro-used by Royal Decree. The
secretary of the party is also nominated by Royal Decree, on the propo
sal of the Head of the Government, and has by right a place in the Grand
Council (of which he is secretary), in the Supreme Commission of Defence,
in the Superior Council of National Education, in the National Council of
Corporations, and in the Central Corporative Committee. He may,
besides this, be called upon to take part in the sittings of the Cabinet.
The members of the National Directorate and the federal secretaries of the
party are, lastly, nominated by a decree of the Head of the Government.

Thus the inclusion of the party in the State becomes complete. And
this is strictly in conformity with the co-ordinat ing doctrine of Fascism, in

The Transformation of the State 27

contrast with old liberal-democratic idea. The parties of the old Regime
were private organizations, outside the State, struggling amongst them
selves for the mastery of the State. And this was inevitable as long as the
State, being purely negative, was obliged to receive its content from the
various parties which succeeded one another in the Government. But
the Fascist State is well defined in character and content; it has its per
sonality, its political ideal to realize, and cannot accept ideals from organ
izations outside the State, such as the parties in the old regime. In the
Fascist State there is then no place for political parties of the old stamp.

The Fascist Party, in truth, is not a party in the liberal-democratic
sense of the word. It arose as a private organization which has created
the present State. But after constituting the new State, the party, whiles
still keeping its glorious name, has gradually transformed itself from a
private organization into a great political institution. By virtue of its
work of propaganda, of educating the Italian people politically and so
cially, the Fascist party constitutes a kind of civil militia, the essential
instrument of the Regime, and thus it had to find a place within the State,
while retaining the necessary liberty of action for the performance of its
functions.

Thus appears in its fullness the synthesizing character of the Fascist
State, which is an integral organization of all the forces existing in the
country, and fully realizes the formula of Mussolini: " Nothing outside
the State, nothing against the State. "

The Fascist State, that granite block in which are fused all the
energies and resources of our people, is therefore a State of authority
and of strength, while yet it is in close connection with the masses,
and so it is a true regime of the people. """"

The necessity for political organization and that of the harmo
nious development of the human personality, once regarded as being
fatally in contrast with each other, are reconciled by the new State;
though in the State the individual may have a subordinate social posi
tion, this very subordination secures development and prosperity for the
individual in a way only possible under the guardianship of a vigour ous
and well organized State. Two phenomena, which the liberal doctrine
erroneously considered separate and antagonistic, are reconciled. The
well-being of the individual is a condition of the development and pro
sperity of society as a whole, but at the same time it depends on the
solid organization of the State.

The admirable achievements of the Fascist State attest its author
ity and its strength.

The Fascist State has restored peace and order to the Italian people,
has revived their confidence and has raised their prestige in the eyes of the
world. Economic life goes on steadily, without that waste of resources
which morbid unrest and strife between social classes brings about. Work
in fields and factories is not disturbed by the old conflicts between

28 What is Fascism and why?

capital and labour, which cooperate harmoniously for the improvement
and increase of production.

The last trace of political disorder having been suppressed, public
administration re-established, the financial situation stabilized, the prob
lem of the currency solved, and the inevitable economic crisis dealt
with, the Fascist State is proceeding resolutely on its way, backed by the
eager consent of the Italian people, in the useful works of peace. The im-
* petus given to the cultivation of wheat, which is liberating the country
from its heavy tribute to foreign lands, the colossal public works which
have now given beauty and value to many parts of the country, the re
claiming of land which offers new fields to the efforts of our agriculturists,
are so many new stages in the advancement of our country.

No problem is neglected. Always and everywhere the Fascist State
steps in with effective action, whether it be to protect infant life, to de
fend the family, to increase population, or to extend its jealous care to
maintaining the moral and physical integrity of our race.

The State has restored religious peace, and eliminated the discord
which had tormented the conscience of the Italians ever since the days
of the " Risorgimento " by the solution of the Roman Question and the
Concordat with the Holy See. This Concordat has established new re
lations between Churck and State and it has been followed by a general
reform of ecclesiastical legislation.

In the Fascist State cultural problems are of the first importance. Be
sides the schools, now completely remodelled, there have arisen institutions
and associations of high culture, such as the Academy of Italy, the National
Committee of Research, the National Committee of Historical Science,
the Fascist Institute of Culture, and the Italian Universities for For
eigners.

In its international relations the Fascist State, while avoiding mere
ly verbal internationalism, is always to the fore whenever there is prac
tical work to be done to promote the collaboration of peoples. The
International Institute for the unification of the laws of private property,
the one for the Educational Cinema, and the Italian Commission of Intel
lectual Cooperation are clear examples of the effective participation of
our country in international affairs.

The reform of the State and the renewal of national life having
been achieved, Fascism proceeded to the reform of the law. New criminal
codes andnew codes of criminal procedure have already been published, and
will be put into operation on the 1st of July. They are an imposing mani
festation of the strength of Italian legal genius. With these new codes
has been created a system of criminal law which synthesizes the various
scientific tendencies, making of them a transcendent organic whole, and
satisfying the real needs and actual exigencies of society and the State.

The other codes, which are in preparation, will also represent an ob
vious technical advance overtheold ones, and will have a decisive political

The Transformation of the State 29

importance, because they will provide a complex of laws fully in accord
ance with the new political and social order. For the individualistic
principle of the French Revolution, which still inspires the law, will be
substituted the social principle which is the basis of the Fascist theory.
With the general reform of the law, Italy will rise again to that position
of preeminence in the legal field which she has repeatedly held in the past.

The Fascist State absorbs and applies the legal sentiment so
profoundly rooted for centuries in the Italian people. The general reform
of the State did not alter the characteristic institutions of administrative
justice, which the genius of Francesco Crispi created in Italy. They have
instead received new authority and vigour in the Fascist State, which
is, as it aims at being, strong but within the law, that is to say, a legal
State.

The idea of the strong and sovereign State is not inconsistent with
the ideal of justice, nor with the essentially popular character of the State.
Both, on the contrary, complete and strengthen the power and the sov
ereignty of the Fascist State. Here we have further proof of the solidity
and harmonious structure of this powerful organism which the Fascist
Revolution in its forward march, under the guidance of Benito Mussolini,
has constructed for the future destinies of Italy*

THE CORPORATIVE STATE

by GIUSEPPE BOTTAI, Minister of Fascist Corporations.

Between the years 1919 and 1922, a turbulent period of disorder and
disintegration in society and in the State, in this Italy of ours men were
perhaps not lacking who could have brought together and directed the
perplexed and scattered energies in the cause of preservation and defence
and of necessary reaction. But, as I have observed elsewhere, there
was one man only, Benito Mussolini, who, thrust forward by a re
volutionary impulse, had the force to take up again the historical thread
of the Italian Revolution. If the Bolshevik upheaval was one of the
dangers which threatened Italy after the war and the victory, another
was the conservative political involution. It was necessary to find the
way toward the future, between upheaval and conservatism. Signer
Mussolini presented himself to take up again our revolutionary tradition,
which was turned aside in the last years of the Risorgimento, and has
only today translated itself into institutions and laws.

Thus the bases of the new order, which is being realized step by step,
were suggested even before the March on Rome by the Chief, who, while
he battles and strives, radiates in all directions his creative thought. Let
us consider Signor Mussolini in the formation of the corporative State.
The inflexible constructor of today is already fully manifest in the dis
course to the workmen of Dalmine in March, 1919. u You act in the
interests of your class, but you have not forgotten the nation* You
have spoken of the Italian people, not only of the metal workers, to
whose category you belong". The Minister of Corporations who, in pre
paring the Charter of Labour, sets before the representatives of the Syndi
calist Associations the fundamental principle that " there must be equal
rights for all social classes, " and in the Charter itself states that there is
" judicial equality between employers and workers, " echoes the noble
words pronounced eight years before: " You are not the poor, the hum
ble, the rejected, according to the old phrases of literary socialism; you
are the producers, and it is as such that you assert your right to treat
with industrialists as peers with peers ".

However, in speaking of the corporative State, it must not be under
stood as meaning only all that which pertains to the relations between
employers and workers - relations based on a principle of collabora
tion rather than upon a struggle of classes. Fascism with its new arrange
ments aims at a more complex end. This, summed up in a few words,
is " to reassert the sovereignty of the State over those syndicates, which,
whether of an economic or social kind, when left to themselves broke out
at one time against the State, subjecting the will of the individual to
their own arbitrary decision, almost Imusing the rise of judicial provi
sions alien to the legal order of the State, opposing their own right to the
right of the State, subordinating to their own interests the defenceless

The Corporative State 31

classes, and even the general interest, of which the State is naturally the
judge, champion and avenger ".

In this way, having as a solid basis the principle of functional subor
dination of the Associations to the State, the corporative arrangement,
as it progresses by degrees proves itself to be the foundation of the high
political structure. From what was a sectional, quarrelsome, monopolistic,
internationalist syndicalism. Fascism has been able to evolve and de
velop elements of solidarity, of discipline and force, creating a new con
stitutional system. A reversal of values appears in this process: Fascist
syndicalism is the opposite of that which existed before Fascism, for
pre-Fascist syndicalism was against the State, and Fascist syndicalism
submits to the State.

That is not to say that pre-Fascist syndicalism had no justification.
The liberal State was incapable of appreciating the good which it con
tained, or that which was of historical or human interest in it. The liber
al State took its stand on the rights of the individual an idea too
elementary in the face of new judicial needs. The tragic error of liberal
ism, from which arose with all its violence the phenomenon of class justice,
came about by having admitted the working classes to political rights
without assuring them parity of contract, that is, equality of civil right.

Now it is not necessary to adore the masses, but they cannot be re
pulsed or ignored. " We have had to accept syndicalism, and we do so, "
declared Signor Mussolini at Udine on the eve of the March on Rome. " On
ly with the masses, which have a place in the life and history of the nation,
shall we be able to make a foreign policy. " A splendid, clear intui
tion ! In all countries the power of the masses tends to shift from domestic
to international politics. The example of the Pan- American Congress of
Syndicates, held at Washington in 1927, is sufficient to illustrate this.

Fascism, then, not only does not remain in ignorance and fear of the
values and the forces which arise from certain tendencies, but recognizes,
disciplines, and organizes them for the supreme ends of the nation and
the State, which thus gathers into its ethical and political sphere all
social life, that is to say all social and economic forces at work among
its citizens, endowing them with its ethical and political spirit.

At this time, therefore, when we want to define the Fascist State,
and distinguish it from other forms of States, we say that it is a corpo
rative State. Such a definition, however, may appear anything but
clear, unless our conception of the corporative State is accurately
explained.

Although, as I have indicated elsewhere, the adjective " corporative "
has become one of common acceptance and has found its way into poli
tical as well as into scientific language, nevertheless the idea which it
contains, and by which it is inspi^d, is only slowly becoming clear and
revealing its content. At an earlier time, by " corporative " was under
stood all that which regarded the relations between employers and work-

32 What is Fascism and why?

ers, from the point of view of collaboration rather than of conflict
between classes. The word thus had a limited application and was
not given its full meaning, which is of an eminently political and legal
character.

This character has not been, and is not always considered, and so con
fusions and mistakes arise. For instance: before the passing of the law
of April 3rd, 1926, no. 563, there existed in Italy a national syndicalism,
an emanation of Fascism inspired by the ideas of collaboration, but it
certainly would not have been correct to speak of a corporative State.

This was begun only when the State stepped in to discipline the as
sociations of producers, and elevate them to a legal status, to assign to
them their character as legal organizations, and to give them special
representation which permitted them to stipulate collective labour
contracts and to impose contributions on their own members. It is
thus clear that the meaning of the word " corporative " must be sought
only in the legal regulations by which the Fascist State has realized
itself as a concrete example of a truly sovereign State, containing fully
in itself the civil society of which it is the form: an accomplished unity
in which the said society exalts itself and attains its own perfect
autonomy.

Although from an analysis of the principles which underlie Fascist
legislation concerning the recognised syndicalist associations, (from
the law of April 3rd, to the more recent law relative to the National Council
of Corporations), we can use the word " corporative " in a scientific and
and rigorous sense; even so the same word is not quite clear until we
explain the legal principles which govern Fascist corporative legislation.
If it is true from a technical point of view that a law must find in itself
the justification for its own imperative force and for the limitations of
the rules contained in it, it is also incontestable that the interpretation of
the law cannot be other than systematic and historical.

But, because of its historical character, the principles of a judicial
system always resolve themselves into the manifestation of a higher idea -
that of the State, which is of an eminently political nature; therefore it is
evident that to get an exact idea of the meaning of the phrase " corpora
tive State," which is commonly used to define the Fascist State, it is ne
cessary to look to the ends which this State has in view as the fundamen
tal motives of its action. The Fascist State, to one who studies it with
such intention, reveals itself as an organic complex, moved by a will
that is determined by an admirably logical theory.

Moreover it is not a difficult matter to identify the aims of the Fa
scist State, since this State, unlike others, defined itself in the declara
tions contained in the " Charter of Labour '% which is therefore a docu
ment indispensable for its comprehension.

It is of no importance that some persons, still dominated by a spirit
of faction, have found in the "Charter" nothing but a collection of aphor-

The Corporative State 33

isms, while others, possibly in good faith, have discovered in it merely
some enunciations of an explanatory or axiomatic character. The truth
is very different. As it would be an error to deny the political and his
torical value of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,
formulated by the French Revolution, so it would be an equal error not
to see in the " Charter of Labour " the most solemn political assertions
of the Fascist State, which tends to realize in itself the moral, political
and economic unity of the Italian nation. And here economic unity is
conceived as being inseparable from the national interests and their aims,
- namely the well-being of the producers and the development of the
national life. Having fixed in their general outline the aims of the Fa
scist State, we pass on to various observations: first of all, in no other
State is economic unity realized as it is in the Fascist State, which in this
sense manifests itself as the most complete type of State. If the liberal
State marked a progress in comparison with the absolutist regime,
in so far as it performed its historical function of admitting the
bourgeoisie who had been kept outside till then, the Fascist State is
still nearer to perfection, since it has brought under its sovereignty those
economic forces, workers as well as capitalists, which were not only with
out legal discipline, but which acted against the State. In this manner the
State received shocks from within as well as from without, both from the
capitalists who aimed at subjugating it, and were ready to associate them
selves with international plutocracy, and from the working classes who
were urged on by socialism to overthrow the State, and were leagued with
an internationalism which denied the patriotic ideal.

Hence the crisis of the modern State, which could have been met
only by means of a political, moral, and economic unification of society
in the State, or of society which makes itself one with the State. This,
then, is the achievement of the Fascist State, in which there are no indi
viduals or groups of individuals which it does not recognize, subordinate
and regulate, according to its aims.

At this point, however, it is important to understand that if society
in the Fascist State has accomplished its own unification and has raised it
self to a higher grade, this does not imply a social levelling, which would
be quite as harmful as the disintegration which previously threatened
public safety and weakened the organism of the State.

The most difficult task of the Fascist State was not to oppose the
distressing consequences of the liberal regime, but to find the best way in
which authority could assert itself without suppressing liberty, and
without thereby running the risk of destroying itself. Turning to the
question of economic unity, we may say that it would have been very in
convenient, and would have constituted a dangerous illusion, to attain this
without understanding the reasons for the syndicalist organization which
is closely related to the production and distribution of the wealth creat
ed by modern capitalism. This error, however, was not easy to avoid,

34 What is Fascism and why ?

considering the aberrations to which syndicalism had abandoned itself,
especially in the period following the war, when it was transformed from
an economic instrument into a purely political weapon of offence against
even the most sacred ideals of civilization. And thus when liberalism
inexorably had to destroy every form of association, it did so essentially
by means of a system of castes, similar to the ancient and noble medieval
corporations of arts and crafts, from which outsiders were excluded
and in which all free activity was prohibited.

The Fascist State, endowed with a spirit eminently political, and
therefore realistic, and animated at the same time by the firm resolve to
put itself on a legal basis, had to find the occasion for the reconcilia
tion between social forces and its own sovereignty, in the legal re
cognition of the forces themselves. It had to act so as to have in its
presence only individuals and groups whose position had been declared
legal: individuals thus acquired the character of citizens, and their
groups, the character of " juridical persons, " - legal associations.
In short, existing syndicates had to become legal syndicates, and the
Fascist State has accomplished this.

Let us now see what is the precise legal position of these recognized
syndicalist associations. They are, in the first place, regarded as "juridic
al persons " active and passive at the same time, that is to say, having
both rights and duties. They have rights, not only over their members, but
also over all those who are in the categories to which their members belong,
inasmuch as the recognized association has by law the right to levy con
tributions both on those inscribed and those not inscribed, and to repre
sent them in regulating the conditions of labor. The recognized asso
ciations have duties, because, having the ** jus* imperi " as " juridical
persons, " they must render account to the State for the manner in which
they conduct themselves in the spheres of action assigned to them.
^ Since they are recognized as having legal personality, it follows
that the recognized syndicates are no longer outside the State, but within
the State; there is now only one, and not, as before, many syndicates for
each category; they are no longer against the State, or indifferent to it,
but are at its service. In other words, if the syndicates are recognized,
they have a right to life and liberty of action, but this liberty does not go
beyond a certain limit which is determined by the interest of the other
incorporated bodies, and particularly by the general interest. This latter
constitutes a legal limit which becomes, like all similar limits, a legal
duty - preeminently a legal duty in the eyes of the State, which is the
guardian "par excellence" of the general interest.

The syndicate, finally, with regard to its own members, has not only
the power of representation and of levyng contributions, as has been
said, but has besides this duties which range from the guardianship of
economic and moral interests to the assistance even of non-members
and to the moral and national education of both. Each recognized syndi-

The Corporative State 35

cate therefore gives unity to its own category of producers, represents,
protects, assists and educates them morally and nationally; and in this
unification it keeps ever present the two inseparable aims: the well-being
of its category, and the development of national power. But those
whom the recognized syndicates represent are not mere citizens;
they have the legal and moral character of producers; their posi
tion is not simply that of subjects before the sovereignty of the State,
but more specifically that of passive " juridical persons. " There is a
double reason for this: first, in the eyes of the State their duty is to work,
and, second, they are responsible, in the case of certain undertakings,
for the direction of production, even if it is private, because the private
organization of production has been declared to be a matter of national
interest, or what is the same thing, of interest to the State.

Thus we reach the federations and the confederations of employers
and of workers, organisms which trace their origin to the fact that all
categories of producers are bound together by their relations with other
categories, while the resulting groups are joined with others in still larger
combinations, by the interests they represent, and by the territorial dis
trict in which they act, where they assert their common economic activ
ity and labour in some special branch of production. The organization
of the producers thus reflects what is commonly called " the law of the
division of labour, " which from another point of view reveals itself as
a law of the unification of labour. Among the recognized syndicalist
associations, both of the lower and upper grade, federations and confedera
tions, there also exists a complexity of relations in which representa
tion, protection, and syndicalist assistance reach their highest develop
ment, especially when the legal limits of each sphere are kept distinct.
When the syndicalist order is considered merely in its vertical structure,
the functions of protection and of assistance stand out in special relief;
and when one recognized syndicate cannot oppose another of employers
or of workers in the same productive category, it tends to become
an instrument of economic perfection for its own members. As the
recognized syndicalist associations are of two sorts for each branch of
production, - one for employers and the other for workers -, the distinc
tion cannot result in separation, nor must it produce strife, inasmuch as
the Fascist State, as an organic and sovereign State, admits competition,
but not any violent clash of social forces.

We come now to the relations of employers and employed. These
are regulated between the different categories by collective contracts,
which have binding force over all those who belong to the same categories
whether they are enrolled in the syndicates or not. On the other hand, con
troversies which may arise between the said categories, respecting the
application of collective contracts or of other existing regulations, or
requests for new conditions of labor, must be settled in a conciliatory
manner by the recognized associations of superior grade and by the

36 What is Fascism and why?

coordinating agencies, or, if conciliation fails, by the Magistracy of La
bour. As a legal consequence of this principle, strikes and lock-outs are
forbidden by law and are legal offences.

The object of all this is to regulate the conditions of labour. But it
is clear that a syndicalist order thus established, while arranging for the
relations of the syndicates which are distinct from one another yet
united into their categories, did not arrange for the equally essential
coordination of all the categories grouped in federations and confedera
tions, in order to obtain equal conditions of labour and the even more
important unitary organization of all forces of production, consequently,
national production itself.

It was a grave problem, yet the coordination of all the recognized
syndicalist forces was attained by the creation of the National Council
of Corporations, an organism whose tasks are closely connected with the
character of the corporative function.

This function must be kept in mind befoie we outline the tasks
mentioned above. If the State had not foreseen, as far back as the pub
lication of the law of April 3rd, 1926, the need for coordinating agencies
between the associations of employers and workers, and if, afterwards,
in the regulations for the application of the same law, it had not given
them the name of corporations, it could not have called itself a corpora
tive State. The recognition of the syndicates, the legal institution of
collective contracts, that of the Magistracy of Labour, the legal prohi
bition of strikes and lock-outs, while being achievements profoundly ori
ginal, and much to the credit of a political regime, could not certainly
have given to the Fascist State that peculiar character which differen
tiates it from every other State. Its composition would have been exclu
sively syndicalist and nothing more.

The distinction, therefore, between syndicalism and corporativism,
although one is completed by the other, is clear and profound, and to
neglect it would be a source of equivocation and of misunderstanding.
It is a distinction both of organs and functions. While the recognized
syndicalist associations are "juridical persons," the corporations, on
the other hand, are organs of State administration. So, while the syndica
list function is strictly connected with the syndicates, the corporative
function belongs only to the State. By its corporative activity the State
acquires a new and typical function which, though it may seem to be
a part of its administrative function, yet constitutes at least a very spe
cial phase of it*

The recent law of the National Council of Corporations was the
object of important and lively discussions before the two Houses of
Parliament, in the last sittings of March. That which took place in the
Chamber of Deputies was almost exclusively syndicalist, and centred
chiefly around the question of the number of representatives each cate
gory was to have in the body of the Council and its sections^ with particu-

The Corporative State 37

lar reference/ to the problem of the equality of relations between the
syndicates and the National Council, and with some reference to the syndi
calist autonomy or autarchy. In the Senate, the debate tackled two
questions which might almost be called the two unknown quantities in
the constitution of the Council: that is to say, the position of this organ
in the constitutional system and its relations with the other constitu
tional organs of the State. The powers assigned to the Council in econom
ic matters were also examined, its eventual relations with the corpora
tive economy, the effects which the action of the Council would produce
on the national economy, and the general outlines of all the political eco
nomy of Fascism-
Two questions were proposed to the Chamber, and of these one was
proposed again to the Senate: Can the Council of Corporations
formulate regulations which are contradictory to the existing laws of the
State? In the future, will Parliament be able to issue laws regula
ting collective economic relations among the various categories of pro
ducers, or relations between employers and workers ? The answer cannot
be other than negative for the first question and affirmative for the second.
Such questions might have had some meaning at the time of the discus
sion of the law of January, 1926, which dealt with the problem of the
regulations between the executive power and the legislative power; but
they were not raised then, nor when the constitutional character of
emergency decrees (Decreti Legge) was treated. The principle of the
superiority of the legislative regulations over other juridical regulations
was never questioned by Fascism, because it responds to the essential
need of every legal organization, namely, the definition of its agencies.
The idea of a conflict between these agencies is repugnant to the Fascist
conception of the State, considered as an organic unity. As the syndicate
disciplines professional activities in view of the national interests, and
the corporation disciplines the relations between category and category
in view of those interests for which it is constituted, so the National
Council disciplines the interests of the categories with a view to the na
tional prosperity, while Parliament, finally, intervenes in view of the
political interests of the nation.

Neither can all the interpretations of the corporation in the economic
order be accepted. Both from extreme corporativists and from the guar
dians of private initiative come some errors of interpretation. The Na
tional Council should, according to them, represent the advent of a new
economic regime, the regime of corporative economy. But this economy
was born with the law of April 3, 1926, if by corporative economy
one means the economic regime advocated by Fascism. It has existed
since the time when Fascism, renouncing the attitude of State indifference
to economic facts, assumed the function of regulator of the economic life
of the nation.

On the other hand, an impartial examination of Fascist legislation

38 What is Fascism and why?

on syndicalism dissipates the fear of those who dread the suffocation of
individual economy. Some provisions of the law, in fact, represent in
a certain sense not an amplification, but a limitation, of State action in
economic matters. One can then trancpuilly refute the opinion of those
who see in corporative economy a regime for stabilizing prices. And
to dispel every doubt, an examination of tha law ought to suffice, espe
cially as regards the composition and the functioning of the Council. It
is clear that the Council's field of activity is exclusively that of the cate
gories of producers represented in it: both workers and employers, under
the guidance of the Head of the Government, the high regulator of
national interests.

Also paragraph 3 of article 12 of the bill prefacing the regulation of col
lective economic relations, has given rise to the erroneous statement that
the Council, in carrying out this function, adopts provisions as delegate of
the interested associations. Now it must be remembered that if these
associations have the power to make regulations about collective relations
of labour, they have none at all over the regulation of collective economic
relations. They cannot then delegate faculties which they do not possess;
those faculties belong, instead, to the Corporations.

These faculties can be exercised only after the decisions of the syn
dicalist associations which express the will of the producers, and thus are
not the expression of a coercive will of the Council. Thus a real economic
self-discipline under the laws of the State is attained: the individual in
terest operates through the will of the professional associations, the inter^
est of the professional associations through the corporations, the inteiest
of the corporations through the Council. Here is in fact an economic
hierarchy by means of which every desire is realized through the one im
mediately above it. This organization is that which responds most per
fectly to modern tendencies in economic matters. The Fascist State
does not intervene in business matters, but coordinates them on common
lines. And it is a conception that reverses the ideas of socialist theory
and at the same time transcends those of the liberal system.

In conclusion: the Fascist State may be denned as a State of syn
dicalist composition and corporative function, since as a truly sovereign
State, it seeks to be adequate to the civil society which makes up its
structure, and as a State with aims of its own, distinct from those of
civil society, it has as its permanent object, to create, by means of its
own action, and to achieve the moral, political, and economic unity of
the Italian nation.

This being its character, the Fascist State solves the crisis in which
the modern State is struggling. The reconstruction of the State on a
solid basis could only take place by the elimination of the long-standing
disagreement which was its bane, and by the imposition of order on
the economic forces which threatened its existence. Only the corpora
tive principle which affirms the .ethical-political will of the State, and the

The Corporative State 39

dignity as well as the political legitimacy of economic interests, could inspire
this reconstruction, since the preeminence of the State is not the dead
weight of an authority which avails itself of its power and legal weapons,
but is the preeminence of the ethical will which does not consider social
forces from without, but penetrates into them, brings them into itself,
and so gives concrete and true value both to the State and to social for
ces, both to politics and to economy.

Accurate investigation and careful study tell us that modern history
is tending to the corporative conception of the State, to the inclusion of
economy in the State, to the identification of politics with economics. But
one might ask why it is in Italy, where economic forces were less powerful
and less highly developed than elsewhere, that the need for facing and
solving the problem has been felt ? The question is interesting and it is
that which has obliged us to define the historical meaning of Fascist cor
porativism, that is, its significance in Italian life, leading us to recognize
the identity of the Fascist State and the corporative State.

Fascism is the maturing of the unitary spirit of the Italians, the
forming of that unitary political conscience which is the true basis of the
State. Ever since the territorial unification of 1870, the State had
been regarded by the citizens as alien to them, not only by the working
classes, who, therefore became an easy prey to socialist doctrinaires
but also by the middle classes, who produced the leaders of the socialist
movement. But with the Fascist Revolution, the State has become the
rule, the limit, the guide of the Italians in the realization of their ends.

The weak political conscience, due to the recentness of the unification
of the State, and the difficulties of our economic life, gave us special rea
son to fear the dangers inherent in the contradictory structure of the mo
dern State. Fascism, therefore, in giving the Italians the State which is
the true expression of their national personality, has, by the genius and
intuition of Benito Mussolini, constructed a State which satisfies all the
exigencies of modern life. A Fascist State which should gather together
all the forces and all the tendencies of national life and direct them
towards the ideal of power which inspired the Revolution, -could be no
other than the State which reflects the living conscience of the people,
which holds the threads of all social life, which is present in every aspect
of social life, which brings together and orders all forces and all interests:
such a State could be no other than the corporative State, a noble reality
which advances towards the secure future of the country.

THE CONCILIATION BETWEEN ITALY AND THE
VATICAN

by AMEDEO GIANNINI, Councillor of State.

THE PROBLEM OF ROME AS CAPITAL DURING THE PERIOD OF THE
RISORGIMENTO. - The whole Italian people were agreed on the two
essential problems of the Risorgimento: the one, to chase the foreigner
out of Italy, and the other, to unify the country. But while they agreed
without exception on the first point, on the second, opinions varied as
to the means of realizing and consolidating national unity. Some recom
mended a federation of Italian states, while others, fearing the division
of strength which would fatally result from the development of a muni
cipal spirit, maintained that it was most important to arrive at a strictly
unitary solution to create a single and strongly centralized state. The
federal solution, on its side, permitted the preservation intact of the pon
tifical state; and there was even a dream of having the Pope at the head of
the federation. But when it became obvious that municipalism could only
hinder the development of unification - which it did retard, moreover,
by ten years - the federalist idea was definitely discarded. Then the
vital problem asserted itself, the question of Rome, the natural capital
of the Italian nation both from the moral and historical point of view.
How could a people as Catholic as the Italian recover their capital

- the patrimony of the Pope - without dissensions with the Sovereign
Pontiff; and how could they at the same time guarantee his independence
and spiritual autonomy as head of the Catholic Church. The reply was
evident: the temporal domain is not indispensable to the independence
of the Pope nor to his spiritual autonomy. Even if he is not a Prince,
the Pope remains a Pope.

It was clear, however, that Rome could be entered only with the as
sent of the Sovereign Pontiff, or otherwise, against his opposition. Was
an accord possible when neither of the two parties concerned was able
to renounce Rome ? And if an agreement were not possible of realization,
there remained only conquest; in other words, the spoliation of the tem
poral patrimony of the Pope, and a gesture on Italy's part which would
wound the heart of the Catholics, and which - if it became inevitable

- could be made only with reluctance and remorse. There was no other
way out.

On the other hand, the problem was not exclusively Italian; it was
complicated by the fact that all the foreign Catholics supported the Pope
and that the political interest of the Powers, especially in the case of
France, was involved therein.

When Italian unity was suddenly realized in 1860, the problem of
Rome took definite shape and insistently demanded solution. It was
Cavour's greatest torment and he determined to embark on a policy of
agreement. For this purpose, at the end of 1860 he entrusted a mission

The Conciliation between Italy and the Vatican 41

to Abate Stellardi, and later to Baron deRoussy; then in 1861 to Dr. Dio-
mede Pantaleoni and to Padre Carlo Passaglia. Cavour had great confi
dence in this last attempt, minutely prepared and elaborated, and,
although he was not a man to delude himself readily, he hoped that
Easter of 1861 would bring the olive branch of a peace finally con
cluded.

Every attempt at an agreement having miscarried, Cavour changed
tactics; he declared himself sharply against the concordat, and in his
speeches of the 25th and 27th of February 1861 prepared himself for
the struggle. But by what route should he proceed? He could not seize
Rome against the general will, and therefore chose the detour of Paris.
Napoleon III having refused his intercession with the Pope, Cavour
formulated an arrangement with him to avoid finding himself at Rome
in opposition to the Pope and in the face of the French. These nego
tiations ended in the signature of a formal convention (June 14, 1861),
a convention which became in substance that of September 1864; just
a few days before its signature, Cavour died (June 6).

His successor, Baron Ricasoli (1), wished to resume the negotiations
with Paris, but on different bases. The project which he presented not
having been agreed to by Napoleon III, he determined to re-enter into
direct conversations with the Holy See; but he undertook the matter clum
sily. After addressing a letter to the Pope in a didactic tone with practi
cally the air of giving him a lesson, to cap the climax, he chose as in
termediary Padre Passaglia, a man already compromised by a pamphlet:
Pro causa italica, which qualified the temporal power of the Pope as
u almost heretical."

Some years later Minghetti (2), in his desire to reach a solution, re
opened conversations with Paris on the subject of the accords negotiated
by Cavour during the last days of his life, and concluded the agree
ment known as the September Convention (September 5, 1864). By
this he secured the withdrawal of the French troops from Rome; for his
part, he bound Italy not to attack the city, and to transfer the capital
from Turin to Florence. Bonghi (3) declared the Roman Question settled
by this accord which, however, opened up a new phase of the problem,
in as much as it henceforth left Italy and the Pope to face each other
alone. It was then that Garibaldi intervened and opposed the Conven
tion by his coup de main at Mentana. And the problem asserted itself
with renewed acuteness up to the moment when France, occupied else-

(1) Baron Bettino Ricasoli, called the *' Iron Baron," head of the provisional government
of Tuscany; Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Council of Ministers (1861-1862);
Minister of the Interior and President of the Council of Ministers (1866-1867).

(2) Marco Minghetti, Minister of Interior in the first Ministry of the Kingdom of Italy;
several times Minister of Finance and of Agriculture; President of the Council of Ministers (1873-
1876).

(3) Ruggiero Bonghi, eminent statesman-philosopher, writer; Minister of Public Instruction
(1874-1876).

42 What is Fascism and why ?

where by the tremendous exertion of the Franco-Prussian war, finally
offered Italy the chance to settle the cjuestion.

Visconti-Venosta (1) prepared public opinion by a diplomatic note to
the Powers, August 29, 1870, in which he clearly defined the attitude
Italy expected to take in regard to the Pope. But Lanza (2), head of the
Government at that time, refused to make use of arms without a prelim
inary attempt at agreement. Victor Emmanuel II personally wrote the
Sovereign Pontiff a magnanimous letter which was delivered by Count
Ponza of San Martino. The hostile reception accorded to this missive left
no other alternative than the use of force. September 20, 1870 General
Cadorna's troops took possession of Rome, and several days later the
union of this city to Italy was consecrated by a plebiscite.

Conforming to the spontaneous engagement taken by Italy in Vis-
conti-Venosta's note to the Powers, the Lanza Ministry, by the law of
March 13th 1871, the Law of Guarantees - later recognized as fundamen
tal - unilaterally regulated the juridical situation and the emolument
which Italy proposed to set apart for the Holy See. As was to be ex
pected, the Pope did not recognize this law.

The problem of the acquisition of Rome by Italy was closed. But the
question of the relations between Italy and the Holy See remained, that
so-called Roman Question which dragged on for almost sixty years be
fore its final settlement. From the outset the problem appeared insolu
ble, aggravated as it was to an endemic state by a more or less violent
guerilla warfare.

From an international point of view, the change which the Holy See
had undergone, did not alter in any notable way its relations with the
Powers. Yet after this some deemed it useless to maintain a diplomatic
representative to the Pope, since he ceased to be a temporal sovereign.
As to Italy's relations with the rest of the world, they were troubled
but little by this event, and when the first Catholic indignation had
subsided, almost all States accepted the fait accompli. The domestic
situation, on the contrary, was completely upset by the open hostility
between Church and State, and by the abstention of Catholics from any
participation in the political life of the country.

THE HISTORIC STAGES OF THE ROMAN QUESTION. - The evolution
ary stages of the Roman Question, from the taking of Rome to the
Lateran Agreements, can be indicated with the following landmarks :
1870-1904 (pontificates of Pius IX and of Leo XIII), 1904-1914 (pon
tificate of Pius X), 1914-1918 (World War), 1918-1926 (rapprochement),
1926-1929 (negotiations). The evolution of the problem can perhaps be
more easily followed tinder each pontificate.

(1) Marquis Emilio Visconti-Venosta, five times Minister of Foreign Affairs (1863-1901)*
1 (2) Giovanni Lanza, Minister of the Interior (1864-1865); Minister of the Interior and
President of the Council (1869-1873).

The Conciliation between Italy and the Vatican 43

From the taking of Rome on through the last eight years of his
life, Pius IX, a sad prisoner in the Vatican, witnessed the crumbling
of his concordat policy which had reached its zenith in 1860. In 1876
he saw the fall of the Right - the party responsible for the ecclesiastical
legislation, so hostile to the Church, the Clergy and the religious orders,
that party which had dispossessed him of his temporal power; and he
saw the rise of the Jacobin Left, no less inimical and with a programme
proclaimed to be definitely anti-clerical. He witnessed the demise of
the Sovereign who had despoiled him, Victor Emmanuel II, whom he
could not let die without the aid of religion. A few days later he
died in his turn.

Leo XIII, in his long pontificate of a quarter of a century, began
with a policy of rapprochement with the Central Powers, especially with
the very Catholic Austria. He turned to Franz Joseph when on three
occasions he meditated leaving Rome (1882, 1888, 1891), fearing for his
position in Italy, not in dread of danger, but impressed by the exagger
ated report of events which in themselves certainly did not merit the
importance given them. He saw only with alarm the formation of
the Triple Alliance, although, as it is known, no guarantee of Rome was
given Italy by the Allies. After 1887, during the Rampolla (1) epoch, he
turned definitely toward France, whose ambassador, Lefvre de Behaine,
jealously watched the least sign of rapprochement. The pontificate of
Leo XIII marked for Italy the period of Masonic strength and of anti
clerical agitation. Disturbances, more or less grave, repeated themselves
constantly. Yet despite the accusation of Jacobinism, Crispi took up
the policy of Cavour. Twice he exerted himself in behalf of rapproche
ment, in 1887 through Abate Tosti and in 1894 through General Mo-
cenni. These attempts having failed, Crispi in his irritation set about
to impair relations with the same vehemence with which he treated all
problems near his heart. Thus after each repulse his reaction was marked
by new legislative and administrative regulations concerning the Holy
See. Leo XIII in his last years was no more successful in laying the
foundation for what, in a favorable moment, might have become a
possible adjustment of the Roman Question.

When he died, thirty years had elapsed since the taking of Rome;
a new generation had almost entirely replaced the old, and the Italian
State, now over forty years of age, had developed and consolidated, so
that it no longer feared that national unity might be impaired. The
Church no longer appeared to be a danger, the Clergy, no longer an en
emy. In this new atmosphere Pius X, arisen from the people, quitted
the apostolate to mount the throne of St. Peter. Thus he viewed Italian
problems with other eyes, as did likewise the new Cardinals who had
replaced the old. The younger clergy, born and brought up in a united

(1) Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro, Cardinal Secretary of State until 1903.

44 What is Fascism and why?

Italy, no longer shared the passions of former days. The Italian people,
on their side, were no more the same; the new generation was getting
away from the atmosphere of the Risorgimento, from its enthusiasms,
from its strifes, and even from its weaknesses. For this reason it is not
astonishing that the Catholics, in view of the prejudices which caused
their isolation, no longer wished to remain aloof from political life, but
wished to take part in the electoral struggles. They hoped to prevent
the troubled elements, seditious or of the Left, from ensconcing them
selves in power. Pius X admitted that the non expedit had lost its
rigour. At a time when electoral strife ran high, he was finally willing
to permit that important agreements be made openly between the Cathol
ics and the Government (the Gentiloni Pact). But the Government was
a Liberal one and therefore could not modify the ecclesiastical legislation,
which was considered the quintessence of liberalism. It shut its eyes
and allowed the law to be violated; one might even say it favoured and
encouraged these infractions. Secret conversations with the Vatican
redoubled their intensity. But conciliation was not mentioned, for the Law
of Guarantees was held as the sacred ark and symbol of wisdom itself.
Yet from this time on relations were eased and became more stable. The
difficulties were indirectly smoothed out by a whole system of compro
mises, deceptions and evasions of the law, winked at if not authorized.

Times had changed and the results were manifest. In this new atmos
phere everyone, even the most responsible members of the Clergy and
of the Catholic world, was able to express himself with unaccustomed
liberty. Although in 1887 the good Abate Tosti was disowned for his
naive pamphlet on conciliation, a " monument of Benedictine simpli
city," although in 1889 the Bishop of Cremona, Monsignor Bonomelli (1)
(who had already declared in a speech in 1881 that the conquest of Rome
was a definite and irrevocable fact) likewise had been disavowed for
his pamphlet: Roma e Italia e la reaha delle cose (in which, without eva
sion, he alluded to a possible solution of the Roman Question), and was
forced to recant and, in the solemnity of sacerdotal ceremony, publicly
retract his unpardonable audacity; yet in 1911 Cardinal Bourne was
able to speak with full liberty at Newcastle. And again in 1913, during
the social week in Milan, the Bishop of Udine, Monsignore Rossi, and
Count Delia Torre expressed themselves freely on the possibility of solv
ing the Roman Question, which, be it said in passing, had never ceased
to inspire a literature as varied as abundant.

When the European conflict broke out in 1914 Italy turned towards
war. What would happen to the Law of Guarantees and to the Holy
See ? Not without anxiety Pius X saw this double unknown advancing
with the storm. But it was his successor who had to meet it face to
face. Benedict XV at once took a rather definite stand. Mounting the

(1) Geremia Bonomdli wished conciliation.

The Conciliation between Italy and the Vatican 45

pontifical throne, he renewed the protests made by his predecessors,
but refused the hospitality which Spain offered him at the Escurial. The
Pope is Roman and Avignon is not to be repeated! When Italy eventually
entered the war, Pius X used his good offices, so far as the Italian Gov
ernment permitted, to help the Law of Guarantees to triumph in its test
of fire. The liberal jurists were thus once more able to praise the excel
lence of the law, while the Catholics on their side did not fail to point
out that the law had been able to exist not on its own but because of
the conciliatory attitude of the parties concerned.

The state of affairs created by Pius X developed under Benedict XV
during the World War. The Catholics then arose to power. The clergy,
Italians with the rest, did their duty at the front and behind the lines.
Relations between the Holy See and the Government, though always
indirect, became necessarily more frequent, and were entrusted to Baron
Monti, administrator general of the fund for public worship and formerly
associated with the Pope. Ecclesiastical legislation itself experienced
modification in its practical applications. On the State budget appeared
appropriations for the secular clergy, and others for the needs of public
worship - sums which increased progressively. The status of the fund
for public worship, passive and temporary originally, assumed more and
more an active function, while maintaining a provisory character.

In these same years, in that Germany which from the Bismarckian
epoch had more than once dangled the scare-crow of the Roman Ques
tion before Italy's eyes, there gradually took shape an important campaign
in favour of the Pope. Since the Roman Question would have to be tak
en up at the end of the war, various plans were elaborated. Catholics
(Ehrle, since become a Cardinal), Jews and Protestants (Leband, Kohler),
historians (Wermingof), jurists of repute (von Liszt, von Stengel, Bornak),
and even Erzberger, officially, collaborated in these projects. Between
1915 and 1917 the literature of the Central Powers flourished, culminat^
ing in the colossal work of Bastgen: Die romische Frage, 1917-1919,
(about 2000 compact pages). However, the Holy See had already taken a
definite stand when in an interview, July 28th, 1915, Cardinal Gasparri (1)
declared that the Holy See " was awaiting the suitable solution of its
position, not by foreign arms, but by the triumph of the sentiments of
justice which it hoped would be more and more diffused throughout the
Italian nation, in conformity with its true interest."

When peace came, the Vatican was excluded from the negotiations
at Paris, not by virtue of the Pact of London - which, however, had
given rise to a lively debate in the Italian Parliament at the time of
its revelation by the Pravda - but because of the unanimous decision
that only the belligerents should participate in those negotiations. At
this time the first (secret) attempt to arrive at a solution of the Roman

(1) Pietro Gasparri, Cardinal Secretary of State until 1930.

46 What is Fascism and why ?

Question was made through private conversations between Orlando (1) and
Monsignore Ceretti (2) at Paris. From the negotiators themselves, we know
today the precise terms of these conversations. Although there was a
possible basis for understanding, Orlando judged that it was not yet
time to bring matters to a decision. In fact, to solve so grave a problem,
he deemed necessary a strong Government and a people who would give
support, while at that time the Government was far from strong, and
the Italian people were enervated by the after-effects of the war and the
disillusionments of the peace.

Nitti (3) succeeded Orlando. There were new conversations between
him and Cardinal Gasparri, conversations of which we know nothing,
except that they came to no conclusion.

However, in Italian political circles and in the press, a spirited agi
tation arose. In 1921, under the Bonomi (4) Ministry, the newspapers
of the country launched an energetic campaign on the Roman Question,
especially on its diplomatic aspect. A parliamentary discussion followed
in which three deputies of different parties participated: Mussolini (Fas
cist), Rocco (5) (Nationalist), Tovini (Popular).

During the ministries of Giolitti (6) and de Facta (7) the question
made no progress. It was known to all that Giolitti conceived the relations
between Church and State as a system of parallels which could meet only
in infinity.

However that may be, from this time on the problem was ripe and
could be solved by a strong Government in a regenerated country.

THE 1925 PROJECT. - That is why Fascism was able to achieve the
solution of the question. Once the Italian nation was back on its feet,
with the remains of popular Demo-Masonry scattered and Masonry bro
ken, and with the Catholic forces restored, Mussolini held all the trumps
successfully to conclude the enterprise. But what means should he
employ ?

The fundamental principle of Fascist policy is the rehabilitation of
the national forces, including primarily the religion of the country. Mus
solini, without agreements, followed a unilateral policy in this sense, using
indirect negotiations (the tradition of which was henceforth established)
by the intervention of a person of trust. Thus by laws and other govern
mental measures there followed one by one: the granting of the Chigi
Palace library to that of the Vatican, filling a serious void in the pontifi-

(1) Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, President of the Council of Ministers; took part in the
Peace Conference, with Sonnino, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

(2) Monsignore Ceretti, Papal Nuncio at Paris.

(3) Francesco Saverio Nitti, President of the Council of Ministers in 1920.

(4) Jvanoe Bonomi, President of the Council of Ministers in 1921.

(5) Alfredo Rocco, Minister of Justice since 1928.

(6) Giovanni Giolitti, several times President of the Council of Ministers.

(7) Luigi de Facta, President of the Council of Ministers in 1922.

The Conciliation between Italy and' the Vatican 47

cal collection; the retrocession of the sacred convent of Assisi; the restor
ation of public worship in numerous churches and the restitution of seve
ral convents to religious orders, especially to those of the missionaries;
the recognition of papal titles and decorations (these latter having already
been recognized at the end of 1878 by Melegari's (1) circular, but with
out a uniform criterion); the re-establishment of religious instruction in
the primary schools, and the restoration of the Crucifix in educational
institutions, government offices, and to Parliament; the appointment of
military chaplains and religious assistance to all the Balilla (juvenile
Fascist groups), the Avanguardia (groups of boys from 16 to 18), etc.
In conformity with this order of ideas. Mussolini, at the beginning of 1924
invited the Minister of Justice to form a mixed commission, with a view
to studying a reform of ecclesiastical legislation, which, since it was drawn
up between 1850 and 1873 under the stress of political preoccupations
that no longer exist, had ceased to meet the exigencies of the times. Sig.
Oviglio let matters lag, and it was only during his last days in office
that, at the repeated invitations of the Head of the Government, he set
about forming the commission. This commission, however, was nominated
and installed by Rocco. Three eminent prelates, authorized by their super
iors, took part in the work. Under the presidency of the under-Secre-
tary of Justice, the commission (rapporteur Sig. Giannini) sat for ten
months without interruption and, in spite of sceptics, drew up two bills
of law which met with the most lively approval. Shortly after their
publication, the Osservatore Romano (January llth and 12th 1926) in a
semi-official note was able to indicate in these terms the true road to
religious peace: " ...For that, it would be advisable, once the Law of
Guarantees is abolished - that so-called masterpiece of liberalism - to
assure to the Holy See the position of full and entire liberty, both ap
parent and effective, to which it has an undeniable right; then after a pre
liminary accord between the two parties, to proceed to the reform of all
unjust laws." A month later (February 23rd), before the deluge of com
ments and polemics, the Pope himself stated his position in a letter ad
dressed to Cardinal Gasparri. From this it may be concluded:

1. that the Holy See believed a change of method essential;

2. that to obtain religious peace the three following points must
be solved:

a) the abolition of the Law of Guarantees;

6) the assurance of apparent and effective independence to the
Holy See, by a territorial arrangement;

c) along with the political accord, the formulation of a concor
dat which would serve as a basis for new Italian ecclesiastical legisla
tion.

Some days later the Minister of Justice, Sig. Rocco, in a speech in

(1) Luigi Amedeo Melegari, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1876-1878).

48 What is Fascism and why?

the Chamber, let it be understood that the Government saw no objection
to a change of method.

THE NEGOTIATIONS OF 1926 TO 1929 AND THE LATERAN AGREEMENTS.
- From the first weeks of 1924, conversations were held between two
high personages of the two Roman worlds, with a view to finding a basis
of understanding, but without results. Shortly after Rocco's speech, in
1926, new negotiations were undertaken by the two parties through two
confidential representatives, at first with a purely private character but
later, officially. Various circumstances prevented the opening of official
conversations before the end of 1928. Mussolini negotiated these in person
in the early weeks of 1929, and about a month later the agreements
were concluded. The Holy See officially announced these negotiations
to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to it, and on the llth of February
signatures were attached by Mussolini and Cardinal Gasparri at the Late-
ran Palace. Discussed and ratified by the Italian Parliament, these
agreements went into effect June 11, after the solemn exchange of ratifi
cations at the Vatican that same day. Long and laborious as the dis
cussion had been, the conclusion was swift.

The acts signed are three in number:

a) a political treaty;

b) a financial convention;

c) a concordat.

THE POLITICAL AGREEMENT. - The most difficult problem to solve
was without doubt that of the papal territory, for the sovereignty of
the Pope, although of a special nature, was involved, on the one hand
from the titular point of view, by the Law of Guarantees, and on the other,
by tacit tradition now established. Concerning the territorial limits,
the claims of the Holy See had passed through several phases since
1870 in the endeavour to reach a practical arrangement. Successively,
the dream of a complete restoration, the idea of the restoration of Rome
alone, then merely the Leonine City, had been abandoned. In this way
the official and semi-official projects of the last years had been limited
to a territorial area scarcely passing beyond the walls of the Vatican and
to a corridor of land serving to link the Vatican to Civita-Vecchia, a
strip restricted to the minimum indispensable for direct communication
between the sea and pontifical territory. This last solution, hardly pos
sible because the land would come from Italian sovereignty and would
raise an obstacle to communications between northern and southern
Italy, was likesive abandoned. There was then the question of seeing
whether the territory of the Vatican, as it was constituted January 1st,
1919, could be aggrandized, and in what way. To give it greater compass
there was some thought of uniting to it the Doria-Pamphily Villa, but
finally it was reduced to the small area provided in the Lateran Agree-

The Conciliation between Italy and the Vatican 49

merits; small in its extent, but great morally, and great also by reason
of the treasures there accumulated. To arrange the matter of the offices
of the Vatican and other dependencies of the Holy See scattered through
out the city of Rome - such as the Palace of Castel Gandolfo, already
assigned to the Papacy by the Law of Guarantees all pontifical buildings
and palaces were classed in two categories: the first comprises those build
ings and palaces directly controlled by the Holy See, and to those a
regime of extra-territoriality is guaranteed; as to the other dependencies,
assurance alone is given that they will never be submitted to charges
or expropriations of public utility without previous agreement with the
Holy See, and without being exempted from all ordinary or extraordi
nary imposts either of the State or of any other public body.

The territory of the Vatican having become a true sovereign state
under the name of the Vatican City, a new problem presented itself:
granted that the sovereignty of the City is entire and free from all in
terference by the Italian State, what regulations should be made regard
ing the population domiciled within its territory ? A Vatican nation
ality was therefore provided for. This nationality is limited to persons
residing permanently in the Vatican City, and ample facilities are offer
ed for those who desire to resume their Italian nationality when they
cease to inhabit papal territory.

The Holy See may legislate freely within its own boundaries, where
its jurisdication is full and complete; but in order not to burden the Su
preme Pontiff with the cares of jurisdiction, especially in criminal matters,
ingenious provisions are made, permitting the Holy See to turn such
matters over to the Italian State.

Other provisions are taken entirely from the Law of Guarantees,
such as the active and passive right of legations, the sacred and inviolable
character of the Pope's person and all consequences deriving therefrom,
etc.

Certain provisions deserve a special mention, as that of the first ar
ticle, which serves as an introduction to the agreements and repeats
the beginning of the first article of the Statute of the Realm, declaring
that the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the sole religion of
the State; likewise that of article 2, which defined the international posi
tion of the Pope in his relations with Italy, thereby establishing that
Italy recognizes the international sovereignty of the Holy See as an at
tribute inherent in its nature and in the necessities of its mission in the
world.

The accord is based on the formal abrogation of the Law of Guar
antees; the Pope acknowledges that the agreements assure him adequate
facilities for the pastoral direction of the diocese of Rome and of the
Catholic Church of the world, with all requisite liberty and independence.
It declares the Roman Question definitely and irrevocably solved and
so eliminated, and recognizes the Kingdom of Italy under the dynasty

50 What is Fascism and why?

of the House of Savoy, with Rome as its capital. On its part, Italy
recognizes the State of the Vatican City under the sovereignty of the Pope.
From this brief sketch we see that the fundamental clauses of the
treaty completely satisfy two of the essential conditions laid down by
the Holy See for the re-establishment of religious peace in Italy, namely:
the abolition of the Law of Guarantees, and the recognition of the appa
rent and effective independence of the Supreme Pontiff, as temporal
sovereign, in the true significance of the term, and enjoying full and abso
lute sovereignty. Thus a new little State was created in the very heart
of Rome, independent, and placed on an equal footing with the King
dom of Italy, and likewise completely and absolutely sovereign over its
own territory.

THE FINANCIAL CONVENTION. - The financial convention, closely
associated with the political accord (article 25) liquidates Italy's debt
(resulting from the events of 1870) to the Holy See, of a sum of 750
millions and of a billion of Italian consolidated stock at five per cent
to the bearer (face value). We mention the preamble for its moral im
portance. In effect it takes account not only of the severe damages sus
tained by the Holy See following the loss of the patrimony of St. Peter
and of the goods of the ecclesiastical communities, as well as of the ever-
increasing needs of the Church in Rome and elsewhere, but also of the
financial status of the Italian State and of the economic condition of the
nation after the War. That is why the indemnity was limited to what
was strictly indispensable.

THE CONCORDAT. - The Concordat between Italy and the Holy See
is the necessary complement of the political accord, and regulates the
position of religion and of the Church in Italy.

At the same time when the Ministerial commission of 1925 was pre
paring the reform of ecclesiastical legislation, although it had resolved
to consider all the problems, it was constantly confronted with grave
difficulties resulting from the absence of collaboration between the two
parties. On the one hand, this weakened the settlements proposed, and
on the other, rendered obvious the need of reaching a concordat solution.
In fact, if the plan of the commission had become law, although admit
ting the limits imposed by its unilateral character as a law enacted by
the Italian State alone, it would have been necessary to establish between
the civil and ecclesiastical authorities a system of cooperation presuppos
ing continued if not daily relations, while no official relations could exist
between the Church and State. It was thought, for example, that in
order to introduce into Italian legislation the system of nihil obstat in the
nominations of the major benefices, it was essential to have recourse to
various expedients and to follow an indirect route in regulating preliminary
agreements between the State and the Holy See. Thus the projected

The Conciliation between Italy and the Vatican 51

law, based on the principle of cooperation between, the civil and ecclesias
tical authorities could not fail to be altered and limited by the absence
of a concordat foundation. Therefore, although certain criticisms of
the project seemed justified, nevertheless it provided the definite im
pulse for a direct understanding with the Holy See, since it had proved
that any reform of Italian ecclesiastical legislation in conformity with
existing needs, was impossible without proceeding in harmony with the
Holy See. Conversely, it goes without saying that the Concordat has
for its point of departure, an understanding between the two authori
ties; and for its fundamental principle, cooperation between Church and
State. Without stopping here to make a minute analysis of the Concor
dat, we shall limit ourselves to stating two facts:

1. that the labours of the Ministerial commission, a mixed commis
sion with three eminent prelates sitting on it, as we have indicated,
had already prepared the ground and facilitated the conclusion of the
Concordat;

2. that the Italian Concordat, from more than one point of view,
follows the plan of the Papal concordat policy, as I have shown in my
work: I concordats postbellici (Milan, 1929), and is rather similar to the
concordats concluded by the Holy See with Poland and Lithuania, both
Catholic countries and by tradition ultra- Catholic like Italy. But in the
Italian concordat all the provisions are treated with a breadth of view
that is the direct opposite of the liberal legislation of the historic Right,
as we have shown above. The Concordat not only settles these problems
in a precise fashion, but, moreover, it lays down the principles by which
Italian ecclesiastical legislation must be guided in its future enactments.
Furthermore, the unilateral regulations of the Italian State can be promul
gated only after agreement with the Holy See. Thus all Italian ecclesias
tical legislation will be reinvigorated by the combined effect of the Late-
ran accords together with the legislation necessary for their execution
and application. It would perhaps be interesting to note that the Itali
an Government has profited by these agreements with the Holy See to
radically transform the legislation concerning the other religions prac
tised in the State, and these will therefore be able to develop fully under
the guarantee of the Statute and of special laws.

Only one of these provisions of the Concordat deserves mention here,
that concerning marriage. In the majority of faiths, marriage is a sac
rament, the magnum sacramentum of St. Paul, and as such the Catholic
Church views it. The Concordat and the Italian laws have recognized
marriage as a sacrament for Catholics as well as for those who belong
to other creeds. The latter, however, are free to contract only the civil
marriage.

CONCLUSION. - The most complete secrecy was observed in the ne
gotiations which preceded the Lateran Agreements. There were many

52 What is Fascism and why?

in Italy, as well as abroad, who up to the last minute doubted the pos*
sibility of reaching an understanding. Even when the affixing of the
signatures was announced, or to be more exact, when it was made -known
to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See that the negotiations
had come to a conclusion, that unexpected news aroused a lively and pro
found emotion both in Italy and throughout the rest of the world. Abroad,
every State, even those of strictly Catholic tradition, appreciated these
agreements according to its own interests. In Italy, all Catholics rejoiced
and saw in the conclusion of this accord one of Mussolini's most signifi
cant gestures. However, as the first enthusiasm died down, criticisms
arose, but not openly. It is interesting to see from what quarters these
took birth. It goes without saying that neither the Masons, nor the de
mocratic or Jacobin parties, nor their survivors or isolated representa
tives, were pleased. But other sections equally deplored these agree
ments; the Liberals, for example, with infinite grief saw the fall of that
Law of Guarantees which they considered the monument par excellence
of liberal juridical wisdom; they forgot that every legal monument has
an historical function and that this function does not last for ever. Lastly,
and this does not lack piquancy, certain Catholic circles of priests and
of laymen, accustomed to the balance established for more than half
a century from the taking of Rome and the application of the Law of
Guarantees, were likewise dissatisfied and surveyed with suspicions the
novus ordo which was just established so suddenly.

In reality, in the mind of Mussolini, the ecclesiastical reform of 1924
was to serve as a preliminary step towards conciliation and towards con
cordat legislation, and he had conducted it with great political prudence.
But, necessarily, all Fascist enterprises assume a form of revolutionary
realization. It is thus that the whole structure of ecclesiastical legisla
tion, patiently built up during almost eighty years, was overturned in
a few months, and was replaced forthwith by an ecclesiastical legislation
ab imis. It is natural that those who have not been able to follow with
sufficient flexibility the accelerated rhythm of the development of Italian
life, have remained perplexed and astonished.

It is therefore necessary to consider this great historic event for
the conciliation can be truly placed among the great historic events of
modern times - with serenity, and it must not be forgotten that when an
equilibrium is broken and a new regime takes its place, whatever be the
skill and the care which has been taken to work out and settle all details,
certain difficulties, more or less grave, are bound to arise. But balance
is found with time; is it not true that the Law of Guarantees took half a
century to find its poise? And so, the Italian people, in their great major
ity, have seen in this Conciliation the definite consecration of Rome as
capital of Italy and in the installation of religious peace, the realization
of a prophetic dream, the torment of two generations.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR AND ITALY

by GIUSEPPE DE MICHELIS, Senator, President of the International Institute of Agriculture.

Italy's interest in problems relating to Labour protection on an in
ternational scale goes back to the first days of her Unity, and was partly
the outcome of juridical tradition and partly the result of increasing
emigration and the necessity of protecting her emigrant working classes.

When the movement in favour of internationalizing Labour Legis
lation first arose in Europe - in the two decades 1870-1890 preceding
the Berlin Conference Italy took an active part in it and sent Francesco
Crispi on a mission to the different European capitals to speak in its
favour.

Italian delegates also played a leading part in the meetings of the
well-deserving private International Associations and in diplomatic in
ternational conferences, including those held at Berne in 1906 and 1913 -
for the concluding of agreements. Meanwhile, Italy's treaty with France
in 1904, later revised and enlarged in the important 1919 treaty, was
the first example of those two-sided emigration and labour agreements
which at the present day form the basis of an immense system of inter
national conventions for the uniform treatment of working men inde
pendently of nationality.

At the end of the World War this fragmentary and sporadic move
ment, depending for its very existence on the good will of Italy and a
few other Nations, received universal recognition. Exactly ten years
have gone by since the Treaty of Versailles laid the foundations for a
permanent International Organization, whose duty it is to place the move
ment on a solid working basis. The XHIth Part of the Treaty contains
the Statutes of this new achievement of modern civilization. Here again
Italy took up her position in the front ranks. Her plenipotentiaries,
headed by the late Baron Mayor des Planches, fought up to the very
last to secure for the Organization the highest possible standing both
in its field of action and in the binding character of its decisions.

Their work was taken up again on a different front in the annual
meetings of the Organization, which definitely established its headquar
ters at Geneva, as a branch of the League of Nations. In the beginning
it met with strong opposition. French interests were against extending
international legislative protection to agricultural labourers. The new
Institution seemed destined to protect the interests only of the town in
dustrial workers, while neglecting and consequently damaging those of the
field labourers, kept to the old working terms bordering on serfdom. An
glo-Saxon interests threw the weight of their influence against the In
ternational protection of Emigrant Labour. Emigrant labour, in its
turn, in its struggle against the protection policy and abuse of power
of the national socialist syndicalism of rich countries, had serious labour
problems to submit to public opinion. Here again we have to record
two Italian victories over protection interests.

54 What is Fascism and why?

It is mainly owing to Italy's efforts that the International Labour
Office extends its jurisdiction to-day over so many fields of activity.
Thirty-one draft agreements, scores of recommendations, hundreds of
resolutions have approved a single type of legislation for the protec
tion of Labour: working and rest hours - the protection of women
and children - unemployment and retirement - agriculture - the mercan
tile marine and emigration accidents and occupational diseases mi
nimum salaries and social-insurances. Not a single branch of Labour
protection has been overlooked in the agendas of the first ten years*
meetings at Geneva.

A pioneer in promoting and upholding freedom of speech in discus
sion, Italy has always been the first to put the final decisions of the
I. L. 0. into practice. The Duce himself is a champion of all such move
ments. On coming into power he immediately ratified the Wash
ington Convention of 1923, the first to lay down an eight-hour working
day, while other countries are still debating the question. To-day, while
England and Germany, after numerous Conferences and Conventions, are
still -waiting to ratify this mild agreement and while France is entrenching
herself behind a conditional ratification, Italy is prepared to renounce
her conditional agreement of 1923, as she is now in a position to ratify
the convention as it stands.

\ Up to the present moment Italy has ratified some seventeen of the
International Labour agreements. They concern:

1) Working hours; 2) unemployment; 3) night work for women;
4) night work for children; 5) the use of white phosphorus in the manu
facture of matches; 6) unemployment indemnity in case 'of ship -wreck;
7) the retirement of sailors; 8) the minumum age limit for agricultural
labour employment; 9) the association rights of agricultural labourers;
10) weekly industrial rest; 11) the minimum age limit for firemen; 12)
compulsory medical visit of youthful members of ship' crews; 13) uni
form treatment of foreign and national workers as regards payment of
damages in case of accidents; 14) seamens' enlistment contract; 15) the
repatriation of sailors; 16) method for determining minimum salaries;
17) indemnities for agricultural labourers. Parliament has already author
ized the ratification of the following agreements. 1) assistance in
childbirth; 2) minimum age limit for industrial labour; 3) minimum
age limit for maritime labour ; 4) the use of white-lead in paint. Very
soon most of these agreements will be ratified. J

Lastly, the following agreements have been discussed and presented
for ratification: 1) the inspection of emigrants on board ship; 2) indem
nities for " occupational " diseases.

The above covers twenty-three of the thirty-one agreements drawn
up by the International Labour Conferences of the last ten years. To
these must be added the Accident Insurance Reform and the forthcom
ing institution of compulsory insurance against diseases, already in

International Labour and Italy 55

force for tuberculosis. These will soon lead to the ratification of three
other agreements connected with the above-mentioned forms of mutual
labour insurance.

This is a further proof of how much our social legislation has im*
proved, especially in its relations with international obligations. It
is obvious that Italy is in a position to maintain her advanced position
on this ground owing to the fact that her home legislation keeps pace
with the kind of legislation being formulated at Geneva on such ad
vanced lines.

The International Labour Organization has been faced with the
following problems in the last two years. After going over the entire
field of traditional Labour legislation in every possible direction, from
the protection of workers to social Insurances, the I. L. O. seemed to
have come to a deadlock. What new work remained to be done ? On the
other hand, what was the best way to consolidate the work already
achieved in order to render it more responsive to constantly changing
economic conditions than had been possible in the enthusiasm of the
first years ?

Here again Italian initiative came to the fore and offered its contri*
bution to the movement:

1) by suggesting the enlargement of the Organization' s scope ;

2) by insisting on the necessity of giving deep thought to eco
nomic problems lying at the basis of the various labour problems;

3) by suggesting that the Organization should concentrate its
attention not so much on minute individual problems of labour protec
tion as on the elaboration of a Labour Statute based on a renewed and
sounder organization.

These are distinctively Italian and Fascist conceptions.

The after war social changes have accentuated the difficulties of the
middle classes. Small manufacturers, tradesmen and farmers, craftsmen
and professional men, the intellectual classes and office employees
have many interests in common with manual workers, all of which call
for immediate protection. Occupational organizations aim also at re
conciling all these interests. The wall which formerly seemed to stand
between the interests of the professional classes and manual labour has
fallen. Common interests demand a common defence. The Fascist Syn
dicalist Organization, with its capacity for understanding the new pro
blems, has placed all kinds of labour on the same common basis: be it
organizing labour, skilled labour or manual labour.

In the international domain also the intellectual classes and
artit^tns (another form of productive labour which modern industrial
development has not yet succeeded in banishing) have joined hands and
knocked at the door of the International Labour Office. Industrial
manual workers still entrench themselves behind worn-out ideas of pro
tectionism. Some of the suggestions made by the present writer have

56 What is Fascism and why ?

had the good fortune to clear up not a few prejudices. To-day profes
sional men, office workers, and artisans have each their own Commission
to represent them at Geneva, to voice their interests and their needs,
to study their problems and to take the best possible legislative measures
in their defence. Thanks to Italy's efforts, millions of men may now
look to Geneva with the same confidence that inspired the manual
workers of the great industries.

Is there any possibility of making Labour legislation efficacious
independently of changing economic conditions ? Do not these condi
tions determine the minimum and maximum limits of such legislation ?
By neglecting them does one not risk keeping the minimum limit at a
very low level to the detriment of the working-classes ? Does one not
risk exceeding the maximum limit and thereby jeopardizing the stability
of legislative action ?

All these are big problems which the International Labour Office has
perhaps made the mistake of not weighing sufficiently, urged on by the
impatient desire to get something done. But the well-remembered inquiry
into the problem of production conducted in 1920 by an Italian, Sig.
Pirelli, gave expression to these same doubts. Then the situation seemed
to show signs of definite improvement. Recently, however, it took a
turn in the opposite direction. What was happening to European econ
omy, the principal sphere of action of the International Organization
of Labour, in the face of the forced competition of the U. S. A. which
still keeps aloof from the work being done at Geneva ?

It is owing to another Italian, Signor Olivetti, that the present
situation has been courageously and clearly delineated at the Labour
Conferences of the last years. The growing understanding of economics
of the working-class delegates permits of a more thorough examination
of economic problems in their bearings on the problems of Labour
protection.

There is perhaps a tendency to exaggerate in the opposite direction:
to claim to study and settle within the Organization both economic
and labour problems relating to special branches of economic activities
and the protection of the interests of the several nations. Only yesterday
the preliminary Conference met to discuss the labour problems connected
with the European coal industry and it hopes to discover a way oi
solving on an international scale the crisis this important branch of
industry is struggling through in certain countries. I have taken care,
however, to show the dangers this road may lead to, by unjustly favour
ing some countries to the disadvantage of others, and by becoming
a menace to the prestige of the Organization. One must not forget
the universal character of the I. L. O. and its task of settling problems
mainly economical, but concrete and limited to the labour sphere. If
th* Organization works wisely and intelligently it may be practically

International Labour and Italy 57

sure of success when it decides to face the more difficult problems of
general economic organization.

Personally, I see another and a broad way open to the International
Labour Organization in this new phase: here again Italy has led the
way, aided by her experience at home. More than three years ago, the
writer suggested to the Labour Conference that it should face the problem
of joint Labour agreements and of a legal solution of industrial
conflicts (by arbitration or Labour Courts). These suggestions were
favourably received by Signor Bottai, who by bringing to the two
last Conferences at Geneva the weight of his personal authority and
revolutionary experience, was able to show the necessity and advantages
of this new tendency. We must consider partial reforms as a thing of
the past and boldly face the fundamental problems of social organiza
tion, on the new basis of a comprehensive juridical organization of all the
producers and including all trades.

From this point of view all the valuable work done at Geneva in
the first ten years appears, indeed, in a very poor light, and the class
conceptions still ruling there seem absolutely misleading. The yearly
discussions relating to the appointment of the Italian Workmens' dele
gate may have been irritating to the Italian public, but they offered
the representatives of Fascism a chance to prove how far the Conference
had gone astray in practice from the spirit of its Statutes. They have
made it possible to correct these backsliding tendencies in the interests
of the Organization, and they have shown how fertile the new concep
tion of liberty based on the union of producers of all classes - i. e,
on Fascist Syndicalism - may be. This shifts the centre of gravity
from the interests of the individual or a class and carries it into a wider
social field. The aim in view is still one of social freedom in which
freedom of action and freedom of syndical association become a func
tion and a duty rather than a revindication and a right. The final
result is a more efficacious and dignified defence of the rights of labour.

A country upholding such a course of action in international
spheres, in a healthier and more genuine revolutionary sense, is bound
to receive recognition as a sincere promoter of the improvement of
labour conditions in the world. And, indeed, prejudices in other countries
which have at times obscured the vision of the true spirit of Fascism
and the new Italy already show signs of falling away.

AGRICULTURE UNDER THE FASCIST REGIME

by GIACOMO ACERBO, Minister of Agriculture.

I. - Agriculture, as is well known, represents for us Italians the rich
est source of life and prosperity since, together with the crafts depend
ent on it and related to it, it employs more than half our population.
If one considers the number of people employed (excluding the women who
devote themselves to domestic cares), 55 inhabitants out of 100 exercised
their activities in agriculture before the war, whereas the percentage of
the agricultural population is 40 % in France, 35 % in Germany, and
12 % in the United Kingdom. The proportion of the industrial popula
tion, however, which is about 28 % in Italy, rises in France to 32 %,
to 40 % in Germany, and 44 % in England, while the commercial popu
lation is respectively 8 % 14 %, 12 %, and 23 %. These few figures
bear witness to the much greater relative importance of agriculture in
Italy over all other forms of economic activity, as compared with other
European States. Nor have the proportions been substantially altered
with the passing of time. We should add that in the small centres a
great part of the population, although not, statistically speaking, to be
classified under the name of agricultural population, lives in close contact
with the rural background.

( Calculations for the evaluation of the national wealth in its sum to
tal and its several forms are also very significant. On the present rough
total wealth of 400 thousand million lire, rural property, including build
ings, represents quite 160 thousand millions, cattle 20 thousand millions,
and agricultural machinery and equipment 5 thousand millions: so that
one may certainly say that about half the total Italian wealth consists
of rural property and land J

According to other computations, out of a total of 5,40 thousand
million lire, 235 thousand millions represent the value of country property,
farm buildings, and cattle; thus the proportion of agricultural property
(excluding agricultural machinery and implements, and, generally
speaking, all the mobile stock appertaining to agriculture) would still
be about 44 %. While less conspicuous, the share of agriculture in the
composition of the national revenue is none the less very big. Out of
a total of from 85 to 100 thousand million lire, 30-32 thousand millions
represent the income from agriculture, pasturage and forest- culture, while
28-36 thousand millions represent the proportion of industry, and 10-11
thousand millions that of trade and banking.

One must also remember that industry is to a great extent depend
ent on agriculture, which it supplies with machines and agricultural
implements, raw products and subsidiary materials, while agricultural
products and the financing of agricultural production is largely responsible
for commercial and banking activity.

Agriculture under the Fascist Regime 59

II, - This essential factor in our economic system was seriously
impaired by the war, nor were the first three years of peace ahle substan
tially to improve the situation. Although they had not suffered irrepa
rable losses, the natural resources of the country were greatly impover
ished by reason of the feverish and undisciplined cutting down of the
forests, the reduction of income from live-stock, and the serious losses
sustained by agriculture in the fighting zone. Fortunately, a great part
of this zone consisted of mountainous and uncultivated ground, so that
the general scheme of Italian agrarian economy was not badly hit by the
arrest of work in the war zones ; and this was immediately remedied after
wards by re-building homes, re-filling cattle-pens, and resuming the accus
tomed work. Much greater was the loss caused to agriculture by the
lack of workers as the result of recruiting, and by the scarcity of ferti
lizing materials: in fact, from 1913 to 1919 food imports jump from 0.7
to 5.2 thousand million lire; an increase of value obviously much greater
than the corresponding decline in value of the lire, and thus, in the case
of many goods, due in part to the increase in the quantity of the imports.
For cereals, the deficit to be covered by imports was much larger in
the period 1915-22, and the increased amount of imports does not
indicate a greater consumption, but a scanty and insufficient home pro
duction, whereas the like increase in meat imports was only in part
caused by increased consumption, and is much more due to the diminish
ing of home supplies of cattle available for slaughter; and while the
importation of food products was increasing, numerous branches of agri
cultural exportation, such as flour, macaroni, fresh fruit, meat, eggs,
poultry, and cheese almost ceased. Exports of wine, vegetables, fresh
greens, lemons, oranges, and preserved fruits also greatly diminished; this
was due in part to the reduced buying capacity of foreign markets, but
in a still greater degree to decreased home production.

III. - This critical condition, directly due to the war, was rapidly
and greatly aggravated by the outbreak of a frenzied class war. History
seemed about to record some terrible catastrophe. All productive acti
vity was inevitably paralyzed, and agriculture could not escape the
general depression. Organizations of every kind, obsessed by purely
party interests often conflicting with the common interest, were rife, and
had irreparably undermined the authority of the State and weakened
the strength of its organs. Together with this progressive paralysis of
public forces, powerful and menacing coalitions of economic and political
interests were growing up; and these pursued the policy of fighting for
futile and petty causes on the pretext of framing vast schemes of action,
even organizing general strikes, no longer as an extreme means, but as
a daily weapon of social strife and disruption. The observer and the
historian are particularly struck by the acute aspects of this movement,

60 What is Fascism and why?

which passed from obstructionism to strikes on the one hand, and the
seizing of factories and land on the other, thus reducing production to
a standstill; hut the less striking, the chronic forms of class unrest and
strife were equally baneful - the reduction of hours of work, whether
agreed or imposed, the reduced output on time work, negligence in the
execution of tasks and in the upkeep of works, and so forth.

This crisis did not spare agriculture. Industrial strikes alternated
with agrarian strikes; they had been very frequent before the war ever
since 1901, abating slightly with the peasants' organization of the years
1902-3, but in 1904 the number of agrarian strikes (210) was almost five
times as great as in 1903, and the number of strikers (94,816) more than
four times as great, pointing to an alarming revival of agrarian agitation,
which flung the country into a new state of crisis. There were varying
periods; but during the war at least strikes enormously decreased in num
ber, and the working classes co-operated very effectively in direct and
indirect war work. In 1919, the number of strikes suddenly increased
again: in agriculture they jumped from 10 in 1918 to 208 in 1919, with
505,129 strikers, and to 189 in 1920 with 1,045,733 strikers. This move
ment began to be on the wane in 1921, mainly as a result of the ener
getic action of the Fascist squadrons. This agitated period of course enor
mously increased the prevailing tendency of post-war times -the tendency
to abandon the land and to overcrowd the cities, to which the workers
felt attracted by the restless spirit of adventure, of faction and of civil
war, which seemed to travail the country in those tragic years.

IV. - Fascism restored order and tranquillity to the country condi
tions indispensable for any sort of economic activity, and especially for
agriculture, the fruits of which ripen slowly and over long periods. It
restored security of land property and the respect for labour contracts;
and thus it roused again in the minds of our rural multitudes that tradi
tional sense of attachment to the soil which is to-day, under the Duce's
rule, the most powerful incentive for the achievment of our purpose of
securing the maximum output from our soil.

This is the natural consequence of the decisive victory won by Fa
scism in its heroic and bloody struggle with all those subversive movements,
- communist and anarchic - that were tearing our country asunder, but it
is also the result of the decisive and comprehensive agricultural policy that
characterizes the political programme of the Regime.

Thus, with the coming into power of the Fascist Government, the
terrible cirisis that had alarmed the nation in the years immediately after
the war, with such deleterious effects on the agriculture of the country,
subsided, and tranquillity took the place of confusion and insecurity of
tenure and rights. The next step was to revoke the measures weakly
and wantonly passed for the concession of lands - measures that, without
benefiting agriculture, had caused grave embarrassment to the owners,

Agriculture under the Fascist Regime 61

and had proved a serious obstacle to the investment of capital in works
of land improvement. Other measures which restricted the liberty of
agrarian contracts were gradually emended, and thus Italian farmers be
gan to feel once more free and secure and returned with renewed enthu
siasm to invest their money in land and in land reclamation and improve
ments.

Social peace and class collaboration found juridical expression later -
in agriculture as in the other spheres of national economy - in the Fascist
syndicalist and corporative organization of the Italian population. This
is not the place to describe, however briefly, Fascist corporative or " guild "
organization 4n its economic, juridical and social aspects; it will be suffi
cient to record that all categories of employers of agricultural labour were
included in the employers' syndicates: together with landowners, properly
so-called, were also the owners of small holdings and lessees, the actual
cultivators of farm lands; while, in the workers' syndicates, were included
labourers and day- workers on the one hand, farm-managers and metayers
on the other. As for the agricultural experts, they were included in the
syndicates for professional men, and they accomplish a very useful and
beneficial work; moreover employers, workers and experts co-operate
willingly in all matters of national economic importance.

It is impossible to estimate the fine contribution of the great and
small syndical and corporative bodies, not only towards the peaceful
and profitable regulation of the relations between capital and labour,
but also towards the best solution of vital problems connected with pro
duction, technique and, generally speaking, the whole question of agrarian
economy.

V. - If we pass from general and syndicalistic policy to examine the
action of the National Government in the more strictly agricultural field,
we are faced with an imposing scheme of work, aiming at developing to
its maximum capacity every force that aids in making the land more pro
fitable and giving a greater incentive to production. It has been right
fully said that the greatest revolution effected in the field of pre-war
economy was that caused by the transformation of agrarian technique.
The extension of cultivation to untilled lands in our continent and, more
particularly, in other continents, had in the XIX th century stimulated the
quest of new means of drawing a greater amount of produce from the soil.
Fascist Italy, utilizing the discoveries of the last century, which were added
to and perfected by fresh research and experiments on a vast scale, is
now systematically extending the use of scientific methods of farming,
as she has already done in the industries that utilize agricultural pro
duce. Elsewere in this record of Fascist achievement due mention is
made of the measures passed with the intention of promoting the pro
gress of agrarian technique; but here we wish to mention particularly
the laws passed with the aim of intensifying and regulating the campaign

62 What is Fascism and why ?

against the agricultural pests that menace the fruits of hard toil in the
fields.

The Government has, above all, given the greatest help to those insti
tutions that lend themselves to propaganda purposes and to technical
developments. The measures, so long needed, for the re-organization of
institutes devoted to agrarian experiments, and for creating an institute
of research in rural economy and statistics deserve particular note. It is
intended that every large district, which naturally presents its own pe
culiar agrarian characteristics, and therefore its own peculiar problems,
shall have its own experimental institute, or a group of institutes
working in close co-operation, capable of facing such problems with
adequate means. In the districts where they exist, the higher Institutes
of Agriculture have been assigned the task of co-ordinating all this
experimental work entrusted to them and to other institutes. Ordinary
agrarian instruction in schools is also improved and has been the object
of special attention, while the technical instruction of the peasants and
the institution of model farms for practical instruction in farming for
young peasants has been supervised with equal care (Act of December
13, 1928, No. 2885). Since the State lacked its own technical agrarian
staff in outlying districts (the excellent professors of the Travelling Chairs
of Agriculture are mainly concerned with propaganda), regional agrarian
inspectorships have been constituted. These will relieve the Travelling
Chairs of certain tasks less suited to them, and will assume others which
previously pertained to the Ministry itself, thus actively exercising vigi
lance over all the numerous bodies under the control of the Ministry
which the latter previously found it difficult to supervise directly.

VI. - The vigorous help given to land propaganda, research, and
agrarian instruction could not but show itself in a swiftly increasing
diffusion of the most modern methods of agrarian science and technique;
and the fruits of this progress were not slow in ripening.

The Wheat Campaign, conducted by the Head of the Government
on the principle of not changing, to the disadvantage of other culti
vations, either the natural distribution of cultivated land or the most
economical division of available capital and labour, has consequently
been a campaign for technical progress and to obtain the maximum yield
per unit. In fact, all the measures adopted have this central aim, from
those concerning the institution of a permanent Wheat Committee, con
sisting of eminent technical experts, to measures of propaganda, such as
demonstrations and experimental research in connection with wheat
growing, the encouragement of the use of selected seed, the extended use
of motor-ploughing, electro- cultivation, and agrarian machinery, great
prize competitions, the work of land reclamation, etc.

This intense and devoted work has resulted in an increase of the
wheat crop from an average of 5 million metric tons before the war,

Agriculture under ike Fascist Regime

and of barely 4.5-4.6 millions in the years immediately after the war,
to an average of more than 6.1 million tons in the first six years of the
Wheat Campaign; while in 1929 a total of 7.1 million tons was attained,
with an average production of 1.4 tons per hectare (1.97 in the north, 1.2
in the centre, 1.35 in the south, 1.29 in the Islands).

In these last years maximum yields per unit have been achieved:
these rise to 6.45 met. tons in the north, and 4 tons and more in Southern
Italy, which is now being cultivated on the extensive system.

As for other cereals, the crops are shown in the following table, which
illustrates better than any words the general progress of national agricul
ture since the coming into power of the new Regime.

Products

Average in Millions of Quintals
(10 Quintals = 1 metric ton)

1909-13

1924 | 1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

"\VTieat

50.4
1.6
4.8
2.3
5.5
26.1

46.3
1.6
5.9
1.9
4.8
26.8

65,5
1.7
6.3
2.8
6.9
27.9

60.1
1.7
6.9
2.4
5.9
30.-

53.3
1.5

7.-
2.1
4.5

22.2

62.2
1,7
6.3

2.4
7.-
16.5

70.8
1.8
6.7
2.6

7.-
25.3

57.4
1.6
6.5
2.4
5.3
28.7

Rv e

Barley

Qats

Total in Quintals

90.7

87.3

111.1

107.-

90,6

96.1

114.2

101.9

The cereal crops have risen from 9-9.1 million metric tons in 1909-13
to 11.4 million tons in 1929, and to 10.34 in the six years 1925-1930;
thus the production has risen from an average of 247 to 253 kgs.per inhab
itant. Italy has, in a word, succeeded in harmonizing cereal production
with demographic development, while in this effort the greatest States
in Europe, notably France and Germany, are declining visibly. (Germany
has fallen from 408 to 318 kgs. and France from 417 to 366 kgs. from
the pre-war period to 1925-28).

Industrial cultivation is also being fully developed, both in quantity
and in quality. The 1930 production of beetroot, amounting to about
3.025 million metric tons (27.39 per hectare) is superior to that of last
year (2.925 million tons: 25.18 per hectare), although the quality of the
sugar is not so good. (The average polarization, originally of 10 degrees,
reached in 1929, 16.67 degrees, thus very nearly equalling the rate of the
most progressive countries of Central Europe).

For 1930 a very good tobacco crop is expected (49,338.8 metric tons)
against 48,100 in 1929. As for hemp, the last crop of 91,353 tons is
little below the level of the average of the last six years and is superior
to the crop of 1929. Flax whether for seed or fibre, covers an ever de
creasing area of cultivation, but the average production per hectare has
risen from 301 kilos (1928) to 500 and 409 kilos (1929-30) for fibre-flax,
and from 406 (1928) to 509 kilos (1929-30) for seed-flax.

The cultivation of mulberry-trees has yielded excellent results. With

64 What is Fascism and why?

1.48 million tons of leaves, 894 thousand ounces of eggs have been
raised, i. e. little less than in 1928 and 1929; but the actual yield has been
greater, so that the amount of cocoons has reached almost 53 milion
kgs., that is 59 kgs. per ounce raised, against 56,7 in 1928 and 58 in
1929.

This increase is more striking when compare"! with the pre-war pe
riod: it may be calculated at about 7 million kgs., including the products
of the new provinces. This shows how much improvement has been made
in the use of silk-worm eggs and the science of breeding, thanks to the
regulation of their production and sale, to measures taken against lime-
disease, and the assiduous campaign of propaganda that has been carried
on until now and must be further intensified. To give greater incen
tive to the silk industry the National Silk Company was founded; but
the production of silk cocoons is still inferior to the normal needs of
Italian industry, and the yield of the eggs is still far from the 70 kgs.
per ounce that could certainly be attained through further progress in
the technique of production. The Italian silk problem, which is of the
greatest importance to our export trade - to which silk contributes
to the extent of about 2 thousand million lire - must be solved mainly
from, the agricultural end by the cultivation of mulberry trees for silk
worms, and in fact this form of cultivation is increasingly encouraged and
aided, particularly in Southern Italy,

Our vineyards, a source of prosperity for whole regions of Italy, in
spite of the extensive destruction wrought by phylloxera, maintain, on
the whole, their position, and by the introduction of American vines are
energetically disputing the field with the destructive parasites. The efforts
made by the Government nurseries and anti-phylloxera associations, now
organized as provincial vine-growing associations, are doing much to remedy
the situation. The vineyards are now almost everywhere being organized
along essentially economic lines of cultivation, with more and moje stand
ardized products, better suited for foreign markets; these include not
only wines, but also desert grapes, which are in growing demand. The
National Government has not failed to provide legislative measures against
disloyal competition, in defence of our typical national wines, and to push
them in foreign markets.

Meanwhile new schemes are afoot for Italian olive cultivation; if
these schemes are carried out with the success they already promise,
our olives should be able to win back the supremacy they formerly held,
recently yielded, for various reasons, to other European countries. The
present depression is being met by energetic protection measures, espe
cially against the competition of seed oils; and thus it may even have
beneficial results. As far back as August 1927, arrangements were made
for the institution of associations among olive cultivators, with the aim of
increasing the cultivation and the use of efficacious weapons against
diseases and parasites, besides the replacing of old and useless trees and

Agriculture under the Fascist Regime

the opening of scientific nurseries, the use of selected olive trees for
experimental purposes, the organization of the sale and exportation of
olive products, and so on. Other measures are now being considered;
but the real safeguarding of national agriculture lies in the progress of
agricultural science, and of processes of industrial development, by means
of which crops can certainly be increased, and the cost per unit be
diminished, while an intense work of methodical reconstruction is being
carried on, for which the Government will not fail to give our olive grow
ers every encouragement, incentive, and technical and scientific assistance.

VII. - The leguminous forage crop, which is indissolubly connected
with wheat cultivation, claims the greatest care, and will benefit by the
vigorous impulse given to wheat production - a further proof of the
connection between the progress of wheat cultivation and that of live-stock

breeding.

The varying situations recorded in the following table show the po
sition of Italy's live-stock capital during the last twenty-six years:

1901

1908

1914

1918

1926

900,000

955,878

1,000,000

989,786

1,050,000

800,000

849,723

930,000

949,162

980,000

Mules

350,000

388,337

420,000

500,555

520,000

Cattle

6,000,000

6,218,227

6,920,000

6,239,341

7,400,000

2,250,000

2,507,798

2,750,000

2,338,926

2,850,000

Sheep ....

10,700,000

11,162,926

12,000,000

11,753,910

12,350,000

Goats

2,500,000

2,714,878

3,000,000

3,082,558

3,100,000

TOTAL

23,500,000

24,797,767

27,020,000

25,854,238

28,250,000

There is no doubt that but for the war we should have achieved
much greater and more striking results. The war was a great set-back to
the progress achieved by resolute efforts in the preceding years, and a
great part of the activity displayed in the following period has been ab
sorbed by attempts to win back the lost positions. The chief products
of stock-breeding (livestock, meat, dairy produce, eggs, bacon, lard) were
sufficient in 1900 (wools and horses excepted) to meet national needs,
and even permitted a moderate exportation. In 1926 there was still an
annual exportation of the value of 450 million lire, but this declined in
1927 and in 1928 gave place to a deficit of almost 300 millions and in
1929 to a much greater deficit of about 500 million.

Considering also wools (a heavy burden on the trade balance of animal
products, with a very slight exportation and an importation of from 900
to 1,751 million lire) and undressed skins, a deficit must be noted of con
siderably more than a thousand million lire, which in 1929 approached
one and a half thousand millions. The situation shows a considerable

66 What is Fascism and why?

improvement on that immediately following the war, but [still leaves
much to be desired.

Immediately after the war, two serious problems presented them
selves: the re-organization of the live-stock resources of the freed and re
stored provinces and the carrying out of a programme aiming at restoring
all the damage caused by the war, and at effecting a more marked rate of
progression in the animal production of the Kingdom. For this purpose
special commissions were instituted in the South with the task of intensi
fying activity in those zones so much neglected in the past. But available
funds did not suffice. To the Government belongs the great merit of
having provided for these important branches of our national economy.
Among the more important measures taken we must record: a) the ade
quate increase of the fund for promoting live-stock research and the great
impetus given to the efforts of the Ministry to encourage and supplement
those made by our farmers in this field; b) the re-organization of the stock-
breeding institutes of Rome, Turin, Reggio Emilia, Biella, Palermo and
Bosa as associations, and the creation of new institutes at Modena and
Pavia; c) the compulsory examination of bulls kept for public breeding
purposes in the Kingdom, and the extension of this rule also to bulls used
for private breeding.

Government intervention has been prompt and effective in connec
tion also with horse-breeding, introducing three measures of fundamental
importance: a) the conversion of the eight existing horse-breeding studs
from government concerns into commercial syndicates (R. D. of Septem
ber 6, 1923, No. 2125); b) the authorization of the expenditure of 29
million lire, in ten consecutive financial years, as an addition to the nor
mal funds appropriated on the Budget for the breeding of horses and mules
(R. D. September 4, 1925, No. 1734); c) the better regulation of the exami
nation of horses destined for public breeding, and the extension of this
compulsory examination also to donkeys; the restoration of the horse-breed
ing council, (R. D. August 13, 1926, No. 1559). Nor must we forget the
Royal Decree of October 23, 1925 about the raising of bees; comprenhen-
sive provisions on behalf of poultry and rabbit- breeding (R. D. Sep
tember 3, 1926, No. 1796) and the group of regulations contained in the
Act of October 15, 1925 (which regulates the production and sale of agra
rian produce) for the protection of genuine farm produce against frauds
and shams of all kinds.

We now come to the fundamental law concerning live-stock produc
tion (June 28, 1929, No. 1366) which aims at consolidating the provisions
contained in numerous Acts and regulations and introducing necessary
amendments - a law that has infused new life into the work of zootech-
nical progress and improvement. By virtue of this law, each province
has in fact its own programme of action, decided by the Provincial Econ
omic Council on proposals put forward by the travelling Chairs of Agri
culture, the Council being responsible for the actual execution of the pro-

Agriculture under the Fascist Regime 67

gramme, which includes, to a greater or lesser extent, as necessary, the
measures proved to be most effective: diffusion of forage growing, the im
provement of pastures and meadows, teaching the principles of healthy
cattle-feeding, the better utilization of forage, the construction of sylos,
the erection of breeding studs, the use of pedigree books, the control of
milk production, live-stock exhibitions and competitions, and so forth.
The Ministry of Agriculture revises and co-ordinates these programmes
and grants each year adequate contributions for their execution, according
to the conditions and needs of live-stock breeding in each province, and
the amount contributed by local institutions.

VIII. Italy is the land of first-fruits, the great natural conservatory
of Europe, enjoying a mild climate favourable to every kind of early
growth. The progress achieved in fruit and vegetable growing has been
great since 1900, and especially since the war. In building up our great
fruit trade, the needs of the home market have not been neglected, but at
the same time efforts have been made to win the international markets,
which require fruit and vegetables of first-rate quality; and by now our
fruit and vegetable exports approach the value of 2 thousand million lire
yearly.

Now, the sine qua non of successful exportation is that the goods des
patched shall be wholesome, of a high standard of quality, clean, pro
perly graded and very well packed. By conforming to these conditions,
high-class farm businesses have won a place in the international markets;
production and exportation co-operative societies have successfully plac
ed their goods abroad, while the farmers have redoubled their efforts
to produce goods better adapted to varying and increasingly exigent de
mands.

The Government has encouraged these worthy efforts of private
initiative by a whole series of laws, intended to regulate the exportation
of fruit and vegetable produce; laws which we have no need to expound
in detail here.| It will suffice to mention the creation by the Govern
ment of the National Exportation Institute, which safeguards Italian
fruit and vegetable produce and aims at organizing, regulating, and
guiding the efforts of the cultivators, and at achieving new successes
in the free and fertile sphere of international trade.]/

IX. - The wide-spread activity in the scientific technique of produc
tion and trade above briefly described is inspired by a comprehensive vi
sion of agrarian, economic and social policy, based on a scheme in course
of execution, and culminating in the synthetic and unifying conception
of the <( bonifica integrate , or complete reclamation of the land.

Here again we need not illustrate the vast legislative^work of the Fascist
Government, thanks to which the conception and the comprehensive scheme
of the complete reclamation of the land has been gradually but surely

68 What is Fascism and why?

taking definitive form: the subject is of such vital importance that it forms
the object of a special study in this publication by my worthy friend and
collaborator, Signor Serpieri, who presides over the work of reclaiming
the land. I shall therefore limit myself to observing that from the origi
nal, narrow conception of reclamation, concerned solely with draining
and recovering marshy areas, we have come to the conception of the
total transformation of a given territory (marshy or not marshy) with
all the means needed to make it fit for intensive cultivation, these means
naturally varying according to the actual circumstances at the start and
the final aims. In short, it is a question of completely reclaiming the ter
ritory, that is to say, providing it with the permanent technical equipment
necessary to fit it for intensive production and to render it capable
of supporting th*r densest possible population by the best use of the land
and the water. ( The great work of reclaiming the land was crowned by
the Mussolini Act of December 24, 1928, No. 3134, with the special purpose
of supplying the financial means for giving the work of reclamation a
steady and consistent development, capable of growth from year to year;
above all. this Act has gathered together under a single ideal and aim
the numerous old and new regulations, thus creating *a powerful instru
ment for the development of the country's resources. \

X. - Under the pressure of the demographic increase in the last
years preceding the war, a state of warfare between man and the forests
had declared itself. Man, in his daily struggle for life, being in need
of land to work on and to supply his needs, destroyed the forests, which
he viewed as something hostile to his prosperity, by fire, and axe, and
by turning them into grazing lands. Thus, notwithstanding the laws
that protected the woods and all steep slopes, our forests were making
room more and more for pasturage and casual cultivation, without any
attempt being made to prepare the land properly. As a consequence,
torrent and flood disasters in mountainous or hilly areas steadily increased,
and constituted a continuous menace to the fertile plains below.

With the Forest Act of 1923, Fascism proposed to ensure the sta
bility of the soil as weU as the good preservation and extension of our
forests, with the ultimate aim of regulating the supply of water. How
much has been achieved by the Regime through this Act and by further
protective measures is shown in a separate chapter by Arnaldo Mussolini,
Honorary President of the National Forestry Committee.

XI. - The impetus given by the National Government to agriculture
necessitated some solution of the problem of Agrarian Credit, to give
Italian agriculture the support of powerful machinery capable of rais
ing national production to a high level. The R. D. of September 30,
1923 (no. 3139) is undoubtedly a courageous attempt to solve the dif
ficult problem of the financing of operations depending on Land Credit.

Agriculture under the Fascist Regime 69

The salient feature of this reform is that, by decree of the Minister of
National Economy, Institutes doing business in Land Credit may be
authorized to issue bonds granting mortgage loans for the purposes of land
and agricultural improvement, on the condition that they institute special
self-governing sections with their own capital. And to facilitate the issue
and sale of these bonds it was arranged that the State should aid in the
payment of annual interest on the loans up to a limit of 2.50 %.

For this purpose 4 million lire were appropriated on the National
Budget in the financial year 1924-25, to be increased by 4 millions in
each successive year, up to a maximum of 40 million lire annually.

In spite of this generous help, no real success was achieved by the
scheme, so that in the financial year 1926-27 it was found expedient
to cancel the assignment of the state funds appropriated to the payment
of the government contribution to these loans.

The reason for this failure is above all to be ascribed to the fact
that institutes of ordinary land credit lack any organization fit to cope
with the new function. For operations of agrarian credit an adequate
organization is necessary to study the economic and technical aspects of
the works for which loans are granted,, and to control the actual exec
ution of the works. On the other hand, the conditions of the market
did not allow of a large subscription to these agrarian bonds, nor were
the loans themselves acceptable to the farmers, who were obliged to
calculate beforehand the difference between their nominal and current
value.

A rational and thorough reform of agrarian credit law was badly
needed; and this was effected by the R. Decree Law of July 29, 1927.
First of all the law divides all operations of land credit into two cate
gories: loans for current work and those for improvements, including
in the second category operations of crop improvement and of actual land
improvement. For the farming credit, which coincides in length with the
agricultural year, the loan generally takes the form of agrarian bills , which
must contain an indication of the aim of the loan, of the property to which
it refers and of the special guarantees securing it. Improvements credit,
aiming at radical changes of cultivation and the full development of
the land, takes two forms: bills of exchange for short-term loans,, and
special loan contracts for loans covering a long period, with the offer
of sufficient guarantees, usually mortgage, but also of other kinds, among
which there is the guarantee of the privilegio agrario convenzionale (agreed
Agrarian Privilege) on movable property (produce, goods and live stock),
which is particularly to the advantage of lessees who have nine-year
contracts, or contracts covering a longer period, as it enables them to
effect improvements. And for these improvement operations the Mi
nistry of National Economy assists in the payment of interests, as regu
lated by the Ministry itself within the maximum limit of 2.50 %.

Institutes authorized to grant agrarian credit are divided into two

70 What is Fascism and why?

categories. The first includes those specially designated for the purpose:
i.e. all bodies organized to grant agrarian Credit, such as the Agrarian
Banks and the Wheat and Money Loan Banks (nummari), now converted
into Communal Banks of Agrarian Credit. In the second category are
included Saving Banks, Pledge Banks, Agrarian Institutes, commercial
and co-operative Credit Banks, legally constituted Agrarian Associations,
the National ex- Service Men's Institution, Land Credit Institutes and the
National Banks for Social Insurances. Lest the work of these Institutes
should tend to develop in different ways in different regions and fail
to correspond to the farmers' needs, there have been created special
regional groups, entrusting to a particular body the task of guiding,
co-ordinating and supplementing for each group the local credit oper
ations in favour of agriculture.

Moreover, since the above mentioned Institutes, although authorized
to grant credits for improvements, could not develop the operations
on an adequate scale without exhausting their available funds, there
has been established a National Consortium for Agrarian Improvements'
Credit, to finance all those operations of agrarian improvement and
reclamation that cannot be aided, for the reasons above indicated,
by their local institutes. The Consortium is empowered to issue interest-
bearing bonds, both inscribed and payable to the bearer, to be repaid
over a period not exceeding five years, besides inscribed and bearer
bonds redeemed by drawing lots. In addition to the Government, 53
Institutes powerful semi-official financial bodies among others are
concerned in the Syndicate, which has an initial capital of 270 mil
lion lire.

Roughly speaking, this summarizes the devoted, beneficent, and
really creative work of the Fascist Regime in favour of national agri
culture. Certain aspects of the picture have necessarily been overlooked;
but we trust that even this rapid, comprehensive sketch may give an
impression of the zealous fervour that inspires this work, so full of
comfort for the present and of promise for the future.

Recently the Head of the Government united and co-ordinated
under one Ministry, that of Agriculture and Forests, all administrative
activities directed towards the agricultural progress of the Nation, hither
to divided up - especially as regards land reclamation and irrigation
between several State Administrations. This measure does not merely
aim at co-ordinating the work and bringing it under a single control,
but is also a recognition of the primary position that agriculture holds
in the national life and general policy of the Government.

^ It should be clearly realized that Mussolini's rural policy is not
narrowed to the interests of the farming class and agricultural economy
alone; it extends beyond and above this, and is one with his action in
national economy as a whole and with his moral teaching; it is of the
essence of his social and political policy, j

Agriculture under the Fascist Regime 71

If carefully considered, not only the policy of agrarian development,
but demographic policy, the restriction of emigration, and, more par
ticularly, the assiduous work of restoring moral values and the simple
ancestral virtues of which the race is proud, really owe their inspiration
and progress to the new rural conception, and have the fresh and revi
vifying breath of the fields about them. Far from the sceptical and
tumultuous cities, the weary and exhausted spirit of our day seeks the
country for serenity and repose, and beholding vast horizons, peaceful
furrows, and the fertile and tranquil interchange of seasons, regains se
renity and unsophisticated kindness, and accepts the simple but eternal
laws of life and duty.

The dark and mysterious earth yields other gifts than harvests:
it gives birth to renunciation, self-sacrifice and industry, the loftiest
and noblest expressions of the human spirit; it inspired with heroic
strength the humble men of the fields when the invaders were hammering
at the gates of Italy.

Lungo il paterno fiume arava un uom libero i suoi
pingui iugeri, in pace.

Sotto il pungolo dura anelava la forza del buoi.
Grande era Tuomo alVopra^ fratello degli incliti eroi,

col piede nel solco ferace.
Italia ! Italia !

La vittoria piegb verso le glebe fendute il suo volo . . .

II vomere, attrito nel suolo,
balenbj come un'arme.

The vision of Gabriele D'Annunzio is transformed into actual life;
Fascism seeks and finds in the fields the purest and freshest spiritual
reserves of the nation, and gathers and diffuses these forces to revive
new energy and poetry in the soul of the people.

INTEGRAL LAND RECLAMATION

by ARRIGO SERPIERI, Under Secretary for Land Reclamation

I. INTEGRAL LAND RECLAMATION. -([The integral reclamation of
the land is one of the fundamental enterprises of the Regime. It is
the outcome of the conditions of Italian economics and of the will of

FascismA

A dense population confined within a circumscribed territory, poor
in natural resources ; a Nation desirous of growing in power and of
spreading Italian ideals throughout the world, must of necessity create
new centres of intensified rural life, in order to increase the revenues of
the Nation and fortify the healthy and prosperous family life of the
country against the destructive forces of the towns.

It is this that the reclamation of the land aims at. Hence the
necessity of providing the land with a permanent equipment without
which it cannot be made ready to receive, together with a better use
of the land and the water supplies, intensive systems of land production,
and offer a living to a denser population, firmly attached to the land.

Works of all kinds are necessary for the achievement of the ends
in view, both in cases of joint ownership and of single ownership: en
gineering works and technical forest and agricultural works, for the
recovery of the land, for hygienic protection, for the formation of centres
of rural population and buildings, for the upkeep of the roads, for the
protection of the water supply and the utilization of water-energy, for
reforestation and other work, for agricultural settlement and the im
provement of the land.

But it matters not what combinations it has been necessary to have
recource to for these works on the land, which are all characterized by
the investment of capital at long date; they are only a means towards
the attainment of the purpose mentioned above.

Land reclamation becomes integral reclamation when the whole of
the enterprises necessary for the new order of land production demanded
by the economic, moral and political aims of the Nation, have been
carried out.

II. LEGISLATIVE EVOLUTION OF THE RECLAMATION SCHEME. - Before
the Fascist Revolution, Italian legislation pertaining to public works was
concerned with special aims of common interest, having as their object
separate categories of works, classified according to their several tech
nical characteristics and considered capable of yielding individually
definite profit.

In the particular domain of land reclamation, the law of the 22nd
March 1900, No. 195, marked the beginning of the direct intervention of
the State in carrying out and financing the cost of the enterprises un
dertaken for the purpose of reclaiming the land from malaria. This

Integral Land Reclamation 73

law attaches greater importance to the hygienic problem than to the
agricultural prohlem and it entrusted both to voluntary and to obli
gatory associations the operating of the remaining reclamation en
terprises of no particular hygienic interest.

Fascist legislation, adapting itself to the total needs of the Nation,
had to set itself, as its first duty, the task of reaffirming the national
character and value of public works, and their intimate relationship
to the demands of economy and community life.

Hence the abandonment of single enterprises of personal interest
for a higher and fuller vision, which views them as instruments of pro
ductivity, means of fully developing National resources, and therefore
elements to be framed in an organized system of provisions responding
to national exigencies.

The principle which coordinates the different classes of works to an
all-embracing vision of the problems connected with them, has gradually
been affirmed in all legislation relating to public enterprises since the war.

In particular the Land Reclamation BilL in virtue of the Consoli
dating Act of December, 30, 1923, no. 3256, has been notably enlarged,
and is no longer restricted to enterprises concerned with the stagnation
of waters and the permanent restoration of the land, as contemplated
in the beginning by Italian legislation. The law has included in the
drainage operations and itself supervises other accessory works, destined
to assure, through the settlement of the mountain and valley basins, the
hydraulic success of reclamation; to guarantee by means of minor
works the hygienic efficacy of drainage, and finally to put in hand other
plans of land improvement, by improving communications, by irrigation,
and by supplying the reclaimed land with drinking water.

In addition to these state enterprises on which the possibility of
proceeding to the development of the hydraulically systematized lands
depends, the law also garantees the completing of the drainage works
by means of private enterprises for the improvement of the land, for
agricultural purposes, the burden of which, however, weighs entirely on
the owners.

In order to coordinate with each other these two stages of reclamation
so indispensable to the transformation of the land, and to unite the
task in a sole enterprise, the law gives the preference to owners and
associations in the execution of public works and it operates these pre
ferably through a system of concessions by means of which the State
delegates part of its activities to those most interested in the restoration
of the land, and most likely to carry it out economically.

In the case of enterprises concerning the improvement of single
landed properties, of private interest, the State is entitled to fix the
period within which private owners must transform the productive
arrangements of their lands, assisting them with gratuitous loans, or
replacing them by means of expropriation when in default.

74 What is Fascism and why?

Together with the problem of marshy plains, mountain problems
also have been met with broad criteria. The fundamental idea of the
old law of 1877 was transformed by the law of December 30, 1923, No.
3267, in order to provide for mountain restoration, not only by their re
clamation and reforestation, but also by means of agricultural system-
atization and the improvement of mountain pasture lands.

The project for the total reclamation of land - understood as the
settlement of an entire basin from the mountains to the plains, and as
the productive development, so to say, of an entire territory - was con
firmed by the Royal Decrees May 19, 1924, No. 753, and May 29, 1925,
No. 2464, by which State intervention is extended from the marshy
zones to include all territories where the physical-economic conditions
prevent intensive cultivation. The idea of single public enterprises is
also replaced by a scheme of reclamation districts (comprensori) in the
interests of which they have to cooperate.

The new provisions of these decrees provide, in fact, for the recovery
of the land in districts of great public interest owing to the possibility
of an increment of their productive value. They also vest the state with
a new function; namely that of operating - usually through concessions,
while itself meeting the cost of the work - all public enterprises
necessary for the recovery of the land, as well as all works of agricul
tural drainage and of settlement schemes in which several farms are
concerned.

The law is based on the supposition that the recovery of the land
demands a vast organization of co-ordinated activities and enter
prises.

And while it is left to the State to decide which districts are to be
reclaimed and to sanction all plans for the recovery of these, the enter
prises themselves are operated by those owners who have a personal
interest in the total reclamation of the land.

Only when local interests remain inactive does the law offer to
other enterprises the possibility of expropriation, provided the land to
be expropriated is susceptible of important cultural changes or industrial
utilization.

The State aims also at making these changes advantageous to the
grantees, by settling on the whole enterprise a subsidy sufficient to
cover any private deficits.

It is due to such provisions that numerous tracts of plain, and hilly
or mountainous lands, outside the swampy districts, either unproductive
or only slightly productive, will be reclaimed, and that a new land or
ganization will be introduced in the country responding more closely
to the demands of the life of the Nation.

The law of July 29, 1925, No. 1315, sanctioned new provisions to
encourage the clearing of the ground, motor-ploughing and electro-farming,
while the law of February 7, 1926, No. 193, for the first time recognized

Integral Land Reclamation 75

the necessity of helping farmers to live on their farms by promoting
the building of rural centres.

Moreover, as the improvement of agricultural economy is impossible
so long as the crops are exposed to repeated periods of drought, the
laws of May 20, 1926, No. 1154, and August 13, 1926, No. 1907, have
reformed the legislation in regard to works of irrigation by increasing
government loans for works of public interest, facilitating the formation
of Corporations, compelling the owners to utilize irrigation improvements
and establishing fair prices for water supplies.

Nor have minor agricultural improvements been neglected. The
law of June 16, 1927, No. 1042, in fact, providing for the increase of
cereal culture, has authorized State grants for the agricultural system-
atization of the land, for the construction of rural buildings, of private
farm roads, and of watering plants, in those districts where the increase
of food-products is conditional to agricultural systematization.

Meanwhile the machinery of land and agricultural credit has been
improved and since the act of December 13, 1923, No. 3139, which provi
des for generous State contributions towards the cost of loans for the
recovery of the land, the act of July 29, 1927, No. 1509, has organized new
credit establishments on a sounder and more rational basis, by founding
special syndicates for the administration of land improvement credit.

III. DT HE IMPORTANCE OF THE MUSSOLINI ACT. - The most important
contribution to the development of the rural policy of the Regime was
the Act of December 24, 1928, relating to the integral reclamation of
the land, which law represents the greatest effort of the State towards
the full development of the land and the greater efficiency of rural life.

The peculiar merit of this law, which is called after the Duce, is that
it sums up previous legislation and makes of it a more efficacious in
strument for favouring the resettlement of the country: the basis of the
moral and economic renewal of the Nation.

It crowns the legislative program by tackling the problems connected
with the supply of drinking water, the building of roads for farming
purposes, rural constructions and hamlets, all of which had been greatly
neglected by former legislation, which inclined towards the towns.

In order to encourage the rational distribution of population, not
neglecting those regions generally shunned by the farmers owing to
the lack of comforts indispensable to civilized life, the law assures a
contribution of 75 % of the total cost of works for conveying drinking
water to isolated rural buildings or to groups of rural buildings, even if
they are outside the districts subject to reclamation; it also provides for
contributing 40 % of the total cost of works destined to collect and
gather water, in the interest of several farms.

At the same time it authorizes the building, in Southern Italy and
the Islands, under the reclamation law, of roads which though not serv-

What is Fascism and why?

ing formerly marshy lands, promote the cultivation, or the more intense
cultivation, of districts in backward agricultural conditions. It also allows
for a subsidy of 40 % all over Italy towards the cost of building and
reconditioning roads used for carrying products to market with less
loss of time, j

Apart from provisions of a general character and the contributions
provided for by the Act of February 7, 1926, No. 193, relating to the
building of workmen's houses, and by the Act of June 16, 1927, No. 1042,
relating to the increase of cereal-cultivation, the Mussolini Act has al
lotted to Southern and Insular Italy state contributions up to 30 %
of the cost for building rural hamlets, and also isolated buildings, pro
vided they be strictly inherent to the aims of the reclamation law.

A second class of provisions relating to the Act of December 24,
1928, (No. 3134) aims at drawing up a plan to regulate the operating of
the great enterprise for the full development of national lands. By means
of new appropriations of considerable value to be entered in the State
Budget for the payment of State subsidies, the law provides for carrying
out, in the shortest time allowed for by technical possibilities and by
the availability of manual labour, of a number of new works to the
amount of seven milliards.

Description of works

Cost of
works
(millions)
of lire

Fulfilment
of program
(years)

Percentage of
contributions

State
burden
(millions)

Annuity for
30 years
7.25% basis
for each
million lire
of works

Drainage and accessory works .

4,500

14 i 68 (mean)

3,060

53,500

Irrigation independent of reclama

tion operations in Southern Italy

and Islands

300

42 5

9(U

QO AAA

Irrigation independant of reclamation

operations in Northern and Cen

tral Italy

500

90.fi

01 CAA

Hamlets and rural buildings in the

South and the Islands ....

500

27.-

340

21,200

Rural aqueducts

200

75 (fixed)

150

59,000

Farm roads and drinking water sup

plies .

1,000

40 (max.)

400

31,500

7,000

4,354

The total amount has heen estimated at four and a half milliards
for drainage works and accessory irrigation works, road-making, and
gathering of drinking water (art. 2), at three hundred millions for irrigation
works independently of drainage works in Southern Italy and the Islands
(art. 2); at five hundred millions for similar enterprises in Northern and
Central Italy (art. 7); at five hundred millions for the building of rural
hamlets and isolated buildings in Southern Italy and the Islands (art. 5); at
two hundred millions for rural aqueducts (art. 3); and at one milliard

Integral Land Reclamation 77

for the building and re -opening of farm roads and for water supplies to
several owners (art. 8).

Only in the case of electric plants for agricultural purposes subsi
dized under the Act of July 29, 1925, No. 1315, has it been impossible,
owing to the nature of the work, to adhere to a definite working plan.
The amount of the burden the exchequer will have to defray for the
execution of the whole of the work contemplated in the extensive
scheme is given summarily in the preceding prospectus.

The Mussolini Act is a milestone in the history of the Nation.

IV. THE INSTITUTION OF AN UNDER-SECRETARYSHIP FOR THE INTE
GRAL RECLAMATION OF THE LAND AND THE NEW LOCAL BUREAUS. - The
enforcement of the Reclamation Act was at first entrusted to two
separate Ministries: the Ministry of Public Works, which by means of
drainage measures and through the institution of Commissioner Bureaux
(Provveditorati) for the Public Works of the South, has displayed an intense
activity in favour of the recovery of Italian soil; and the Ministry of
National Economy, entrusted with the supervision of irrigation works
in Northern and Central Italy and with all measures for the increase
of agricultural production.

On the other hand, the division of labour involved a deplorable
waste of energy.

The scale of the work to be accomplished demanded that the services
inherent thereto should be unified and made more efficient. The Re
gime has provided for this need by pursuing its programme for the
unification of state action.

To that end, the R. Decree of September 12, 1929, No. 1661, re
organized the Ministry of National Economy, by transforming it into
the Ministry of Agriculture and Silviculture and by creating a State
Under- Secretary ship for integral land reclamation. The R. Decree of
September 27, 1929, No. 1726, passed on to the new central bureau all
services pertaining to the Administration of Public Works.

Having thus created a central administration and inspection bu
reau, it was necessary to provide for regional and provincial services
by remedying the want, often deplored, of local organs of Agricultural
Administration and by ensuring the harmonious collaboration of the
three technical services - Civil Engineering, Forest Militia, and Agrarian
Militia for the co-ordinated solution of problems connected with the
land.

For this purpose the R. Decree of November 18, 1929, No. 2071, while
retaining the system of Travelling Agricultural Chairs, instituted in each
Province a technical Committee, composed of the Head Engineer of
Civil Engineering, of the Head of the Agricultural Chairs, and of the
Commander of the cohort or century of the National Forest Militia,
with the task of co-ordinating the programme of the activities and

78 What is Fascism and why ?

enterprises to be carried out by the three services for the Integral re
clamation of the land.

Regional agricultural inspectors have also been appointed to enable
the new Bureau to coordinate and control, from a technical standpoint,
the activity of the Travelling Chairs of Agriculture and of local offices and
bureaus in general. These inspectors are also entrusted with the exam
ination and approval of schemes, with the supervision and approval
of works and, up to a certain limit, with the granting of loans for agri
cultural enterprises aided by the State.

Thus, by means of the co-ordinated activity of the new technical
bureaus, directed by a single central bureau, hydraulic, agrarian and
forest problems are no longer studied separately, but are solved in such
a way as to meet the requirements of the problem for the improvement
of our land economy: and the idea of complete reclamation receives full
application in the bureaus entrusted with carrying it out.

V. LAND RECLAMATION ASSOCIATIONS. - The State Organs, however
co-ordinated and unified, would never succeed in attaining their object,
viz. the fullest development of the land, if they could not rely, to a
great extent, on private initiative.

In the complex reclamation programme, alongside of enterprises
of common interest pertaining to the State, are those of private interest
belonging to the parties concerned. Their strict interdependence binds
these enterprises together from a technical and an economic stand
point. It is therefore indispensable that they should not only be co
ordinated, but that they should be entrusted to the same executive
power.

As it is not possible for the State to operate enterprises of private
interest, the law has recourse to concessions, making them the principal
means of operating public works required for integral land reclamation,
and generally granting them to owners organized in associations.

The State promotes the formation of associations of private in
dividuals. It authorizes the formation of associations even when the
proposal of those interested in the enterprise receives the vote of ap
proval of a proportion, representing only one fourth of the surface of
land included in the district to be reclaimed.

Thus, at the centre of the system for carrying out integral reclam
ation, we have the association of all the parties concerned - an admir
able system within which both public duties and private interests co
operate. For the Reclamation Association is not a simple private asso
ciation, but a public corporation, to which the State delegates part of its
powers, part of its prerogatives and part of its tasks, in view of the public
aims to be attained. On the other hand, according to recent stipulations,
Reclamation Associations may take over from private owners the task of
executing land improvements in their interest.

Integral Land Reclamation 79

Thus public and private interests collaborate in this field also, in
harmony with the general policy of the Regime.

Nor are the associations abandoned to their own devices, without
aid or advice. The Act of April 26, 1928, No. 1017, establishing a
National Association of Reclamation and Irrigation Corporations, has
assigned to it the clearly defined task of promoting, aiding, and super
vising all activities aiming at increasing the productiveness of the soil by
means of land reclamation.

In a short space of time, the National Association, guided by ca
pable men full of zeal and faith, has accomplished a truly meritorious
work, ensuring beneficial administrative, technical, and financial help to
all parties concerned.

As a result of the new organization of the integral reclamation service,
the National Association has been placed under the control of the State
Under-Secretaryship, which has also undertaken the presidency of the
Mountain Secretaryship, which carries out a similar task of assistance
in the mountain systematization field.

VI. THE RESULTS OBTAINED IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, TAKING

INTO SPECIAL CONSIDERATION THE FIRST YEAR OF THE ENFORCEMENT OF

THE MUSSOLINI ACT. - Let us give a rapid glance to what has already
been accomplished towards the reclamation and improvement of the
land.

On a surface of 31 million hectares Italy has over 2,300,000 liable
to drainage.

Over 700,000 hectares have been reclaimed. Half of these, however,
still call for the building of roads, houses and water conduits, to guarantee
the results of drainage and to permit a more profitable cultivation of
the soil.

Some 1,200,000 hectares are being drained, and drainage operations
have still to be begun on another 1,485,000 hectares.

The activity displayed by the Italian Government in this field may
be summed up in the following comprehensive figures, corresponding
to the total amounts, in capital, of the enterprises undertaken from
the beginning of the United Kingdom till today.

Reclamation enterprises operated directly by the State L. 1,025,800.000
Reclamation enterprises assigned to associations of

owners or to single parties L. 2,930,199.026

Total . . . L. 3,955,999.026

The direct execution of reclamation works by the State has been
gradually decreasing while, on the contrary, concessions have been steadily
increasing: so much so, that in these last years the direct intervention

What is Fascism and why ?

of the State has been restricted to the upkeep of the works and to a few
other enterprises.

A sign of the increase of reclamation of marshy lands may be gather
ed from the development of concessions, summarized as follows :

RECLAMATION OPERATIONS UNDERTAKEN BY CONCESSIONARIES FROM
THE UNIFICATION OF THE KINGDOM TO JUNE 30, 1930.

EEGION

Concessions granted during
the said period

Part of the said concessions granted
by the Fascist government

Cost of works

State
contribution

Public Works
Dept.

Under-Secreta-
ryship for Land
Reclamation

Yenetia Tridentina

8.303.800
31.944.089
560.779.581
606.496
263.753.385
1.123.628.537
68.396.088
1.190.000
236.552.410
775.750
78.942.174
72.109.044
15.625.980
282.841.024
25.811.389
158.939.279

5.314.432
20.444.216
358.898.931
388.157
168.802.166
719.122.260
47.877.201
761.600
177.414.307
58.812
59.206.630
54.081.783
11.719.485
212.130.768
19.358.541
119.204.459

8.303.800
31.954.089
331.754.248

166.062.270
499.144.001

42.045.775

138.173.452

65.818.911
56.942.993

210.699.721
23.166.396
102.441.163

59.502.927

49.582.042
81.254.425
13.667.169

21.128.249

8.749.000
15.166.051
15.625.980
72.141.303
2.644.993
47.032.834

Venetia Eug. .

Emilia

Tuscany

Umbria

Latiura

Abruzzi

CannpaTiia ..... .

Apulia

Basilicata

Calabria

Sicily

Sardinia

TOTAL LIRE

2,930,199,026

1,975,306,808

1,676,506,819

386,494,973

The gradual intensification of concessions is seen even more clearly
iy their development in the last four years.

RECLAMATION WORKS UNDERTAKEN BY CONCESSIONARIES FROM JULY 1,

1926, TO JUNE 30, 1930.

REGION

1926 '27 ' 1927/28

1928/29

1929/30

Total

Venetia Trident.

7.000.000 , 1.304.000

8.304.000

Julian Venetia

21.154.800 6.399.289

4.400.000

31.954.089

Venetia Eug. . .

41.117.488

71.976.215 61.020343

84.801.430

258.915.476

Lombardy . .

29.365.789

34.822.667 47.215.956

49.800.660

161.205.072

Emilia .

58.700.121

167.974.097 92.612.366

151.507.100

470.793.684

Tuscany

4.397.760

2.502.826 1.017.269

16.783.090

24.700.945

Latium

9.968.716

39.703.201 53.067.144

124.707.079

237.446.140

Campania .

7.876000

3.767.000

9.578.900

45.239.850

66.461.750

Apulia

9.932.000

14.464.691

13.194.335

18.392.838

55.983.864

Basilicata .

15.625.980

Calabria . . .

118.687.954

92.011.762

72.141.308

282.841.024

Sicily

1.857.948

159.840

18.099.688

20.117.476

Sardinia

961.000

12.933.750

21.960.631

48.164.938

84.020-296

TOTAL LIRE

171,176,822 488,147,041

409,381,995

649,663,938

1,718 369,796

CONTRIBUTIONS GRANTED FOR IRRIGATION WORKS AND WATER EXPLORATION
FROM 1 ST JULY 1926 TO 30 th JUNE 1930.

Applications lodged

Grants and Subsidies made

fPT l "P T? TT AT? V

for Irrigation Works

for
Water Exploration

for Irrigation Works

for Water
Exploration

Applica
tions

Area to be
irrigated
Hectares

Estimated
Cost in
thousands
of lire

Applica
tions

Estimated
Cost in
thousands
of lire

Irrigated
area
hectares

Expenses
allowed by
Grants in
thousands

Grants
made
thousands
of lire

Subsidies
granted

FINANCIAL YEAR

1926-1927

North Italy . . .

188

42.158

66.581

1.200

5.333

6.975

2.981

381

Central Italy . . .

1.184

6.477

400

1.110

3.269

1.334

115

Sonth Italy and Is

lands ....

334

5.933

30.052

150

2.300

1.998

8.965

3.543

351

Total for Kingdom

610

49.275

103.110

215

3.900

8.441

19.209

7.858

847

FINANCIAL YEAR

1927-1928

North Italy . . .

815

54.038

94.013

960

2.774

5.504

2.233

300

Central Italy . . .

254

5.420

21.231

200

1.574

5.502

2.380

South Italy and Is

lands ....

501

5.155

40.202

240

4.500

2.970

16.138

5.909

464

Total for Kingdom

1.570

64.613

155.446

290

5.660

7.318

27.144

10.522

821

FINANCIAL YEAR

1928-1929

North Italy , . .

1.298

70.426

174.422

1,408

4.740

12.224

4.445

292

Central Italy . . .

393

10.895

41.585

582

1.183

4,641

1.652

114

South Italy and Is

lands ....

936

11.280

79.651

423

12.774

10.818

47.879

17.583

895

Total for Kingdom

2.627

92.601

295.658

546

14.764

16.741

64.744

23.680

1.301

FINANCIAL YEAR

1929-1930

North Italy . . .

1.296

59.461

132.680

2.267

44.289

63.644

27.098

665

Central Italy . . .

475

13.704

46.183

1.626

2.357

9.686

3.497

168

South Italy and Is

lands ....

1.566

11.657

74.027

755

11.606

3.510

16.132

6.290

1.111

Total for Kingdom

3.337

84.822

252.890

917

15.499

50.156

89.462

36.885

1.944

GRAND TOTAL . .

8,144

291,311

807,104

1,968

39,823

82,656

193,599

78,965

4.913

82 What is Fascism and why?

In less than 10 months* activity, the TJnder-Secretaryship for inte
gral land reclamation has granted concessions for drainage enterprises
amounting to L, 386,494,973, while there are other works in progress
for over one and a half milliards.

This activity represents only one part of the first application of the
Mussolini Act. The Act entitles the State to undertake, in the coming
financial year, the payment of a 30 millions, in annuities for contributions
to drainage enterprises to be operated by concession, including moun
tain systematization and irrigation works connected therewith; to this
annuity sum correspond works amounting to about 535 millions. The
TJnder-Secretaryship has already decided upon the choice of these
works, in order to make the concessions within the limits of time esta
blished by law. A new and impressive body of works will thus prepare
new lands for agricultural cultivation.

The work of systemizing mountain ar^as and deepening basins exer
cising an influence on the regulation of the great rivers has been carried
on intensively on parallel lines with the recovery of the marshy lands.

The criteria, however, on which this systematization is based are
radically changed, as mountain basins are no longer classified as territories
physically and economically independent of the neighbouring plains.
The work of mountain systematization has therefore become part of
the work of land reclamation.

Hence the deepening of the basins is provided for together with the
improvement of mountain pastures and the utilization by means of
arboriculture of the lands refilled and the work of mountain systema
tization proceeds in parallel lines with the drainage of swampy plains.

Since the enactment of the fundamental laws of May 20, 1926,
No. 1154, and August 17, 1926, No. 1907, a new period of prosperity
has begun for irrigation works, now a magnificent reality, opening the
way to more intense agrarian cultivation.

The figures of the preceding statistics, relating to the grants author
ized in the last four years for irrigation works and water exploration, may
be consulted in proof of what has been stated.

Especially important are the grants accorded under the Act of June
16, 1927, no. 1042, to average and small owners, tenants on long lease,
and land managers, situated in districts less advanced agriculturally,
for the systematization of the land, the building of farm roads, farm-
buildings and watering-places.

So far some 1,100 applications for works amounting to 40 millions
and a half have been approved and as many more again are under
approval, as may be seen from the following tables.

Other facilitations will be granted on the basis of article 8 of the
Mussolini Act; and numerous applications for help in the building and
upkeep of farm roads and for water supplies interesting several owners
are already being considered. The State allows similar grants in the
proportion of not more than 40 % of the cost.

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What is Fascism and why?

A new impulse has been given to rural building, by the granting,
under the Workmen's Buildings Act and the R. Decree of October 2,
1921, No. 1332, of loans for the building of farm houses, the State
contributing to the payment of interests. In the five years from 1926
to 1930, over 50 millions' worth of loans have been granted by Credit
Banks to farmers, as shown on the following page.

These measures have been completed by means of contributions
up to 30 % of the cost, as authorized by art. 5 of the Mussolini Act, for
the building of rural hamlets and isolated buildings in Southern Italy
and the Islands.

The special legislation for the Agro Romano, which has subjected
a territory of about 20,000 hectares to obligatory reclamation on the
part of the owners, whom it aids and encourages, continues to be enforced
more and more strictly and has been extended over other districts.

In the five years from 1925 to 1930, some 219 obligatory reclama
tion schemes have been elaborated and enforced on land owners. They
cover 81,000 hectares of land on which there have been built and are
still being built farmhouses, barns, silos, farm roads, drinking water
plants and plants for irrigation purposes. For the financing of these
works 273 accomodation loans, amounting to 243 millions lire, have been
granted and 212 millions have already been disbursed.

Special mention should be made of the formations of new centres
of land settlement around the Capital, comprising the cultivation of
almost 3000 hectares of ground.

ACCOMODATING LOANS FOR THE RECLAMATION OF THE ACRO ROMANO.

(CONSOLIDATED TEXT 10-11-1905, N. 647, and Act 17*7-1910, N. 491).

The Agro Bomano

Additional 55onea

General Total

No of
Con

Amount or Loans

No of
Con

Amount of Loans

No of

Amount

Payments made

tracts

traotB

ot Ix>aiifl

1925-26

48,471,915

155,165

48,627,080

23,591,409

1926-27

56,856,089

43,975,726

1927-28

62,419,674

1,775,000

64,194,674

48,181,758

1928-29

25,606,300

1,705,000

27,311,300

45,000,457

1929-30

42,966,900

3,654,500

46,621,400

51,500,000

Total

273

236,320,878

7,289,665 ,285

243,610,543

212,249,350

In pursuance of the legislative provisions for promoting the mechan
ical tillage of the land with a tufaceous subsoil, five and a half millions
have been granted as premiums from 1926 to June 30, 1930, for the
tillage of over 22 thousand hectares of ground.

Integral Land Reclamation

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REGIONS

1 Southern Italy . .
TOTALS ....

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Liguria .
Lombardy
Venetia .
Venetia Tridentina
Julian Venetia and Za

North Italy .

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86 What is Fascism and why?

A million has been granted in premiums for the importation of
ploughing implements.

In a short time the facilitations relative to rural aqueducts, sanc
tioned by the Act of 24-12-28, No. 3134, have been widely carried out.
Up to the end of June 1930, schemes amounting to 15 millions and a
half have been approved and in connection with these almost 1 1 millions
have been given in grants.

It is not only to the enforcement of these special provisions, how
ever, that the country looks for its recovery, but to the complete reclam
ation works which, under the Act of 1924-1925 on the reclamation
of lands of public interest, may now be concentrated in districts of back
ward agrarian development.

This law, which entrusts to the Government the reclamation of land
in districts presenting, for cultivation purposes, a certain public interest
and which compels owners to undertake the improvements of private
lands, requires the choice of the districts to be reclaimed to be made
according to the different degrees of urgency and the relative import
ance of the economical, social, and hygienic benefits to be drawn from,
them.

37 districts have already been classified over a total surface of
3,978,000 hectares, distributed as follows:

Northern Italy No. 4 Hec. 858,000

Central Italy 12 1,279,000

Southern Italy 14 91 1 000

Islands 7 . > 930,'oOO

37 Hec. 3,978,000

In all districts already classified, the enumeration of which follows,
associations of the parties interested have been established or are being
established, and working schemes arc under consideration.

DISTRICTS SUBJECT TO LAND RESTORATION OF PUBLIC INTEREST

1. Piedmont - Association of Buraggia VereeUcne ........ || cc . 38,000

2. Lombard? - District of lands to be reclaimed, iu the prov. of Brrma 320*000

Yenetia Eugenia - District of Lower Friuii

4. Venetia Julia - Istrian District

70 000
'

5. Emilia - District of Brisighella ..... '.'.'."'. *. '. ' . 73 000

*' " * the Panaro ............ " >, 72^000

/T w basin of the Sillaro ........ M 13,000

o w " territory betwen the Sccchia und Croatolo . * ISo'oOO

* T " * * *J* e ba8in of th e Santwno ........ 90,000

10. Tuscany - , C r088eto ............. ^ ^>

::' J) H " the ba8 ^ of the Oaa and the Albegn* , . . 7B ()00

"' J> M J> Orcia Valley .......... , 34 ; ooo

if' r* * " ^^ lia V Uey .......... S4 f OOO

14. Lanum - , w Roman Maremma ........ . H 290 000

li>. Vmbna - w territory between Todi and Orte ... 20 000

Integral Land reclamation

16. Marches - District of the territory between Tronto and the Etemorto Hec. 260,000

17. Abruzzi and Molise - Dist. of the Plain of Venafro 4,000

18. Campania Dist, of the Lower valley of the Volturno 11,000

19. Valley of Diano 13,000

20. Apulia - Territory of Arneo 30,000

21. Fossa Prenmrgiana 250,000

22. Territory of Ugento 7,000

23. Tableland 400,000

24. Basilicata - Ionian Zone 20,000

25. Middle Valleys of the Agri and Sinni ... 200,000

26. )) Upper Valley of the Agri 60,000

27. Calabria - Lower Valley of the Nete 22,000

28. Terr, between the river Alii and the Punta

del Castello 76,000

29. Basin of the La Verde river 13,000

30. Highlands of Aspromonte 5,000

31. Sicily - Terranova or Gela 40,000

32. Caltagirone and bordering communities . 80,000

33. The upper and middle Basin of the Belice . 85,000

34. Sardinia - Campidano of Oristano 125,000

35. Cagliari 145,000

36. Middle Valley of the Coghinas and the

bordering territory 35,000

37. Territory of Nuoro 420,000

Hec. 3,978,000

It is by this powerful effort that Fascist Italy carries on her great
battle for reclaiming the land, and makes big immediate sacrifices for
a better future*

FOREST POLICY

by ARNALDO MUSSOLINI, President of the National Forestry Committee.

Forests, indispensable to the life and the general economy of Nations,
are of particular importance in our Country, half the area of which is
mountainous.

The conditions of the mountains and of the torrent and river beds,
the land-slips and crumbling slopes, frequent floods and avalanches, the
impoverishment of mountains and of agriculture, the exodus of the
rural population, the amounts spent on imports of timber - in short, all
the disasters ensuing upon the cutting down of woods, are evident
proofs, that only the work of time can cancel, of the destructive mania
which effete past Governments were powerless to stop.

The Fascist Regime, with its clear policy of reconstructing na
tional integrity, production and prosperity, was bound to give deep
thought to this problem, and it has proved capable of facing it in full.

In this field as in others the resolute words of the Duce struck
home, and Italians at once realized that forestry had entered upon a
new era,

THE MESSAGES OF THE DUCE. Benito Mussolini had his say on
this matter in words which by their conciseness and firmness made a
deep impression on the minds of the people and influenced their action.

We may quote some of the more striking parts:

" I love trees. Defend them. I will help you to defend them ",

" I applaud all efforts to give new mountain wealth to the country
and greater security to the agriculture of the plains, Pursue tenaciously
this arduous enterprise you have engaged in to preserve for Italy tho
scented forests that gave Rome her triremes and the sett-faring republic**
their galleys, and to give back to the mountains of our country their
green covering of trees, without which their imperial beauty is not
complete ".

" I wish to affirm once more my resolute intention of saving our
remaining forests and restoring their classic woods to the barren hillside
of the Country. And I am happy to send my message of faith to the
Province of Trento, which harbours such an intense love of its forests
together with an undying love of Italy ",

44 The causes of prolonged droughts, unbroken by atmospherical
discharges (apart from destructive cyclones) are to be sought for in the
woefully barren mountain tracts of the Apennines- We lack great forests
with their spreading shadows whence arise the currents that coagulate
the acqueous vapour suspended in the higher strata of the atmosphere
and cause it to precipitate in. the form of raia.

Forest Policy 89

" While waiting for the millions of trees that have been planted to
accomplish among their many duties also this fundamental function
of atmospheric equilihrium the period of waiting will be long; certainly
not less than half a century - irrigating plants must be established
without delay... The complete reclamation of the country is an initia
tive the accomplishment of which will alone suffice to make the Revo
lution of the Black Shirts famous throughout the centuries ".

" From the ever restless sea, we pass to the mountains which
safeguard our great plain and form the back-bone of the peninsula.

" A mountain policy is being put into action.

" The bleak summits are being clothed with trees, planted and
protected by the Forest Militia ".

" Be proud of your mountains; love the life of your mountains,
and do not let yourselves be seduced by the life of the so-called great
cities, where men live crowded into stone or cement boxes without air
or light, with less space and often in dire poverty.

Be proud of your numerous and healthy children, for the day in
which our sturdy Alpine race dies out will be a sad one both for you and
for the Nation ".

FROM WORDS TO ACTION. - The National Forest Militia. - The
Duce wished to give the country a technically trained police force with
military character and discipline, rigidly to enforce the laws and carry
out the works begun. He therefore established the National Forest Militia.

At the present moment it is commanded by a General Consul, and
is composed of 328 officers, 377 non-commissioned officers, 302 chosen
militiamen and 2638 soldiers of the militia.

The recruitment of the officers and the militiamen is based on a
rigid criterion of selection. The officers are chosen by regular competion
from among graduates in Civil Engineering and Agricultural Sciences.
The winners of the competition have also to frequent a special course
for Training Officers at the R. Highei Agrarian Institute in Florence
before being allowed to exercise their duties.

The militiamen are also recruited by means of a publicly announced
competition and are then sent to the R. Training School for Forest mili
tiamen at Cittaducale.

The non-commissioned officers are chosen from among the militiamen.

The Forest Black Shirts have known how to assert themselves and
they answer to our highest expectations, as we shall show when we come
to speak of the single activities and various enterprises.

WOODS, REAFFORESTATION, PASTURE-LANDS. - Present statistics, al
ways susceptible of correction, show a wooded surface of about 5,545,000
hectares, of which 3,500,000 are on the mountains, 1,740,000 on the
hillsides and 305,000 in the plains.

90 What is Fascism and why ?

The greater part of these forests, about 50 % of them, are situated
in Northern Italy; 30 % are in Central Italy and 20 % in Southern
Italy, including the Islands.

We have besides 7,600,000 hectares .of meadows, pasture-lands and
waste lands, 4,085,000 of which are on the mountains, 2,403 on the hills,
and 1,112,000 in the plains.

Lastly we have approximately 3,400,000 hectares of cultivated area
in the mountains.

From this we see that although properly and prevalently moun
tainous, the silviculture of our country does not occupy even one half
of our mountain area. Nor are the 5,545,000 hectares of so-called wood
ed lands all covered with real woods: the greater part consists of un
derwood, deteriorated woods and scrub, with only a small proportion of
forest -trees.

From this picture one gathers how vast and arduous is the task of
reconstruction undertaken by the Fascist Government and assigned to
the Forest Militia.

The Forest Militia devotes all its energies to the protection of these
forests or remains of forests, the greater part of which belong either to
the Communes, the State or to private individuals, and iti 1929 it had
to denounce some 60,000 infringements.

As part of their technical duties, the Militia officers direct the works
being done by the State and by the Associations formed between
Provinces, Communes, and State.

These associations, which formerly existed in only a few provinces,
have now been established nearly all over the country. The Militia
directs not only all the re-wooding and re-conditioning of the forests
belonging to Corporations, but also the works for the enrichment of
mountain pasture-lands.

The Militia has also under its control the game service and fishing
service in mountain waters.

The few technical officers of the Royal Forest Guard, who owing
to age limit or to superabundance on the military cadres, have re
mained on the civil lists, are attached to the General Headquarters of
the Militia and collaborate whole-heartetlly with it.

The stimulus given by the Fascist Government to the work of re-
wooding and of systematizing the forests of the mountain basim, com
pared with the slowness of former Governments i shown by the fol
lowing figures: whereas only 26,200 hectares were reforested and only
16,500 hectares of mountain area were systematized in the 55 yearn
from 1867 to June 30, 1922, in the 7 years from 1922 to June 30, 1929,
5,884 hectares of land have been reforested and 15,283 hectare* of moun
tain area have been systematized.

These figures do not include the reafforestation of State forest*
for regular cultural purposes.

Forest Policy 91

The rhythm of this work becomes yearly more rapid. According
to General Agostini's last report to the Duce, some 79,500,000 small
plants and some 557,000 kilogrammes of forest seeds have been planted
within the last two years.

The planting of poplar trees along the mud-banks and hydraulic
appurtenances of the plains has been greatly intensified. In the finan
cial year 1928-29, 8,794,000 lire were set aside for the enrichment of the
mountain pastures, that is, 159 % more than the annual average for the
five years from 1917 to 1924, and 2,865,000 lire were assigned for State
grants, 1,271,000 of which have already been paid out, that is, 393 % more
than the average for the same period of five years.

But besides providing for this branch of the general technical and
preservation service of the forests and pastures belonging to Communes,
corporate bodies and private owners, the Fascist State has provided
for the organization and enlargement of an equally important branch
of this service, that of the Administration of the State Forests.

STATE FOREST ADMINISTRATION. - Many voices had been raised
in the past in favour of the direct intervention of the State for the form
ation of a vast State Forest Demesne. We need only recall here the
names of Senators Luigi Rava, Giovanni Raineri and the late Luigi
Luzzatti, who, by carrying the bill of 1910, was the first to lay a solid
foundation upon which to build up the scheme.

A special Office was thus formed for the Administration of the
State Forest Demesnes, by handing over to the Department of Agri
culture all forests, formerly depending upon the Finance Department,
and also by purchasing new forests.

The total area of 218,329 hectares has thus been increased during
the Fascist period to 226,932 hectares, as follows:

Forests hectares 150.520

Pasture-lands, meadows, etc ,, 23.592

Barren lands ,, 52.820

The wooded surface of 150,520, includes 16 % of coppice and is
distributed as follows:

Northern Italy hectares 58.442

Central Italy ,, 28.546

Southern Italy including the Islands . . . ,, 63.532

The surface thus covered is very modest when compared with the
immense extent of our mountainous regions, where no other growth
except woods is profitable or possible.

The National Forest Militia was also employed in the care, custody,
administration and technical management of the special office, now
known as the State Forest Office.

92 What is Fascism and why ?

During the present Regime a definite improvement has taken place
in our Forest demesnes owing to the building of houses and barracks
for the staff, either in the middle of the forests or on their outskirts,
through the extension of the road systems, the installation of cable and
telephone lines, saw-mills, and hygienic systematization and improvement.
Under the Fascist Government our Forest Demesnes will go on
steadily increasing.

Tens of millions of stocks, the profits derived from the Office, have
already been set aside for the purpose.

Another considerable addition to the State Demesnes can be made
by passing over to the State the private Lands, which under the Integral
Reclamation Act are to be systematized and reforested, but which up
to the present moment have only been occupied subject to the payment
of an indemnity to the proprietors.

Thus the Regime will at last be able to fulfill what has heretofore
been the vain ambition of our experts, whose long experience taught
them the futility of working another man's estates and paying him dues
for right of occupation, merely to return it later on, properly wooded,
in the hope that it would be carefully husbanded: a vain hope that ge
nerally ended in bitter disappointment, loss of time and money, and
worse local conditions. Another strong point in the mountain policy of
the present Government is represented by its praiseworthy tendency to
wards what has been termed " a single forest front ".

We have already drawn attention to the fact that the greater part
of the State's forest patrimony consists of common lands greatly dete
riorated and mostly unproductive.

By the direct intervention of the State and consequently "of the
Forest Militia in the management of these woods, not only wiU their de
finite preservation and national utilization be assured, but the Communes
can count on them for a safe income, while they afford profitable re
sources for regional industries and activities, and contribute to improve
the living conditions of the inhabitants, who will feel more strongly at
tached than ever to their native mountains.

Here again the Office for the Forest Demesnes has already taken over
the management of some six thousand hectares of wooded lands belong
ing to four Communes in the province of Catanzaro, and is administrat
ing them as State Forests, the net proceeds being handed over to the
Corporations they belong to.

Finally the Forest Office, which offers such an exceUent example
of rational forest cultivation to the Country, has but recently finished
systematizing some of the most important forests, thus providing for
their lasting preservation and safeguarding their revenues.

PRINCIPAL PROVISIONS OF THE LAW. - In addition to the laws
mentioned above relating to the institution of the National Forest De-

Forest Policy 93

mesnes, and the re-organization and reform of the legislation referring
to woods and mountain areas, the Fascist Government has issued spe
cial provisions for increasing State contributions to the Forest Unions,
for the systematization of mountain basins, for a Mountain Secretary
ship, for the National Parks in the Abruzzi and on the Gran Paradiso,
for the regulation of pasture-lands, and so on.

All these decrees are being gradually amended whenever the ne
cessity arises, as for instance by the extension of forest preservation to
all forests.

The law, however, which consolidates and recapitulates the various
provisions for rural Italy, is the Duce's law for the integral reclamation
of the land and the institution of an Under- Secretary ship in the Depart
ment of Agriculture and Forestry, the task of which is to study such
problems.

Intimately connected with the enforcement of this law is the syste
matization of the mountain basins, which from now on is to begin, as
a rule, from the top, with a view to rational reforestation.

This logical provision is a definite step-forward in the Fascist Fo
rest policy.

Side by side with these works and ordinances, the Regime has
pa^d special attention to the development of small industries, which ge
nerally constitute the best resources of the inhabitants of the mountains.

Practical studies are leading to the enactment of special provisions
which will furnish further proof of the Government's vigilant care of our
hardy rural populations.

CORPORATIVE ORGANIZATION. - In the past, forest-keepers and
labourers were little considered and generally confused with other clas
ses of labourers; but they have now been fully recognized and organized
in a separate body by the Fascist Corporative State.

As a result of these workers having been thus organized and
divided into different categories, it has also been possible to secure a
higher standard of working ability.

Wood-cutters and shepherds have acquired a new class dignity, born
of a feeling of pride in the trade they belong to.

Both small industries and large industries have felt the effects of
the improved conditions of labour; and the latter has found in the Fe
derations of the forest proprietors and manufacturers well-organized
bodies capable of facilitating the working and selling of mountain
produce.

FOREST PROPAGANDA. - It is also a merit of the Regime to have
amalgamated the various institutions for forest propaganda and created
a National Forest Committee, of which I myself have again been ap
pointed president by the Ministers concerned.

94 What is Fascism and why ?

We have among other things revived the celebration of Arbour
Day, for the care and growth of small trees planted by children.

Last year during this school ceremony one million two hundred
thousand small trees were planted and the Committee presented to the
prize-winners some 2330 diplomas and medals.

Remembrance Parks and Avenues, a purely Fascist institution,
have also been given a place of honour by the Committee.

Kinematographs, publications, conferences, exhibitions, and practical
examples of reforestation are all cared for by the Committee.

By building a Park near Mantua for Vergil's Millenary, contain
ing the flora mentioned in the Georgics, I feel sure I have interpreted
the wish of all thinkers and scholars. This Park contains all the flora
sung by the Poet and will be inaugurated next October.

Other enterprises are materializing. I wish to close these few
notes by recalling the spontaneous offer of labour on the part of the
populations of the Basilicata for the restoration of certain mountain
regions. This is a fine instance of forest interest and Fascist faith and
it has been followed lately by the provinces of Arezzo and Forli.

The efforts of the Duce towards the restoration of our forests have
aroused much interest abroad and excited considerable admiration.

The Press of those Countries where forestry is more developed
and where its value is properly appreciated has shown great sym
pathy for our forest movement, and has declared " that there is suf
ficient daring in such a conception to make the name of Mussolini im
mortal ".

On a memorable " forest day " at Asiago, I said that " as our
mountains, rising above the uniform greyness of the plains, are nearer
to the stars, so are our sturdy and silent mountaineers nearer to the
heart of Italy".

The wise measures taken by the Government and the work accom
plished so far for our mountains and our mountain populations prove
the truth of that assertion and justify confidence in the future of Ital
ian forestry under the Fascist Regime.

PUBLIC WORKS

by ARALDO DI CROLLALANZA, Minister of Public Works.

Signer Giuriati, some five years ago, had already provided this
Department with a definite organization. By creating Commissioner
Bureaus (Provveditorati) for the Works of the South and the Islands,
he set up the most decentralized administrative system that has ever
been put into practice for the definite solution of all problems connected
with public works in the South; and he thereby succeeded in obtain
ing exceptionally efficient advisory, directive, and executive organs.

More recent developments in the organization of public works were
the establishment at Grosseto, in February 1926, of a General Inspec
tor's Office for the Tuscan Maremma, to remedy the half-abandoned
condition of that Region, part of which has still to be reclaimed and
restored to agriculture. To this must be added the creation, in May
1928, of a special Autonomous State Road Board for the ordinary
upkeep, the emergency repairing and definite systemization of 20
thousand kilometres of State Roads, and the organization in Novem
ber of the same year, as a part of the Voluntary Militia for National
Defence, of a Road Militia, for regulating road circulation and road police
services.

A reform scheme has been drawn up by the Supreme Council of
Public Works, which is destined to become the State's technical advisory
organ for all public works. And since, from the very start, the Commis
sioner Bureaus for Public Works in the South and the Islands found it
difficult to promote enterprises for the development of these regions,
owing to the scarcity of the population as compared with the extent
of the territory, in March 1926, a permanent committee for Home trans
migration was established at the Ministry of Public Works, which is the
centre of all government activities for the South.

This committee is transferred at present to the Presidency of the
Council of Ministers, for the purpose of facilitating migrations from
provinces with a surplus population.

As the organization became gradually more perfect, both the general
and the particular legislation of Public Works underwent further deve
lopments. It will suffice to record among the more important measures,
the Act of June 24th, 1929, regulating the execution by concession and
with deferred payment of all public works. A new Bill has been drafted
to simplify the system regulating taxation on the increased value of land
where public works have been carried out, while a uniform criterion is
followed in the execution of all works undertaken either by the State or
by self-governing bodies

New regulation schemes have been drawn up in relation to the
services and the staff of Civil Engineering, and before long a new code
for the general administration of public works either belonging to or

What is Fascism and why?

subsidized by the State, will be issued, together with a new adminis
trative code, a new technical brief and a code for drawing up projects.

Regarding special legislation, I shall limit myself to recalling the
R. D. of December 2, 1928, comprising all measures regulating police
organization and road circulation; this decree is but the first step to
wards the future Right of Way Code which the Fascist Government is
about to insert in the organic legislation of the Regime.

Consolidating texts are being prepared to regulate the utilization of
public water supplies, the economical construction of workmen's houses
and the concession of grants in case of earthquakes.

The result of this administrative and juridical reorganization was
clearly visible from the beginning: in the acceleration of works in exe
cution and in project, in the rate of expenditure, in the employment of
labour and in the importance of the technical results obtained.

In the three large divisions of public works either undertaken or
subsidized by the Ministry of Public Works and also by the A.S.R.B.
during the last two financial years, the progress is recorded in the fol
lowing table.

NATURE AND VALUE OF THE WORKS IN EXECUTION

Financial

Works.

year

1925
Works

-1926
Mill,
of Lire

1926
Works

-1927
Mill,
of Lire

1927
Works

-1928
Mill,
of Lire

1928
Works

1929
Mill,
of Lire

1929
Works

-1930
Mill,
of Lire

Under direct supervision of the
Adm. of P. W. and A.S.R.B.

2,914

1,782

3,335

2,242

2,954

2,286

3,170

2,204

2,798

2,390

Farmed out by Ministry of P. W,

1,618

1,538

100

1,598

154

1,993

187

2,346

Undertaken by local corporations
Helped by the Ministry of P. W.

TOTAL

1,697

529

2,172

545

2,317

560

2,281

496

2,265

578

4,681

3,929

5,584

4,325

5,371

4,444

5,605

4,693

5,250

5,314

Excluding in the financial years 1925-26 and 1926-27, raillway grants, which since the beginning of July
1927, have passed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communications.

For homogeneity with the preceding financial years in the Works under direct supervision of and granted
by the State are included the hydraulic works connected therewith and mountain systematlzation handed over
on September 27, 1929 to the Total Reclamation Undersecretaryship. Hence the dates quoted must be increased:
viz. to Cat. A must be added 318 works und 96 million lire and to Cat. B, 149 works and 1,604 million lire.

The most noteworthy increases in the average number and value of
the works in execution belong to the 1926-1927 and 1928-1929 financial
years, in the first of which the activities of the new decentralized directive

Public Works

organs of the Public Works Department were in full swing. In the second
the contribution of numerous important works by the Autonomous State
Roads Board deserves special note. Last year also a number of new
works were put in hand, this being partly due to the increase of land
reclamation grants, pertaining at present to the new Under-Secretaryship
for integral land reclamation established under the Ministry of Agriculture
and Forests.

This development in the general volume of the works undertaken
is accompanied by an increase in the total amount of payments made.
While already in the first three financial years of Fascism, i. e. 1922-25,
the total expenditure for public works had notably exceeded that of the
preceding years, 1919-22, it reached even more remarkable figures in
the five following years: and in particular in the last four years, in each
of which it amounted to about two milliard lire.

PAYMENTS MADE FOR PUBLIC WORKS.

Financial years

Millions of
paper-lire

Millions of
gold-lire

Yearly average

Millions of
paper-lire

Millions of
gold-lire

1919-1920 , . .

461

180

1920-1921 . . .

837

215

871

240

1921-1922 . . .

1,316

326

1922-1923 . . .

1,448

348

1923-1924 . . .

1,360

308

1,339

306

1924-1925 . . .

1,209

263

1925-1926 . . .

1,274

258

1926-1927 . . .

2,069

454

1,842

454

1927-1928 . . .

1,977

549

1928-1929 . . .

2,048 *

557

1929-1930 (1) . .

1,903 **

517

1,903

517

(*) Excluding payments made by the accountant of the P. W. to the A.S.B.B. amounting to 320 millions,
hut inclusive of payments made by the A.S.B.B. amounting to 275 millions.

(**) Excluding payments made by the accountant of the P. W. to the A.S.B.B. amounting to 205 millions
L. but inclusive of payments mode by the A.S.B.B. amounting to 538 million L. Payments authorized since
October 7, 1929 for reclamation purposes, amounting to 62 millions, inclusive.

(1) Temporary figures taken from payments authorized.

The following figures show how the expenditures in the periods just
quoted, have been distributed among different categories of works.

What is Fascism and why ?

Blinds of works

Financia
1919-
Millions
of lire

1 years
1922

Financia
1922-

Millions
of lire

il years
1925

Finance
1925-
Millions
of lire

il years
1929

Financij
1929-
Millions
of lire

il years
1930

160

10.-

433

12.-

1,391

20.6

* 706

39.9

Hydraulic works ....
Reclamation works. . . ,

309
150
137

19.4
9.4
8.6
2.9

418
202
340
118

11.6
5.6
9.4
3.3

1,105
453
730
682

16.4
6.7
10.8
10.1

285
***62
181
197

16.1
3.5
10.2
11.1

Building works

Depending on floods and land-

3.6

106

2.9

243

3.6

2.5

Pertaining to war ....
Pertaining to earthquakes .
Redeemed Provinces . . .
Railway Constructions

30
328

1.9

20.6

14
224
200
990

-.4
6.2
5.5

27.4

59
60
158
996

-.9
8,9
2.3
14.7

4
91
20
181

0.2
5.2
1.1
10.2

Railway Grants, Automobile

service, Tramways. . .

377

23.6

571

15.7

**340

5.-

Total amount to be divided

1,595

100

3,616

100

6,757

100

1,771

100

Other expenses

1,019

401

611

132

GENERAL TOTALS

2,614

4,017

7,368

1,903

** Inclusive of payments of A. S. R. B. but not inclusive of sums granted by Public Works to the A. S. E. B.

* UP to July 1, 1927.

*** Up to October, 7,1929.

Only a part of the categories of public works given above come under
the jurisdiction of the Commissioner Bureaus for works in the South
and in the Islands. The following figures will give an idea of the ac
tivity displayed by these Bureaus, from the time of their formation
(in August 1925) till June 30, 1930:

Commissioner Bureaus
(Proweditorati)

Millions
of lire

Categories of works

Millions
of lire

151
155

188

178
195
426

557
257

Roads

900
81
170 *
493
81
279

103

Hydraulic works

High Commissariat of Naples (Office
of P.W.)

Reclamation works

P y. *

Sanitary works

General expenses and expenditures

Sardinia

2,107

(*) TJp to November 1929 .

The increase of works naturally involves a continual increase of
manual labour, notwithstanding the increasing use of mechanical means
with a view to greater productive efficiency and reduced expenditure.
If one compares, again, the daily employment of manual labour in works

Public Works

accounted to the Administration of Public Works or aided Ly it, or lately
by the A.S.R.B., as it averages for the months of May and September
in the years from 1925 to 1930, the progress is obvious:

Months

1925
Workmen

1926
Workmen

1927
Workmen

1928
Workmen

1929
Workmen

1930
Workmen

May

66,716

86,081

103,206

106,253

150,394

150,834

September

60,800

85,451

102,309

109,045

132,361

177,770

(*) For the sake of homogeneity With preceding years, manual labour for drainage operations, hydraulic
works and mountain systematization works, are included; viz. 36,767 workmen in May and 42,128 in September.
These works were passed over on September 27, 1929 to the Secretaryship for Integral .Reclamation,

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATIONS FOR WATER UTILIZATION. -
The utilization of waters deriving from the influx of some of the larger
lakes and the rules governing the right of use thereof have been regu
lated by creating the Syndicate of the Ticino for Lake Maggiore and
the Syndicate of the Oglio for the Lake of Iseo.

THERMO-ELECTRIC PLANTS. - By R. D. of July 6, 1926, a first step
was taken towards the construction of thermo-electric power stations for
the utilization of national fuels, by means of State grants.

WATER WORKS, - Magnificent enterprises for regulating the water
courses have been carried on since 1925 all over the Peninsula and the
Islands. It suffices to recall the work being done for the Po: some 2,265
kms. of defence- works have been raised along this river and its tribu
taries, corresponding to an expenditure, in the last five years, of some
200 million lire.

SYSTEMIZATION OF MOUNTAIN AREAS, DRAINAGE, IRRIGATION WORKS
AND WATER EXPLORATION IN THE SOUTH. - For the integral Reclamation,
which comprises classes of works mentioned above, a special Under-
Secretaryship has been created at the Ministry of Agriculture and For
ests. Forty-six drainage enterprises belonging to syndicates and private
parlies were authorized in } 926-27, amounting to about 790 million lire,
in 1929-30 they had increased to 149, costing 1,605 million lire. To
these enterprises must be added those carried on directly by the State,
which have been increased by the decentralization of the State organs.

HOME NAVIGATION. - In 1926 permission was granted to the Italian
Company of Interior Navigation to execute works amounting to 60
million lire for the improvement of the water-ways in the provinces
of Ferrara and of Venice. In Central Italy the Pisa-Leghorn canal is

100 What is Fascism and why ?

being finished and the works undertaken on the Tiber to make it navi
gable have given excellent results.

AQUEDUCTS. - THE APULIAN AQUEDUCT. - The main branches
are finished, and about 540 Kms. of secondary branches and external
conduits have been constructed. The network for city supplies has
been extended over another 155 Kms. From 1925 to 1930, some 66
new centres containing over 638 thousand inhabitants, were supplied
with water.

AQUEDUCTS IN THE CASTELLI ROMANI - The State has undertaken
to execute works for the construction of two water reservoirs destined
to supply the different Castelli, and to advance the money for laying the
water-pipes for these communes. These works have already been begun.

AQUEDUCTS IN THE BASILICATA AND IN OTHER REGIONS OF THE
SOUTH. - In 1924 the State assumed the responsibility of the total ex
penditure for the construction of aqueducts in all the communes of the
Basilicata and it has already absolved this task in great part, with a
total expenditure, up to November 30, 1930, of about 86 million lire.
Numerous other aqueducts have been built or begun in the last five
years, in the Abruzzi, Campania, Calabria, Sicily and in Sardinia. Espe
cially remarkable in Sicily are the co-operative aqueducts of the Ma-
donia (15 communes), of Eastern Montescuro (6 communes) and Western
Montescuro (13 communes), of Favara di Burgio (10 communes) and of
the Aetna woods (16 communes) and in Sardinia the subsidery aqueduct
of Cagliari with about 50 Kms. of water-pipes with a capacity for
carrying 5,000 cubic metres a day. This aqueduct received special atten
tion from the Duce and was completed in a few months, with a total
expenditure of over 10 million lire. To these must be added the aqueduct
of Sassari, one part of which is already finished. The total cost so far
is 4 million lire, and the other two are now in course of construction.

OTHER SANITARY WORKS AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN SOUTHERN
ITALY AND THE ISLANDS. - Loans amounting to 233 and a half million lire
were authorized from July 1926, (when all services relating to the above
were handed over to the P. W. Dept.) to November 30, 1930, for the
building of aqueducts and other hygienic works by the corporations
interested therein. One hundred millions' worth of loans were authorized
in favoui of the Townships helped by the State, for the construction
of school buildings. Financial schemes have been presented for numerous
other buildngs.

MARITIME WORKS. - In the last four years, important works have
been carried ont for enlarging the harbours of Genoa, Venice, Naples,

Public Works 101

Palermo, Catania and Bari. Over 72 million lire have been recehtly
granted to this last harbour, not counting the 75 million lire given to
it formerly, with a view to transforming it into a suitable landing place
for traffic with the East.

Forty million lire were granted to the harbour of Trieste in 1925,
35 million of which have already been spent. Also the smaller harbours
of Istria (Parenzo, Rovigno, Isola) and the harbour of Fiume are being
restored and enlarged.

Some 18 million lire have been granted to this latter port for the
construction of a dock for the discharge of wood and for the completion
of the Riva Duca degli Abruzzi and Emanuele Filiberto.

In Central Italy, in addition to the works financed at Leghorn,
considerable sums are being spent on the harbours of Ravenna, Ancona,
Civitavecchia, Anzio and Marina di Carrara.

An equal stimulus has been given by the Commissioner Bureaus
for the South to works pertaining to the harbours in those regions. In
Campania, apart from the scheme for regulating the harbour of Naples,
a further 5 millions have been spent on important works for enlarging
the port at Salerno, while various works have been carried out in
the harbours of Torre Annunziata, Torre del Greco, Castellamare, and
other minor ones. In Apulia, apart from the construction of the new
port being built at Bari by the Fascist Government, the harbour
at Brindisi is being restored to its full efficiency and other important
embankment works and works of excavation and defence have either
been completed or are being carried on in the harbours of Taranto,
Manfredonia, Gallipoli and Mola di Bari. The systemization of the har
bour of Reggio in Calabria, has been begun. Quays are being built on
the south-eastern side, for a value of eight million lire. In the new
harbour of Cotrone, quay- operations have been completed at the base
of the external breakwater, as well as the construction of a jutting-
out landing-stage, at a cost of about 13 million lire. Other important
works are being carried on in the harbours of Santa Venere and Paola.
In Sicily, although the greatest stimulus has been given to the improve
ments already mentioned in the harbours of Palermo and Catania, im
portant works have also been carried out in the harbours of Messina,
Syracuse and Trapani, in the last of which, a programme of systemization
and enlargement is being carried out, involving an expenditure of 14
million lire.

In Sardinia, where harbour operations are of the greatest importance,
the enlargement, equipment and systemization of the port at Cagliari
is in full swing; the traffic in this harbour is continually increasing and
40 million lire have already been invested in it. Important works of
excavation and systemization are also being carried on in the minor
harbours of Terranova, Carloforte, Bosa, Portotorres, Alghero, Arbatax
and La Maddalena.

102 What is Fascism and why?

A noticeable reduction in the cost of dredging has been achieved in
the various harbours of the Kingdom. This has been attained by found
ing, by R. D. of February 27, 1927, a Technical Control Office for
excavation purposes. This office directs all excavation convoys be
longing to the Administration on a uniform plan and by means of
the intelligent employment of the various working-means corresponding
to the special requirements of the different harbours. It also fixes
standard prices for all excavations undertaken by private concerns.

STATE BUILDING. - In order to come to the aid of Zara, the Fascist
Government has taken charge of town buildings in that city. The
working-programme, approved by the Municipality, is being gradually
developed.

The most important civic buildings are the Palace of Justice at
Trieste, which is practically finished by now, and the Post Office build
ings, already finished, of Casale Monferrato, Asti, Alessandria, Ancona,
Ravenna, Aquila, Campobasso, Caserta, Barletta, Brindisi, Lecce and
Trapani. The Post Office buildings at Arezzo, Ascoli Piceno, Macerata
and Terni were finished in 1930 and the prison buildings at Spezia and
Belluno have been begun, not to mention improvements being made at
the Governor's Palace in Bologna.

Fresh impetus has been given to the construction of government
buildings in the Capital, where the Palace of Montecitorio has been
completely restored; the new seat of the Ministry of Justice is finished
and already occupied by the Offices pertaining thereto. The new seats
of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Marine have
also been altered, and the new seat of the Government Bank Note and
Paper Offices has been handed over to the Financial Administration
Bureau.

Among National monument works is the grandiose Mole del Sacconi,
which is by way of being completed inside, the outside being already
finished. Work is going on in the Museum of the Risorgimento and a
passage is being opened between the Museum and the Portico of Vignola
on the Capitol. The new Littorio Bridge on the Tiber was inaugurated
some time ago.

In Apulia, under the direct supervision of the Commissioner's
Bureau, a new gaol has been built at Bari by the Ministry of Justice,
for the total cost of 4 million lire. In Basilicata the new seat of the
Commissioner's Bureau has been finished and so also, in Calabria, the
building belonging to the Direction of the Provincial Post Offices at
Cosenza, with an expenditure of about 4 million lire. In Sicily, besides
the Post Office Building at Trapani, already inaugurated, the Post Office
Buildings at Catania and Syracuse, representing altogether an expendi
ture of about 11 million lire, have been finished. In Sardinia, the Bio
logical Institute connected with the R. University of Cagliari and the

Public Works 103

two Scientific Institutes of the University of Sassari must be mentioned,
and also the new seat of the Commissioners for Public Works and the
new Palace for the State Archives.

In the military field, again, the Ministry of Public Works has ac
cepted the jurisdiction of the Military Engineering service, relating to
the examination of projects, the supervision and execution of new works
for the building and enlargement of barracks and military buildings in
general, exclusive of fortifications, military roads, depots of explosives
and other works connected with the defence of the State.

As the practical carrying out of this provision presented several
difficulties, owing to the impossibility of drawing a definite line of di
vision between permanent works handed over to the Public Works and
those of upkeep remaining with the Ministry of War, on July 1, 1929,
the execution of these permanent works and extensive improvements
was given back to the War Ministry. The construction of military
buildings not strictly connected with the protection of the Nation are
still a function of the Public Works Department, which, however, receives
the necessary funds from the War Ministry.

Setting aside other works of less importance, the following are
worthy of notice: the enlargement of the Artillery and Engineering
School at Turin, the construction of artillery barracks at Albenga, of
infantry barracks at Genoa, the Semaphore of the R. Marine also at
Genoa, the enlargement of the Arsenal at Piacenza, the Civil Engi
neering Barracks at Udine, the building of a new Military Hospital at
Milan, of central automobile works at San Vitale in Bologna, the
military chemical Institute in Florence, the warehouses for the radio-
telegraphic and Electrical Engineering works in Rome, of the fuse
workshops at Capua, the systemization of the R. Artillery and Arsenal
Administration in Naples. In 1930 new constructions costing 10 millions
of lire were authorized.

To these must be added the building of barracks for the R. Cara
bineers and Police in the provinces of Istria, Fiume, Trieste, Go-
rizia, Udine, Bologna, Belluno, Sondrio, Varese, Aosta, Turin, Imperia,
Genoa, Zara, Rome, Caserta and Messina.

And lastly, new responsibilities and works relative to the Lateran
Treaty have been centred in the Administration of Public Works, so
that this Ministry will undertake the construction of new buildings for
financial and military offices housed at present in palaces, which, accor
ding to the Treaty, will have to be returned to the Papal Government.

WORKMEN'S DWELLINGS. - Besides considerable contributions made
by the State from 1919 to today in the payment of interest on loans
granted for the construction of workmen's houses, and among other
measures of the Government in favour of workmen's dwellings, we must
remember the creation, since 1925, of the National Institution for the

104 What is Fascism and why?

housing of Civil Servants, for the purpose of building healthy flats
at cheap rates. In the programme outlined in the charter, buildings
have been projected up to a total of 500 million lire. Up to the present
day the Institution has built houses in the working centres and is build
ing others for a total amount of 415 million lire. In March 1926 one
hundred million lire were appropriated on the Budget, for State grants
up to 20 % of the cost in favour of Communes and autonomous institu
tions, for the building of workmen's houses to be put up for sale or to
be let, on condition that they be bought after 25 years' lease. With this
sum, which has already been laid out, it has been possible for an expen
diture of 500 million lire, to build 12 thousand new flats, containing
44,500 rooms, capable of housing some 54 thousand people, thus affording
substantial relief in the pressing housing problem. The Government has
also given help to war invalids and disabled soldiers, by granting them
life pensions and contributing 3 % to the payment of interest to co-oper
ative building societies for the building of cheap houses, corresponding
to a total expenditure of about 170 thousand lire. The annual con
tribution of 5 million lire relating thereto has already been entirely dis
bursed.

Up to the present day, we may conclude, the greatest effort
in the building of workmen's dwellings, since the war, has been made
by Corporations financed by the State, and in particular by co-operative
societies under of the strict control of the Ministry of Public Work since
the beginning of 1926.

WAR LOSSES. - All Reconstruction works undertaken directly by
the Government were practically finished in 1925. Those to be exe
cuted by private concerns were so far advanced in 1928 that it was
possible to abolish the Commissariat formerly established at Treviso.

EARTHQUAKE REPARATION WORKS. - The most important public
buildings in the city of Messina are now practically finished; among
others the Palace of Justice and the greater part of the R. University
buildings. On the basis of an agreement made with the Archbishopric
of Messina for the re-building of church edifices in that diocese, in which
the State has pledged itself for a sum of 175 million lire, some 80 fin
ished and unfinished buildings have grown up, amounting to over 103
million lire; among others the Cathedral restored on the same architec
tural lines as that destroyed.

In the provinces of Calabria damaged by the earthquake of 1908
equally important reconstruction works have been carried out in the
last few years.

The Administration of Public Works has provided for the construc
tion of 5,000 dwellings in the 97 communes of the Province of Reggio
Calabria, 4,500 of which have been already finished; 500 are still in course

Public Works 105

of construction. In the province of Catanzaro some 157 dwellings have
now been built at a cost of four and a half million lire. In these two
provinces 52 million lire have been spent on the construction of import
ant public buildings. To these we must add the restoration of 180
parish churches.

Important sanitary works have also been undertaken in the earth
quake districts and State grants and loans have been authorized in their
favour.

Equally important works have been executed in districts damaged
by more recent earthquakes, viz. in Carsia, Tuscany, Emilia, Latium
and Carnia.

The restoration works in the provinces of Avellmo, Foggia, Potenza,
Benevento and Bari, so severely stricken by the earthquake of July 23,
1930, and in the provinces of Ancona and Pesaro stricken by that of
October 30, 1930, have been carried on at great speed.

To give an idea of the work already accomplished, we need only
recall that on the 30th October last, some 3,746 apartments, group
ed in 961 small houses, were assigned to the families left without
a home in the districts stricken by the earthquake of the Vulture (1).

The revision of the system of contributions is in full swing and has
achieved excellent results. Numerous inquiries had revealed specula
tions made possible by the scanty control over the contribution system
before the establishment of the Fascist Regime.

The frequent occurrence of earthquakes and other disasters which
used to find the Administration unprepared, especially in regard to first
aid services, has induced the Ministry of P. W. to create an emergency
organization for first aid services, such as no other country possesses,
not even those more subject than Italy to such natural calamities/

At the time of the earthquake of the Vulture, this organization
had ample occasion to prove its full efficiency.

FLOOD AND LANDSLIDE RESTORATION WORKS. - Owing to the fre
quency of the damages caused by landslides and by floods in Italy, an
expenditure of 125 million lire has been authorized since 1925.

Of this amount, about 53 millions have been spent on State works
and about 74 millions used for grants and loans in favour of local syn
dicates.

Works are in project for the total sum of 8 million lire and grants
for about 32 million lire.

ROAD CONDITIONS. - Under the Act of May 17, 1928, no. 1094,
strong measures have been taken to provide for the definite organization
of State roads and an Autonomous Board has been formed for the

(1) Region named after Mount Vulture, an extinct volcano.

106 What is Fascism and why?

general upkeep and systemization of the road system. The problem
of the systemization and upkeep of other roads is still under examin
ation. Meanwhile special measures have been passed to provide for
the opening of new roads and for repairing old ones, when necessary.

Moreover, during the last five years, a vast roadways programme
has been carried out in Istria, representing a total expenditure of 17
million lire. At the same time fresh impetus has been given to works
undertaken by the State, that aim at joining country-towns and villages
to the road system and facilitating the approach to railway stations.
Thus, the general programme of public works for the Abruzzi, principally
concerned with roads, has authorized the building of 96 kms. of new
roads, to be added to the general provincial system : 51 kms. more
are in construction and 456 kms. have been already added to the com
munal roads built by the Commissioner's Bureau, while 97 other roads
are in construction.

A number of provincial roads are under construction in Campania,
for which a total expenditure of 9 million lire has been granted, and
about one half of the 244 roads for uniting isolated communes have
been financed by the State, up to the total amount of some 60 million
lire; 18 of the latter are already completed, while over 102 are on the
point of being completed.

In Apulia also, notwithstanding the fact that the road problem
is of minor importance, almost three and a half million lire have been
expended on the construction of communal roads of approach and for
the completion of necessary communal roads.

In Basilicata, some 130 kms. of roads have been opened to traffic,
the State having pledged itself for 47 million lire and having arranged
payments for over 58 million lire. But it is above all in Calabria, where
the programme outlined by the R. D. of March 3, 1924, authorizing
an expenditure of 500 million lire, is being carried out, that the building
of new roads is most advanced: 582 kms. of which have been opened
to traffic, comprising 128 kms. of State roads, 165 kms. of provincial
roads and 293 kms. of communal roads : to these must be added 225
kms. still in construction.

The main road system in Sicily is in excellent condition: 2,000
kms. have already been systemized at a cost of 100 million lire, and
about 600 kms. of new roads have been completed at a cost of about
230 million lire.

MOTOR ROADS. - Since the opening of the first motor road between
Milan and the Lakes, in 1925, similar enterprises, aiming at the construc
tion of an important motor road between Trieste and Turin, skirting
the foot of the Alps, have been multiplied. After the concession of
the Milan-Bergamo and the Bergamo-Brescia roads (the first two sec
tions of the new ped-alpine road) the projects for the Turin-Milan, and

Public Works 107

the Padua- Venice sections were presented and definite agreements were
reached.

Numerous enterprises have been organized all along this new road,
for the building of the remaining sections between Brescia and Verona,
Vicenza and Padua, Venice and Trieste: there is also a project for con
tinuing the road on to Fiume.

Important motor roads are being constructed also in other parts
of Italy. The road between Rome and Ostia is already finished and
in active service. The motor road from Naples to Salerno is tinder
construction, and the first part from Naples to Pompei is finished and
in use; but the road from Florence to the sea is still unfinished.

Nor must we forget to mention the new bridge, joining Venice to
the mainland and for which the State has pledged itself up to 75 % of
the cost, for a maximum amount of 62 million lire.

Other concessions under approval, worthy of mention, are those
for the construction of a road between Gargnano di Eiva and Trento,
and two new roads in Sicily, in the provinces of Caltanisetta and Messina.

THE AUTONOMOUS STATE ROADS BOARD. - In 1925 Signor Giuriati
called attention to the necessity of carrying out, as soon as possible,
a radical reform in the legislation on the classification and upkeep of
roads. He also announced that special commissions had been sent
abroad to study the organization and maintenance of roads in foreign
countries and the administrative organization of road services. In
concluding he suggested the possibility of the formation of a special
board with autonomous funds placed under State control.

Meanwhile the problem of road improvement was claiming the atten
tion of students, Sport Associations, and the Italian public in general.
Important studies appeared, showing that financial sacrifices made
on behalf of roads constituted a profitable investment of capital in
favour of public economy, while sums saved on their maintenance, though
apparently an economy, represent a real loss to the exchequer, which
suddenly suffers from a decrease in circulation revenues. This loss also
affects the public, which has to pay heavier taxation owing to the more
rapid wearing out of roads, besides the increased consumption of motor
oils and new investments of capital for the roads destroyed.

This explains the formation, under the Act of May 17, 1928, of
the Autonomous State Roads Board, which has assumed the task of
providing for the re- organization of our road system.

This Board, which began operations in July 1928, has taken over
the management of Government roads already partly built and opened
to traffic, measuring in all some 20,622 kms., to which must be added
new sections continually being built.

It is estimated that when these sections are completed, the road
network managed by the Board will be increased by 450 kms.

108

What is Fascism and why ?

In regard to the principal task of the Board, viz., that of pro
viding for the general systemization of the roads, it is well-known
that in the beginning the Board decided upon a five-year programme,
for the construction of 6,000 kms. of roads. On the other hand, the
programme soon proved to be inadequate to the demands of motor
traffic and it was necessary to intensify the work of systemization with
a considerable shortening of the time limit fixed by the general pro
gramme, which had been subdivided into five yearly programmes.

That this has been possible is due to the fact that the Board,
besides disposing of ordinary revenues, is also empowered by R. D. of
February 4, 1929, to apply to other Institutions, also subsidized by the
State, for loans, to meet the payments of the first year's programme.
For the remaining yearly programmes the payments will be divided into
annuities, comprising both capital and interest.

Since the first two years yielded an increase in the revenues, corres
ponding to the increase in automobile taxes and road improvement fees,
of 40 million lire above the 1,355 million lire of the financial year
1927-28, the programme for the second year has been amplified so as
to include the building of 1,500 kms. more than first estimated.

The works for the first programme, begun in October 1928, are
almost finished: those for the second programme are in an advanced
stage of construction, those for the third programme are either begun
or are being contracted for. By November 30, 1929, the following re
sults will have been reached:

Italy

First Programme

Second Programme

Third Programme

TOTAL

Cost in
Thousands
of Lire

Km.

<i a

Cost in
Thousands
of Lire

Km.

fli.

M rH

$1*

Cost in
Thousands
of Lire

Km.

Cost in
Thousands
of Lire

Km,

SB*

North . .

124,483

425

294

225,372

1,011

223

88,000

461

191

438,215

1,897

231

Central . .

152,874

733

209

80,760

475

170

107,000

638

169

340,634

1,846

184

South and

Islands .

83,110

159

523

186,391

904

206

75,000

399

188

344,501

1,462

235

360,467

1,317

274

492,523

2,390

206

270,000

1498

180

1123,350

5,205

216

We must also take into account another 2,000 kms. undergoing
surface improvement. The money for this is found by suspending the
ordinary upkeep and occasional systemization of the roads. Thus in
the first three years management, on an average of 20,622 kms. repre
senting the whole work, 7,200 kms. were subtracted from the ordinary
system of maintenance.

Public Works
The sums pledged for Ordinary Upkeep are as follows:

109

Italy

Financial year

Financial

Total
cost
thousands
of lire

1928-1929

Av. per
1000
lire

1929-1930

Av. per
1000
lire

1930-31
cost in
thousands
of lire

Cost in
thousands
of lire

Km.

Cost in
thuusands
of lire

Km.

North ....

86,762

6,221

73,521

5,526

69,284

229,567

Central ....

54,045

4,662

45,622

4,206

45,068

144,735

South and Is
lands

78,856

9,768

85,252

9.619

77,350

241,458

219,663

20,651

204,395

19,351

191,702

615,760

The smallsr expenditure for 1929-1930 was due to the fact that
along 1,300 kms. of roadway the works of general systemization men
tioned above were not being carried on.

The cost of the Extraordinary Reparation Works, of Extraordinary
Systemization and of the building of Bridges authorized for the period
of time under consideration amounts to lire 155,141,000, to be classified
as follows:

Italy

Financial year
1928-29

Financial year
1929-30

Financial year
1930-31
to November 30

Total

North

25,327

16,542

6,770

48,639

Central

14,095

8,286

7,650

30,031

South & Islands

48,599

18,827

9,045

76,471

88,021

43,655

23,465

155,141

In connection with the immense volume of the work of upkeep
and systemization, the A.S.R.B. continues to display its activity by
building new experimental roads, employing the different types of pav
ing advised by modern technical experts. It has also built new toll
houses containing 134 new apartments and has planted 195,000 trees
along the roads in the autumn and winter of 1929-1930. It has also
compiled a tax-book for the registration of grants concerned with Go
vernment roads.

NEW RAILWAY CONSTRUCTIONS. - For the construction of new rail
way lines the Fascist Government has already paid since its coming
into power up to November 30, 1930, fully 364 million lire. Among

110 What is Fascism and why ?

the works completed between 1925 and November 30, 1930, we may
record the following: the direct Rome-Naples line, which begun in 1907,
suspended in 1917, gradually taken up again between 1920 and 1922,
was rapidly completed in 4 years, from 1923-27. From the beginning
of the work until October 1922, 211 million lire were spent and from
October 1922 to 1927, 427 million lire, a total of 648 millions. The
Cuneo-Ventimiglia line, completed in 1928, including also the section
in Italian territory from the French frontier to Ventimiglia (the other
section from the French frontier to Cuneo having been completed in
1900) has only since that date been open along its whole length, for its
proper purpose of international traffic. At the present value of the
lira, the total cost of this line has been about 370 million lire. Be
tween April 1925 and July 1928, two branch lines, ( Legnago-Cologna
and Cologna-Pojiana), 28 kms. long and costing about 45 million lire,
have been opened for use on the Ostiglia-Treviso line. The Lucca-Pon-
tedera line, 25 kms. long and costing about 50 millions, was opened for
use on the 28th of October 1928 and at the same date the Santa Mar-
gherita - San Carlo section of the complementary Sicule, Castelvetrano-
Ribera lines, of the length of 25 kms. and at a cost of 50 millions,
was opened while the San Carlo-Burgio section, about 7 kms. long and
costing 16 million lire, is finished and will soon be opened for use. On
October 28, 1930, the Caltagirone-San Michele di Gansaria section of
the Caltagirone-Piazza Armerina line was opened for use; it is 19 kms.
long and cost 14 and a half million lire. On the same date was opened
the San Michele-Piazza Armerina section, constructed under the super
vision of the General Inspectorate of the Railways, and lastly, also on
October 28, 1930, the Sacile-Pinzano line, 53 kms. long and costing 70
millions was opened to traffic.

In all, more than 400 kilometres of new railway lines have been
opened for traffic: of these 230 kms. are double-track normal gauge lines,
140 are single-track lines and the rest are narrow gauge lines.

Among the lines in course of construction, the most important is
the direct Bologna- Florence line, 80 kms. long, which has already cost
1,050 million lire (844 of which have been spent since 1922) and for which
the cutting of the great tunnsl through the Appennines, the first dou
ble track tunnel in the world in length and the second tunnel in the
world after the Simplon, has been completed. Other important lines
in construction are: the Ostiglia-Treviso, the Savona-San Giuseppe di
Cairo, the Vittorio Veneto-Ponte in the Alps, the S. Arcangelo-Urbino,
the Fossano-Mondovi-Ceva, the Piacenza-Cremona, the Fidenza-Salso-
maggiore, the circumvallation line in Rome and the railway line for the
Vatican City.

In all, there are in construction: 126 kms. of narrow gauge lines, 230
kms. of single track normal gauge lines and 220 kms. of double track
lines, totalling about 580 kms.

Public Works 111

Other important lines are being considered, they are: a) the fol
lowing normal gauge lines: the Opicina-Erpelle and Erpelle-Sappiane,
the S. Vito al Tagliamento-Montespino, the Caldonazzo-Trento-Mezzo-
corona, the Bra-Fossano, the Garessio-Imperia, the Genoa-Arquata, the
Rieti-Foro Sabina and the Naples-Nocera lines; and b) the following
narrow gauge ones: Burgio-Ribera and Agrigento-Porto Empedocle; the
circumvallation at Rome and the railway systemization at Palermo.

I will add nothing about railways conceded to private industry,
funiculars and automobile services, because these were transferred on
July 1, 1927 to the Ministry of Comunications.

The facts set forth in the preceding pages, speak for themselves.
Ever since the first years of the Unification of Italy, our Public Works
Administration has been accorded a place of honour in the consolidation
of national unity ; to-day it is no less worthy to be proclaimed the great
artificer of the economic and civic development of Fascist Italy.

The figures contained in the present article were famished by the Statistics Bureau
of the Ministry of Public Works.

THE COMMUNICATIONS POLICY

by COSTANZO CTANO, Minister of Communications.

The life of Italy depends largely on the sea. The liberty of its commu
nications with the great Mediterranean and overseas producing countries,
and the perfect functioning of its maritime traffic are essential conditions,
in peace and war, for the existence of the country, not only as an organic
and autonomous entity, an active member of the community of nations,
but also as an effective fighting force. Though, geographically speaking,
Italy is a peninsula, it is nevertheless true that the character of its northern
frontiers - defined by an impassable mountainous chain with few railway
passes, the potentiality of which cannot surpass certain limits, and which
give access to four different countries - compels our people for economic
reasons in peace time, for political motives and the necessity of rapid
means of transpoit in war, to make a greater use of the sea routes to
import those raw products that ensure its life and normal conditions of
work and, when the necessity arises, increase its efficiency in war. For
these reasons Lord Balfour warned the members of the Conference of
Washington in 1922 that they must consider Italy " almost as an island",
and recalling " the extreme difficulties experienced during the world war
by the Allies to supply her even with the minimum of coal necessary to
maintain her activity and to keep going her arsenals and factories ",
expressed his doubts as to the possibility of Italy obtaining food or
other supplies, or continuing to be an effective fighting unit if she were
subjected to a blockade or if her maritime commerce were stopped.

We must remember that in 1919, on a total of 39,268,155 tons
of goods imported and exported in Italian harbours, 29,337,178 tons
came by sea from foreign ports or were shipped to these; and although
W3 have not at our disposal corresponding statistics to compare with
these, we may state that by means of the thirteen railway passes of the
frontier a volume of goods amounting only to one third of this amount
was conveyed, (in the financial year 1927-1928, 9,555,175 tons, in the
financial year 1928-1929, 10,052,244 tons). But the fundamental im
portance of the maritime routes is emphasized by the nature of the
goods transported: practically all the heavy commodities and those
essential to hum anlife and to the national industry come from overseas,
whether for obvious reasons of a geographical order, or for economic
reasons (i. e. the cheapness of maritime freights as compared with
land transport), or for the greater facility of shipping afforded by the
greater capacity of a ship compared with that of a train. It is sufficient
to note that of the above-mentioned goods imported in 1928, the greater
part came by sea:

a) Wheat (durum and tender grain) 2,745,062 tons, of which 2,727,067
ton- :e from the United States, Canada, the Argentine, Australia, and
Ki nia (only 22,037 tons).

The Communications Policy US

6) Maize : 913,441 tons, of which 875,121 tons are from the Ar
gentine, Rumania, and the United States.

c) Various oil seeds (peanuts, colza, fla^ sesame and copra seeds,)
peanut and palm oil: 340,422 tons. Almost all this bulk comes directly
from overseas: India, China, the Argentine, the Belgian Congo, and only
in a very small proportion by transhipment and after being subjectel to
industrial processes from European countries.

d) Cotton, ginned and unginned: 232,488 tons, of which most is from
the United States (168,991 tons) the rest largely from India and Egypt.

e) Coal : 12,697,081 tons, of which more than ten million by sea
routes. 6,438,613 tons came from the United Kingdom, and 4,439,458
tons from Germany: the rest from the Sarre basin, from France and
from other countries.

/) Phosphates : 619,617 tons: the great majority, 551,218 tons,
from Tunis, Marocco, Algiers.

g) Liquid fuels and lubricating mineral oils : 969,388 tons, almost
all by sea routes, particularly from the Black Sea (410,726 tons) and
from the United States (304,497 tons).

h) Metallic minerals (iron, manganese, lead, copper: 298,133 tons)
and metals (scrap iron and cast iron: copper, lead, tin, zinc and alu
minium ingots: 1,122,297 tons): in all 1,420,430 tons. Although the
exporting countries are European, these goods arrive for the most part by
sea routes.

On the other hand, our national products and Italian industrial exports
are nearly all shipped by sea, on which the country depends for political
reasons among others. The sea ensures the most rapid means of
communication, indeed, the only one, in the majority of cases, between
our islands and the Peninsula. It constitutes the bond by which the
mother country succeeds in maintaining contact with her ten million
children distributed in great centres throughout the world, and by
keeping alive their Italian sentiment, she is able to appeal to them for
help in war.

THE ITALIAN MERCANTILE MARINE. - But the full development
of our industry depends upon a great and efficient national mercantile
marine. Apart from the fact that " trade follows the flag " a fact
unchanged by the rapid progress of civilization even in the most back
ward quarters of the globe apart even from the good advertisement
that a first-class mercantile marine constitutes for national industries
in general, and the great adaptability with which a national marine,
wisely organized and assisted when necessary by the State, can lend
itself to the varying needs of commercial expansion; apart from all this,
it is still advisable to assert once more the necessity of freeing the coun
try, as much as possible, from dependence on foreign services, both in
peace and in war.

114 What is Fascism and why ?

In peace, first of all, so as to cut down the national expenditure in
chartering foreign ships and to increase the bulk of our invisible
exports, that contribute to make up for the disproportion between the
value of imports and that of visiMe exports. A national mercantile
marine, besides, together with the group of special industries connected
with it, constitutes a powerful instrument for labour, promotes its
development, and increases employment for the mass of labourers which
the " great proletariat " nation of many years ago supplied to the world
that treated it so disdainfully; labour that a wise political system now
aims at keeping within the country, so that it may contribute to our
own prosperity.

We must also bear in mind that, once the present period of de
pression is over - as all such periods do pass over and make way
for times of unusual prosperity, such as we have experienced before
now in the shipping industry - the mercantile marine will afford a
fine investment for capital, both directly and through the industries
that support it, (such as iron works, ship-yards, supply factories which
provide everything from cables to paint) and the commercial activities
to which it gives rise.

In war time a strong mercantile marine, besides affording the
best support to the navy, both as a reserve force of trained men and
an auxiliary for cruising and war supplies, serves to protect the flow
of supplies from the outer world and contact with it, amid the doubts
and hesitation of neutral powers.

But even in the case of a war in which the country is not directly
engaged itself, the value of a strong national mercantile fleet is obvious.
It alleviates the distress caused by the decline of available tonnage,
due to the increased general demand for it caused by war conditions,
and, besides relieving immediate anxieties, affords a means of laying
in stocks of essential commodities, thus enabling the government to
weigh the situation calmly, ponder its decisions, and choose its own
time for action.

An efficient mercantile marine depends on two main factors, the
first of a psychological, and the other of a technical and financial
order. It is obvious that to obtain good service from even the best
material, absolute order on board is essential, and this depends in
great measure on a perfect understanding between shipowners and
crews and between the shipping industry and import and export trade,
which must consider one anothers' interests in a spirit of mutual
helpfulness. The time-honoured principle, so well tested in war, that
human virtues must off-set deficiencies in material- the concept expressed
by the English slogum " the men behind the guns " - is what counts.

Every sound system of communications that aims, as it should do,
at strengthening the nation, must take into consideration these funda
mental needs. And with legitimate pride as an Italian, I can affirm that

The Communications Policy 115

Fascism lias always based its governmental actions on an understanding
of these needs, showing not only its determination but also its power to
solve these dependent problems, both by its past action and its plans
for the future.

Material progress is being made. Our fleet, which in June 1914
consisted of only 1,430,475 tons gross of mechanically propelled ships,
rose in June 1929 to 3,261,932 tons. But these figures are more striking
when we reflect that, while the percentage of British and German tonnage
in world shipping has, from 1914 to 1929, diminished (by 41.6 % to
30.2 % and from 11.3 % to 6.1 % respectively), Italy's rate of percentage
increase (from 3.1 to 4.84) is to be placed only behind the United States
and Japan. Now this notable progress - acccompanied by an equally
effective progress in quality - may be said to have been accomplished
in the main since the year in which Fascism took over the control of
the State, and particularly in the last five years. In 1922, Italy's
fleet of mechanically propelled ships was composed of 1016 units aggre
gating 2,698,722 gross tonnage; ships that were, generally speaking, of
varied capacity and poor efficiency, both as a result of the hurried
building of war-time and the exhausting effect of the conflict in which
they had been engaged.

In this mass of shipping, of the average tonnage per unit of 2,656 tons,
there were only 10 ships of gross register per unit superior to 10,000
tons, (among which the Giulio Cesare alone registered more than 20,000
tons); only 18 motor ships with a total gross register of 56,209 tons:
17 tank ships of a total tonnage of 51,118: and 25 ships with a speed
exceeding 15 knots. By 1925 there had already been realized a material
increase of 232,114 tons, which rose in 1930 to 563,210 tons, while the
average tonnage per unit had risen respectively to 2,800 and 2,951 tons;
ships of gross tonnage superior to 10,000 tons had risen from 8 in 1925 to
17 in 1930 (among which are 8 above 20,000 tons gross: 329,801 total ton
nage); motor ships from 41 in 1925, of 124,901 total tonnage, rose to 173
in 1930, of 511,367 total tonnage; tankers from 28 in 1925, of 128,904
total tonnage, rose to 60 in 1930 of 256,666 total tonnage.

The reason for this increase must in the first place be studied in
relation to the changed social conditions of the peninsula, as a result of
which, with the revival of confidence in naval power and industry, the
future was once again contemplated with serenity and optimism. But it
is also true that the Government immediately provided for the adoption
of measures to promote private enterprise. So long ago as February 1st
1923 a Decree was issued aiming at the provisional solution of the
ship building problem. The fundamental measure concerning this is the
Royal Emergency Decree of the 16th May 1926, No. 865, in which, after
having put a definite end to the interdependence of ironworks and
shipyards, the latter were granted the power to avail themselves on
every favourable occasion of the foreign market, by means of the

116 What is Fascism and why?

introduction free of duty, within established limits, of the necessary
metals. The former at the same time were granted a certain measure of
tariff protection, considerably lower than that established by the pre-war
protective laws, but still calculated to permit them to offer the naval
constructions industry conditions no more onerous than those offered
by foreign ironworks. On the other hand this increase in shipping was
also fostered by the re-organization of the subsidized lines, in force
since January 1st 1926, together with the obligation of replacing worn-
out material. Italian shipyards launched, in 1922, 101,777 tons of
shipping, without laying down any new ships, in 1926 they launched
fully 250,289 tons; and although the rate has slowed down since that
year, it is to be presumed that measures already in force to which we
shall allude later will soon again increase this production.

The remarkable technical progress effected cannot all be expressed in
figures; but we find an interesting proof of it and of constant, vigorous and
effective attempts at improvement, in the statistics worked out by an
impartial observer, the German Dr. Sven Helander. He has divided ex
isting world shipping of various dates into three main categories :

1. Ships of at least 5,000 tons gross; 12 knots actual service speed:
not more than 25 years old.

2. Ships of at least 10,000 tons gross: 15 knots actual service speed:
not more than 10 years old.

3. Ships of at least 15,000 tons gross: 18 knots actual service speed:
not more than 5 years old.

Thus he has furnished us with the data for the following table in
which the percentage of Italian shipping in all three categories is given
in relation to world shipping:

1914 1920 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1st Category 2.38 3.26 4.48 4.53 4.83 5.26 5.02

2nd 6.28 6.09 6.58 5.99 9.03 10.53

3rd 23.12 20.68 27.44 27.59 41.07 32.86

But these figures are rendered still more remarkable and significant
if the percentage of high- class shipping is shown in relation to the total
Italian tonnage. This is shown in the following table:

1914 1927 1928 1929

1st Category 13.36 18.11 20.87 21.28

2nd 3.72 6.42 8.57

3rd 2.43 4.57 4.97

From these two tables we can see that constant progress is more
evident in the ships of the highest class, while the following table gives,
for 1929, the percentage of high class shipping of various countries in
relation to their respective total tonnage, showing the high position
occupied by the Italian Marine, whose predominance is, moreover,
absolute in the 2nd and 3rd categories.

The Communications Policy 117

1st Category 2nd Category 3rd Category

Italy 21.28 8.57 4.97

England . . . 32.11 6.45 0.94

Germany ,
France

Holland
Japan

29.68 6.14 0.67

26.00 4.34 1.28

United States . . 8.96 1.67 0.12

39.10 5.34 1.00

17.02 0.99

This position is also shown, although slightly modified in degree,
by the following table which gives, likewise for 1929, the percentanges of
high standard shipping of various countries in relation to world total
tonnage:

1st Category 2nd Category 3rd Category

Italy 5.02 10.53 32.86

England 53.36 55.83 43.50

Germany
France
United States
Holland
Japan

8.73 9,46 5.55

6.32 5.49 8.69

9.33 9.03 3.47
8.26 5.88 5.94
5.12 1.56

This progress will certainly be maintained as the result of certain
measures already in force or under consideration, amongst which
we must mention the Decree Law of November llth 1927, No. 2138,
which raised the Italian Register to the function of a technical organ
attached to the Administration ; the Decree Law of June 23rd 1927,
No. 1429, appointing an organization to construct and operate an
experimental pond for ship models (this is actually in course of com
pletion in Rome and will be an improvement on all those already
existing); the Decree Law of July 8th 1929, No. 1176, which establishes
the new rate of subsidy to be granted to shipping companies proportionate
to the greater speed of the ships and the improvements of their propul
sion machinery; and lastly the safety regulation, approved by Royal
Decree of July 10th 1928, no. 2752, which enforces technical precau
tions of great efficiency for the safety of navigation, having regard to the
system of bulkheads, structure, stability, safety apparatus etc. of the ship.
This Regulation afforded evidence at the Conference of London in 1929
that Italy (who had already in 1925, extended the powers and increased
the severity of the Commissions of Inquiry on accidents, by increasing
the number of technical members, adding a magistrate, and enforcing new
penalties) is resolved to make maritime legislation extremely rigorous
in all that concerns the better safeguarding of human life upon the sea.

But the improvement of the fleet on a big scale - especially the
replacing of less efficient material - calls for very ample funds, which
our shipping companies did not easily find on the home market. This
need has been met - at least in all that concerns shipbuilding by
companies running subsidized lines or groups of lines - by the enactment

118 What is Fascism and why?

of a series of measures, among others the Decree Laws of February 10th
1927, No. 200, and of March 13th 1927, No. 303, which introduced certain
amendments regarding the cession of the subsidies - already established
by the Decree Law of May 24th 1926, No. 945 - hy owners of mari
time services.

On the basis of the provisions laid down in these Decrees, negotiations
were immediately started through the Consorzio di Credito per le Opere
Pubbliche, with the aim of finding on the United States market ten year
and twenty year loans for the Navigation Companies guaranteed by the
Consortium.

This operation was entirely successful and so permitted the grad
ual renewing of the fleet, The Government, however, felt that the
problem of financing shipbuilding must be contemplated from a wider
standpoint, and we have, therefore, the Decree Laws of July 5th 1928,
Nos. 1816 & 1817, establishing the Credito Navale, thus effecting a
measure that had been appealed for in vain for so many years - almost
ever since the Unification of the Kingdom ! The special Institute,
which, after the necessary preparatory work, is about to commence work,
will place, as is known, a milliard lire at the disposal of the national
marine, thus enabling it, without great difficulty, to obtain a loan up to
60 % of the value of the ships offered as guarantee.

The Treasury has pledged itself to give a very small contribution
to the payment of interest, varying, according to the need, from 2 l / 2 %
to 1%. This will not entail a great sacrifice, for this form of interven
tion, like all those adopted by the National Government in connection
with shipbuilding, does not constitute an artificial measure of protection,
which would have the effect of stifling private enterprise, but seeks
rather to awaken and spur on such initiative. Moreover, as regards
naval credit, several national fleets have been helped to a much greater
extent, both as regards the sum placed at the disposal of shipyards
(England with the Trades Facilities Act, the Unites States with the Jones
White Act etc.), and by help in the payment of interest (the above-men
tioned countries and France).

This constant, resolute, and successful effort at improvement is the
most effective answer to the objection raised by some critics against the
advanced age of a certain section of our mercantile fleet. I am convinced
that this drawback will be eliminated with time, but, on the other hand,
one must understand what is meant by the word old as applied to a
ship. When, in fact, may a ship be called old ? There does not exist in
this respect any absolute standard; the limit of 25 years has no absolute
value, and against this there is beginning a movement of protest in
some <juarters of the technical press, even in England, where the neces
sity of new ships has been so much insisted upon in the interest of
shipbuilding. In fact it has been proved that old ships, in a period of
economic crisis, have their advantages. It has been shown that the age

The Communications Policy 119

of a skip is not a decisive factor in. maritime accidents; that old ships, if
well built, overhauled and kept in good condition, are capable of
rendering useful and excellent service after 25 years.

The increase and technical improvement of our fleet and its con
sequently increased yield are shown by the more and more prepon
derant part played by the Italian flag as compared with that played
by foreign flags in the traffic of our ports. While in 1922 this amount
ed to 59 %, in 1925 it had risen to 64 %, and in 1929 to 70 % ~ foreign
shipping having therefore diminished from 41 % in 1922 to 36 % in 1925
and 30 % in 1929. And at the same time the traffic of the ports, which
recorded 23,479,917 tons in 1922, had risen to 35,979,692 in 1925 and
to 39,268,155 in 1929.

Oar traffic with other Mediterranean countries had risen from 3 mil
lion tons in 1913 to 3,823,292 tons in 1929, and in this period the propor
tion of Italian shipping had risen from 65 % to 81 % in 1929. Traffic
with northern and eastern Europe remained stationary at 13 million
tons, but the proportion of Italian shipping had risen from about 16 %
to nearly 42 % in 1929. Traffic with North America had risen from 1,800,000
tons of goods in 1913 to 2,800,000 in 1929; our proportion increasing from
35 % in 1913 to 42 % in 1929. Traffic with the Black Sea, the Sea of
Marmora and the Sea of Azov had risen, in spite of the static or retro
gressive condition of some of those markets, from 1,700,000 tons in 1913
to 2,069,812 tons in 1929; while the quota of Italian shipping rose trium-
pnantly from 50 % in 1913 to 78 % in 1929. Traffic with South America
had risen from 1,300,000 tons in 1913 to 2,210,323 tons in 1929; and our
mercantile, marine which carried 40 % of this trade in 1913, carried 47 %
in 1929. Traffic with the Indies, the Far East and other countries beyond
Suez, had risen from about 500,000 tons to 1,356,886 in 1929; while the
Italian quota had increased from 25 % to 62 %.

Our Transatlantic fleet has succeeded in winning a similar predomi
nance in the transport of passengers. We must add to all this that the
improvement of the marine has rendered possible the perfect functioning
of the subsidized services, clearly divided into indispensable lines and
useful lines. Since emerging from post-war chaos, with a smaller expen
diture (amounting to about 53 millions for the useful services and about
159 for the indispensable) we have attained to a much higher rate of
mileage, while by means of the useful lines we have firmly established
links with some overseas markets in which our exports begin to be much
in demand, thus justifying the hope that we may draw in the near future
still greater advantages from the slight and diminishing sacrifice made
by the Treasury.

It is well to point out that the above-mentioned lines are subject
to a State subsidy which is gradually diminish ing year by year, and which
can only be repaid by increased service, so that not even in this case
can one speak of blind protection, but only of necessary help, of an incen-

120 What is Fascism and why?

tive to stimulate energies that show that they can profit by it. As for
the indispensable lines, we need only state that it is a question of commu
nication services between our colonies or islands and the peninsula; ser
vices necessary to the development of the nation's potentialities, which,
if they were not subsidized by the State for political purposes, would not
be carried on, since they do not offer any prospect of gain to national,
and still less to foreign, shipping.

But all these advantages, it is well to repeat, have been achieved
by the most absolute order, an order that is maintained on board ship
by the revival of the time-honoured principle that the Captain is the
supreme master under God. The sense of discipline and of their duty
towards their country has been restored to our seamen, firm measures
being adopted in weeding out all those found guilty of offences, and
the degradation of any men condemned for theft, fraud, embezzlement
etc., or who commit actions repugnant to Italian sentiment or likely
to upset public opinion. (Decrees of February 8th, 1923, No. 323;
April 26th 1923, No.999; April 19th, 1925, No. 628; May 24th, 1925,
No. 1031; September 17th, 1925, No. 1819; June llth, 1926, No. 1045;
December 23rd, 1926, No. 2268; March 20th, 1927, No. 402). But at the
same time the interests and the rights of those who show themselves
worthy of serving their country on the sea have been safeguarded.

Determined attempts are being made for the re-organization of the
Disabled Men's Fund; employment for officers has also been organized
(Act of December 16th, 1928, No. 3042), and various conventions adopted
at Geneva with the intention of lightening seamen's work have been rati
fied: minimum age for the employment of boys r at sea (Royal Decree
of March 20th, 1924 No.591); compulsory medical examination of boys
and youths employed on board ships; (Royal Decree March 20th, 1924,
No. 588, and Royal Decree December 27th, 1925, No. 2543); unemploy
ment indemnity in case of the loss of the ship, (Royal Decree of
December 27th, 1925, no. 2564). Sanitary conditions and food on board
have been regulated by insisting on constant and rigorous vigilance on
the part of the port authorities; assistance increased by means of the
help given to the Cassa Ammalati (Sickness Fund) of quite recent consti
tution. The State, in short, feels that it is fully carrying out its duties
as guardian of our seamen, having further, through the Syndicalist
organization, found a way of settling wages disputes without any undue
agitation, but efficiently and in a dignified manner. Nor has care for
the interests of the men been confined strictly to rights and duties: due
attention has been paid to vocational interests by means of the new
grades instituted in connection with the new motor apparatus used
(Royal Decrees June 19th, 1924, No. 1153 and April 14th 1927, No. 616);
also by new measures such as those relating to the new grades that
will be introduced in the Mercantile Marine Code now in course of
preparation.

The Communications Policy 121

These are the results achieved, from the increase of traffic to the
financial facilities offered to ship-owners; from the growth and improve
ment in the quality of our fleet to the building of some of the greatest
units of the Mercantile Marine (Roma and Augustus, the Counts of the
Sabaudo Line, the two motor giants of the Cosulich Line); from the
systemization of the subsidized services of certain lines which penetrate
the foreign markets to the order re-established on board ship and the
discipline reigning in our ports, where the docks are thronged with
hefty men handling new and efficient machinery, proud to be able to
take their share in the fortunes of their country.

The Mercantile Marine involves interests of world importance. Its
development is an essential condition for the success of our country in the
great economic competition. That is why to-day, when the importance
of our maritime traffic on all the oceans is so much discussed, it has
seemed to me opportune to dwell at length on the Mercantile Marine
instead of on the other Administrations under my control: the State
Railways ; Postal Telegraphic and Telephones services ; Inspection of
the Railways, Tramways and Automobiles - which, however, have equal
importance and are not less worthy of attention for the progress achieved
in these last years.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC. - In the administration of the State Railways
the work of the Fascist Government may be divided into two periods:

The first and very short period, in which a rapid organisation was
effected in the emergency administration, together with a thorough
revision and, where necessary, weeding-out of the staff; while strict
discipline and the most necessary measures were introduced.

The second, which began with the new organization of the Ministry
of Communications, is of course inspired by the same principles as
before, but necessarily represents a period of more patient and method
ical work; all branches and the minutest details of the railway service
were overhauled so as to achieve everywhere the greatest technical
progress and hence the maximun yield.

This work is still going on and embraces everything, from the machi
nery to the rolling-stock and the men. Its results are obvious.

In the last six years the train service has been improved and extend
ed, especially passenger traffic (from 122 to 148 million Kms); but at
the same time we have been able appreciably to reduce the actual number
of the staff and the cost of means of traction, while improving the output.
For every million kilometres covered by the trains, the employes have
actually decreased from 1385 to 1141.

Electric traction has been greatly extended, so that now it covers
one-fifth of the lines.

Thanks to careful technical attention to the steam locomotives, no
table economies have been effected in the consumption of coal, the amount

122 What is Fascism and why?

decreasing in the same six years from 58.4 to 51.2 kgs. per thousand tons
per kilometre.

Another important fact worth mentioning is the amount paid out
in compensation for theft, damage, etc., in the goods service. Before
the establishment of the Ministry of Communications these indemnities
represented a percentage of 1.28 on the cost of the goods carried; now
this percentage has fallen to 0.06, that is to say to one sixteenth.

The State railway system, covering about 16,750 kms., is assisted
by a large group of public railways conceded to private industry, and
of extra-urban tram-lines, which must be considered as railways of a
secondary order; in all 9,339 kms., of which some hundreds have been
constructed or radically reorganized in the last few years, most of them
being electrified.

The whole system of railway communications is in its turn complet
ed by a vast system of public motor services, covering more than 69,500
kms., with a fixed itinerary, under State control, and a fixed working
system laid down in the concession contract.

Of these lines, about 73,000 kms. represent the increase from 1926
up to now, without counting the services of autobuses for tourists which
function mainly in the season, and which in the year 1930 covered about
35,000 kms.

To complete the account of internal traffic which comes under the
control of the Ministry of Communications, we must still add the city
tramways, the funiculars and cable railways, and the internal navigation
services, especially those concerned with the lakes.

While efforts were being made to develop and improve the various
categories of transport farmed out to concessionaries for plant and
rolling stock, steady progress was being made in the attempt to render
supervision more efficient and constant. These services, like the railways,
are now required to notify immediately all difficulties or delays to
the central office. Certain essential rules have been adopted to impart
to these services the necessary uniformity and discipline.

POSTAL, TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SYSTEMS. - The institution of
the Ministry of Communications implied a new organization also for the
Administration of Posts and Telegraphs. In 1925 this was put under an
autonomous management, and in the following July the urban telephone
services and the inter-urban services of minor importance were ceded
to private enterprises, while entrusting the more important lines of
communication to a special body. The results obtained show clearly
how opportune was the formation of these new services, capable of
meeting the growing needs of national life.

The remarkable and constant reduction of staff and the technical
improvement of the services are the two characteristic features of the
progress achieved in the Post Office and explain the higher yield shown

The Communications Policy 123

also in the apparent contrast between a more flourishing service and
a smaller number of employes.

One of the improvements most obvious to the public at large is the
centralization of the services in the new, large, airy and decorous
headquarters, which also represent a hygienic and general improvement
for the staff. New, handsome, and efficient buildings have been erected in
many cities, and many are now in course of construction, while new
mechanical arrangements are being made for the installation of the
great station of Milan.

The telephonic progress of our country has really been remarkable. The
State telephone office, responsible for the great lines of communication,
has provided for the erection of numerous aerial lines of double copper
wire for thousands of kilometres, and the construction of a great part of
the vast national underground cable intended to serve as a link with
all regions and to assure to the larger cities excellent communications also
with foreign countries; it is hoped that this cable will be completed by
1931, as far as concerns northern and central Italy, and by 1935 for south
ern Italy and Sicily. There has also been laid down a submarine cable
for communication with Zara, and a submarine cable is in course of con
struction for communication with Sardinia, for which meanwhile a radio-
telephonic line has assured excellent communication with the Continent.

One result of the work of the Telephone Concession Companies,
carefully guided and controlled, is the great extension of the city tele
phone services in all the most important centres of the kingdom, a result
achieved mainly by the introduction of the automatic system. Since July
1st 1925 there has been an increase of use of more than 80 %.

The radio-electrical services have been especially cared for, partly
by means of vast and complex legislation concerning the security of na
vigation and the safety of human life on the seas; and also by the
development of broadcasting, a powerful means of instruction as well
as of enjoyment.

The following important measures must be mentioned here: the
erection of a radio-telegraphic station at Cagliari, which is already func
tioning for long-distance service; the establishment of a multiple radio-
telegraphic centre at Coltano, capable of functioning according to the
most up-to-date methods and able to communicate with steamers in
any sea; the erection of new wireless stations at Bolzano, Genoa, Milan,
Naples, Palermo, Rome and Trieste.

The new Roman station of St. Palomba, of the capacity of 50 K.W.,
and the other short wave station of the same city will admit of the recep
tion of wireless news from the Mother Country even in our farthest
colonies.

One of the most clearly marked characteristics in these last years of
the activity of the Ministry of Communications is the mutual aid both
at the centre and out-side it as between the various Department.

124 What is Fascism and why ?

We have had examples of emergency collaboration during unfore
seen and exceptional events. On the occasion of the eruption of Etna
the railway service was immediately replaced along the Ionian coast
of Sicily hy a maritime service. In various cases of interrupted railway
service, by reason of floods, in Lombardy as in the Basilicata and else
where, the organization of automobile services along the ordinary roads
has rendered it possible for communications to be continued.

I have, moreover, sought to promote and develop the spirit of
co-operation in the ordinary routine work of the several branches of
the service of the Communications Department, in order to achieve
unity of direction and economy.

In this work of coordination and liaison as in the ordinary work of
every day, I have always had the most willing cooperation of the workers,
from the highest functionaries down to the lowest grades. Employes of
the Communication services form all the year round a compact army
mobilised at the orders of the Duce.

THE ITALIAN COLONIES

by EMILIO DE BONO, Minister of the Colonies.

No fair study of this question can overlook the peculiar and diffi
cult situation with which Italian colonial enterprise has had to contend
during Italy's few years of colonial possession. In the circumstances,
we have good reason to be proud of the results achieved in culture,
finance, business, safety, and prestige.

We found a complete lack of organization in our colonies: no safe
harbours, no means of communication with the interior, nor even any
resources that could be immediately or easily exploited. Even in Li
bya which is the territory best suited, by its proximity and climate,
to receive at least a part of our superfluous labour we had to face
serious obstacles, created by the conditions of ownership of the land,
most of it being either private property, or inalienable, owing to its
being owned collectively or by religious orders.

In these difficult circumstances and often surrounded by suspicion
- promptly dissipated, however, by our straightforward conduct - Go
vernment and colonists set silently to work to redeem a land which
centuries of neglect on the part of inept peoples had reduced to barrenness.

The inevitable check produced by the world war and after-war
conditions - which reacted on our colonies more acutely than could
have been foreseen - paralyzed our activities just as we were begin
ning to make a good start; but a promising recovery supervened, due,
without question, to the talent of new men and energies retempered
in the long struggle.

Having weathered the early and stormy days of conquest and the
establishment of our rule, and acquired the first necessary knowledge of
agrological and natural conditions and the organization of economic
life, we started at a quick and steady pace on our colonial march. The
geographical map of our possessions is rapidly being filled in with clearly
delimited boundaries, the names of new peoples, new roads, new crops,
vast reclaimed areas, land cultivation, forest exploitation, and industries
that depend upon agriculture for their raw material. The steady agri
cultural conquest of the Tripolitanian steppes, the reclamation of its
continental dunes, now clothed with vegetation, are grand and persua
sive truths, no less than the damming of the Gasc at Tessenei and of
the Webi-Shebeli at Balgari and Genale for the irrigation of thousands
of hectares to be sown with cotton, of which we stand in so much need.

But colonies provide scope not only for capital and agricultural en
terprise, but also for technical and scientific ability. The rich Italian
bibliography of our colonies already records works of fundamental impor
tance that have diffused throughout the world a knowledge of terri-

126 What is Fascism and why?

tories hitherto totally unknown. The research and experiments of bo
tanists, agronomists, geologists, doctors, chemists and biologists, with
special works, laboratories, and experimental stations at their com
mand, are now revealing a whole new world of facts and phenomena.
If some people still think fit to accuse us of lack of enterprise
or of a want of colonial ability and colonial maturity, we can only an
swer that all that has been accomplished in our colonies - areas poor in
natural resources and in the possibility of " quick returns " is the
work of a Nation that has known how to supply lack of means by
energy, method, and, above all, by the burning flame of faith and the
self-sacrificing spirit natural to our people - age-long builders of
greatness and organizers of work in all countries and all latitudes.

The period of Mussolini's government, and more especially the
four years from 1927-1930, has been a time of intense and fruitful activity
throughout our African possessions, both in the political and military
sphere and in the administrative and economic ones, an activity due
to the keen minds and fervent spirits of those in charge of colonial
matters.

The activity of the Administration is first and foremost addressed
to consolidating Italy's firm hold on the two Libyan colonies; rendering
her possession of the territories of Northern Somaliland as sound in
law as it is in fact, and developing the favourable political situation in
Eritrea in relation to Abyssinia and South Arabia.

Simultaneously, however, it aims at prosecuting, tenaciously and
confidently, and assisted by generous financial grants, the fulfilment
of the several programmes for developing and improving the country,
which our prestige as a colonial power demands.

Communications by sea have been speeded up and improved during
these last three years by the entrance into service of rapid motor vessels
which have rescued even our most distant colonies from isolation. The
railroads of all our colonies are being carefully studied with a view to
replanning their lines, to render these more consonant with the demands
of traffic and public and private business.

The rolls of the colonial staff were revised in 1928, so as to render
the service more elastic and more adaptable to the different and com
plex functions to be performed. The administrative and political sub
divisions of our East African Colonies have been radically re-organized;
those of Libya more clearly defined. All public services have been
improved to keep pace with modern technical requirements, as far as
budgetary limitations allow.

We may say without hesitation that our Colonial Administration
- especially during the years 1927-1930 - has devoted itself assiduously
and con amore to our African possessions, where civil servants, officers,
and colonists now feel themselves adequately supported in their strenuous

The Italian Colonies 127

daily life, while tlie native population appreciates more fully day by day
the efforts Italy is making on its behalf.

TRIPOLITANIA

The renaissance of Tripoli during these latter years divides itself
into three distinct and successive periods.

1) The governorship of Count Volpi di Misurata (1921-1925),
which, during and after the re-conquest operations (1922-24), endowed
the Colony with an admirable civil organization and re-planning of
buildings and streets, thanks to which, with its charming and modern
Capital, Tripoli, it is now beginning to attract travellers and tourists.

2) The period from 1925 to 1928, when I was Governor - dear,
unforgettable days to me - during which, having completed and
perfected this organization, we started to carry out the programme
of rural colonization that my predecessor had roughly traced, and
embarked on those big cycles of military operations that carried us
to latitude 29 N., where we halted to consolidate our position before
making a further advance towards the southern territory.

3) The Governorship of Marshal Badoglio del Sabotino, who
has during these last two years been perfecting and intensifying works
to reclaim the land throughout the Colony, while in the politico-military
field, he has completed our conquest by the important operations which
culminated in our recent re-occupation of Fezzan.

The Libyan operations at 29 parallel N., conducted in concert with
the Governorship of Cyrenaica from January to May 1928, aimed at
firmly extending in depth our hold along the whole line of our bases,
from the western boundary of one colony to the eastern boundary of
the other; and we were entirely successful in achieving these aims.

By degrees, as the regions reconquered by our arms settled down
again, after the vicissitudes of the years of European war and those im
mediately following it, the economic conditions of Tripoli began to-
recover and became more consonant with its real resources and the ex
pectations of the Country. A glance at the aggregate figures of our sea
borne trade and those of the Colony's own revenue from taxes, duties,
tolls, etc., gives some general notion of the steady and marked progress
that has been made.

Trade movement

1925 Lire 221.800.000

1926 252.000.000

1927 268.800.000

1928 > 284.700.000

1929 285.100.000

Colonial Revenue
1915-26 Lire 54.800.000
1929-30 101.500.000

The Italian Colonies 129

These figures are telling evidence of the undeniable progress that the
now pacified colony has been able to make in the brief course of a few years.
Everyone is aware that Tripolitania's future prosperity centres al
most exclusively round her agriculture. Her trade with neighbouring
countries cannot either now or in the future constitute an important fac
tor, except as a function of the trade in agricultural products and, even
tually, the manufacture of these. But ever since 1926 the sure agri
cultural value of Tripolitania has left no room for doubt. Up to the close
of 1925, 34,347 hectares of land had been given in concession; in 1929
this figure had risen to 116,759 hectares, out of an aggregate area of state-
owned land of 179,663 hectares.

During these last years Italian colonists and native farmers have
been receiving valid support and assistance from the government: con
ditions governing concessions have been entirely re-cast and regulated
by the enactments of 1928 and 1929; a number of important subsidies
for land reclamation among other things have been secured to the co
lonists. The results have outstripped our most sanguine expectations:
immense areas of land along the coast-line west of Tripoli, towards Za-
via and Zuara, and eastward towards Tajura, Horns, Sliten, and Misu-
rata, as well as to the south, right to the foot of the Gebel, are being trans
formed into flourishing vineyards, olive groves, and plantations of almonds
and other fruit trees.

The Direction of Colonization and the Office of Agrarian Services,
together with the nurseries and experimental fields under their control
- the splendid one of Sidi-Mesri among others - guide and organize
all these activities; they furnish young plants, seeds, and farm materials and
accoutrement to the colonists; while the Savings Bank (Cassa di Rispar-
Tttio), established and endowed by the Government, assists them as neces
sary with land and farming credits. During the last two years Malta
and certain cities of northern Italy have been receiving the first fruits
in more senses than one - of the market gardens of Tripolitania. The
industry receives all due encouragement locally and is regulated by re
cent special dispositions, whereby the local Agrarian Aosociation pro
vides for placing early garden produce on the various markets, while
advancing a considerable part of the proceeds to the farmers.

The crop and trade in esparto-grass - a raw material in the manu
facture of cordage, paper, etc., - are flourishing once again, thanks to
adequate provisions, recently studied and adopted by the Government,
aiming above all at unifying methods of cultivation, gathering, and use.
The cultivation of tobacco, controlled by the Treasury, is growing in
importance; the tobacco grown is manufactured, together with crude to
baccos imported from abroad, in the Tripoli factory, which employs over
100 specialized workers. The output is partly sold on the local market
or in Cyrenaica, but the greater proportion is packed off to the Mono
poly depots of the Kingdom.

130 What is Fascism and why?

In the industrial field proper, the most conspicuous activity of the
Colony is on the sea: the tunny fisheries represent a considerable resource;
during favourable seasons the capital invested on the plant and running
expenses yield good profits. The fishing industry, which suffered a slump
owing to unfavourable conditions in 1926, 1927, and 1928, recovered in
1929 and 1930, and showed a promising upward tendency, to judge from
the number of tunny fished: over 8,000 and 7,000 respectively, repre
senting a value from 7 to 8 million lire. The sponge fishery is less
striking, but not less important; neither in quality nor quantity are the
products, however, equal to those of Cyrenaica, which is better equip
ped for this industry.

Tripolitan salt is still exploited as a State monopoly, and the
plants of El-Mellaha equipped with the most up-to-date machinery
and apparatus, 75 hectares of evaporating pans and 11 salterns have
yielded during the last working years nearly four times the quantity
obtained in 1925 (30,000 as against 8,000 tons), while the yearly output
is always absorbed, for the needs of the Mother Country, by the Royal
Salt Monopoly. Negotiations are about to be concluded for financing a
new and splendid concern, to be established in the Pisida region, a few
kilometres from the Tunisian frontier, for the purpose of recovering
potash and magnesium salts from sea water by the heat of the sun alone.
The success of this enterprise - the result of study and experiments in
which the Colonial Government has invested considerable capital - may
emancipate our Country, at least partially, from the need of purchasing
potash fertilizers abroad for the national agriculture, as well as other raw
materials needed in the artificial silk industry and the manufacture
of munitions.

Having fully realized the importance of an adequate system of
communications, a sine qua non of stable rule, the Government of
Tripolitania has always given consideration to the steady improvement
of shipping, railway, and roadway services; and a sound locomotion
and transport policy, started in 1927 and greatly developed during sub
sequent years, has resulted in endowing the Colony with rapid means
of communication with the Mother Country and a system of ordinary
roadways and railways that reflect much credit on the statesmen respon
sible for it.

While on the subject of communications, we should mention that
in 1928 the weekly Ostia-Syracuse-Tripoli air-line was inaugurated, with
Super Wall machines, making it possible to leave Ostia and reach one's
destination on the same day; since 1930 this line makes three trips a
week.

In 1929 work was re-started in connection with the Azizia-Henshi
El-Abiad trunk line ,jof the railway line from Tripoli to Garian, which
latter locality will be reached at an early date. The schemes for the
construction of the lines from Zuara to the Tunisian frontier and from

The Italian Colonies 131

Tripoli to the Mesellata, at Horns, Zliten, and Misurata, are about to
be re-taken into examination.

New public post-offices and wireless telegraph offices have been
opened during the last four years, and the construction of a great
roadway system for heavy motor traffic to serve the big lines of
communication and link up the colonization zones with one another is
being promoted; while existing roads are being restored and new ones
constructed, involving a big outlay of capital. In accordance with
the policy of the National Government, arrangements are being made
to enlarge hospitals and to institute new clinics in the centres here
tofore unprovided, to build schools, and install electric light at Garian,
Zavia, Azizia, Taj lira, and in severall other localities.

Special attention is, as ever, being devoted to the capital, Tripoli,
which is definitely taking on the aspect of a modern town, supplied
with all the municipal services and comforts to be met with in the more
important Italian cities. Thanks to its excellent condition, it is begin
ning to attract tourists, especially in spring, during the period of the
yearly trade exhibition (Fiera Campionaria) - a highly attractive feature
of our colonial business activity. This important fair, held for the first
time in 1927, has been reopened during the following years with a consi
derable concourse of Italian and foreign visitors. The 1930 exhibition.,
which was better organized from all points of view, took the position
of an inter- African and international exhibition.

The returns of banking business reflect the widespread and mani
fold activities of the Colony. The business of the Tripoli branch of
the Banca d'ltalia, from 1,747 million lire in 1925, rose to 2,380 millions
in 1928, and approached 3,000 millions in 1929; that of the Banco di
Napoli rose from 285 to 347 millions; that of the Bank of Sicily from 976
millions to 1,261 millions; that of the Banco di Roma from 1,482 mil
lions to 1,734 millions. The Savings Bank, which is the biggest local
institute for land and farming credits, after a few years' business, had
already attained, in 1929, to a turnover of 500 millions,

CYRENAICA

The last four years have been closely packed with events in Cy-
renaica, firstly owing to the big operations at 29 parallel which I
have already recorded in speaking of Tripolitania - and the subse
quent occupation of the Saharan oasis of Aujila-Jalo and Marada, and
especially the occupation of the Cufra Oasis in January of the pre
sent years. This latter operation, in which 1000 men, 5000 camels,
275 auto units and 15 aeroplanes were engaged, has been a convincing
demonstration of the efficiency in fighting and logistics of our colonial
troops.

132 What is Fascism and why?

There is no need to dwell here on the importance of this occupa
tion, which has already been widely commented in the press of all coun
tries. I will merely recall that, ever since 1925, it has been recognized
that our two Libyan colonies could not be regarded as safely in our posses
sion until they had been completely occupied to the confines of Ghat,
Tummo, Morauk, Wau-el-Kebir, and Cufra. Thus we have the satisfac
tion of knowing that our programme of political consolidation, after
the interruption caused by the Colonial losses of 1914-15, has been car
ried out with method and determination.

Mussolini's Government can pride itself on having at last faced the
whole problem of the pacification of Cyrenaica, which had been a thorn
in the side of all previous Governments. And it is no small satisfac
tion to note that the rebels have not only dropped their aggressive at
titude and obstinate resistence, but that the rebellion shows signs of com
plete collapse.

This success was in large measure due to our putting a stop to all
connivance and relations between the rebels and those who had submit
ted. While the foreign press has stressed and exaggerated certain rigorous
measures which had to be adopted to achieve this result, it is futile to
blind ourselves to the fact that such rigor was essential in the circum
stances; and that after the unsuccessful efforts made in the past and the
preceding systems vainly applied in Cyrenaica, Fascist Italy acted ac
cording to her rights for the maintenance of her dignity as a colonial
power.

All these events, which inevitably reacted on the Colony's inter
nal political situation, have not, however, arrested its business progress:
thus sea-borne exchanges have risen from 185.6 million lire in 1926 to
285.8 millions in 1928, and, after a considerable falling-off in 1929, made
a fine recovery last year, during which the customs brought in a reve
nue of over 21 million lire and colonial revenue as a whole - duties,
taxes, etc., - rose from 51.1 millions in the 1925-26 financial year to 58.5
millions in 1929-30.

Notwithstanding the Government's good will, it has not proved pos
sible to carry out such a big colonization programme in Cyrenaica as in
Tripolitania, by reason both of the ups and downs in conditions of public
safety, and the small acreage of land at the State's disposal. But the
modest work of land improvement set going in 1926, assumed during the
following year concrete shape and organization, with the influx of hard
working Italian colonists; while the whole question of concessions, re
gulated by the same measures as those adopted for Tripoli, has been
placed on a sound footing, answering to the local requirements for re
claiming the land which, by reason of its natural fertility, lends itself
admirably to farming.

The government of the Colony has promoted agrarian institutions
for the support and guidance of private enterprise by organizing experi-

134 What is Fascism and why ?

mental stations at Benghazi, Barce, and Gyrene. A new direction has
thus been given to fruit culture and market gardening, to which per
fected methods of irrigation are now applied.

A factor of capital importance for the profitable exploitation of
lands in dry climates consists in exploring the subsoil for water: this
work has been progressively encouraged during the last few years by
drilling under ground and by a whole new organization, which affords the
colonists promise of success in the most arduous farming undertakings,
thanks to abundant finds of water. Especially all along the coast line
an interesting and promising revival is taking place and market garden
ing is doing well here. Banana cultivation, which the Government
is encouraging by offering prizes and by other means, made headway in
the Derna Oasis during the four years from 1927 and 1930.

Among works of land reclamation, that of the Guarsha desert mer
its special mention; here the work of our colonists and the use of ade
quate capital has converted the desert into a flourishing land, sown with
vegetables and vines. So as to encourage industry by showing what
can be done, the Governorship handed over to the penal establish
ments of Coefia and Rahba vast zones of land, where vegetables and
fruit have been sown and cattle reared for dairy produce to supply
the urban centres. Side by side with these so-called " comparison "
farms, or model farms, a number of small properties, farmed directly by
their holders, have sprung up. The development of these small pro
perties is an interesting feature deserving attention.

Forest produce is an important feature in Cyrenaica. This yields
a number of essences used in carpentry. The forest militia has recently
been appointed to supervise and protect the forests; it is also respon
sible for reafforestation in regions that have been mercilessly devas
tated of their luxurious and beneficent vegetation.

Cyrenaica does not offer any great opportunities in the industrial
domain, and in any case these are subordinated on the complete paci
fication of the colony. Some modest progress - dependent on the pro
gress of land improvement and exploitation and on the wild crops
gathered - is, however, being made: the esparto grass crop and trade
have recently been regulated technically, with excellent results.

The fisheries here, as well as in Tripolitania, are of primary industrial
importance: the sponge fishery already represents a yearly value of 8 mil
lion lire; tunny, though obtained from a single fishery, gives a valuable
yield; it is canned whole and sold on the local market for re victualling
the troops; the salt deposits of Benghazi (Juliana, Gariunes, and Canfuda)
yield an output of some 30,000 tons annually, which can be increased to
100,000 tons when the plants are completed.

The serious question of the Port of Benghazi is about to be settled
at last: works for the construction of the outer harbour are already in

The Italian Colonies 135

liand and will facilitate the loading and discharging of vessels under
all weather conditions.

A big programme is being carried out for building roads between
centres in the interior and the coast, and between the latter and the colo
nization zones; considerable sums have been appropriated on the colo
nial budget for this purpose. And in addition to road construction, the
railways are beginning to make progress: in December 1927 the last
tract of the Benghazi-Barce line was opened; the Benghazi- Soluch line
had been opened shortly before. Plans are again being studied for lay
ing down the Barce-Derna and Soluch-Agedabia railway, as soon as
the present check, dependent on the budgetary situation, is past.
Works of land reclamation as well as sanitary schemes are being active
ly studied. An undertaking for the recovery of the El-Garig lowland
is to be carried into effect at the earliest possible moment.

Derna, Barce, and Gyrene, no less than Benghazi, are taking on
the aspect of modern towns, with proper hotel accomodation available.
Benghazi, like Tripoli, is receiving special attention: a number of public
buildings, houses for civil servants, and dwelling houses are rapidly
growing up. Before long the new theatre, with accomodation for 2,000
onlookers, and the big Italian market will be opened. The work on
the new Catholic Cathedral, begun in 1927, is making headway, and will
probably be completed before the close of this year.

The returns of the Cyrenaica Savings Bank, the Bank of Italy and
the Bank of Naples, in addition to those of the Cyrenaica Savings Bank,
bear witness to the fact that the Colony's business is on the road to heal
thy recovery and consolidation: the figures for the Bank of Italy amount
to two and a half thousand million lire; for the Bank of Rome to one thou
sand millions, and for the Savings' Bank to 465 millions during 1929.

ERITREA

With a view to enlarging as far as possible the sphere of influence
of this Colony and to utilizing its natural position as an observation
centre for notifying problems relating to our policy in the Red Sea and
Ethiopia, the Fascist Government during recent years has pursued a
programme of expansion and the establishment of our influence, which,
without interfering with the interests of other countries, should promote
the well-being of our own possessions.

This policy led to the known negotiations with the Yemen and
Ethiopia. These diplomatic understandings must now take practical
shape and be carried into effect, and for this end it is necessary to over
come local difficulties, created by the unstable situation of the differ
ent Arab States - now fortunately settling down - recent events

The Italian Colonies 137

in Ethiopia, and the constant turbulence reigning there. We have also
to overcome jealousies and diffidence of all kinds, as well as the adverse
situations unfortunately created by those who, after all, ought to be at
one with ourselves in joint European interests.

The financial situation is unfortunately against us at the present
time; but we have no intention, on this account, of arresting our work
and programme of peaceful penetration and expansion, which, on the
contrary, is being pursued with tenacity and confidence.

Eritrea, which is the only one of our four Colonies of a predomi
nantly commercial character, has intensified during recent years trade
exchanges with neighbouring countries and with Italy, the value of her
sea-borne trade having now attained to the respectable figure of 300 mil
lion lire, while trade by caravan with Abyssinia has increased from 119.6
millions in 1925 to 127.8 millions in 1928. Exports show a tendency to
increase, to the obvious advantage of the trade balance, which was for
merly too heavily weighed down by imports, owing to the need of bring
ing in commodities essential to the civil and economic equipment of the
Colony and the provisioning of its population. Taking a closer view of
trade progress, it is significant to note that the customs returns for 1929
amounted to 10 million lire as against 7 millions in 1926, without count
ing that the bulk of these goods, carried by sea, are of Italian origin,
and subject only to a modest statistics due, while goods brought in
overland do not give any contribution to the budget. The revenue
from post and telegraphic services, which bears uncontestable witness
to the volume of business, already exceeds two million lire. The ag
gregate value of the Colony's own revenue during the fiscal year 1929-30
rose to 23.4 million lire.

As regards agriculture, Eritrea does not yet produce enough ce
reals for her own consumption; but with a view to intensifying production
the State agrarian services have been providing, since 1928, for the dis
tribution of seeds, various tools and apparatus, and even chemical fer
tilizers, either free of charge, or against reimbursement of out-of-pocket
expenditure.

The low-lying areas along the coast, to the east and the west,
lend themselves to the cultivation of cotton, which the native popula
tion has carried on to a greater or lesser extent for many years past.
In order that this cultivation may attain to real industrial importance,
the Government has, during these last years, been organizing the import
ant work of reclaiming the Tessenei region on the Gasc, on the Sudan
ese frontier, where 10,000 hectares of alluvial land have been drained
and, to a great extent, sown with cotton and durra, a crop-sharing system
having been adopted with the local growers pending the taking over of
this cultivation by a recently formed Italian Company. Meanwhile,
this great enterprise, in which a considerable capital advanced by the
colonial budget has been employed, is providing work and well-being

138 What is Fascism and why?

for hundreds of native families. During the 1930 agricultural year, 2,400
hectares were under cotton cultivation.

In February 1926, a special legislative enactment provided for re
ordering the complex question of farm concessions; it being established
that the whole of the plateau-land shall henceforward be reserved to the
native population. Respect for property in land is known to touch a sen
sitive chord in the heart of the natives, and we are now gathering the
fruits of our new policy. Now that the population has again settled
down quietly, these fruits would certainly be more copious and tangible,
but for the terrible plague of locusts from Abyssinia, which has devas
tated the plateau-land crops during these last years.

Since 1927, the Caramelli factory for canning meat has been working
at Asmara, and is already preparing thousands of tins a day, which are
distributed among the coloured troops, both locally and in Libya. The
rational exploitation of the live-stock capital of Eritrea is regarded as a
problem of primary importance, and one that must be competently
tackled so as to get full value out of this truly considerable property.

The importance which the Eritrean salt industry is beginning to
assume deserves notice. The plant of the old salt mine of Massowah
has been renewed and amplified, and is now capable of a yearly output
of 120,000 tons; two further salt deposits have been found at Assab and
Wakiro, both exploited with Italian capital with ups and downs of pros
perity, especially in the recent critical days, aggravated by the Indian
question.

The fishing industry and the preparation of dried, salted, and cured
fish, is growing in importance from year to year; the produce - which
in 1929 amounted to 479 metric tons - being well launched in Egypt.
Exports of mother-of-pearl and trochi shells, used in the manufacture
of pearl buttons, attained to a total value of 8.3 million lire last year.

Sea communications with Italy and with Somaliland have formed
the object of special measures ever since the end of 1926, when the two
big steamers, the Giuseppe Mazzini " and the " Francesco Crispi ",
each with a register of 12,300 tons, were put into service on the Ge-
noa-Massowah-Mogadisho-Zanzibar line. Works for the enlargement
of the port of Massowah are now in hand, involving a total expenditure
of 15 million lire. Once this port is completed, Massowah will be one
of the most convenient and capacious ports on the Red Sea and the East
Coast.

Railway communications benefited in 1927 by the new Cheren-Mai
Adarte tract being opened up to traffic, and in 1928 by the opening
of a further tract (Mai-Adart^-Agordat) of a total length of 86 kilome
tres; while the programme of work for the extension of the Massowah- A-
gordat line through Omager on the Ethiopian frontier is under consider
ation. 310 kilometres of railroad are in running service up to date,
while plans are being studied for constructing a branch line, 30 kilometres

The Italian Colonies 139

in length, of the Mai-Adarte-Tessenei line, so as to put the Tessenei plain
in communication with the plateau-land.

High-power wireless services were reformed in 1928 by the installa
tion at Asmara of a short-wave station, in communication with Rome,
Mogadisho, Cairo, Aden, etc. The roadway system has also been ampli
fied: the routes for heavy motor traffic, in southern Dancalia which
had remained up to the present in a state of the most fearful isolation

- are worthy of special note.

The town of Massowah has claimed the Government's particular
care, for the reconstruction of roads, piazze, and buildings for public
services which were devastated by the 1920 earthquakes; while the port
has vastly benefited by the construction of a cold storage plant to pre
serve agricultural produce, meat etc., while waiting to be shipped. And,
lastly, the installation of a new electric power-station for the purposes
of lighting and motor power for local industries, is being built.

To sum up, the Fascist Government is satisfied that it has spared
no efforts to safeguard the interests and development of our first-born
Colony, notwithstanding straitness of financial means. The evidence
of facts is there to prove it.

ITALIAN SOMALILAND

Following on the happy conclusion of the military operations ini
tiated in 1925, Italy in 1927 definitely and firmly consolidated her rule
over the ex-protectorates of Obbia and the Mijurtins, as well as in the
Nogal region. This was a step that the Fascist Government could not
fail to take, in order to put a stop to all uncertainty and misunderstanding,
and in the interest of national prestige. The Government followed up
the lawful occupation of these territories - already de facto in our hands

- by taking exceptional measures to organize them in a manner con
sonant not only with the immediate, but also with the future needs of
the population and trade.

Having thus achieved the pacific political settlement of our vast
possessions on the Indian Ocean, the Fascist Government directed its
efforts to peaceful economic penetration and expansion in the surround
ing regions, meanwhile settling in a definitive way the knotty questions
of boundaries. All vestige of uncertainty having been removed, the
trifling skirmishes that were wont to take place at the frontier will di
minish and cease. A complete understanding has also been reached be
tween our delegates and the British delegates regarding the delimitation
of boundaries between Kenya and Italian Somaliland.

Senator De Vecchi may claim the merit of having laid down the
lines of the new politico-administrative and economic organization of
Italian Somaliland, which Guido Corci is now completing. And thus

The Italian Colonies 141

this Colony which, before the advent of Fascism, had led a sterile and
squalid life, is beginning to claim the attention of Italians to its re
markable resources, and more particularly its agricultural resources.

The Benadir district is undoubtedly suited to tropical crops of a
very profitable kind for industrial uses: cotton, sugar cane, tobacco,
castor oil, and sesame, as well as to staple commestible crops: durra,
maize, etc., which are the fundamental produce of the native Sciambe.

Active work is constantly in progress on the banks of the Webi-
Shebeli, and, to a lesser extent, on those of the Juba. In 1928 the Italo-
Somala Agricultural Company, directed by H. R. H. the Duke of the
Abruzzi, completed the agricultural systemisation of six farm estates,
out of the seven contemplated in the first part of the programme for
the reclamation of its Shidli territory. In the Genal zone, some hun
dred Italian colonists have prepared the ground and sown with cotton,
durra, maize, sugar-cane, etc., an area of about 18,000 hectares of land
conceded by the Colonial Government. The cultivation of bananas is
progressing on all hands: their export to Italy was started during the
first months of 1929 and continues with growing success.

The Colony's leading industries are based on agriculture. In the
village named after the Duke of the Abruzzi, the centre of activity of
the Shidli region, an oil factory capable of utilizing 600 kilos per hour
of cotton, castor, or sunflower seed, and a very fine sugar factory, with
distillery attached, have been set up. These last two establishments,
which are due to the initiative of the Italo-Somala Agricultural Company,
are managed by the Societa Saccarifera Italiana. At Vittorio d' Africa,
a centre of agricultural activity in the Jenal region, the state cotton-gin,
capable of separating 3,000 metric tons of fibre, equivalent to 9,000 tons
of raw cotton, was recently opened.

One of the industrial enterprises of the Colony that merits special
mention is the " Migiurtinia " Company, which has now completed at
Ras Hafun the construction of big salt works, capable of recovering more
than 30,000 tons of salt a year, which will shortly be in full working order.
During last January, in fact, the first two ship-loads of salt were des
patched to India. Unfortunately the present serious crisis of the in
dustry puts the ** Migiurtinia " Co. in a very difficult position, but the
Government is doing all it can on behalf of this industry, in view
of the fact that it already owns such extensive and up-to-date plant,
that the salt produced is some of the purest known, and that hundreds
of Italian workers are employed there.

We cannot record like progress in regard to the fisheries, whether
on account of the scanty capital invested therein, or their primitive or
ganization. But the Government is considering what can be done, and
causing research to be made in the matter.

The data of sea-borne trade furnish direct evidence of the stimulus
which the Regime has given to the Colony's life in its several manifes-

142 What is Fascism and why ?

tations. The figures of exports and imports, which were respectively 75.7
million lire and 28.5 million lire in 1925, rose to 123 millions and 42 mil-
lions respectively in 1928, and to 143.9 millions and 42.9 millions in 1929;
while the customs revenue in 1929 amounted to over 14 millions, and the
revenue from postal and telegraphic services which point to improved
services and increment of traffic - was over one million lire.

The organization of the Colony's public services (buildings, markets,
warehouses, streets, etc.) play a considerable part in producing the re
sults described. First and foremost, mention is due to the roadway sys
tem for heavy motor traffic which cuts across the Colony in all direc
tions, extending to a length of about 9000 kilometres. In July of last
year we had the inauguration of the Mogadisho-Bender-Cassim motor
route, some 1500 kilometres long, which makes it possible to convey pas
sengers and mails to Italy, via Aden, with a saving of 6 days' time as
compared with that usually employed by the steamships of the Transat-
lantica Co. The same year witnessed the opening of the road, also
suited to heavy motor traffic, from Ras Hafun to Bender Cassim (400
kilometres). One of the most important communication routes claim
ing special mention is the Mogadisho-Kisimaio-Diff road, recently
built, giving access to Nairobi in Kenya.

Both State and private concerns manage automobile services for
the carriage of persons and goods along certain of the main arteries:
one of these services was inaugurated by the State in the summer of
1929 on the Mogadisho-Genal-Merca line (166 kms).

It has not been possible up to the present to develop the railways
of Italian Somaliland to a like extent. In June 1926 a single line - the
Mogadisho-Afgoi line 29 kilometres long - was working, and during the
following year the continuation of this line to Bivio Adalei was opened
to traffic, thus extending the total length to 67 kms. The branch line
from this latter locality to the Duca degli Abruzzi village - a length
of 47 kilometres - was opened in 1928. Plans for laying down the new
line of penetration, to extend from Bivio Adalei to Jet on the Ethiopian
frontier, are being considered.

Shipping services having been improved and accelerated, the se
rious and difficult problem of the port of Mogadisho, to which both
thought and capital have been devoted, is now being studied. The Go
vernment could not allow Mogadisho, our most important outlet on the
Indian Ocean, to continue unprovided with a safe harbour, fit to meet the
present and future requirements of the Colony: a re-inforced concrete
jetty, 120 metres long by 12 metres wide, has already been completed.

Mogadisho has likewise been supplied with the civic services indispen
sable to civilized life, and embellished by new buildings, walks and public
gardens. On the occasion of the visit of H. R. H. the Prince of Piedmont,
in the spring of 1927, the fine monumental arch and the majestic Catholic
Cathedral were inaugurated. During the years immediately following,

The Italian Colonies 145

sanitary services and schools, as well as port services, were properly or
ganized. At the same time it seemed proper to trace the lines of future
tourist enterprise. The civic aqueduct was inaugurated at Mogadisho a
few months ago. Thus Italian Somaliland, with renewed vitality, equip-
ped for civilized needs, a more decorous aspect, and increased comfort inher
town centres, bears witness to all the loving and assiduous care which the
Fascist Government has devoted to it, so as to launch it on the road to
full development and a useful life for the Mother Country also.

These figures of the general business of the Bank of Italy in Soma
liland are significant of the undeniable progress of recent years: from 530
million lire in 1925 it rose to over one thousand millions in 1928 and 1929.

I have aimed at setting forth the evidence of Italy's renewed colonial
conscience, expressed not in empty declarations and vain rhetoric, but in
concrete doings and the sound and settled rule of her Colonies.

For this reason, notwithstanding my dislike of figures, I have en
deavoured to dictate a bare statistical statement of work accomplished
and progress made.

All are at liberty to judge whether Fascist Italy, in the troublesome
after-war period and amid recurring grave economic crises, could, with
such scanty means, do more or better for her Colonies, so poor, alas, in
immediate resources and still at an early stage of development. If we
consider the aggregate results achieved in relation with the colonial spi
rit that is quickening the youth of Italy; with the need of Colonial expan
sion which the Nation feels ever more acutely; with the enviable quali
ties of thrift, intelligence, and tireless industry of our people, and also
in relation with the organization of Colonial administration which the Na
tion has built up, we are, I think, justified in claiming, with all the fer
vour of our unwavering faith, that Italy need no longer wait upon the
inevitable settlement of certain international and economic problems
to breathe more freely and spread her wings for a more powerful flight.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RHODES FROM THE
POINT OF VIEW OF THE TOURIST AND OF
AGRICULTURE

by MARIO LAGO, Senator, Governor of the Egean Islands.

We who have followed day by day the work being done at Rhodes
in order to transform the city into that " pearl of the Mediterranean "
spoken of by Sig. Mussolini in one of his speeches, are not the best jud
ges of the progress which has been made. Only those who have not vi
sited our Islands for some years can realize to what extent the enlarge
ment of the city corresponds to a definite plan combining a respect for
oriental knightly traditions with the necessities of modern life. And
were this same traveller, drawn on by the nostalgia of past associations,
to penetrate into the interior of the island, along the road-system devel
oped in the last years he would again notice a difference, not so stri
king indeed, as that which has taken place in the city itself, but
which cannot escape the vigilant eye of a keen observer, even though
to a casual onlooker the countryside may appear as deserted and
neglected as ever. A comparison, in fact, between the opulence of
the valley of Malona, enlivened by the sound of running waters and co
vered with its many orchards and olive groves, and the barren country
side will only make the contrast between the richness of the soil and the
neglect of man more strident.

The future, however, looks far more promising. Agricultural pro
blems have always attracted us and acted as a powerful incentive to
action ever since Fascism, by giving the Italians a new outlook and
a new discipline, has placed the problems relating to this Possession in
their real light. We all felt that the only way to increase the agricultur
al value of our islands, especially Rhodes and Coo, was to create therein
conditionsi ndispensable to agricultural development. The two most
important conditions were the means of communication and credit. And
as both land and agricultural credits are based on the existence
of landed-property, the extent, value and ownership of which has been
well ascertained, the preliminary conditions were the means of commu
nication and cadastral-survey.

When we occupied Rhodes, in 1912, the only roads built by the Turk
ish Government were one from Rhodes to Villanova, passing through
Trianda and Cremasta, and another to Calitea: 32 kms. in all. To-day
a road system of some 300 kilometres unites the various points of the
island with the two main thoroughfares, one on the western coast and
the other on the eastern coast, joined together by numerous cross-roads
penetrating into the interior of the island.

The western thoroughfare, starting from Rhodes, passes through
Calitea, Afando, Arcangelo, Malona, Calato, Lardo, lannadi, Lacania, and

THE RHODES ISLAND

Graphic Scale

n ft ~ in

CopoSabbux

CLrufuescoglc.
. Lou-do

Legend

t Churches, Chapels

v Pharos and Ship's lights

o /W0/7. = Monasteries

j? Wincf-mjfte

.*. /?///7J-

MM Definitive through roads
mmm. Provisional through roads

146 What is Fascism and why?

ends at Catavia. This road is 101 kms. long, and a number of shorter
roads branch off from it to Psito, Lindo, Messanagro, and Plimiri.

The eastern thoroughfare begins at Rhodes and ends at Monolito, by
way of Trianda, Cremasto, Villanova, Soroni, Calavarda, Salaco, Embona,
S. Isidoro, Siana. Secondary cross-roads branch off from it to Castello
and Monte del Profeta Elia.

These cross-roads join Soroni and Pighe, passing through Dimilia,
Arcipoli, Platania, Apollona, St. Isidoro to Lardo, by way of Alaerma,
Monolito to lannadi, passing through Apolacchia, Arnita and Vati.

The building of this road-system has burdened the Budget of our
Colonial Possessions with about 22 millions of lire during the financial
years from 1922-23 to 1929-30: an expenditure fully justified by the end
in view.

The problem of the means of communication is now solved, and along
side the roads crossing the island in all directions, and unfolding to the
eye of the artist magnificent panoramas over the blue sea, the barren
valleys and the rich orange-groves, the past and the present are inter
woven in the most fascinating and curious way: rumbling motor-lorries
speed along their busy way leaving far behind them patient donkeys,
trotting slowly along, with veiled Moslem women on their backs, follow
ed on foot by their husbands with their red fezzes.

On all sides the open country is cut up into thousands of small farms,
with uncertain boundaries and of uncertain ownership.

Anyone familiar with Turkish law relating to landed-property and
with their laws of succession knows exactly how difficult it is to decide
the exact value of each piece of land (Mulk, Miri, Mevcufe, Metruke,
Mevat), to estalish its boundaries and to register it in the name of its
real owner, who has vanished, so to say, in the following successions.

In this Possession these difficulties were easily overcome: the geo
metrical ascertainment of landed-property was made at the same time as
the cadastral survey, both at Rhodes and at Coo.

It is the duty of the Topographical Mission sent here by the Military
Geographical Institute to complete these cadastral operations, while it
is the duty of the land-magistrates to establish the juridical nature
and the ownership of the lands whose boundaries have been thus fixed.

They are bound to present the documentary evidence which has
served as basis for the re-ascertainments, disputed cases being, however,
referred for decision to a special Land Commission and exception being
made also for the injured party's right of appeal to the Court of Second
Instance either against the decisions of the Land Magistrate or against
those of the Commissions.

If, at the expiration of the period fixed for lodging a legal protest,
no one has availed himself of it, or if the grievances lodged have
been rejected, the decisions of the Land Magistrate or of the Commission
then become final.

The Development of Rhodes 147

Entries are made in the Register of title deeds, in agreement with
these said decisions, and the deeds are drawn up. These are simply
copies of the entries, to be given to the owners, but are equivalent
to legal deeds of ownership and are sufficient grounds for forced execution
in favour of the owner.

This brief exposition of the fundamental principles of the land-
system introduced into our Possessions shows that we have introdu
ced a system of land registration, which, thanks to the securities it
offers, is the most solid and reliable basis for agricultural and land
credit (1).

At first, the Government opened a small Agrarian Credit Bank,
as an institution by itself, endowed with funds to be used as a start
ing capital. The experiment, however, proved so successful that the
Government soon felt the need of extending the activities of the Bank,
by incorporating it into a larger Institution, with a bigger capital and
greater experience. The Bank of Sicily accepted the invitation of the
Government and has absorbed this small Agrarian Credit Bank, which
has pointed out the way to be followed, and has thus carried its benefi
cent and hardy activity into the East, while the Bank of Italy, to which
the State Treasury has been entrusted, continues to exercise a moralizing
influence upon these markets, where usury once ruled supreme.

The Government, however, having thus secured a basis for agrarian
development was by no means at the end of its task. On one hand, it
had to provide for the drainage of the soil, by regulating the water-cours
es, by safeguarding the integrity of the forests and by reclaiming malaria
zones. On the other hand, it had to guide inexperienced farmers, to tell
them which kinds of cultivation were most profitable, how to carry
them on, and how to secure good markets for their products.

For this purpose two special offices were opened: one for the Admi
nistration of the State Demesnes and forests, under the control of a special
magistrate: the other for the Agricultural Service and for agrarian experi
ments, at the head of which is the Phytopathologic Laboratory, which
studies the diseases and the means of preservation of plants. To these
offices there has been added a Meteorological Service, to collect the
principal data on the climatology of the islands.

The organization of these offices has proceeded regularly, as they
are entrusted to technical experts, chosen from among those graduates
of the Superior Schools of Agriculture who have already held other im
portant offices in the Kingdom and in the Colonies. Specialists have
been called in by the Government to study the agricultural problems
relating to this Possession. The outcome was a series of complete Mono
graphs: on the importance and value of water for agricultural pur-

(1) One must remember, if one wishes to judge the importance of the work done,
that there are an average of 190 thousand parcels of land in the Island of Rhodes and
40 thousand in the Island of Coo.

148 What is Fascism and why ?

poses (by Alberto Cruciani C. E., of the Agricultural and Forest De
partment), on the livestock resources by Prof. Vittorio Vezzani of the
Experimental Zootechnical Institute of Piedmont; on insects noxious to
agriculture by Prof. Filippo Silvestri, Director of the Superior School
of Agriculture at Portici; on floriculture, the aromatic flora, and the pos
sibility of growing exotic and medicinal plants, by Prof. M. Calvino, of
the Floricultural Station at Sanremo; on tobacco-culture, by Dr. A. Ca-
telani of the self-governing Monopolies Concern.

In connection with the educational duties entrusted to the agricul
tural office and to the experimental agrarian office, there has sprung up
at Villanova, a village on the Island of Rhodes, an Experimental Insti
tute, in which both irrigated and dry cultivations and the cultivation
of vines and olive trees are subject to minute examination, in order to
place precious advice at the service of farmers concerning the varieties
to be chosen and the methods to be followed. These studies are
based not only on experimental, but also on scientific data, gathered
in the phytopathologic and vine research laboratories connected with
the Institute. At the same time, a nursery garden for olive culture
near Coschino distributes among the farmers the plants they require:
some 60 thousand olive plants coming from Coschino have thus been
transplanted in the various islands of the Possession.

We are now in possession of some fundamental data which cannot
fail to help us solve our agrarian problem. The climate is charac
terized by heavy rainfalls, very abundant from November to March,
and by general droughts from April to October (dry hot climate). Surface
water is scarce and underground water more abundant. The growth of
trees is very abundant; silviculture is therefore prosperous, the growth
of grass, etc, very difficult, since their period of life coincides with the
period of drought.

From this it will be seen how necessary itSs to utilize the water sup
ply of the island scientifically, and to provide against any dispersion or
waste. This explains the institution of a Water Magistrate, whose task
it is to discover, capture, utilize and regulate both the surface and under
ground waters. He also supervises their distribution and bestowal, be
sides examining and systematizing mountain basins, river and torrent
beds, and caring for the protection, the increase, canalization and distri
bution of the water-reserves of the Possession and for the systematization
of the impluvium zones.

It is obvious that olive-trees and grape-vines, being ligneous growths,
find in the soil and climate of these islands the conditions most favour
able to their development. The same applies to the tobacco-plant,
which is specially suited to such dry soils as these. A new stimulus has
been, given to studies and experiments for bettering growth and products,
by introducing varieties suited both to the climate and the soil, and by

The Development of Rhodes 149

encouraging all enterprises aiming at the establishment of factories for
the working of raw materials. Thanks to these efforts, an oil-mill, an
oenological establishment, and a tobacco -factory have grown up. Their
products find a market also abroad, the wines especially are greatly
prized. Nor do we lack encouragement to increase the cultivation of
table grapes, greatly in demand in Egypt, and Eastern tobacco, in
consequence of an agreement with the Italian Administration of Mono
polies, which is following with interest our experiments and has
charged one of its officers to direct and supervise them. Spring and
winter cereals thrive also ; but these are small family cultivations
which will never attain to a commercial value.

We are still at the beginning, but even now it is possible to forecast
the future: the cultivation of both wine grapes and table grapes and
of tobacco will become more and more intense, and as a consequence
farmers will abandon the lands far from the towns and villages, where
they are now settled, and will occupy those nearer by, so that their pro
ducts may be more easily absorbed by the factories. This will increase
the phenomenon of the lack of labour in relation to the area to be
cultivated and will necessitate the calling of other farm workers for the
cultivation of those areas which would otherwise remain deserted and
uncultivated. This is one of the tasks we will have to take up which will
prove extremely beneficial to local agriculture through the institution
of agrarian business concerns which, entrusted to our fine farmers, will
become real experimental fields, destined to serve as an example and a
stimulus to others. We can already trace the beginning of this definite
systemization of local agriculture: Italian business concerns, for instance,
have undertaken to cultivate and drain large zones of uncultivated lands
for the cultivation of fruit-trees. The movement is a slow one, but it
will increase, by degrees, when the improved economic conditions of
the local peasantry have brought about an advance in agricultural in
dustries sufficient to allow them to abandon less profitable cultivations
for others, and when the better trained farmers, and above all the more
active, have learnt how to obtain from less fertile soil and less profitable
cultivations results which to-day are out of the question.

It would be a mistake, however, to believe that all our agricultural
activities have crystallized in these fields : successful experiments have
shown that the breeding of silk- worms may give excellent results. The
cultivation of mulberry trees has been intensified, by encouraging and
financing a Silk-worm commission, under the R. Experimental Station at
Padua, which has been sent to the Possession.

The studies for the breeding of cattle are still at an experimental
stage: a selection of local breeds has been attempted, and Italian
cattle have been imported from zones having the same climate and soil
as ours. In connection with these experiments, it has been necessary to

150 What is Fascism and why?

provide for the production of forage. Fields sown half in graminaceous
plants and half in leguminous plants (black vetch and oats, for instance)
have given excellent results.

A breeding-stud for local horses (the so-called "mitilli" which resem-
hle poneys, especially in their stature), has also been established, and
we hope to obtain a selection of these horses for neighbouring markets.

Work is being carried on in silence, in solitude: but within the next
few years travellers arriving here from all parts of the East will see what
Italy has succeeded in doing and they will carry back to their own
countries tidings of our prosperous activity. They will be our best
propagandists.

In 1929 about 20 thousand foreigners came to Rhodes, but their
number will increase in coining years, when Rhodes' fame as a climatic
station has become more widely spread. And there can be no doubt
that the city is singularly favoured from this point of view, with its mild
climate in summer, its clear sky and its refreshing breezes. The sandy
beach slopes gently to the sea, softly stirred by the north-west wind.
The bathing season lasts from the middle of May till October. A high
hill, three quarters of an hour's ride out of the city, offers to those who
are in search of solitude and fresh air its pine and fir-trees, gently mur
muring to the sound of the freshly scented wind.

A spring of healing waters, not far from the city, gives the finishing
touch to the work of nature. The waters of Calitea possess the same
qualities as the water of Montecatini. Around this spring there has grown
up a Thermal Establishment where special cures may be followed, espe
cially by people suffering from liver and intestinal troubles. The wa
ter of St. Silvester is quite similar to that of St. Pellegrino and is spe
cially indicated for diseases of the kidneys and the bladder.

The cure of diseases of the digestive apparatus and kidneys, so com
mon in the East, is making these waters yearly more famous. A first class
hotel in the city of Rhodes offers accomodation to the numerous visitors
who come to the sea for fresh air and to the springs for their health.
Another pretty mountain hotel offers hospitality to mountain lovers.
Other hotels will certainly be built in the near future as they are
already in demand. The movement of foreigners is changing, and in
the place of tourists stopping for a few hours during a cruise, we have
visitors who come to Rhodes for a certain length of time.

We must, of course, provide entertainment for these foreigner who
look for recreation in their hours of freedom from baths and health cures.
Something has already been done in this line. There are extensive golf-
links and a select club-house for golf-players: a stadium and a pigeon-
shooting gallery, besides tennis-courts for the young people. Before
long an elegant and spacious theatre will be opened. Nothing has
been neglected from this point of view. But it must be remembered
that if Italy has done her best to enliven the visitors' stay on the Island,

The Development of Rhodes 151

she also, and above all, wishes to provide for them beautiful artistic
surroundings, appealing not only to the eye, but also to the mind.

The new city bears traces of Italian grace and charm, accompanied
by a sense of " the grandeur that was Rome, " The old city has been
restored with the respect due to its glorious past. The two parts of
the city are quite different, but they complete each other harmoniously.
We have gathered the inheritance of our ancestors and their work is being
carried on by us. The Churches and the barracks look as though they
were waiting to receive the old knights who were wont to bend in prayer
before the Madonna of Fileremo, intent on hardening both their soul and
their bodies for the greater glory of their Faith and of Italy, whose name
'was written on their pennants. The Hospital still perpetuates their mer
ciful mission in favour of the sick and the unfortunate. Is not the Go
vernor's Palace the residence of the Great Master himself ? What makes
the impression more vivid still are the arcades where our glorious ancestors
are arrayed along the Church Portico, representing, as it were, an ideal
continuity unbroken throughout the centuries. We are here beside them,
to defend a great idea; we have come armed with the same Faith and the
same enthusiasm, to face new tasks corresponding to the newer times.
We need only mention the Market Place, the Foundling's Hospital, the
Maternity Hospital, Recreation Clubs, Schools, the Fert Archeological
Institute for the encouragement of Italian cultural initiatives in the East,
as living proofs of this enthusiasm.

The earth excavated by us with such loving care at Coo has not
refused us her gifts. From the vaults of a buried amphitheatre, a beau
tiful Greek statue and a group of stately Roman matrons have come
to light, thus crowning with their approval our labour, a symbol as it
were of the approval of the Great Mother Rome, ever present in these
lands so often visited by her glorious legions.

And it is thus that Italy once again faces the East with the pride and
dignity of past traditions.

ITALIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION AND THE
" BALILLA " ORGANIZATION.

by BALBINO GIULIANO, Minister of National Education.

Fascism, which some persons at the present time still persist in re
garding as a mere movement of instinct and action, as soon as it came
into, power tackled education as its first problem and introduced mea
sures of scholastic reform of a radical kind that bear the name of the
then Minister of Education, Gentile.

The Gentile reform aimed above all at making a clear distinction
between different types of school, which respond to the leading forms
of activity and the essential needs of life : schools of a humanistic
or " formative " character, and schools of distinct occupational kinds,
for the most part informative in purpose. The direction given to school
programmes and methods, moreover, aimed at imparting a quite new
character to education. That is to say, teaching was to cease being
a mere transmission of knowledge and to become what all great educa
tionists had more or less consciously aimed at: a live spiritual force, acting
on the mind and stimulating creative activity. And, lastly, the Re
form radically altered the underlying principle of examinations, and claim
ed that the student was to be judged not according to the criteria
of past times, but rather those of the future; not for what he had done,
but for what he was capable of doing; not by the quantity of informa
tion he was able to lay before the Commission, but in the light of the
maturity of mind and character that he displayed.

Teaching such as this was no longer mere instruction; it had be
come a form of national education, the formation of a spiritual purpose,
conscious of its Italianity. It was therefore logical that in view of this
tendency to bring all forms of teaching and educational activity within
a single control, all occupational schools dependent on the Ministry
of National Economy as well as the National " Balilla " organization
(which had taken over the task of boys' physical training) should be
placed under the Ministry of Public Instruction. This singleness of
culture and of the control of culture is expressed in the name given to
the Ministry, now no longer known as the Ministry of Public Instruction,
but as that of National Education.

There is no need to go into the details of all that the Ministry of
Education has done during the years following the Gentile Reform.
First and foremost this has been a scholastic work, concerned with the
general increment of Italian culture; and secondly a special effort for
the development and adaptation of the Reform.

Hence it would be idle to give a list of the schools opened, the build
ings constructed, the enterprises set going. In the volume " L'ltalia
di Vittorio Emanuele III" a former Minister of Education, signor Fedele,
dealt comprehensively with these matters. It would be equaUy futile

Italian National Education and tn " Balilla " Organization 153

to enumerate all the many provisions and regulations that have been pas
sed with a view to carrying out the Reform. Nor would it serve our
purpose to discuss the value of these provisions and to differentiate be
tween those that have helped to develop and those that have proved
contrary to the essential intentions of the Act. Paradoxical as it may
seem, it is nevertheless a fact that certain negative factors which the
passing moment may render necessary, may prove in the long run to be
of positive value for the development of a principle or policy, as the
course of time and history proves.

At the present moment, moreover, the problems that really count
are the two referred to in the foregoing: those which faced the Ministry
of National Education when it took in hand the new occupational schools
and when the " Opera Balilla " came within its immediate control.

The Casati Act of 1859 established, side by side with the Classical
School the ginnaso-liceo - an institute of technical studies, consist
ing of a lower school with a three-year course and a higher school with
a four-year course. In process of time, however, this institute of tech
nical studies assumed a humanistic character, which became more and
more accentuated with years. Thus it was that, not very long after
the- passing of the Casati Act, a number of technical schools in the pro
per etimological sense of the word, were opened in different parts of the
Kingdom, the purpose of which was to impart instruction in the several
arts, crafts, and trades.

Until last year these schools, which had increased to a considerable
number, were under the control of the Ministry of National Economy.
But, as we have stated above, the Fascist Government wished to af
firm, together with the concept of the singleness of state interests, also
the singleness of culture, and it consequently placed all the schools, de
pendent on the Ministry of Economy under the Ministry of Public Instruc
tion, later on transformed into the Ministry of National Education.

The passing over of all occupational schools under our control na
turally enough raised the problem of their relations with other technical,
classical, and art schools already under the Ministry of Instruction. Thus,
in certain instances, we found that more than one school existed for
one and the same purpose; these the Ministry merged into a single
institute. Meanwhile another problem presented itself: that of coordi
nating occupational schools with classical and technical schools, and
of determining their essential character, without, however, destroying
the special characteristics which in many cases impart to these schools
a distinct individuality, responding to the particular requirements of
a given locality.

In 1923 Signor Gentile relieved schools from the function of phy
sical education and entrusted this to a self-governing organization (Ente
autonomo). This act gave rise to lively debates, but, notwithstanding
diverse and heated criticism, it proved a highly useful measure. All

154 What is ascism and why ?

Italians are aware that the teaching of gymnastics under the old re
gime amounted to a mere bagatelle. Since the opening years of the
present century a start was made in Italy, as elsewhere, to encourage a
little physical education by means of sports and scattered independent
gymnastic clubs, and these efforts had progressed with time. But it
cannot be said that, until the advent of Fascism, Italy displayed any
full understanding of the high spiritual value of physical education. The
decision of the Ministry to remove it from the school curriculums and to
place it under a separate authority was most opportune for this reason
also, that it was instrumental in bringing the matter before the public.
It rapidly became obvious that the famous institute (Ente) was not in
a position to organize the business adequately and was unable to perform
its duty properly either towards the schools or towards the youth of
the country.

Fascism had meanwhile instituted the body known as the " Balilla "
- an admirable organization which brought the enthusiasm of hardy
military and revolutionary tradition among our boys and youths.
Through this institution, Fascism introduced a new spirit into the
younger generation of Italy, a new and well-disciplined ardour, direct
offspring of the war and the revolution.

The National Balilla Institution was therefore highly competent to
carry out the task of the physical education of Italian boys and girls.
It took it over in our schools : and when the Italian State felt itself re
newed, through and through, by the spirit of the revolution and capa
ble of controlling this spirit, without stifling its vivacity, in the new or
ganization, it placed this under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Nation
al Education.

Thus it was that in this domain also the two principal forces of na
tional life - the State's orthodox organization and the free activity
of the Nation - came at last to an understanding. At a given moment
physical education was removed from school control in order that it
might freely renew its energies; to be brought back again, completely
renewed, within that control, there to be subjected to all requisite di
scipline. Our old, purely " intellectualist " school abandoned physi
cal education and drove it out, as it were, from its halls; now it returned
once again to the new school and became an essential factor in national
upbringing.

At one time we Italians were, at least to outward appearances, a
somewhat over delicate and thin-skinned people, giving, at times, an
impression of morbid sensitiveness. We were, however, possessed of an
essentially healthy constitution and a capacity of physical resistence
which we ourselves were perhaps hardly aware of, but which revealed
itself at critical moments in our history, whenever, faced by supreme
danger, the Nation was obliged, for its safety, to display aU the energy
of which it was capable.

Italian National Education and the " Balilla" Organization 155

But even at such moments the Italian Nation was not wont to
show all the strength it possessed: it did not put all its latent powers into
practice. Fascism today is bent on creating a school which shall impart
energy of thought and energy of will to the rising generations; it means,
in short, as we have already said, to develop a culture representing
the consciousness of all the manifold and fertile powers accumulated
throughout the history of our race.

THE NATIONAL " BALILLA " ORGANIZATION

The " Opera Nazionale Balilla " for the physical education and
guidance of the young - a Fascist institution, the origin of which traces
back to the earliest juvenile organizations of the revolutionary period,
which counted its youthful martyrs - is an incorporated body, instituted
by the Law of the 3rd April 1926 (No. 2247), placed under the direct
vigilance of the Head of the Government and (by R. Decree of the 14th
September 1929) under the control of the Ministry of National Educa
tion. The organization's headquarters are in Rome and it carries out
its functions through the medium of the " Balilla " institutions, those
of the " Avanguardisti " and of the Piccole and Giovani Italiane (little
and young Italian girls).

The Avanguardisti institution has the special charge of the training
and preparation of young men for military life. Boys aged between 8
and 14 years belong to the " Balilla "; from 14 to 18 years they form part
of the Avanguardisti.

The Organization provides for carrying out its several aims: 1)
by means of members' subscriptions; 2) by funds derived from bequests,
donations, gifts, and subsidies allocated in its favour; 3) contributions
appropriated year by year on the Budget of the Ministry of the Interior,
the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Corporations (Guilds).

The Institute is administered by a central Council, consisting of a
President, a vice-President, and 24 Councilors, nominated by Royal De
cree, on the proposal of the Prime Minister, Head of the Government.
By Royal Decree-Law of the 10th August 1927 (1554) all the attributions
of the central Council were delegated to the President of the Institution.

All persons who by gifts or periodical contributions lend their help
to the " Balilla " are members of the Organization. Members are divid
ed into three classes: " benemeriti ", life members, and temporary mem
bers.

The Organization confers diplomas and medals for merit to specially
deserving members and to those who bring in a considerable number of
new members, or who have otherwise exerted themselves to good effect
on its behalf.

In each province there is a provincial committee, consisting of

156 What is Fascism and why?

a president and ten councilors. These provide for carrying into effect
the various dispositions imparted by the National Organization and for
routine services for the guidance and education of the youth of the Pro
vince; they call the attention of the National Organization to public and
private institutions of the province and to persons who merit the appro
val of the juvenile welfare and educational works, and report periodi
cally on the working of the services, propose measures which they con
sider necessary for improving them, and pronounce their opinion re
garding applications for subsidies submitted by the said institutions and
applications for the formation of new ones.

Each Commune has a council consisting of a President and council
ors, the number of whom is fixed by the provincial Committee in pro
portion to the number of the inhabitants.

The Act instituting the " Opera Balilla " was completed by the
Royal Decrees of the 9th January and 9th April 1928, which ordained
the dissolution of all the juvenile organizations and clubs unconnected
with the Balilla Institution and their absorption by that organization.

The administrative regulations and those concerning technical con
trol for the enforcement of the Act of the 3rd April 1926 were approv
ed by Royal Decree of the 9th January 1927, which date marks the
effective inception of the Organization's work.

Less than three years after the date of its creation, the " Opera Na-
zionale Balilla " has fulfilled all the conditions essential to the develop
ment of its very extensive programme. On the 1st February 1930, the
Organization counted over 1,974,822 members 903,324 younger boys
and 365,044 older boys - all regularly organized within the framework
of the 592 legions, under the command of 5588 officers of the Fascist Mi
litia. By the close of 1929 over 19,500 training masters were assigned
to the juvenile sections, to which 767 chaplains and 1237 doctors also
lent their services.

The sailor, cyclist, and skiing sections are of particular importance,
more especially those assigned to air defence at home, which receive
adequate technical instruction; these sections are training fully ten thou
sand young fellows.

The commanders of the Avanguardisti are officials of the Militia,
chosen from among those who, by character and culture, are best
fitted to be teachers; the commanders of the Balilla are for the most part
elementary school teachers who also form part of the Militia.

The Organization has solved the problem of physical education,
under its two most important aspects, the practical and the theoretic.
On the practical side, it has taken over charge of physical training,
which at one time was in the hands of the National Organization (Ente
Nazionale), incorporated into the Balilla Institution by Royal Decree
of the 20th November 1927 (No. 2341); on the theoretic side, it has
created the Fascist Academy of Physical Education.

Italian National Education and the "Balilla" Organization 157

Thus, while on one hand the " Opera Nazionale Balilla ", through
the medium of its provincial committees, controls the rational develop
ment of gymnastic exercise, it is, on the other hand, training up-to-date,
cultured and disciplined Fascist instructors.

The gymnastic- sports instruction given in the elementary and
secondary schools, in accordance with government curriculums, is
completed in the institutes of the National Organization, where the
Balilla and Avanguardisti are prepared for military training and all
forms of sports: from fencing to cycling, from walking to football, from
light athletics to swimming, riding, and rowing. An eye is kept on the
performances and aptitudes of all the individual pupils, and these are
brought out and encouraged by athletic competitions.

The competitions organized by the Balilla Institution are held in
the communal and provincial stadiums, on national holidays and so
forth, and they are instrumental in preparing regional champions, from
among whom the champions for the big " Littorio " prize are chosen:
this is the most important competition for the Avanguardisti. It
is usually organized on the anniversary of the Fascist March on Rome.

The Fascist Academy for the instruction of teachers of physical
training gives great encouragement to these competitions. It was inau
gurated on the 5th February 1928, and after a course of two years of
obligatory residential training, it distributes among the several national
sports centres teachers of physical education fit to carry out the athletic
sports curriculums of the Institution. Only youths who have been granted
diplomas by the intermediary higher schools are eligible for positions in
the Academy. The following subjects are studied: normal human ana
tomy; physiology; psychology; hygiene; traumatology; kinematics; an
thropometry; physical therapeutics; sports pathology; philosophy; the
science of education; French; English; fencing; rowing; shooting; special
lines of sports; practical and theoretical physical education; the history
of physical education; Fascist legislation; apprenticeship; applied art;
.singing, and military technics.

Between July and October 1928 the Academy granted diplomas
to the first 150 pupils, who were at once absorbed into the ranks of
the Organization, either as professors of physical education or to man
agement and inspectorship posts.

The Statute of the Academy, approved by the Higher Council of
Education in October 1929, contemplates the institution of a bi-annual
Jhigher course, reserved for graduates of the first two years who have also
graduated in medicine and wish to specialize in sports studies. The
further two years' course carries with it the degree of doctor in applied
sciences bearirig on physical education.

The following studies are required for this further course: general
Jknowledge of embryology and or gano- genetic morphology of the human
constitution; the physiology of childhood and growth; the pathology of

158 What is Fascism and why ?

growth; biological chemistry and physical chemistry; psychology as ap
plied to pedagogy and work; demographic legislation and statistics; prac
tical courses in the physical education of the young; the hygiene of devel-
lopment; school hygiene; puericulture; biological physico- chemistry and
the direction of training; human biometry; social medicine and eugen-
etics; applied radiology; and special kinds of sports.

The Academy at the present time counts over 150 pupils, who are
temporarily housed in the premises of the Central Military School of Phy
sical Education at the Farnesina Palace (Rome). The buildings in which
the Academy will eventually be housed form part of the imposing blocks
of sports edifices known as the Foro Mussolini, which the National
Institution is constructing in Rome, close to the Ponte Milvio, covering
an area of 350,000 square metres.

The home of the Academy will include spacious dormitories; halls
for the class-rooms; a library, a museum; the central hall; scientific la
boratories; ample meeting halls for students and teachers, and, lastly, all
the several offices rationally distributed in accordance with the most
up-to-date technical notions. There is room also for a gymnasium 600
metres square, with roomy accomodation for the onlookers, a smaller
gymnasium and halls for fencing, boxing, and Greco -Roman wrestling.

Annexed to the Academy there will be a monumental marble sta
dium large enough for international matches, with accomodation for 20,000
persons.

The forum will have room also for a stadium capable of holding
100,000 persons, various fields for foot-ball and Rugby, courses for run
ning, jumping, etc.; tennis and basketball fields; open-air theatres, and
two swimming baths; an open one with artificial beach, and one covered;
a riding-school with annexed stables; a field for shooting, and, lastly,
a motor course. These different places will be suitably separated one
from the other by shady parks and gardens, traversed by wide ave
nues.

On the right bank of the Tiber, sheds for boats and a spa
cious landing stage will be built, facing the main entrance to the Forum.
In the centre of the Forum an obelisk dedicated to Mussolini will be
erected; this will consist of a single piece of white Carrara marble 2.50
metres wide by 18 metres in height. This huge block, measuring 112
cubic metres and weighing 320 tons, will be placed on a base fifteen
metres high, consisting of blocks of " bardiglio " marble. Thus the to
tal height will be about 33 metres, equal to that of the highest obelisks
in Rome.

Welfare work on behalf of the members of the National Institution
is closely bound up with the task of physical education. This work is
mainly medical: preventive, therapeutical, and practical. Preventive
treatment is given in the dispensaries of the Regions and Committees,
where doctors of recognised merit make a personal study of the " Balilla "

Italian National Education and the " Balilla" Organization 159

brought to them for examination, and follow their bodily development,
distributing medicines gratis, prescribing treatment, or sending them to
special convalescent homes when necessary. Medical treatment is pro
vided for all members in case of illness or at the request of their families,
either direct doctoring in case of illness, or by sending on to nursing homes
controlled by the Institute those patients who cannot be properly looked
after in their own families. Practical treatment consists of the institu
tion of sun-baths, seaside and mountain colonies, and camps.

A highly efficient organism has been set up by the Balilla Institu
tion to carry out its health programme. Over one hundred thousand
members are yearly given hospitality in the colonies, and with a view
to ensuring the continuity and efficacy of mountain treatment, the
Institution has established permanent colonies in regions where the cli
mate is most likely to exercise a beneficent influence on boys of feeble
constitution and those most inclined to contract disease.

The presidency of the Balilla Institution has developed one aspect
of its health programme by ensuring all its young members against
accidents, by legal contract, as from the 1st January 1929. All the
boys regularly inscribed and possessing the membership card of the Insti
tution are entitled to such insurance, being thereby guaranteed against
all accidents, wherever they may occur. The sums insured amount to
30,000 lire in the case of total permanent disablement; a daily indemnity
of 10 lire for a maximum period of 70 days, in the case of temporary
disablement, and 10,000 lire to the family of the insured in case of death.

The Institution helps to form the minds of the young people who
may be called upon later to fill public offices, by integrating the school
curriculums, by means of steady propaganda, the institution of sub
sidiary schools, after-school-hour institutes, reading rooms, circulating
libraries, and the organization of frequent meetings to visit museums
and public monuments. The programme in this domain extends from
instructive walks to lectures, from collective games to school matches,
from the educative theatre, with pieces written expressly for the Balilla,
to kinemas with patriotic, scientific, and historical projections.

The National Balilla Institution is resolved that no single commune
of Italy shall lack a kinema hall and a theatre.

Particular mention should be made of the courses of Fascist culture
in which able speakers explain to the young the origins and develop
ment of Fascism. These courses, which are held also in the smaller
centres, contribute validly to the formation of the political conscience
of the rising generation and do much to popularize Fascism among
the masses, since it frequently happens that the families of the pupils
attend the lessons.

Competitions in u graphic language " are also of great importance;
these are organised year by year among all the Balillas who frequent Ital
ian schools, and go far to develop the artistic proclivities of the boys;

160 What is Fascism and why ?

educational travel systematically organized for both the younger and
the elder boys is of no lesser importance. The cruises, which year
by year gather the black shirts on Italian vessels open wider horizons to
our young " avanguardisti ".

Frequent competitions for scholarships and prizes for industry,
the gratis entrance to academies of fine arts, musical conservatories
and institutes of higher education, subsidies and personal encouragement,
honourable mention and other forms of public encouragement, contri
bute to keep alive and vigorous the ties of interest and mutual aid be
tween the Institution and its members. Acts of bravery, examples of
strength of character and of firmness of will are titles of merit which ensure
the young people the support and protection of the Institution.

Nor is less thought given to religious aid, which is entrusted to the
chaplains of the several Legions; this is not restricted to teaching Chris
tian dogma and the rites of the Church, but aims at promoting good
faith and honesty in general, thus contributing to raise the youthful
conscience, associating faith in the Deity with that in the Mother Country
and its destinies.

Occupational education is one of the most exacting tasks of the Opera
Nazionale Balilla and demands assiduity in attendance, a consistent
programme, and up-to-date educational views.

The provincial committees have set up schools of occupational
training, with work-rooms attached, schools of arts and crafts, and even
ing technical classes.

Wherever these institutions are not set up directly by the commit
tees, the young members of the Institution are given priority in admis
sion and enjoy special facilities and advantages of various kinds. The
Balilla Institution regards them as a complementary feature of their
organism, and incites their zeal by all manner of encouragement, in the
work-rooms as in the schools, in the schools as in the fields. Fully
205 courses in theoretical and practical agriculture have been instituted
in the Venetian province and in Southern Italy. The part played by
the Avanguardisti in the " Battaglia del Grano " (National Wheat Cam
paign), through the medium of these courses, is very significant; their
contribution has proved most fertile of results.

On the 27th July 1928, the Ministry of Public Instruction entrust
ed to the Institution the management of the non-classified schools and
those for adults in Calabria and Sicily, and on the 20th September
the mandate to administer those of Sardinia. These are now known
as the " Rural Schools of the National Balilla Institution "; they num
ber 1553 and provide for some 55 thousand pupils.

The political and educational guidance of Italian school girls is
completed by the loan of one hundred thousand volumes from the school
libraries.

The sea and air training of young Italians is in the hands of the

Italian National Education and the " Balilla " Organization 161

" Opera Nazionale Balilla " and is carried out in accordance -with, a pro
gramme, of which the general lines are traced on an ample scale conson
ant with the spaciousness of the aims. In connection with the " cera-
turie " of sailors organized in all towns where nautical studies are feasi
ble, steps have been taken not only to set up libraries and schools for the
study of seamanship and artisanship in trades connected therewith, but
seamanship in all its forms has been strenuously encouraged, especially
physical exercises and engineering, swimming, rowing, sailing, bridge-
building, navigation, and the scientific understanding of modern nautical
instruments. At Anzio, meanwhile, a home for " Balilla " sailors, ca
pable of accomo dating 2500 young fellows, is being built; this will gather
together in a single great building all the young sailor boys now scatter
ed between Venice and Bari, Naples and Cagliari, in the old training
ships which time and experience have shown to be ill-suited for carrying
out a sound programme of technical education. Here the young Fa
scist sailors will in due course become mechanics, electricians, motor
ists, signalmen, wireless operators, and perform with perfect understand
ing the mandate which Fascism entrusts to the Italian marine.

There are a number of aviation fledgelings among the Avanguardi-
sti, who, with youthful ardour, join the air centuries, and give earnest of
good will and tenacity. While the " Opera Nazionale " is preparing
schools, buildings, and camps suited to teaching and to practical exer
cises, it already counts to its credit courses in air-ship steering, in which
hundreds of Avanguardisti take part yearly. A number of provincial
committees have opened and are running pre-aviation schools for motor
ists and wireless operators, and special courses in anti-aircraft.

The Institution is building " Case del Balilla " (BaKlla homes)
in all parts of Italy, with a view to concentrating juvenile activities
and providing its young members not only with agreeable recreation cen
tres, but also centres of educational development and moral guidance.
And since the Institution has been charged with physical education in
the schools, the demand for gymnasiums and sports fields has been
faced by promoting the construction of a model gymnasium, equipped
with due regard to modern views of convenience and spaciousness. The
Institution is bringing out a technical treatise, which contains not only
projects relating to the building of the " Case del Balilla " and model
gymnasiums, but also the rules for all the several sports and initiatives
of the provincial committees.

By the ceremony of the Fascist levies, young feUows who have at
tained 18 years of age enter the Voluntary Militia for National Safety;
the ceremony takes place all over Italy on the anniversaries of the
foundation of the " fasci di combattimento " ("Fighting fasci " or Fa
scist forces). 50,000 young men took part in the first Fascist levy in
1927; 80,000 in the second (1928), and at the third and fourth, cele
brated throughout Italy with great enthusiasm on the anniversary of

162 What is Fascism and why ?

Rome's birthday in 1929 and 1930, over 90,000 perfectly trained avan-
guardisti renewed each year by solemn oath their loyalty to the Duce
and Fascism. During the present year (1931), 90,000 avanguardisti
have heen admitted directly into the ranks of the Party as members
of the newly created Istituzione dei Giovani Italiani.

THE ITALIAN ROYAL ACADEMY

by GIOACCHINO VOLPE, Secretary General of the Italian Royal Academy.

The Italian Royal Academy was founded on the 7th January 1926
on the initiative of Benito Mussolini. On that date the Council of Minis
ters approved the Decree constituting it: this was enacted into law
on the following 25th of March.

44 What ! another Academy ?" was the exclamation that came in
stinctively to the lips of many Italians. Academies, indeed, had fallen
into sorry repute in Italy - even more so than elsewhere, perhaps, for
we recalled the times in which, having lost their pristine vigour, while
they continued to increase and multiply, academies reflected the general
stagnation of Italian life. Nowadays, moreover, the very name " aca
demy " - " academic " - has come to he regarded almost as a synomym
for vanity and for all that is archaic, inconclusive, and tardy, as oppos
ed to rapid action, achievement, and innovation, which characterise and
are the ideals of modern life.

As a matter of fact, more than one of our modern academies are
doing fine work in the field of study, and enjoy a good reputation among
scholars, both in Italy and abroad. We may here recall, among others,
the R. Accademia dei Lincei, the R. Accademia delle Scienze of Turin,
the R. Istituto Lombardo di Scienza e Lettere of Milan, the R. Accademia
delle Scienze of the Bologna Institute, and the R. Societa of Naples. A-
mong these, one is pre-eminent in classical, Hindu, and Islamistic archeo
logy, another in pure mathematics, theoretical physics and chemistry,
and others in different domains. But each one of them has a specialized
interest and lives its life apart. Each one of them is self-absorbed and
has little care for the claims of " culture ", which is a different thing
from science, albeit it embraces it, even as science does not exclude cul
ture. Moreover, they are closed to men of letters who stand for purely
artistic creation, and, in a general way, to the fine arts. Hence, it will
easily be realized that the general public was conscious, more or less clear
ly, of the need for an organ fit to represent all the intellectual activities
of the Country, and to co-ordinate them all, as far as possible. And this
need became more and more pressing during the war and after the war,
as a new life, richer in ideal impulses, and more alive to the connection
between all the creations of the mind and between these and daily life
quickened the Country. The concept took root and gained in consis
tency that the State, just as it intervened in economic life and in the re
lations between the several categories of producers, could and should in
tervene, more effectively than it was doing, in the field of culture, espe
cially of free culture, in which it had no part. It was in response to this
feeling and these views, maturing under Fascism - which had reformed
Italian schools from the lowest elementary to the Universities, and had
created the National Research Council towards the close of 1923 that

164 What is Fascism and why?

the Italian Academy was founded. In promoting its foundation, the
Head of the Government was fully conscious of the necessity, in this most
sensitive sphere, of combining authority with liberty; of watching over
without fettering the highest activities of the mind; of giving - through
the medium of this high council of scientists, men of letters, and art
ists - some guidance to the spiritual forces of the Nation, without dead
ening the free and fine initiatives of individual scholars and artists, but
rather by coming to their aid; of preserving the national character in its
purity and favouring its expansion and influence beyond the national
boundaries, and of promoting and stimulating an intelligent spirit of en
couragement - the " Maecenas spirit " - among the public.

Such are the aims of the new Academy, apart from the further
object of rewarding in the highest manner and holding up to public exam
ple those men who are most representative in the field of culture - which
is, indeed, but another way of promoting culture. But nearly four years
elapsed from the moment of its first conception to that of its actual con
stitution (with the first 30 Academicians nominated by the Government
in March 1929) and the inception of its work. This pause was necessary
to elaborate plans, to obtain the requisite legislative approval, to appro
priate the needful monies on the State Budget, and to get ready the home
of the Academy - a magnificent home in the Farnesina Palace, in past
times that of a great nobleman, Agostino Chigi, decorated by the brush
of Raphael, Sodoma, Sebastiano del Piombo, and Baldassare Peruzzi
- purchased by the State and restored, by discerning and most delicate
handiwork, to the grandeur of past times. At last, on the 29th October
1929, the Italian Academy was inaugurated, with all due pomp and cir
cumstance, on the Capitol, in the presence of Signor Mussolini, whose
words quickened it to life.

Less than two years have passed since that date. And a couple of
years is too brief a space of time to permit of our scheduling the tasks
accomplished by the Academy. It has yet to develop, from within, its
own distinctive personality and sense of singleness of purpose, elaborate
an organic scheme of work, form the requisite connections with other
organs of national culture, seek out the paths whereby it can make contact
with the Country and act upon it with due immediacy, while never be
traying the highest interests of Science and Art.

This, undoubtedly, is the first and main object of the new Academy
and herein lies its specific national character. Not science for the sake
of science and art for art's sake: but science and art together, consciously,
intentionally, and directly, working for the progress of the Nation.

This work is under way. The Academy has already given to the
press a series of memoranda of the Class of Mathematical, Physical, and
Natural Sciences, now collected in one volume; it took a leading part in the
celebration of the Virgil Millenary; it has promoted and initiated the task
of rearranging and publishing, in chronological order, the Roman Imper-

The Italian Royal Academy 165

ial constitutions; contributed both the funds and work of its members to
the new edition of the works of the great physiologist, Lazzaro Spallan-
zani; intervened efficaciously in the much debated question of the new
bridge across the Lagoon and the " Canal Piccolo " in Venice; contri
buted towards the expenses of a journey of literary exploration in Thi
bet undertaken by the Academician, Prof. Tucci, which proved very
fertile of results; it has made close contact with the National Research
Council and the other leading academies, united in the Unione Nazionale
Accademica, etc. There is also in preparation a series of bibliographies,
the first of which, by agreement with the National Committee for the His
tory of the Risorgimento, is devoted to Carlo Alberto, the centenary of
whose accession to the throne of Piedmont occurs this years; illustrative
studies of important archives, both Italian and foreign; historical mo
nographs on Italian artists, writers, and men of action who made their
mark in foreign countries, and so on.

The Academy has further been appointed by the Ministry of Na
tional Education to adjudicate and distribute scholastic prizes, which
aggregated a million lire in 1930. The announcement of this appoint
ment was made at an impressive session in June 1930, which King Victor
Emanuel honoured with his presence.

Two important institutions come into operation this year: the four
prizes of the Corriere delta Sera, each for the sum of 50,000 lire, known as
the Benito Mussolini prizes, to be conferred year by year on the four
leading works - literary, artistic, scientific, historical - published during
the last decade (in future these prizes will be awarded to works published
during the preceding year); and the " Volta Foundation ", instituted, in
honour of the great physicist, by the " Societa Edison di Elettricita '%
with a capital of eight million lire. The Foundation administered by the
Academic Council, together with a representative of the " Edison " Com
pany, will devote half its income to organizing yearly meetings, to which
Italian and foreign masters of the several arts, sciences and studies that
form the object of the four Classes of the Academy will be invited to dis
cuss specific problems; the balance being devoted to scholarships and
travel for the purposes of education or exploration. The first of these
meetings, the theme for which has already been chosen - a question of
theoretic physics of the greatest immediate importance - will be held
in the autumn of the present year. Other minor prizes offered by pri
vate persons are about to be established.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that the new Academy, which
is destined to occupy a central position in Italian life, is not lacking in
interest or in public confidence. Italians look to it to perform efficacious
work in the direction of co-ordination, to call attention to matters of im
portance, and to lend encouragement and help in the domain of intellec
tual work. They look to it to foster in this domain the sense of unity
which the modern trend towards " specialization " tends to destroy or

166 What is Fascism and why?

diminish.. They trust in it to lend fresh, impulse to all truly creative for
ces, to sympathize with all the new and vital manifestations of the pre
sent singular and promising phase of Italian life, and to contribute to
its harmony and purpose - that is to say to the understanding of law
and continuity; to represent and to reconcile the spirit both of revolu
tion and conservatism, rationalism and the historic sense, the yearning
towards the future and loyalty to the past.

THE NATIONAL FASCIST INSTITUTE OF CULTURE

by the Direction of the Institute.

The Bologna Congress held in. March 1925, in which Fascist intel
lectuals met to affirm their faith, showed how necessary it was to make
clear to all concerned the perfect harmony existing between " Fascism "
and " Culture " which, it had been senselessly insinuated, were contra
dictory terms. As a consequence, by Signor Mussolini's wish, the Istituto
Nazionale Fascista di Cultura was inaugurated on the Capitol on the
19th December 1925.

In founding this Institute the Fascist Government gave clear and deli
berate expression to its deep respect for culture and, at the same time,
laid down the aims of the new body, which soon gained the confidence
of the Country by reason of the number of eminent men in the fields
of political and scientific thought who spontaneously adhered to it.

The Duce appointed as president of the Institute an Italian thinker
who enjoys a high reputation in the world of international culture, Se
nator Giovanni Gentile; one who, by reason of the respect he commands
and his Fascist faith, gave promise of success in the most arduous fields
of intellectual propaganda.

During the six years that have elapsed from the date of its founda
tion to the present time, the National Fascist Institute of Culture has
made considerable headway and gained much credit, collaborating to
good purpose in Government cultural work and proving itself a living force
at the service of Fascism.

First of all, it set its own house in good working order, and then
proceeded by degrees to enlarge the orbit of its influence from the centre
to embrace the whole peninsula; making close contact with existing insti
tutes, re-shaping others, and founding new sections in the several regions
of Italy, more especially in the South.

At the present time the National Fascist Institute of Culture is
doing active local and national work. It has in Rome a fine library of
works bearing on historical-political culture, comprising over five thou
sand volumes; a reading-room where over 300 Italian and foreign period
ical and daily publications are provided for its numerous frequenters;
it organizes courses of lectures bearing on questions of politics, history,
and art, which have been extremely well attended, and furnishes gratis,
by correspondence and otherwise, bibliographical data on Fascism to
Italian and foreign students.

The Institute publishes the Review Educazione Fascista, and edits
several series of political and historical works, which are sent to all the
members of the Institute residing in Italy or abroad. In America, more
especially, these publications are followed with interest and attention in
scholarly circles, as evidenced by the exchange of correspondence and
ideas that has grown up with associations and persons on that Continent.

168 What is Fascism and why ?

The Institute has recently stimulated and integrated its activities
at home.

It was naturally bound to follow with interest the work of all organs
of general culture, hoth big and small, old and new, in the various ci
ties of Italy; and, backed up by the advice and support of the Direction
of the National Fascist Party, is taking steps to put these in touch with
one another, to keep abreast of their work, and harmonize their initia
tives.

In December 1929, Signor Turati, then Secretary of the N.F. Party,
issued an ordinance with respect to the federation of the several cul
tural Institutes in the different provinces, their co-ordination, and suit
able Fascist supervision.

In the said ordinance, however, it is clearly stated that the different
bodies, institutes, and cultural societies must not on this account lose
their individuality, their personal character, and special organization.

This circular was counter-signed not only by Senator Gentile, but
also by the President of the N. F. Confederation of Professional Workers
and Artists, with which an understanding was recently reached with re
gard to the cultural initiatives promoted by the Confederation.

Thus an Institute of Fascist Culture is springing up side by side
with each of the Provincial Federations; or, where one already exists,
it is coming to a closer understanding with it.

These Institutes are doing active work in some fifty provincial
centres; many of them have organized frequent lessons, courses, and
lectures, thus taking on the character of a free and attractive higher
school for the middle classes.

The function of these may be regarded as complementary to the
specialized teaching of the Universities, in which an understanding of
the real meaning of Fascism is gaming ground.

Others are still functioning in a less complete and methodical way;
they need assistance in organizing their work.

All this will take time, but in the meanwhile one and all deserve
well for the disinterested efforts they are making on behalf of national
culture and Fascist ideals.

Lastly we may mention that the Italian Parliament has approved
the decree sanctioning the merging with the N. F. I. C. of the " Italica "
Institute, a body which was formed for the diffusion of Italian culture
abroad, formerly presided over by Senator Count Guido Visconti di
Modrone.

(THE ITALIAN ENCYCLOPAEDIA

by GIOVANNI GENTILE, Senator, Editor of the Encyclopaedia.

Italy had never possessed, except in revised and re-arranged edit
ions of foreign works, a large universal Encyclopaedia. The most fruit
ful attempt had been that made by Pomba, whose Popular Encyclopae
dia may still be consulted and read with profit. Pomba's attempt was
due to an enterprising Turinese editor and it belonged to the period of
the re-awakening of the national consciousness in the years immediate
ly preceding the Revolution of 1848. Great enterprises like these, in
fact, are only possible among nations with confidence in their own capa
cities - as they demand not only powerful combinations of intellectual
energies and a vast cultural preparation of the nation itself in all branches
of learning, but above all a great capacity for discipline in joint labour.

Nor is this discipline something that may be improvised to respond
to the need of the moment, but rather the outcome of a slow process of
evolution based partly on tradition and partly on the scientific training
of the nation as a whole. Something out of the reach, therefore, of young
nations or of nations having but recently attained to political unity, and
still groping after a plan of action and a spiritual individuality of their
own, based on personal knowledge and a personal faith in the
world-race of the nations towards civilization. From 1860 to 1915 Italy
exhausted herself in this struggle, hesitating between doubts and anxie
ties and the more praiseworthy efforts of individual students or groups
of students, inspired by an intense faith in the genius of the race, while
the masses were still looking to other nations, hoping to receive from
them the ideas, methods and rules for their own spiritual activities. With
the war, this period of uncertainty and of seeking was closed for ever and
a radical change took place in the depth of the Italian consciousness. And
already in the years following the war, editors and writers from different
parts of the country discussed the expediency of endowing Italy with a
large Encyclopaedia which should be Italian, both in spirit and in form,
and should speak to the world for Italy.

More than once the present writer was invited to take part in differ
ent enterprises of a similar nature, all inevitably doomed to failure for
lack of funds. At last it was my good fortune to meet Sig. Treccani, a
man who by his talents and courage had won for himself a high position
in Italian industry and who had already given proof of a noble-minded
interest in cultural problems. On my inviting him to study the plans for
a National Encyclopaedia, Sig. Treccani, together with a young and in
telligent editor, Calogero Tumminelli, at once saw a way out of the dif
ficulty.

The new scheme was certainly one of many risks, but these were soon
overcome, as we entered upon our enterprise full of an unfailing faith in
the future of the Nation rejuvenated by Fascism. Thus was inaugurated

170 What is Fascism and why ?

in January 1925 the Treccani Institute presided over by Treccani himself
and directed by myself and Tumminelli. The Encyclopaedia was announced
and four years later, in March 1929, there appeared the first volume,
followed by three others in the course of the same year. Four large in
quarto volumes appear yearly, of a thousand pages each, richly illustrat
ed in black and colours, and by 1937, the thirty-six volumes will have
all appeared and we shall have set to work on the supplements and be
preparing the new edition which will certainly follow the present one.

By that time the Encyclopaedia will have become a National Insti
tution, an institution which will gradually go on perfecting itself, but which
will never abandon the programme we have drawn up for it. This pro
gramme may be seen in detail in my preface to the first volume, but I
beg leave to quote a few leading paragraphs from it.

" An encyclopaedia is the expression of the thought of a people and
an epoch, and more precisely of the positive, vital and active elements of
this thought. The latter in turn does not obviously represent the sum
of the ideas of all the individuals, both learned and unlearned, conscious
and unconscious of the ideals of the nation to which they belong and to
which they are indissolubly bound, but it is reduced to a system by those
who lead and represent the nation.

" The results they obtain may not all be equally satisfactory, but the
writers are all leaders: some either by fashioning new social and political
faiths or by creating and urging new religious beliefs, and some by inves
tigating technical means to add to the enrichment of life, or by studying
its laws and its meaning. Others, again, are leaders because they explore
the secrets and measure the forces of nature or because they examine and
calculate the productive forces of man. Some describe the aspects of the
physical world and others scrutinize the remains and the documents of
man's past history in order to make it harmonize with present day in
terests, while the poets are busy moving the hearts of man with their
song and their endless luminous images drawn from the realms of phan
tasy and freeing their souls from the bondage of petty cares. They are all
leaders and they all lead by means of their thought, enriched by science
and art. And this thought, in every nation, flows into the stream of na
tional conscience and identifies itself with it; in each period of history it
has its own form and character; and it assumes an individuality of its
own in which thousands of voices are blended together in one great har
mony.

" Concordia discors. On this condition and in this sense the Encyclo
pedia, is a book capable of becoming part of the life of the spirit and of
enriching it with new elements, and is endowed with the power of be coming
an important instrument for human progress, in proportion to the amount
of doctrine and intelligence that has gone to its making. But in order to
maintain this " concordia discors " every writer intending to contribute
to it is bound to follow, within the limits of his capacity, a certain number

The Italian Encyclopaedia 171

of fixed rules not only in regard to the subject studied but also in regard
to the mental standpoint from which it is approached: in order that the
various aspects of learning may combine harmoniously in a finished pic
ture, similar in its outstanding features to the spirit of a people and
an epoch. And this same spirit has been one of the guiding principles
of the Directors, who have constantly borne it in mind in their work.
They have seen it continually in the moulding of all human ideals and
spiritual energies into a complex civilization, summing up in itself all
forms of learning and of taste and firm in the knowledge of its millenary
history: a history not always universally known, but none the less worthy
of having new light shed on it, so that all may remember what is Ital
ian for Italy and for the world. They have beheld this spirit look
triumphantly to the future, no longer with the pride of past glories, but
anxious to create a new history, in which Italy will make herself known
to the world and take her place by the side of the stronger nations. And
it is for this reason that she hastens to become familiar with the science
of all nations, thus putting into practice the old maxim nihil humani a
me alienum.

" No intolerance, no shallow narrow-mindedness". To every event,
to every doctrine and to all persons their dues. No exclusive doctrines
therefore, such as generally spring from the minds of single individuals,
but the order, rather, in which these doctrines are possible, despite their
differences, each one with its motives. The great impartiality of history
itself, in which every fact has its own explanation.

" It is in history that we find the method of treatment most adapted
to an Encyclopaedia, in history with its great capacity for reconciling
the most opposing forces of the mind and the most varied aspects of truth.
In history every thought or institution, religion or doctrine, myth or
theory, people or race lives and goes on living. And in history all dogma
tism is destroyed, and every soul humbles and exalts itself in turn as its
vision opens out to embrace wider horizons where every fact is given its
real explanation and every truth its full value. Herein there is no place
for vain glory or selfish presumption and it is with a feeling of religious
awe that one becomes conscious of the infinite power one is endowed with "

What a contrast to the diffidence, nay, the scepticism with which
the enterprise was greeted by persons still unaware of the fact that many
things had changed in Italy since the month of October 1922 and, above
all, the spirit of the Italians. Here is one of the objections most frequently
raised even by those who had decided to work with us, but who still feared
we had not realized all the difficulties ahead of us: does Italy possess a
sufficient number of specialists in all fields, to secure for the Encyclopae
dia a predominance of Italian collaborators, not only in number, but
especially in quality and universality? And again: is Italian culture suf
ficiently mature to stand this test before the eyes of the whole world ?

It is an excellent thing to keep one's difficulties well before one's eyes t

172 What is Fascism and why ?

instead of seeking vain consolation in smoothing them over; but there
are different ways of doing so. There is the dispirited way of those who
are afraid to move a step, if they are not absolutely sure of themselves,
and this is the way of the sluggish, the dispirited and the sceptics. But
there is also the more manly manner of those who measure both the ob
stacles and their forces, and then try to increase the latter as much as
they can, and endeavour to overcome these obstacles at all costs. And it
is these last that succeed in accomplishing something worth while in the
world.

Now I wish to make a few statements in this connection. First of all
the Encyclopaedia is not perfect, viz. it is not without mistakes printing
mistakes, oversights, and even more serious mistakes, occasionally. I have
said so already in my Preface: and I also warned critics, then, to be very
slow about passing judgments on a work which can only be judged as
a whole, a work to which thousands of persons have dedicated the best
part of their intelligence and ability. I may now add that whereas many
have written deploring the absence, for example, of a word (which means
that they have not yet understood that an Encyclopaedia is not a Dic
tionary and that, moreover, it is not complete without an index), no reader
has yet succeeded in pointing out one real mistake. I have written many
letters, but I have not yet been able to write a single one (a thing that
would give me great satisfaction) beginning so: " Dear Sir, you are right.
We have made a mistake. We willingly admit it, as we never pretended
to be perfect. We will try to remedy it and we will double our efforts
to avoid similar mistakes in the future. Many thanks for your kind
help ". Up to the present date all mistakes have been pointed out to
me only by my staff and vice versa. It is here in this beautiful old pa
lace which I am writing from, and which the Treccani Institute is restoring
to its ancient splendour, that all such suggestions and plans are formulated.
But one must also remember that there are various ways of conceiv
ing an Encyclopaedia. There are those who imagine it to be a kind of
Summa, in which everything worth knowing has been set down once
for all. This is a materialistic, out-of-date conception. There are those
instead who compare an Encyclopaedia to a working instrument, useful
for a certain number of years, but destined to be surpassed in time. There
are two ways of conceiving objectivity: the way of those who consider
it as an end unto itself, and the way of those who are incapable of con
ceiving the different doctrines separately in their struggle for existence,
and must therefore see them inserted in their proper place, in " that or
der in which the different doctrines are possible " as I have already said
in my Preface. But it is also logical that an Encyclopaedia should not be
a tribune from which every one can say what he has to say. There is a
limit which must not be overstepped and that is the reader's mind. The
reader has every right to be allowed to form his own opinions and this right
should always be respected. Thus only may the Encyclopaedia have a

The Italian Encyclopaedia 173

formative influence on the minds of the people and contribute to the
moulding of a more mature national conscience.

To the latter the Encyclopaedia has already begun to contribute.
I have already recalled past difficulties. The first articles were often
undigested hoards of erudite material. Now instead they are becoming
daily more interesting and human. But this is not all. Thanks to the
Encyclopaedia Italy possesses to-day a group of historians who have
become specialists in world history, something new for Italy. In volume
V, for example, there are only 53 foreign contributors, as compared to
593 Italian ones, on a total of 1181 articles. The percentage increases
in certain cases. It is higher for instance among ecclesiastical writers
on Ecclesiastical subjects (liturgy, hagiography, canon law, etc.), but it
decreases if one adds to these lay writers on the History of Christia-
nism and the History of Religions. The percentage of foreign contri
butors is higher still in the field of Art. This is due to the fact that Ital
ian Art students generally limit themselves to the study of Italian Art.
For this reason the Art of different countries is studied by specialists of
the countries themselves. The problem is one that deeply interests and
preoccupies me and I hope to make some radical changes in the near fu
ture. On the other hand, it stands to reason that a certain number of "lo
cal " writers will always be necessary for certain articles (viz. the histo
rical description of towns) (1).

Another important result obtained, which will increase as the En
cyclopaedia continues to progress, is the drawing of the attention of the
world to Italian art and culture, the immediate effects of which may be
seen in the flattering judgments passed on the scientific, technical and
artistic training of the nation.

By the time it is finished we have every reason to hope it will have
been adopted by all countries. It will then no longer be a simple means
of giving a new stimulus to the national culture, but a powerful means
of promoting Italian culture outside our own boundaries.

(1) 739 people have worked on the VII volume, which was published on the 15th of
September 1930. Of these 125 were foreigners (percentage 16.91). The percentage increase;
in the Ecclesiastical section. (50.42 men and 8 women against 37 Italians, including 3 womens
a percentage of 57.47;; there are 26 women in all, 17 Italians and 9 Foreigners; 11 are in
the Art section. The VIII volume which has just appeared has 703 contributors: 74 are
foreigners (10.8 per 100). Twenty Ecclesiastical writers have contributed; 4 of these were
foreigners (25 %). Art section: 62 in all; 27 foreigners (43.55 %) Total of women con
tributors, 26: of these 18 are Italian.

THE TRANSFORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF
ROME

by FRANCESCO BONCOMPAGNI LUDOVISI, Senator, Governor of Rome.

It is no easy matter to summarize in a few pages even the most
salient features of the work accomplished by the Governatorato of Rome
during these last few years.

We may well affirm that one of the outstanding achievements of
the Fascist Regime has been to recall Italians to a sense of the dignity
and grandeur of Rome - the consciousness of its mission as Capital of
Fascist Italy - by restoring its historic and spiritual values, as
powerfully epitomised in the memorable speech delivered by the Duce
when the first Governorship of the City was inaugurated.

It has been remarked not without reason that those words of Mus
solini partook of the nature of an edict rather than a speech. They
announced the law and the order for its enforcement. Within the
next few years, he declared, Rome must appear in all its marvel
to the peoples of all nations : vast, orderly, powerful, as in the
days of Augustus. " You must free the trunk of the ancient oak
of all this overgrowth: clear the ground around the Augusteo, the Theatre
of Marcellus, the Capitol, the Pantheon; all that has grown up around
them during ages of decadence must go; the majestic temples of
Christian Rome must be freed from all profane parasitic growth and the
millenary monuments of our history stand out gigantic in their solitude;
you must give houses, schools, baths, gardens, and sports fields to the
working Fascist people; remove from the streets of Rome the senseless
contamination of the tramways, and provide the new City that is growing
up beside the ancient one with the most modern means of commu
nication. And the third Rome shall stretch out towards other hills
and towards the reconsecrated sea ".

This means that whoever has the honour and the onerous duty of go
verning Rome must give thought first and foremost to the building pro
blem, in its widest sense: both the planning and the amplification of the
City to meet the needs of its growing population, and also the preserva
tion of the monuments and artistic and historic treasures that have
come down to us from the Republican and Imperial Ages, the period
of the Renaissance and the great Pontificates.

This problem of the re-ordering of the City is more alive than ever
at the present moment, in view also of the opposing and extreme tenden
cies that divide the ardent champions of the new Rome. According
to some of them, ancient Rome ought to be transformed into a city
completely responsive to the needs of a modern metropolis, involving
the construction of great new arteries and the inevitable dismemberment
and destruction of characteristic quarters bequeathed us by our fore
fathers. According to others, ancient Rome should be left intact and

The Transformations and Development of Rome 175

intangible, like a dead city, and the whole life of modern Rome be
directed to new centres and new quarters built beside the ancient city.

Now, in my opinion, it is only by an intelligent blending of these
two tendencies that we can hope for success.

The intangibility of buildings which, especially during the less
glorious centuries, grew up around the majestic ancient City, cannot
and must not, out of local sentimentality, be regarded as a canon of the
new renaissance. Let us by all means respect all the beautiful creations
of the golden ages in Rome; but we must also bear in mind that Rome
must become the Metropolis conceived and outlined by the Duce.

Modern Rome cannot estrange itself from the relics of its past,
but in these very relics it must seek inspiration and incitement for the
modern life of its people. Let modern Rome grow and increase in the
outlying quarters, but a few wall planned wide thoroughfares must
allow the life of our time to flow through the ancient City also. And
in tracing these thoroughfares, while respecting the glorious heirlooms
of the past, let us seek not to repeat the errors committed during the
last half century, such for instance, as the sorry lower portion of the Via
Nazionale, and the mistake of those who apparently never perceived
that Rome is one of the few Capitals surrounded by splendid moun
tains, such as Soracte, Monte Gennaro, and Montecavo, which might
well have served as the incomparable background to the highways of
the new quarters.

The Administration of the Governorship, before tackling the solu
tion of the important basic problem, had entrusted the study of the
new " Piano Regolatore delTUrbe " (Re-planning Scheme) to a Commis
sion, consisting of the most eminent experts in architecture and town
planning, who met together on the Capitol on the 14th Apiil of last year
in the presence of the Chief of the Italian Government. Referring
to the task which the Commission was called upon to carry out,
Signor Mussolini defined it, " difficult and interesting: difficult, above
all, because it is a question of reconciling at least four different
cities co-existing in Rome, each of which had its own purpose
and preserves its own character. We have to preserve this architecto
nic character, not mere local colour, which is sometimes in extremely
bad taste, un-hygfenic and anti-aesthetic. The liberation of the an
tique monuments - continued the Duce - from the ramshackle build
ings that surrounded and, to some extent, still do surround them,
achieves also the desirable result of revealing once again the plastic
vision of the Seven Hills, well-nigh submerged by the chaotic con
structions of past centuries ".

Guided by these views, the Commission has concluded its labours:
and the new plan of the City was recently submitted to the Chief of
the Government, and approved by him.

Meanwhile, during these last two years, much has been done to restore

176 What is Fascism and why ?

historic centres, such as the archeological zone around the Largo Ar
gentina and that formed by Trajan's Market and the Forum of Au
gustus.

As a result of the demolition of the block of houses between Corso
Vittorio Emanuele and Piazza S. Elena, which was demolished in order to
make room for a big building to house the Istituto dei Beni Stabili,
a wide area of the greatest archeological interest was brought to light,
consisting of a spacious enclosure containing four now famous temples
of remote antiquity, of which very little was known.

The question at once arose as to whether these temples ought to
be preserved either entirely or in part. In October 1928, following on
a visit of inspection by the Duce, it was decided without further ado that
the area should be preserved in statu quo, and within a few months
the heavy task of freeing and restoring it had been carried out. Thus,
right in the very centre of the City, a wonderful oasis has been formed,
where pines and cypresses grow around the venerable ruins, now for
ever saved from destruction.

At the close of the Vllth year of the Fascist Regime, my Adminis
tration had the honour of completing the liberation of Trajan's ad
mirable market, a work presided over by Senator Corrado Ricci with
the proper pride of an Italian, the skill of a scholar, and the passion
of an artist.

But following on these stirring revelations of the past, further
treasures have been brought to light in that quarter of ancient Rome
which is traversed by the Via Biberatica and comprises a part of the
underlying Forums. Thus the whole Palace of the Priory of the Knights
of Rhodes, skilfully restored, has reappeared in all the pride of its
grand and delicate mass. Through the demolition of the houses which
lay behind Via Alessandrina, the Palace of the Knights has been recon
nected with the Forum of Trajan and Trajan's Market, the complete
restoration of which is being worked at without pause.

On the occasion of the recent anniversary of the March on Rome,
the demolition of the houses that remained standing between the
Forum of Augustus and the Forum of Nerva revealed a complete
panoramic view of the more important parts of the three Forums.
Thus from Via Cavour to Palazzo Roccagiovine our eyes can now range
over the remains of the whole monumental zone created by the first
Emperors.

The complete isolation of the Capitol forms part of the vast pro
gramme which the present Administration is carrying out so as to re
store the aspect of the City to its full dignity, a splendid and lasting
work whereby Fascism will leave its mark on Rome's history.

Thus the last houses have disappeared between the Via Giulio
Romano and San Venanzio, and in the corner between the Monument
to Victor Emanuel and the stairway of the Aracoeli, the grand remains

The Transformations and Development of Rome 111

of a Roman house, together with the picturesque relics of a little medie
val Church grafted thereon, have been artistically restored.

A fresh access to the Capitoline Hill has been secured by opening a
street which, starting from the ancient Piazza delle Chiavi d'Oro by
Via Marforio, reaches the entrance known as that of Sixtus IV.

The Capitol, custodian of the very soul of Rome, is thus regaining
its impressive and magnificent backgrounds. The Tarpeian Rock,
freed from the overgrowth of centuries of decadence, has returned to
the light of day, while the superstructures and shabby old houses that
stifled the Theatre of Marcellus have been gradually demolished. The
demolition of another group of old buildings beside the Theatre,
facing the exacavation of Via Tor' de Specchi, has been carried out
with like decision and speed. Simultaneously, and while the flank of
the Church of San Nicola in Carcere was being disencumbered, a new road
has been opened, leading from the Via Monte Savello side of the Theatre
of Marcellus to the Tiber. The demolition of the buildings propped up
against the Church of S. Nicola in Carcere has resulted in important
archeological finds, columns and other fine relics of one of the Roman
temples, with which the nave of the Church was partly incorporated,
having been brought to light. Exploration has been made below the
level of the street in order to reach the foundations of the Temple which
are on the same level as those of the Theatre of Marcellus.

At the foot of the Capitoline Hill, now entirely disencumbered, the
Via Tor de' Specchi, facing the imposing mass of the Theatre of Mar
cellus, has been widened and completed. But before being finally sys
tematized, this highly important district was carefully explored last
summer in the interest of archeology, and yielded some very important
results. Close to the entrance to the Salita delle Tre Pile a splendid
tract of the earliest city walls was discovered, close to which was an
antique shop with paintings, together with other noteworty remains.
Further on were discovered the ruins of a house the most interesting part
of which consisted in a room containing six stone mills.

Another house was brought to light at the very foot of the Tarpeian
Rock; and yet another one at the point where the road bends towards
Piazza Montanara, where the Church of S. Andrea in Vincis once stood.
The remains of mural paintings were found here. But the grandest
edifice was discovered right beside the said Church: this consists of
well preserved baths with mosaic pavement and interesting frescoes.
Fragments of statuary were also brought to light, two fine heads among
other relics.

Works of great archeological and aesthetic importance have been
accomplished in Piazza Bocca della Verita, the ancient Forum Boarium.
The surviving monuments in this historic locality (perhaps the best
preserved among the remains of ancient Rome) form the object of a vast
plan of isolation, whereby they have by degrees been brought into con-

178 What is Fascism and why ?

tact with one another and with the medieval remains: together they now
present an inspiring spectacle. Surrounding the open space thus formed
stand the Church of S. Maria in Cosmedin, the so-called Temple of Vesta,
the Temple of Fortuna Virile, the Arch of Janus, and the Church of S.
Giorgio in Velabro. These monuments have now been given ample
breathing space, having for their background, on the one side, the slopes
of the Aventine Hill, on the other the Palatine.

In the same quarter, the vast edifice of the Piazza dei Cerchi,
intelligently restored, has gathered within its spacious halls two Museums
that fill a long-felt want: the Museum of the Roman Empire, where
the collections of that epoch are more worthily and roomily housed,
and the new and highly interesting Museo di Roma, containing views
of Rome in past times, costumes, and other records of the life of the
city throughout the centuries. From these halls a magnificent view
of the whole surrounding district may be enjoyed.

Other minor works of considerable interest have been carried out
to re-order and restore other quarters of archeological and artistic
interest.

The Tomb of the Scipios on the Via Appia Antica has been com
pletely explored and restored to order. In this locality a beautiful park
has been laid out, facing what is probably the longest stretch of the
Aurelian Wall to be seen from the inside of the City; this grand Roman
military defence is interrupted by a fortress designed by one of the great
est architects of the Renaissance, Antonio da Sangallo. The Bastione
Ardeatino, as it is commonly called, a work of the greatest interest for
the development of fortifications, was in a state of absolute neglect.
The galleries, the casemates, the countermining chambers, were block
ed up with earth; now they have been completely freed. Meanwhile,
the more pressing work for reinforcing the structure has been attend
ed to, while awaiting complete restoration already under way.

Further afield, the Porta Ostiense has been entirely explored and
restored; this alone among the gates of the ancient city walls has partial
ly preserved, throughout the processes of medieval restoration, its ori
ginal anatomy, in the form of a castle with outer courts and a double
row of passages. Much has also been done to restore the Walls of Rome.

On the 23rd October last, the disencumberment of the sepulchral
crypt of the Mausoleum of Augustus was completed, thus restoring to
Italy one of the most sacred spots of Roman times.

An outstanding monument of Christian Rome was re-opened to the
public last summer: the Cloisters of S. Sisto Vecchio, the first foundation
made in Rome by the great Saint. The chapter hall, which dates back
to about 1220, and which had been cut in two and otherwise knocked
about during last century, has resumed its ancient form; the Governor
ship of Rome, to which it belongs, has placed it in the charge of the Do-
jnenican Sisters in the adjacent convent.

The Transformations and Development of Rome 179

In the Senatorial Palace, in addition to the renovation of some of
the inner halls, the restoration of the great central hall was under
taken. At one time assigned to the Communal Council, it had been
left for many years in a state of complete neglect. It has now
been restored to the dignity proper to the principal Capitoline hall,
reserved for important meetings: an antique and very fine statue of Julius
Caesar is at the head of the hall.

A new gallery, decorated with tapestries of the Settecento, has
been opened in the Palazzo dei Conservator!, adjacent to the picture gal
lery: the rich collection of porcelain belonging to the Capitoline Museum
has been arranged herein. The re -ordering of the Picture Gallery and
the Museo Mussolini has likewise been completed, as also the restora
tion of the little chapel built by my illustrious ancestor, Pope Gregory
XIII.

At the close of the Tilth year of the Fascist Regime, the Antiqua-
rium, formerly the archaeological Depot, built in 1895 to house all the
material discovered day by day in Rome for which accomodation could
not be found in the Capitoline Museum, was inaugurated after being con
siderably amplified.

But side by side with this work to restore and reclaim its glorious
past, Rome has accomplished much during these last years in the way of
modern town improvement.

From the census of 1921 to the close of 1929 the population of
Rome had grown from 691,661 to about 922,000 inhabitants. During
eight years the number of citizens of the Capital had thus increased
by about 230,000, that is to say in the proportion of 33 %, This shows
Rome to be in the throes of rapid demographic development; but a point of
special significance in this regard is that it is one of the few great cities
with a very rapid natural rate of increase.

In respect of births, the Capital occupies one of the first places among
cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, coming fifth after Bari, Taranto,
Palermo, and Naples.

Another point worthy of note is that still births are steadily declining
and that the deathrate is low and tends constantly to diminish.

The striking decrease in the infant death-rate is another point
worthy of note. This is a circumstance that not only demonstrates the
value of the measures taken in the interest of infant welfare, but also
the ever increasing improvement in the hygienic conditions of Rome.

The improvement in the conditions of life in the Capital is obvious :
one token is the activity of the building trade, which has been doing a
great deal more business of recent times. A number of other factors
are, however, eloquent of the more active life of the Capital: space pre
vents us from entering into details, but traffic figures alone are extremely
significant.

The bold reform carried out last year in public transports is close-

180 What is Fascism and why?

ly connected with this more strenuous life and increased need of commu
nications.

Growth of population and the rapid increase of means of locomotion
render the streets of all big cities less and less able to accomodate the
giddy movement of vehicles and pedestrians due to the rush of modern
life.

Surface tramways, owing to their lack of adaptability, create eve*
rywhere a serious block to street circulation and play a leading part
in the congestion of the main thoroughfares. On the other hand,
there is a continuous tendency to increase tramway locomotion, owing
to the extension of building and the consequent need of rapid com
munication between one quarter and another. Hence the need of
replacing the tramways by other and more elastic means of locomo
tion - a need Rome felt no less than other big cities.

This need was, indeed, more pressing in the Italian Capital than else
where. While other modern metropolitan centres, possessed of wide
thoroughfares and able to carry out radical works of demolition, so as
to open up fresh streets in the more crowded quarters, might weigh the
pros and cons for replacing tramways by motor buses, there could be no
doubt of the advantages of the latter in a city like Rome, with its
historical past and all the monuments of antiquity it has bequeathed us,
and with its narrow central streets so little suited to tramway circulation.

This fundamental necessity was mainly responsible for the resolu
tion to which effect was given on the 1st January 1930 of ridding all the
centre of Rome of tramways, and replacing them by motor omnibuses.

The reform - as everyone, even in the early and tentative days
of the new system, could perceive - has conferred the following import
ant benefits :

1) it has lessened traffic congestion in the most vital centres of
the City. More than twenty central Roman streets have been ridded
of tram lines;

2) it has speeded up public locomotion. Once having got rid
of the tram lines, our motor buses - which are so much more agile
and rapid - attain a much higher average speed, saving much waste of
time in getting from one end of the City to the other. On many routes
the public effect a saving of one half, or even more, of the time they
used to spend in the trams - a benefit which the citizens thoroughly
appreciate. The new system may be said to have brought the auto
mobile within the range of all.

It has greatly enhanced the beauty and dignity of certain streets
of primary importance - many of which are rich in historic monuments
- such as the Forums of Augustus and Trajan, the Pantheon, the Largo
Argentina, the Piazza di Spagna, etc. Romans are proud and jealous
of the archaeological and artistic primacy of the Eternal City, and are
far from blind to the aesthetic advantage thus achieved.

The Transformations and Development of Rome 181

In addition to these immediate advantages we may look to others
of no lesser consequence. One of these is the chance now opened of de
finitely repaving within the next few years our central streets, hitherto
so constantly disrupted by the laying of tramlines and the ponderous
transit of the cars. Thus, during the past summer and winter, the road
ways have been completely re-laid in the principal Roman streets: Via
Nazionale, Via del Plebiscite, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Via Depretis,
Via Quattro Fontane, Via del Tritone, the Tunnel, etc.

Now that the first perturbance caused by the new organization is over,
Romans do not regret the tramways. Only the obstinate "last ditchers"
who are unable to get over the disappointment caused them by the suc
cess of the reform, bewail aloud the financial peril to the Company caus
ed by the new system of locomotion. But the burden will not be un
duly heavy, especially as it will be partly compensated by the economy
effected in the upkeep of the 22 kilometres of streets freed from the
tramways. In any case, we must regard whatever increased financial
burden may be entailed as one of the inevitable expenses to be faced to
maintain the order and decorum of the Capital. The expenditure entailed
by the management of a grand opera house and the construction and
upkeep of parks and other enterprises which we owe to the fact that
Rome is Capital of Italy, must be viewed in the same light.

I am far from suggesting that we have attained perfection in all
these matters: indeed, the Tramways and Motor-bus Companies are con
sidering measures to improve the present lines, so as to render them
more and more adequate to the needs of the public. This is certainly no
easy task, but one which all such services have to tackle, for it is up
to them to watch and to be ready to provide for the currents of traffic
which change from day to day, governed by the feverish rhythm of city
life.

Little wonder that the attention and admiration of persons who
have not watched the development of Rome from one day to another and
who return here after an absence of some five or six years, is aroused by
the highly up-to-date achievement of Ostia Seaside.

None of the great capitals of the world, not situated directly on
the sea-board, could boast such close vicinity to the sea as Rome. But for
centuries past this advantage had been overlooked and forgotten to an
incomprehensible extent. Not even in the great epochs following the
Roman Empire, nor yet in the golden ages of the restoration of the City,
had the " Mediterranean sentiment " been present to the minds of the
builders and patrons of the City.

Thus the shores of Aeneas were left out of mind as they were out
of sight.

It is one of the incontestable merits of the Duce that he has giv
en this breath of sea air to the City by means of an excellent and
rapid railway service and by the new thoroughfare inaugurated on the

182 What is Fascism and why?

18th October 1928, lit by electricity in a manner perhaps not unique,
but certainly unusual in any country. This fine auto-way, which
connects the Capital with its traditional sea-coast, is by now one of
the accomplished facts dear to the hearts of the citizens of new Italy -
facts which so worthily replace the high-flown promises and doubtful
premises of the official literature of past times.

All those who, before the Fascist Revolution, ventured timidly to
examine the manifold problems bearing on the development of Ostia,
were not only tepid in their faith in Rome's future, but displayed scant
understanding of her needs. The old Piano Regolatore (Town Impro
vement Scheme) shows that Ostia was regarded merely as a separate bo
rough; there was so far no proper grasp of Rome's need of expansion to
the sea. It was the wish of the Duce himself that the scheme for the de
velopment of the Sea City should be carefully planned in advance, with
adequate broadness of vision, that it might become an important centre,
provided with wide thoroughfares, especially on the seaboard, shady
avenues, and spacious parks. Studies in this direction have recently
taken the shape of the new Town Planning Scheme of Ostia Mare.

Thus, while building is actively progressing, Ostia has already been
provided with a generous water supply and a perfect drainage system,
which places its beach in a privileged position as compared with many
others. The Viale della Marina (Esplanade) is being prolonged eastward,
in the direction of Castel Fusano, as well as westward; a number of new
streets have been constructed and others improved; capacious squares
(piazze) for parking vehicles have been made. The building of the big
marine Sanatorium has been completed. This has been provided with
all the most perfect modern equipment. The recent agreement between
the Rome Governatorato and the Societa Immobiliare Tirrena deserves
mention. This puts the Governorship in possession of about 821,000
square metres of land, to be laid out in streets, parks, public squares, and
buildings. Meanwhile, big industrial works are springing up around
Ostia.

Thus Fascism, in addition to having given our working popula
tion access to the sea - so strengthening to the body and reviving to the
spirits - is endowing the Capital with a sea-shore incomparable for natur
al beauty and the excellence of its public services.

Building activity - which is certainly an eloquent proof of the im
proved conditions of life in the Capital and a direct consequence of
rapid growth of population - is being speeded up, especially in the sub
urbs. The Governatorato has sought to encourage private initiative by
facilitating the expropriation of building areas and by thoroughly organ
izing all public services - streets, drainage, water supply, schools, etc.
- in the new districts.

There is no doubt that one of the most difficult and delicate problems
which pu blic administrations have to grapple with is the construction and

The Transformations and Development of Rome 183

upkeep of roadways; this is an arduous business in all modern cities where
traffic has increased by leaps and hounds, and where the introduction of
heavy, lumbersome, but rapid vehicles has proved a heavy tax even on
the most resistent forms of street paving. In spite of all this, however,
we can state with some satisfaction that in this regard also Rome has,
for some years past, begun to look really worthy to be the capital of a
great Nation.

While the Governorship has provided for the construction of new
thoroughfares (the roadway opened between the gardens of Piazza. Bar-
berini and the quarter facing S. Nicolo da Tolentino merits special notice),
it has at the same time attended to the systemization and alteration of
roads that demanded such work, either by reason of increased traffic or
for other reasons.

As for the suburbs, sufficient funds have unfortunately been lacking
so far to put their roadways into definite order; for building was wont
to be carried on irregularly and chaotically, large blocks of buildings hav
ing sprung up at a considerable distance from the old quarters, entirely
disconnected with these and under conditions in which the requisite ex
tension of public services would have been a very costly matter. This
has compelled the technical offices of the Governatorato to expend their
efforts on constructing approaches to the new nuclei of buildings thus
created in a sporadic manner in all the suburban districts, rather than
provide, as would have been desirable, for the construction of big tho
roughfares to complete the present roadway system.

In like manner, a vast effort has had to be made these last years
to extend the sewerage system of Rome, with the help of the State,
which has undertaken the construction of the main collectors. The sys
tem, which had an extension of 350,000 metres in 1919, now measures
some 600,000 metres. Three new mains are in course of being built in
the suburbs.

The water supply is a question of vital importance to Rome. While
the Peschiera Acqueduct is still being studied, the reconstruction of
the Acquedotto Vergine is well under way and, it is hoped, may soon be
completed; this work aims at recuperating all the water which now gets
wasted along the tract of the ancient acqueduct, and by thus increasing
the quantity, to provide water for distribution to many of the new
quarters of the City.

How great a benefit this new work will confer on the Capital may
be judged from the fact that we shall thus have available a further 650
litres of water per second - a supply sufficient to meet the requirements
of about 650,000 inhabitants, if we count 100 litres as the daily allowance
per head; this does not allow for the fact that a further 250 litres of Acqua
Vergine will continue to flow through the old acqueduct to supply our
fountains and public services in general.

No steps have been neglected to bring the organization and equip-

184 What is Fascism and why ?

ment of our schools into step with the rapid growth of the Capital's po
pulation. We have resolutely faced the arduous problem of school con
struction: during the last two years the fine buildings of the new Bacca-
rini Schools in Via Sforza, the A. Diaz School in Via Spezia, and those
of Torpignatara. Schools have also been opened at Borgo Acilia and Ce-
sano; eighteen other school buildings, involving a total expenditure of 56
million lire, have in part been completed and are partly still being built
in the City and the Agro Romano.

The equipment of the old schools is being steadily improved: ten
of these have been provided with heating plant during the present year.

All the institutions subsidiary to the schools, especially for the
welfare of poorer children, have been improved and developed, in obedience
to the policy of the National Government, which aims at complete nation
al restoration by making the people stronger and more conscious of
their destinies.

Realizing the great importance that Fascism attaches to all forms
of social providence, the Rome Governorship has recently done every
thing in its power to speed up action in this field: especially in connec
tion with child welfare, the anti-tuberculosis campaign, the repression
of begging, and by tackling the housing problem, which is of such ex
ceptional importance not only for the general welbeing of Rome, but also
in connection with the recent abolition of rent restrictions.

In connection with child welfare, I got into active touch with the
Patranato Scolastico (Committee of School Patrons) and the Opera Pia
Colonie di Donato, so that these institutes may now be regarded almost
as organs of the Governorship. The Patronato Scolastico, which is the
first in the Country for its perfect organization, assists over 25,000 pu
pils of the Rome Governatorato Schools; during last year it set up 400
sections of the Doposcuola and Dopoasilo (" after-school " and " after-
kindergarten " institutes) and, with the support of the Governorship,
which assists by annual grants (amounting at the present time to three
and a half million lire), they distribute meals, clothes, books, shoes, sta
tionery, etc.

Last year, being anxious that the citizens of Rome might form some
idea of the progress achieved in the way of school organization and wel
fare work, we opened at the Casale Gualterio on the Colle Appio the First
Exhibition of work done in the Doposcuola Institution. This was a real
revelation to the public, the memory of which is still green.

The work of the permanent School Colonies has been intensified
with the assistance of the " Opera di Donato ". At the present time
there are three of these colonies, at Narni, Lanuvio, and Formia. Their
term has been prolonged so as to coincide with the school year. All
those who have visited them - both Italians and foreigners - bear wit
ness to their excellence from all points of view. Further help has been
afforded these summer " colonies " by the purchase of a big building

The Transformations and Development of Rome 185

on the Riccione Sandbank, surrounded by fine woods, and by the com
pletion and enlargement of the plants of the Opera Pia di Donato at
Narni and the charming seaside resort of Formia. During 1930, the
Governorship helped and treated more than 7800 children in the per
manent daily and residential Colonies managed by the Patronato Sco-
lastico, by the Opera Pia di Donato and the Opera Nazionale per il
Mezzogiorno (National Institute for Southern Italy); at the Homes under
the direct control of the Health Office, and the Colonies at Cingoli, La-
nuvio, Caprarola, Cittaducale, Paganica and Amatrice, Ostia Mare, and
those of the Polverini on the Tiber, at Monte Mario and Vigna NarduccL

A still more tangible success has been achieved in suppressing
begging. The opening of the Deposito di Mendicita, which shelters
at the present moment 350 old people, and the efforts made by the
appropriate organs, have at last ridded the City of this nuisance.

The problem of housing the poorer classes, which up to the pre
sent had been tackled with zealous activity by the Istituto per le Case
Popolari (Popular Housing Institute), called this year for more direct
action on the part of the Governorship, especially owing to the difficulties
arising from the passage from rent restriction to uncontrolled rents.

Thus, in addition to its normal activity on behalf of the homeless
and the gradual riddance that has been made of those hot-beds of phy
sical and moral infection, the remaining hut " kraals " (which had sprung
up around Rome in the early days of the housing crisis occasioned by the
sudden and over-rapid growth of population), the Governorship has had
to devise ways and means of providing a considerable number of lodgings
available at a low rent for the poorer classes.

The Governorship being unable for various reasons - neither last
nor least among which financial difficulties must be reckoned - to pro
vide directly for the building and management of new working-class dwel
lings; I managed to obtain the disposal of a very large number of rooms
in 1930 and the earliest months of 1931, thanks to an initiative which
has been widely appreciated: namely, by limiting the action of the Gover
norship to a simple contribution - amounting to 1000 lire per room -
in favour of all undertakings which built within a given space of time
houses answering to the needs of the situation, to be allocated to needy
families at a price not exceeding 60 lire a month per room for a period
of five years. Thus fully eleven thousand rooms have been put on the
market at a low price, in decent buildings, supplied with all proper hy
gienic offices.

By way of integrating measures on behalf of the homeless, the Gover
norship built, on its own account, a number of rooms of the " Pater "
type, at a cost not exceeding 5000 lire per room, thus making it possible
to let these lodgings at a very low rent. Small groups of rustic dwellings
are, moreover, in course of being built on the outskirts of the suburbs;
these are plain, but full of air and sunlight, and, together with small al-

186 What is Fascism and why?

lotments, suitable for kitchen gardens, are to be allocated to the poorest
evicted tenants.

In connection with this vast work of social assistance, the medical
care of the people is daily increasing and improving: this is especially the
case with respect to the campaign against tuberculosis and against malaria
in the Agro Romano, where several new health stations have been built.
The number of " condotte mediche" (panel doctors) has been increas
ed where necessary ; a " hygiene census " of dwelling houses is being
taken; night medical service and pharmaceutical services have been am
plified. The spread of health stations throughout the Agro, so essential
for the reclamation of these districts, has necessitated the extension, of
the telephone service between the stations and Rome. In addition to
this, 29 new public telephone stations have been opened in the Agro Ro
mano to meet the urgent needs and wishes of the growing population:
some of these are connected with adjacent medical stations, others
being entirely independent. Owing to the growth of pupulation and the
formation of new quarters in the suburbs, measures have been taken to
reorganize all the sanitary services of the City; similar steps have been
taken for the complete reorganization and transformation of veterinary
services, which had, in truth, been given but scant attention in the
past. As regards medical-hygiene assistance, it may confidently be
asserted that no means have been spared to safeguarde the health
of the population, with the result that - as statistics bear witness Rome
can hold its own among the most healthy cities of the Kingdom.

The Centre of Anti-tuberculosis Prophylaxis, recently instituted, is
a model of its kind; the great Marine Hospital at Ostia, which serves as
a sanatorium for the children of tuberculous parents, is a spacious and
perfectly equipped establishment. Research into the causes of this dire
contagion is actively carried on at four dispensaries (the Centrale, Regina
Elena, Tiberino, and Umberto I) which work in connection with the Pro
phylactic Centre. To give some notion of the work done in this sphere,
it will suffice to mention that the total number of consultations from
September 1928 to August 1929 reached the figure of 70,000, as against
50,000 during the previous year.

Another by no means simple problem which has been resolutely
tackled is that of the City's food supplies. In addition to the construc
tion of the recently inaugurated covered markets in Piazza dell'Unita
and Piazza Principe di Napoli, the Governorship has of late carefully
revised the arrangements of the Central Fruit and Vegetable Market, in
consultation with a Commission of experts.

The Campo Boario (cattle market) and the Fish Market have also
been reorganized.

Under an agreement, whereby, among other things, the manage
ment of the Stabilimento Governatoriale del latte (Urban Milk Supply)
has been handed over to the Rome Consortium of Producers, the import-

The Transformations and Development of Rome 187

ant and delicate question of the milk supply, after long years of wait
ing, is about to be definitely settled at last. Thus the population can
depend on a supply of really pure milk, furnished by the Roman Campa-
gna, and therefore specially fresh and palatable, whereas, all too frequent
ly in the past the genuine product of our Campagna took second place
on the local market after reintegrated milk, which, apart from all other
considerations, certainly does not offer the same value as human food. In
its day, the Stabilimento del Latte which was established under special
circumstances and at a time when the Agro withered under desolating
neglect, being obstinately ignored by government and communal autho
rities - managed directly by the civic administration, played a useful
role, inasmuch as it was at times able to prevent artificial rises in the
price of a commodity of first necessity. Now that, thanks to the gigan
tic efforts of the Fascist Government, the Agro Romano is once again
flourishing and fructifying, it would have been an unpardonable mistake
not to encourage the direct sale of the Agro milk to our people, and,
at the same time, efficaciously second the fine and tenacious efforts made
by our farmers in these parts, in a fine patriotic spirit, to realize the much
desired and equally necessary economic development of our countryside.

This summary account would occupy too much space if we were
to dwell on all the complex and multiform activities of the administra
tion of the Rome Governatorato.

I wish, however, to point out that, while on the one hand we have
set ourselves assiduously to the task of solving the most pressing pro
blems, much has been done, on the other hand, to encourage initiatives
bearing on the prestige and decorum of the Capital in the widest
sense of these terms: from the handsome markets recently opened
to which I have just referred, to public parks and gardens, and
the truly admirable Teatro Reale dell' Opera (Royal Opera House).

Villa Umberto (Villa Borghese) has been saved from decadence by
providing it with a more copious water supply, renewing its flower beds,
and re-ordering the fine avenues.

In addition to the continuous embellishment of the parks recently
planted - the very fine ones of the Scipios, the Colle Appio, and the Ri-
membranza - the City has now been enriched by a number of new gar
dens in various streets and piazze, apart from the " Virgilian " park,
covering an area of 40,000 square metres in the populous Salaria quarter.
Another Park is being laid out at the Testaccio, close to the Hill of that
name.

Since opening up to the public Villa Aldobrandini, in the Via Na-
zionale, important improvements have been carried out in those magni
ficent gardens.

The Royal Opera House, renewed and re-opened three years ago
under the auspices of the Duce and the zealous guidance of my predeces
sor, has raised Rome from the obvious position of inferiority in this re-

188 What is Fascism and why ?

gard in which it stood as compared with other Capitals. The stage ar
rangements include all the most recent innovations in the way of mod
ern stage machinery.

I do not claim to give in these pages a complete summary of the
Fascist renaissance of Rome; there is still much to be told, especially in
regard to the works carried out in the Capital by other public bodies,
and first and foremost, by the Government itself.

I have merely attempted to dictate a few plain pages, in which I
trust there is an echo of my great and devoted love for Rome - this Rome
which the great minds of Italy have seen as in a far-off dream, and which
thanks to Fascism is reclaiming its place in the world of reality, boldly,
resolutely, and with the full vigour of life that reanimates the whole Ital
ian people. Benito Mussolini has devoted his whole mind and heart
to the future of Rome, convinced that the restoration of ancient Roman
virtues is the sine qua non of Italian renaissance. And to-day, when
Fascism amd the Roman spirit stand firmly side by side, to-day when
the Capitol has once again become the " Sacred Hill " where the Italian
people are enacting their new history, to-day there is not a single region
of Italy that does not feel that Rome is the centre of its glories.

Thus the statues of the Provinces, on the Altar of the Fatherland,
in the heart of Rome, are no longer mere allegories, but seem quickened
with life and to breathe in rhythm with the pulse of Rome: there is not
a thought of Italian greatness that is not one with the Roman idea; not a
son of Italy who is not a son of Rome - of this Rome which, according to
the image of Benito Mussolini, is becoming more and more the thinking
brain and the ardent heart of the Italian Nation.

THE ITALIAN DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEM AND THE
FASCIST POLICY ON POPULATION.

by CORRADO GINI, President of the Central Institute of Statistics.

L THE DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION OF THE WHITE POPULATION WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITALY. - Italian population policy has its roots
in recent scientific researches, in vital statistics and the evolution of
nations, a field in which Italian scientists have been pioneers. A sum
mary of the outstanding results of these researches may afford an ap
propriate introduction to the present article. Vital statistics, in all the
white-race countries (save perhaps some of the South American states
possibly not quite free from hybridation), show a more or less marked
but, generally speaking, very definite decrease in the birth-rate. At
the same time, however, there has occurred a reduction of the death-
rate which has partially or totally balanced the lower rate of births.
Thus, the rate of natural increase in population either has not yet de
clined, or has declined later and less markedly than has the rate of births.
In those countries, however, where the decrease in the birth-rate is
most marked, there has been already a clear decline in the natural in
crease (1). Such is the situation of Italy, where the birth-rate, reaching
a maximum of 39.3 per thousand in 1876, has fallen gradually to 25.2
per thousand in 1929. The natural increase of the Italian population,
at a maximum of 14.2 per thousand in. 1912, has decreased to 10.5 per
thousand in 1928 and 9.1 per thousand in 1929.

The demographic balance of all white-race countries, however, dis
plays an excess of births over deaths an excess which is remarkable
in some cases. Only in France, in the least favourable years, and lately
also in Esthonia, does it show an actual deficit.

Many people, fixing attention merely on these facts, have become
alarmed at the prospect of over population. But careful investigation
shows that it is peculiarly misleading to interpret the evidence in this
way. The present excess of births depends, at least partially, and ex
clusively for some countries, upon the abnormally high proportion of
the population in those age groups between twenty and forty. This
age-class, to which procreation is almost exclusively entrusted and from
which comes but a meagre contribution to deaths, is now disproportion
ately large, by virtue of the fact that the number of births increased
up to the beginning of the century and diminished only thereafter (2).

(1) For a survey of the evolution of birth-rate and death-rate in the principal countries,
cf. C. Gini, " La dinamica delle popolazioni,^ in Trattato Italiano d'igiene, vol. XVIII (Turin:
U.T.E.T., 1930).

(2) Cf. especially R. R. KUCZYNSKI, The Balance of Births and Deaths, vol. I, Western and
Northern Europe (New York: Macmillan, 1928); and C. GINI, " The Death of Nations," in " The
Cyclical Rise and Fall of Population," in Population (Harris Foundation Lectures, 1929;
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1930). Cf. also L. Duhlin and A. J. Lotka, " On the
True Rate of Natural Increase," in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Sep-

190 What is Fascism and why?

If one eliminates the effect of this transitory circumstance, it is clear
that the condition of the white race, from the standpoint of demographic
vitality, is far from favourable.

Comparing the number of females from twenty to thirty years of
age, as ascertained by the most recent censuses, with female births during
recent years, one is convinced that the latter cannot reproduce in twenty
to thirty years the number of the former allowing, of course, for pre
vailing rates of mortality. In England and Wales, for example, the
last census of 1921 counted 3,323,000 women between twenty and thirty.
The average number of females born yearly in recent years (1927 and
1928) has been not quite 322,000. This means that, if no English
woman should die at an earlier age than thirty years, we must expect
that in a generation there would be 3,220,000 women between twenty
and thirty, that is, a number less than that of the last census. But
in reality about 15 per cent of the females born in England and Wales
die before that age. So, we may expect that in a generation the female
population of England and Wales between twenty and thirty will be
diminished by more than 15 per cent. Not essentially different, though
perhaps not everywhere so serious, are the conditions of Scotland (and
probably also Ireland), Finland, Esthonia, Latvia, Sweden, Norway,
France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and probably Hun
gary (1). In other words, the populations of all the states of Western,
Northern, and Central Europe should be considered as virtually on the
way to decrease, with the exception of two small states, Holland and
Denmark, the latter of which does not seem, on the other hand, very
far from the conditions of the other Scandinavian states. But in Italy
and Spain (the data for Portugal are wanting), and in all the Slav nations
south and east of the virtually decreasing populations, population gives
promise of continued increase.

The countries outside Europe, for which the data are at hand (E-
gypt, Canada, Argentina, Chili, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of
South Africa, Japan, and probably British India), are still effectively
increasing in population. The United States seem to be near to,
if not already in, a virtually stationary condition (2). It has been
calculated that this stationary condition will become effective between
1965 and 1970; after these dates the population of the United States
is expected to decline. The decline will begin even sooner in some Eu
ropean countries. It is expected in 1937 for France, in 1942 for Great
Britain, in 1946 for Germany (3).

tember, 1925; "The True Rate of Natural Increase of the Population in the United States.
'Revision on Basis of Recent Data," Metron, VIII (1930), No. 11, and C. GINI, I fattori demo-
grafici delVevoluxione delle nazioni (Turin: Bocca, 1912).

(1) Cf. C. GINI, " The Death of Nations," loc. dt.

(2) Cf. C. GINI, " The Death of Nations," Zoc. cit., and Duhlin and Lotka, op. cit.

(3) Cf., for France. A. SAUVY, " La population franc, aise jusqu'an 1956, Essai de prevision
demographio^ie," Journal de la Societe Statistique de Paris, December, 1928, and January, 1929;

The Italian Demographic Problem 191

However, for the other white-race countries, especially for Italy,
there arises a problem: Are they truly in a completely different condition
from that of the states of Northern, Central, and Western Europe, so
that their demographic future may be contemplated with assurance,
or do they find themselves only in a preceding stage of the same demo
graphic evolution, wherein the germs of decadence are not yet manifest ?

Multifarious indications induce eminent men of science to think
that human populations, like individual organisms, in their evolution,
follow a cycle (1). Whoever admits such a theory finds, in demographical
statistics and in the social manifestations of the white populations of
the present, not a few symptoms of a more or less advanced senility.
And other persons, who do not bind their forecasts to the conception
of biological cycles, hold that, for sundry causes, the white populations
are doomed to a more or less rapid decline, if not altogether to extinction.
Others hold that the present trend leads to a stationary level,
which is destined to become the normal condition of civilized pop
ulations; and, finally, others are confident that the amount of a pop
ulation may in future be rationally regulated by means of a control
of births, so as to be kept in that condition which corresponds to an
" optimum " from the point of view of both quality and quantity (2).

II. THE EFFICACY OF GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE DE
VELOPMENT OF POPULATION. Under such conditions three questions
may be raised (1): Is a demographic policy on the part of the state jus
tified ? (2) Can one foresee that such a policy would be effective ? (3)
In what direction should such a policy be carried out ? A negative
answer to the first question signifies that the state has properly no
concern about the increase or decrease of its population. Such a view
is hardly defensible. The second question arises for all those who admit
that the present populations tend toward stationary levels or permanent
decline but, above all, for those who hold that the evolution of a popu-

for Great Britain, A. L. BOWUEY, ** Births and Population in Great Britain," Economic Journal,
June, 1924; for Germany, " Richtlinien zur Beurteilnng des Bevolkerungsproblems Deutsch-
lands fur die nachsten 50 Jahre," Statistik des Deutschen JReic/is, vol. CCCXVI. The information
for the United States has been kindly given to me by Dr. Dublin. The results of similar cal
culations for Italy are summarized in my paper presented to the Nineteenth Session of the
International Institute of Statistics; C. GlNl, Calcolo di previsione della popolasione italiana del
1921 al 1961 (Tokio, 1930). Cf. also, on the same subject, the Notisiario demografico edited
by the Central Institute of Statistics of the Kingdom of Italy, April 16 and May 1, 1930.
A more detailed report will be published shortly in the Annali di statistica edited by the same
Institute.

(1) Cf. C. GINI, " The Cyclical Rise and Fall of Population," loc. cit.

(2) Cf. C. GINI, **L'optimum quantitative della popolazione," in Nascita, evolusione e morte
delle nasioni, " Libreria del Littorio," (Roma, 1930). This report and the following discussion
may be found also in the mimeographed proceedings of the round-table conferences held by
the Norman Wait Harris Foundation (University of Chicago) in June, 1929. Cf. Population
and Migration, III pp. 793-856. On lie same subject, cf. an earlier article " Considerazioni
su Foptimum di densita della popolazione," Economic, July, 1927.

192 What is Fascism and why ?

lation follows, owing to biological causes, a cyclical trend. This last
theory, however, does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the
intervention of the state must be ineffective, just as the acknowledgment
that life in an individual follows a cycle does not lead one to deny the
wisdom of direct intervention aiming at prolonging life or eliminating
some of the causes of death (1).

Certainly there are not lacking examples in history, both ancient
and modern, of the inefficacy of governmental measures aiming at check
ing a decrease in birth-rate; but one can maintain that the government's
interference was undertaken too late, when the demographic crisis was
too advanced, or that it was not properly directed.

The wisest means to increase a population is certainly that of fa
vouring the natural tendency to expansion of the demographically most
vigorous branches, instead of forcing the reproduction of the less fertile
individuals or classes. Special tax-levies upon bachelors and couples
with few or no children, if they are to be recommended from a fiscal
point of view, may have indirect advantages from the standpoint of
population, for funds thus raised may be used to promote demographic
increase; but their direct consequences are probably of little importance.

To assist the most numerous families in their struggle for life, to
lessen the high death-rate which partially annuls their contribution to
future generations, and to retain or transplant their members to places
where the natural tendency to expand partially hereditary meets
with fewer social obstacles, this is the most suitable program. In such
a scheme are included provisions for checking emigration abroad, on
one hand, and toward the cities, on the other. Being more easily recruited
from the most fertile classes, emigration deprives nations of their most
vital stocks or exposes them to the deteriorating action of urban sur
roundings. The program also includes transplantation a classical
method of colonizing of Latin stocks of persons belonging to prolific
families, to deserts or to lands relatively uninhabited. Such a practice,
iecause of the race mixtures which inevitably result, cannot but be
favourably regarded by scientists who see in the cross-breeds the prime
source of the birth and revival of nations.

On the other hand, the use of subsidies paid according to the num
ber of children born, seems, in the light of experience, less clearly ef
fective. It is not practicable to make the subsidies large enough to
compensate families for the expenses of additional offspring. Indeed,
the system may only fortify that dangerous economic psychology which,
getting the upper hand over instinct, constitutes the most powerful
and immediate factor in the decline of births.

Just as the object is different, so also is the result of special awards

Si $ ^7 n p M ^ SULJeCt l ?: I? 1 ' " Problemi della popolazione," Annali delVIstUuto di
btatistica ddla R. Universitd di Bari (1928), p. 11.

The Italian Demographic Problem 193

to families of exceptional prolificness, when this is coupled with excep
tional endowments from a civic, physical* and moral point of view.
Such payments, owing to their irregular character and amount, cannot
be considered as compensation and imply no right on the part of bene
ficiaries. Yet they do contribute to a program which aims at honouring
maternity and glorifying family-life.

There are reasons for thinking that difficulties as to housing and
employment do not often constitute the determining factor in the Km-
itation of offspring, but are used as an excuse for an already existing
tendency. But one cannot deny that by eliminating such pretexts
some results may be obtained. More telling, of course, are provisions
for cultivating and reinforcing those feelings of family solidarity, na
tional loyalty, and religious sentiment, which, while they cannot serve
as substitutes for a genetic instinct, do represent powerful allies in the
struggle against the invading rationalistic egoism.

That one should give attention above all to the birth-rate, in a
demographic policy of encouraging natural increase, does not imply that
the death-rate should be neglected. Its reduction augments the nat
ural increase and is not harmful from a qualitative point of view, so
far as it involves reduction of deaths from causes which have not a
selective character, as are frequently the deaths of illegitimates and
orphans and deaths from infectious diseases. Mussolini's formula:
46 Maximum birth rate, ininimum death rate," certainly constitutes the
most efficacious program of a demographic propulsive policy (1).

III. REASONS FOR A PROPULSIVE POPULATION POLICY IN ITALY. -
If, then, one maintains with confidence that the intervention of the
state, wisely directed, may stimulate the growth of population, there
remains the question whether action in this direction is justified in Italy
at present. There is certainly a possibility that in the future the vitality
of the Italian population may diminish; but such a danger does not seem
imminent; and some will hold that measures necessary to avert it may
be taken when it has manifested itself. Some consider that there is
at present, not a scarcity, but a superabundance, of men. Evidence
of this is found in the tendencies of the labouring classes to emigrate and
of business men to contract loans in foreign markets, and in the persist
ence of unemployment (2).

As regards unemployment, it is not difficult to answer that scientific
analysis has by this time revealed that its explanation in the time we
are passing through is not to be found in an excessive number of workers.
It is, instead, essentially caused by the inertia of wages in following

(1) Cf. B. Mussolini in the Preface to the Italian translation of the pamphlet of Dr. R.
KORHERB, Regresso ddle nascite* morte dei popoli (Rome: Libreria del Littorio, 1928).

(2) The question is discussed in the article of C. GINI, " Le obiezioni alia politica della
crescente natalita," in Archivio fascista di medicina politica (Parma, September-December, 1928).

194 What is Fascism and why ?

changes in commodity prices. Such inertia is, to some extent, unavoid
able; but, in part, it represents the consequence of that rigidity in the
wage system which results from extra-competitive controls a rigidity
analogous to that of fixed prices, now applied to so many goods and
services. This system of relatively inflexible wage-rates is continually
spreading, owing to its obvious advantages in avoiding frequent dis
putes and long negotiations. A certain amount of unemployment results,
therefore, unavoidably in a modern nation, especially as its industries
become more highly developed and specialized (1).

On the other hand, the tendency, whether of labour to emigrate or
of business men to import capital, is governed exclusively by individual
economic advantages. But the state, besides considering the welfare
of single individuals, must take account of the collective economic power,
in which average individual income is only one of the component factors.
Besides economic considerations, it must take account of others, among
which military considerations are not of least importance. The relation
between the size of population and the economic and military power
of the nation is obvious (2).

Furthermore, the state must have at heart not only the advantage
of the present generation, but also that of generations hereafter. Mus
solini was quite right when he said that one who is not able to look
at least fifty years ahead has no right to rule a nation. It is an illusion
to think that the intervention of the state, carried out when the danger
of depopulation has appeared, may change the situation. The fact is
that, on the one hand, the number of births at a certain moment is
largely determined by the amount of the population (and especially
the female population) of a productive age, and this essentially depends
on the number of the births which have occurred from twenty to forty
years before; on the other hand, that the lever of governmental pro
visions does not work the example of ancient Rome shows it clearly
when it has allowed the psychological basis of the family to be under
mined (3).

The demographical situation of a nation must, moreover, be viewed
in relation to that of neighbouring states. Now, from an international
point of view, it is clear what the future prospects are, if, as everything
makes us believe, the latent demographical crisis of Northern, Central,
and Western Europe is destined to manifest itself and become accentuat-

(1) On the relations between unemployment and overpopulation, cf. the article of C. GINI ,
" Disoccupazione e sovra-popolazione," Atti della Societd Itahana per il Progresso della Scienza
(September, 1928) where the various theories are discussed.

(2) Cf. the " Report on the Population Policies of Different Nations " and the following-
discussion in Population and Migration, II, 559-624. The report is published in Italian, and
the discussion is summarized and commented on in the above-quoted volume: Nascita, evolu-
zione e morte deUe nasioni.

(3) Cf. "Problemi della popolazione," loc. cit., pp. 11-13, and the discussion of the above-
cited " Report on the Population Policies of Different Nations."

The Italian Demographic Problem 195

ed. Either such populations will be followed at a short distance on
the same path by other nations of the white race which surround them,
or the latter will continue instead, for a long time still, in their ascending
development. In any event, one sees as inevitable some great disturb
ance which would re-establish an equilibrium between the zone of de
mographic depression and the border areas of increasing pressure. The
size of the depression zone would naturally vary according to the two
hypotheses considered, and consequently the range of races eligible to
displace the senescent populations would be different. In the latter
case the peoples brought into the depression zone would presumably
be white; in the former, they would be yellow, Indian, or Malaysian.
In any event, it is vital for a nation like Italy, which finds itself
on the margin of the zone of demographic depression, to avoid being
drawn in, and to await the future in a condition of the utmost demo
graphic potentiality. Here is the scientific basis of the propulsive po
pulation-policy adopted in Italy by the will of Mussolini.

IV. THE FASCIST POLICY: APPLICATION. - Let us now examine in
more detail the principal steps taken by the government and by local
bodies to implement this policy.

By the law of June 14, 1928, No. 1312, and by Royal Decree of
August 10, 1928, No. 1944, the government introduced most generous
tax-exemptions for larger families: (a) an exemption of 100,000 lira of
total income from the progressive, complementary tax on income and
from the additional levies of the communes; (b) a partial reduction for
higher incomes, so as to exempt 100,000 lira from the tax on " movable
income " and from the communal tax on industries, from the related
provincial tax, from the tax in favour of the provincial economic councils
(normally levied on the same base), from the taxes (and additional levies)
on lands and buildings, and from those on agricultural profits; (c) total
exemption from the communal taxes on licenses, on house-rents, on
cattle, from the special tax on goats, from syndicate-contributions, from
taxes (and additional taxes) for every order and grade of schools and
educational institutions. These partial or total exemptions from taxes
are enjoyed by the officials and employees of the state (even if they
are on the pension list) and those of other public bodies, when they must
provide for seven or more children of Italian nationality; also by those
who, even if they are not in public employment, have to provide for
ten or more children of Italian nationality or have had twelve or more
children, quick-born and vital, of Italian nationality, of whom six must
be provided for.

The Decree deserves also to be particularly considered because it
establishes that, in the computation of the children, there shall be in
cluded, besides those legitimate, also natural children recognized by
one parent. It extends, then, to illegitimate families, those provisions

196 What is Fascism and why?

which up to now were reserved for legally constituted families. In this
manner, the acknowledgment of children is encouraged, merely through
pecuniary incentive to be sure, but with obvious moral and material
benefits to illegitimate children.

Measures unfavourable to the unmarried have also been enacted.
Of the tax on bachelors we shall speak later on. Here we wish to men
tion the law of June 6, 1929, No. 1024, containing provisions in favour
of demographic increase. By this law, bachelors and spinsters may
no longer be given preference for employment by the state, provinces,
Communes, or other public institutions. Indeed, other things being
equal, married persons with children must always be given preference
over those without children; and these, in turn, over the unmarried.
Such provisions are also extended to contracts of private employment.
Mussolini has announced (1) that rules of public bodies or associations
and corporations under state control, which exclude married women
from employment or grant preference to spinsters or women with one
child, are no longer compatible with the demographic principles of the
government.

Similar discriminations against the unmarried and against childless
couples are practiced in the allotment of the workmen's dwellings and
of inexpensive houses built with the assistance of the state, provinces,
communes, and public charity institutions. Similar provisions regulate
grants and administrative authorizations. In addition, the government
has undertaken to provide family allowances for its employees of lower
rank with children under age. These allowances vary according to the
classes of employees from 150, to 135, 130, and 50 lira per month, and
are made in addition to the grants of 30, 25, 20, and 10 lira, respectively,
per month for each child up to three, the contribution being doubled
when the number of children exceeds three (Law of June 27, 1929, No.
1047).

These laws are intended to assist those who have families to sup
port. Others aim instead at protecting and assisting maternity and
infancy. By the law of December 10, 1925, No. 2277, the government
has undertaken to protect women during childbirth and infants from
the suckling period through the pre-school and school years. It is a
vast program, still in process of development, entrusted by the state
to an institution known as the " Opera Nazionale della Maternita e del-
Plnfanzia " a program which places Italy in the vanguard among the
nations with respect to this sort of social legislation.

According to Article 4 of the law, the " Opera Nazionale della Ma
ternita e delTInfanzia " is charged with the task of protecting and as
sisting: (1) women during pregnancy, especially needy and abandoned
mothers; (2) suckling children and weaned ones up to the fifth year

(1) Circular of November 17, 1928, issued by the Ministry of the Interior, No. 2698.

The Italian Demographic Problem 197

if they belong to needy families; and (3) children physically or phychi-
cally abnormal and children abandoned, strayed, or delinquent, up to
the age of eighteen. The " Opera Nazionale " has also been entrusted
with the task of disseminating scientific methods of pre-natal and infant
hygiene; of establishing clinics for the care and supervision of women
during the period of gestation and especially for the treatment and
prevention of syphilis; of founding schools for training in the care of
infants; of organizing popular instruction in infant and maternity hy
giene; of establishing, in co-operation with provincial governments, anti-
tuberculosis associations; and of assisting the local authorities in combat
ing infant- diseases and especially in anti-tuberculosis prophylaxis work.

By the same law, hospitals, lying-in clinics, and similar institutions
are obliged to provide, within the limits of their facilities, for the care
of women beyond the seventh month of pregnancy, during confinement,
and four weeks after delivery, even if the women, according to regula
tions of the institutions, are not entitled to free service. Furthermore,
the rules enacted in 1907, regarding absence-leave for women in industry
during childbirth, are made applicable to public employment.

The vigilance and protection of the " Opera Nazionale " is also
extended to children for whom parents are unable to provide and to
those in morally dangerous surroundings. The children may be placed
in institutions or elsewhere to guarantee proper care. Employment of
children under fifteen in theatres, circuses, and similar places so often
abusive and morally harmful is forbidden. Their attendance at cer
tain kinematographic spectacles may also he prohibited. It is forbidden
to sell or give alcoholic drinks to school children, to serve them such
drinks in public places, or to provide them with tobacco in any form.
The " Opera Nazionale " is authorized, by the Law of May 8, 1927,
No. 798, to assist children born of illegitimate union and recognized
by the mother alone, when the latter intends to suckle and raise the
child. But the law, while it comes to the aid of the fallen woman,
prosecutes abortion as a crime. It not only punishes the culprit and
all accomplices, but also provides, by means of police regulations, for
the deportation of those physicians and midwives known to have repeat
edly participated in this illegal practice.

Measures of the kind contained in the laws for protection of ma
ternity and infancy involve large expenditures. To provide necessary
funds, the state instituted, January 1, 1927, a progressive, personal
tax on bachelors, from twenty-five to sixty-five years, inclusive* sup
plemented by another levy progressive according to the total income
received by each bachelor. Further Discrimination in taxation has been
effected recently (1930) against bachelors and couples with less than
two children. The inheritance tax, previously abandoned for transfers
within the family, has been re-enacted, though at low rates, as against
these groups.

198 What is Fascism and why?

Other measures have been taken to prevent depletion of our demo
graphic wealth through emigration. The government, without totally
prohibiting emigration, has endeavored to reduce it drastically and also
to encourage the return of subjects who have already departed. Effort
is made to absorb additional labour in agriculture, which, as it becomes
increasingly intensive, requires more hands. In particular, our depart
ment for the general direction of Italians abroad, has endeavoured to
persuade Italian women, resident in France, to return to their home
towns in Italy to be delivered, for the child of an Italian subject born
in France is considered French. The persuasion-activities of the depart
ment are supplemented by financial inducements refund of traveling
expenses and assistance at child-birth by means of subsidies.

Another provision not less efficacious, to which the Italian govern
ment pays a great deal of attention is the reclamation of land. To a
special Under-Secretary of State is entrusted the duty of administering
the far-reaching laws which have been enacted by the government in
this connection. In view of the great advantage that the reclamation
of land has for the nation, from economic and financial as well as from
sanitary and demographic points of view, a high percentage of the ex
penses of reclamation is met by the government, or the local authorities.
It is calculated by some authorities that the land to be redeemed will
accommodate a population of ten millions. It is also anticipated that
the production from redeemed land and the intensified production of
other districts may render Italy self-sufficient in regard to the consump
tion of wheat. In the meantime, it is clearly perceptible that several
zones, in which the work of reclamation has made most progress during
recent years, show no reduction in the birth-rate, and in many cases
show an increase. The government has facilitated the development of
their population by transferring to areas to be reclaimed families from
the more prolific communities of the Venetian and Emilian country.

We have already referred to the damage resulting from increased
urbanization. Migration to the towns deprives agriculture of hands,
sometimes provokes economic crises, and aggravates the housing prob
lem in our urban centres. Nor must we forget the damage caused to
the race by forsaking the free life of the fields for the unhealthy life of
the city, Mussolini has personally called attention to the progressive
decline of the birth-rate as a consequence of the monstrous growth of
cities. Country people, drawn to the cities and taking up residence
there, become less prolific. At the same time, through depopulation
of rural areas, agriculture decays. This means a deficiency of the funda
mental means of subsistence and progressive impoverishment of the
nation.

By the Law of December 24, 1928, No. 2971, there has been con
ferred upon the Prefects the power and duty of curtailing the increase
of urban populations. All those who arrive in cities without means

The Italian Demographic Problem 199

of support and those who, having received promise of jobs, remain unem
ployed and have not the prospect of securing employment within a
short time, all these must be sent back to their homes and warned not
to return to the city whence they have been expelled. The application
of this law is not intended to create a residence-monopoly for workers
already established in the towns. Indeed, it must be carried through
entirely in that spirit of social equity corresponding to the higher prin
ciples of moral order which have inspired and dictated it.

Besides this action of the state, many similar measures, constituting
an elaborate system, have been taken by local bodies, in accordance
with instructions issued by Mussolini. Some of these have already
been mentioned in connection with the matter of tax-exemption. We
wish to mention here the numerous bonuses and prizes granted by the
communes as rewards of fertility. Some are merely fixed allowances
for each child born; some are in the form of annuities paid for each child
after the sixth or eighth, and continued up to the child's fifteenth year.
Frequently, communes provide for special grants to the family or fa
milies considered most promising for demographic ends, to those having
the greatest number of children, and to those which have been most
prolific during given periods of time. For example, one commune has
established five yearly prizes of 100,000 lira each, payable to those
families which have had the largest number of children during the
preceding six years. The sums are deposited in a bank, in favour of the
children; the interest is payable to the parents and the principal to the
children as they come of age. Many communes issue diplomas and
confer medals in such cases.

Other localities grant reduction in tram-fare, or free tram-service,
to large families, or offer reduced rates for gas and electricity. Some
make such families eligible for poor-relief, provide free medical service
and free medicines, or reimburse the expenses of child-birth. Children
of large families are often provided with school books and supplies;
they are sometimes admitted on special terms to mountain and seaside
colonies; and special educational scholarships are made available to

them.

Sundry mountain communes have endeavoured to check the exodus to
the cities by subsidizing the construction of modern homes, in place of
the old timber cottages. Others have tried to improve living conditions
by introducing electric lighting, installing water-works, improving roads,
and, above all, by starting regular motor-bus service to and from nearby
cities, in order to lessen the degree of isolation.

The press has carried on effective propaganda-work, by publishing
data on the demographic movement, reproducing portraits of large
families, and by granting prizes to communes showing the highest birth
rates. Mussolini himself has taken part most actively in this campaign
of popular education. He has appealed to the people at every opportu-

200 What is Fascism and why ?

nity, and has personally conferred prizes upon prolific parents and upon
women having more than one child at a time. He has written for news
papers and journals; and his preface to Doctor Korherr's book has
provoked much thought in Italy upon our population-problem.

The renewed religious fervor, which has been encouraged by the
government, also helps greatly in the struggle against the decrease of
births. It strengthens family ties; it makes parents consider their off
spring as a gift of God and the wealth of their country; it opposes to
individual egotism the tranquil, domestic joys; and it points to numer
ous offspring as the best guarantee of a serene old age.

The whole campaign against the decrease of births was begun only
recently, too recently, perhaps, to permit measurement of its results.
Indeed, these results may never be estimated accurately, for the course
of birth-rate and the rate of natural increase should, for this purpose,
be compared with that hypothetical course which they would have follow
ed if Mussolini's propulsive policy had not been attempted. However,
it can safely be stated that this policy has been beneficial, in as much
as it serves as a sort of dike for Italy, protecting her from those neo-
Malthusian tendencies which are undermining the future of other nations.
If it meets with adequate response in the national consciousness, it
will prove a great advantage to Italy in the contest of nations for sur
vival.

One cannot better conclude this discussion of Italian population-
policy than by citing the words of Mussolini, its principal artificer:

" My conviction is that, even if the laws were shown to be of no
|| avail, it is necessary to try them, just as all sorts of medicines are
" tried when, and more especially when, the case is a desperate one (1).
" ..... But I think that our population measures, negative and posi-
46 live, may prevent or retard the decline, provided the social organism
|| to which they are applied is still capable of reaction. In these matters,
44 more than formal laws, the moral custom and, above all, the religious
|| conscience of the individual prevail. If a man does not feel the joy
44 and pride of being continued as an individual, as a family, and as a
|| people; if a man does not feel, on the other hand, the sadness and the
|| shame of dying as an individual, as a family, and as a people, then
|| laws and I would say especially Draconian laws avail nothing.
44 Laws must be employed as a stimulus to custom." (2).

(1) Cf., in the same sense, C. GINI, in " Problem! della popolazione," Joe. cit., and in the
n La nataIUa e Ia P tenZa deUe naziom V' gi ven to II Popolo di Roma, January 29,

(2) Cf. the above-Quoted Preface to the pamphlet of Dr. KORHERR. This Preface has
also been published in the review Gerarchia, September, 1928, as a paper entitled "Ilnumero
come Forza."

ITALY'S NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF MOTHERS AND INFANTS.

fey GIAN ALBERTO BLANC, President of the National Institution for the Protection of Mothers
and Infants.

If it had been the intention of the National Government merely
to strengthen and render more efficacious the good offices rendered to
deserving mothers and children both by the Ministry of the Interior
and the Prefectures, the obvious course would have been for it to in
crease their respective budgets by making further appropriations. The
fact that it chose rather to create a whole new organism, known as
the Opera Nazionale per la protezione della Maternita e deirinfanzia
(National Institution for the Protection of Motherhood and Infancy) is
a proof of its well-pondered determination to institute a new social welfare
scheme, in keeping with modern views: one fit to develop, in a form
in Italy now known as totalitaria , or comprehensive, the new Fascist
concept of social assistencial work.

Thus the care of mothers and infants is no longer entrusted, as
in the past, entirely to charitable enterprise, whether public or private*
Far from us be it to underestimate the high social value of charity, one
of the noblest impulses of the human soul, moved by a religious sense
of human solidarity; but charity is more properly directed towards
those members of the community who have somehow or other fallen into
disaccord with the national order of things; it is a means of offsetting in
some measure " negative values ", destined to remain such, rather than
of creating positive values for the increment of the country.

The Opera Nazionale Maternita ed Infanzia, without in any degree
ignoring or disparaging the high merits of the Country's charitable en
terprises, for which there are as ever innumerable outlets, has, on the
one hand, sought to co-ordinate them and direct them into more effective
channels for the well-being of the race, and, on the other hand, has taken
direct measures to give full effect to all factors capable of becoming use
ful to national life, which is the synthesis of individual life. And in
order to stamp this National Welfare Work on behalf of Mothers and
their little ones with a definite character of its own, the Government
not only issued regulations, which have been enacted as law, so exact
and minute in all particulars as to be termed by the Council of State
a complete treatise on the care of mothers and infants, but with signi
ficant intention it has devoted the entire revenue from a new tax to
supply the necessary funds for the Institution: L e. the tax on bachelors.

According to the views held by the Opera Nazionale Maternita ed
Infanzia, the care which it takes of Mothers and Children, on whom the
very future of the Country rests, is bound in the long run to repay the
cost of the enterprise. Thus in the case of individuals who are morally
in need of assistance, the Institution is ready to come to their aid

202 What is Fascism and why?

only where it foresees the chance of a return to normal moral conditions;
where, on the other hand such assistance is required on behalf of persons
physically unfit, either the child or the mother must he judged capable
of returning to normal physical conditions, such as to render them
useful members of society, thanks to the Institution's assistance.

But in all cases where this is possible, the work of the Institution must
be regarded as complementary to the personal effort made - within
the limits of their means - by the parents themselves. Thus the In
stitution supports and guides, but has no tendency to supplant the ef
fort which all individuals are bound to make to keep themselves and
their offspring afloat. The admission of mothers and children into
homes, or such material assistance as is afforded them, is graduated
according to such resources - however limited - as they themselves
dispose of. The Institution does not grant any doles till after careful
enquiry has been made: such " doles " usually consist of food or other
forms of help which the case may demand; and whenever it takes
over the charge of a child it always demands some contribution, how
ever small it may be, but sufficient not to relieve parents from all sense
of responsibility towards their children by handing them over entirely
to the care of others.

Special importance is attached to the inspection services, both ad
ministrative and medical; these being entrusted to tried officials who
have given proof of their competence. This is essential in an institu
tion which has the duty of ascertaining the real condition of things before
rendering assistance.

The Institution's health services may be regarded as divided into
three main branches: the actual technical services, inspection, and hy
giene propaganda. The technical health department studies all medical
problems, new schemes, the state of health and hygiene conditions of
persons and institutions applying for assistance, and keeps in touch with
the Health Department of the Ministry of the Interior, State-subsi
dised organs, and welfare institutions.

The inspectorship department, as above stated, has the responsible
task of noting any deficiencies that may exist in institutes that take in
expectant and nursing mothers and children, while the hygiene propa
ganda department is responsible for equipping special schools for the In
stitution's doctors and nurses and setting up dispensaries for hygiene
propaganda in country districts and small centres, as weU as the subur
ban districts of big cities, and lastly it undertakes direct propaganda by
means of a periodical and other publications to popularise the rules
of hygiene among the people.

The administrative office, on its side, attends to general manage
ment, the examination of applications for assistance, the study of all
forms of propaganda apart from actual hygiene, and the housing and
care of mothers and children who stand in need of moral or material help.

Italy's National Organization for Mothers and Infants 203

In addition to the above, a special office, placed in the charge
of experts, studies all questions of a legal character and prepares
schemes of decrees and regulations to he submitted to the National
Government.

Connected with this central organization is a circumferential orga
nization comprising the Provincial Federations and the Committees of
Patrons.

The Provincial Federations are organisms which unite all the bo
dies that concern themselves with the care of mothers and children
throughout the Province. The Council of the Federation is composed of
members chosen from among the Presidents of these institutes. The
Council also counts among its members a representative of the Nation
al Fascist Party, a representative of the Women's Fasci, and a Pro
vincial doctor representing the Prefect of the Province. The Provin
cial Federation is, in short, the intermediary organ between the Cen
tral Office and the communal committees of patrons, which latter -
at least one for each commune - carry on a vast scheme of welfare
work over the whole country. These are the real executive organs of
the Institution.

Altruistic ideas and the sense of duty and responsibility which Fascism
has fostered play an important part in allotting the managing posts of
the Opera Nazionale, inasmuch as neither the Chief of the Institution,
at the present time Royal Commissioner extraordinary, nor the consult
ing doctors, at present sub-Commissioners, nor the Presidents and
Councilors of the Federations, nor, lastly, any of the patrons, receive any
salary or any fees whatsoever. When we reflect that for many of them,
especially for those occupying the most responsible positions, the office
is by no means a sinecure, but entails a great deal of labour, and takes
up a lot of time from ordinary occupations, apart from travelling and
correspondence expenses of no negligible kind, the disinterestedness
shown by all these people gives some notion of what a sense of duty stands
for in the Fascist State.

Fitted into this framework and thus organized, the Opera Nazio-
nale Maternita ed Infanzia, during its less than four years of life, has
been able to carry on a work which, without undue self-satisfaction, may
truly be said to have been useful to the country.

'Apart from the protection it has afforded to mothers and children,
it has formulated and tackled a number of big problems, among which
we may mention those bearing on the care of mothers before and after
their confinement; preventive measures against tuberculosis; the land
colonization problem and, lastly, the moral reform of perverted children
or protection of those in danger of perversion.

There was need in Italy of a more careful safeguarding of mother
hood, in the case of both married and unmarried mothers. For the
married mothers there was a deficiency of maternity clinics, both in num-

204 What is Fascism and why ?

her and adequate technical and hygienic organization. The Institute
started by resolutely weeding out those persons who were ill-fitted for
the responsibility of directing highly specialized institutes, by demand
ing that only the most competent candidates should be selected in
the competitions for directorship posts. It has begun to increase the
number of maternity homes, establishing new ones where none were to
be found and improving those already in existence; nor will it be satisfied
till it has organized a maternity clinic in the principal towns of each
Province, minor institutes for each of the more important provincial
centres, and a sufficient number of gynecological nurses to go the rounds
in the more populous districts and in the country.

The problem of the unmarried mothers has, perhaps, proved the
easier to solve. This is closely bound up with another problem: that
of homes for nursing infants (Betrotrofi).

Under a law passed by the Fascist Government, the National In
stitution provides for all unmarried mothers who recognize and nurse
their children to receive a proper food subsidy during the first year of
breast feeding; this dole is continued on a diminished scale during
the two following years, while the Institution continues afterwards to
keep an eye on the child. This is a law of the highest moral value, though
certain incompetent and malicious persons have chosen to represent it
as unduly indulgent towards the erring mothers, whereas it is, in fact,
merely a recognition of the State's right to preserve and make good
citizens of all the children born to it.

This provision in favour of illegitimate children - not of the un
married mothers, who only benefit by it indirectly - straightaway di
minished the high death-rate among nurselings in institutes, partly owing
to the decline in the number of illegitimate infants placed therein, and
also because many homes have adopted the system of taking the mo
thers in along with their babies to nurse them.

But the National Institution is seeking to encourage by all man
ner of means the establishment of so-called " maternity centres ": that
is to say, institutes where expecting mothers, who wish to do so for
moral or material reasons, may pass the period of their pregnancy,
be confined, and remain to nurse their babies, and where the children
born therein of homeless mothers may remain and be brought up. These
homes should provide beds and lying-in wards also for married women
who are not able to be confined in their own homes; creches for working
women's children; work-rooms for pregnant women and nursing mothers;
dispensaries for hygiene propaganda among mothers and children, and.
lastly, refectories for indigent expecting mothers.

These " maternity centres " will in time do away with homes for
nurselings, and this will be one of the finest triumphs for the National
Institution, for, bereft of their mothers, the children tend to decline and
die off, in obedience to the inexorable natural law which has created

Italy's National Organization for Mothers and Infants 205

the offspring of man more fragile than that of any other species dur
ing the early struggle for life, while entrusting it to its only proper and
most powerful defender: the mother.

Tangible results have been achieved in the prevention of tuber
culosis among children, the modern view being that only specially equip
ped institutes are fit for this purpose, since special treatment is necessary
to save the young who are affected by latent tuberculosis. The Opera
Nazionale Maternita ed Infanzia holds in the highest esteem our Summer
Holiday Colonies and recognizes their full social value; but faithful
to the principle that its funds must be devoted to saving lives, it does
not afford direct aid to these colonies which take children in by
turns for brief periods notwithstanding their educative and general
merits - because they are not equally efficacious as a direct means
of combating tuberculosis.

Being strictly limited to this object, the work of the National In
stitution has been directed to the development of permanent colonies:
assisting those that were already doing good work, improving those that
were doing less well, and opposing and getting rid of such as did not
lend themselves to improvement.

As soon as the public got wind of this action in favour of " perma
nent colonies " that is to say sanatoriums in which children are kept
for the whole of the time necessary for their restoration to health,
be it six months or a year or two or more years an effort was made
on many hands to get a number of unsuitable homes recognized as
permanent prophylactic institutes. Such recognition carries with it
two advantages: 1. the chance of obtaining a grant, and 2. that of ob
taining from the Institution the payment of the children's board. On
this point the Institution has been uncompromising in its action, for it
is determined not to recognize any ill-adapted institutes as " permanent
colonies ".

It may properly be affirmed that Italy now possesses a number
of prophylactic institutes deserving of the name, situated in mountain
districts, at the seaside, or in the country. Not all of these are subsidized
by the Institution, and none of them completely so. This is a proof of how
effectively the Institution has contributed to create in the Country an
understanding of the need not merely of doing something for the welfare
of the young, but doing it well. Much yet remains to be accomplished
in this field, but the National Institution, which is tackling the problem,
will certainly not rest on its laurels till what can be done has been done.

The question of properly feeding the children is of course closely
connected with that of the prevention of consumption; this is a formi
dable problem which the Institution has taken into consideration and
is determined to settle as soon as possible.

Another question that arises is that of vaccination against tubercu
losis; this is a point, however, which the Institution cannot itself take

206 What is Fascism and why ?

up, except in so far as it can promote study and suggestions which are
likely to contribute to the settlement of the problem. There is no doubt
that defence against tuberculosis right from birth of children who are
born of tuberculous parents, or who are exposed to contagion, is a
problem the proper solution of which would go far towards the improve
ment of the race.

The third important question with which the National Institution
has to deal is the " back to the land " problem.

There is no need to dwell here on the importance, both demo
graphic and moral, to the Italian people, of a wide and effectual land
settlement scheme. Everyone is aware of the desirability of repopul-
ating the country districts, stirring up a love of country life, and
preventing the over-congestion of towns, even if it proves impossible to
empty these of all their superfluous population.

The task of the Opera Nazionale Maternita ed Infanzia in this
field is narrowed within certain limits, but has two definite aims; on
the one hand to urge institutes established in cities to remove to the
country; on the other, to render the country districts inhabitable from
the standpoint of social welfare, so that the population actually settled
there may not wish to abandon it.

To induce institutes that are already established in towns to remove
to the country is more easily said than done: firstly because it in
volves a general upset of interests of all kinds, an uprooting of old fa
miliar habits and the creation of a new mentality based on new moral,
political, and technical concepts. We are, indeed, engaged in a big fight
here - a very battle of giants, in which the Institution is firmly resolved
to win: a struggle of the present with the past, of boundless horizons
with mute, grey walls, of vitiated air with oxygen - a struggle be
tween a narrow mental outlook and the ardent spirit and prepotent desire
for life of a race with thousands of years of civilization behind it.

To make the country districts inhabitable from the point of view of
the care of mothers and infants, just as other State measures have rendered
it inhabitable and healthy through the tenaciously applied scheme of
the " bonifica integrate " (complete land reclamation), has been a corner
stone of the Institute's action ever since its inception; and for this
reason it has created its travelling chairs of obstetrical assistance
and puericulture, thank to which 1500 dispensaries to advise and as
sist pregnant mothers and suckling or weaned infants are already func
tioning in the South and in the Islands, while others are being opened
every day.

Medical men who can be counted on both for their professional know
ledge and their belief in the work are appointed to these travelling
chairs: doctors who have specialized in puericulture and eugenetics,
that is to say in the protection of both mothers and children against
diseases that are likely to deteriorate or destroy them, rather than in

Italy's National Organization for Mothers and Infants 207

the treatment of diseases once they have developed; enthusiasts for the
cause who fight ignorance and superstition not only by word of mouth,
but also by practical example and a generous distribution of food and
well known and recognized drugs to those who frequent the schools
of popular hygiene.

The frozen barrier of poverty and superstition that blocked the
way in many regions is being broken at many points; wider horizons are
being opened up. The goal is distant and the road is long, but there
is no lack of good-will and tenacity in the resolve to reach it.

It will readily be understood that the training of these " propa
ganda specialists " entailed the establishment of special schools both
of infant welfare and of eugeneties, in the direct charge of sub -commis
sioners of the Institution, each of whom is specialized in his particular
branch, in addition to schools for nurses, depots for storing commodi
ties for distribution, logistical services, and other works requisite for the
proper functioning of so vast an organization.

The fourth problem tackled by the Opera Nazionale Maternita
ed Infanzia is that of the succour of depraved children or those in danger
owing to evil influences a most important problem from the standpoint
of the welfare and improvement of the race. The Childrens' Courts, the
homes that look after children taken in charge by the police, the homee
for the care of minors who are awaiting trial in the special Courts, the
maternity homes established in womens' prisons, the study of legislativs
provisions to diminish delinquency among children; special dispensa
ries for morally tainted children, who are such a formidable factor
in the degeneration of a people, are but so many facets of the many-
sided problem of the moral regeneration of the young which the Institute
has undertaken.

Before closing, we will allow figures to have their say in the mat
ter, for the language of numbers is not always arid reading.

The Members of the " Opera Nazionale/' that is to say those
persons who, without having any appointment or office under it, adhere
actively to the ideas for which it stands, by now number 7,000. There
are folly 1000 institutes subject to medical or administrative inspec
tion, and over 1500 permanent consulting dispensaries, or dispensa
ries connected with the travelling Chairs of Puericulture, established
by the Institution. Over half a million women and children received
during last year assistance from the 1st January to the beginning
of 1931. All of them receive food and medicines. A number of
canteens have been opened for poor mothers, where pregnant women are
provided with suitable food. It is estimated that from the 1st January
to the beginning of this year 32,000 mothers have partaken of meals there.
Over 3,000 mothers have been repatriated from abroad to be confined
in Italy at the expense of the Opera Nazionale Maternita ed Infanzia and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More than 27,000 children have been

208

What is Fascism and why ?

taken care of either in their homes or in the several institutes under the
National Organization. Over 8,000 children have been treated for the
011 C nSUmpti011 and housed for tte PP ** permanent
the aggregate, no fewer than 462,468 persons benefited by the

for

',f B or ot

and Infants Welfare during 1928 and the first eight months of 1929.

ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
NATIONAL "DOPOLAVORO" INSTITUTION.

by the Direction of the Institute.

The vast organization commonly known under the name of Dopola-
uoro (Leisure time) which promotes schemes for the better employment
of the free time of workers of all classes, with the object of raising their
intellectual, moral, physical and social status in accordance with the
policy of enhancing national values promoted by Fascism, has assumed
such proportions, especially recently, under the auspices of the General
Secretary of the P.N.F., that it may be considered as one of the most
characteristic achievements of the Fascist revolution. The following
notes give a brief summary of the history, organization and functioning
of this institution, founded by Signor Mussolini.

The Dopolavoro passed through several phases before reaching its
present organization. These may be divided into three different periods:
in the first phase, it was an attempt due to private initiative; in the se
cond, it was affiliated to the National Confederation of Fascist Syndi
cates; and in the third it assumed a State controlled and national
character.

The first period dates from 1919 to the end of 1923.

The Dopolavoro Office proposed in the beginning to carry out a
work of propaganda, advice and assistance, with the object of encouraging
employers' welfare schemes on behalf of their workers and also of
promoting the spread of higher general education and of sport among
the people.

When the National Confederation of Fascist Syndicates, with a view
to the moral uplift of the masses, as understood by Fascism, added edu
cational propaganda to its regular tasks, the Dopolavoro Office became
its mouthpiece. It was then that the first lines of the movement began
to be laid down, although in very rudimentary form, for it was impos
sible to attract those who were not connected with the syndicalist fe
derations into the orbit of the institution.

With the creation of the Opera nazionale Dopolavoro (National Lei
sure-time Organization) by Act of Parliament on May 1, 1925, and the
acceptance of its presidency by H. R. H. the Duke of Aosta, the Dopo
lavoro organization began to take definite form; its new status enti
tled it to federate thousands of clubs, societies, sporting, educational and
artistic groups, and enabled it to extend its efforts into the ranks of
the great State services by means of organizations in aid of railway and
postal employees and those of the Tobacco Monopoly, in accordance
with the Royal Decrees of October 25, 1925, July 9, 1926 and May 18,
1927.

The Secretary of the National Fascist Party, who took over the

210 WTiat is Fascism and why ?

supreme direction of the organization after the resignation of the Duke
of Aosta, has reorganized the entire administration of the Dopolavoro,
as wsll as its programme, giving it an organic structure more in accord
ance -with the aims and methods of the National Fascist Party. And
on September 14, 1929, the work was officially recognized as a distinct
ively Fascist institution at the five-yearly Fascist Assembly, and included
among the Government schemes.

The Leisure-time movement, as developed during recent years in
Italy, has much in common with the welfare work in Anglo-Saxon coun
tries, which embrace all the efforts of the great firms for the assistance
and future provision of their employees; and has also several points of
analogy with other great organizations, such as the Y.M.C.A., the Play
ground and Recreation Association of America, the Carnegie United King
dom Trust, the National Education Association of the United Kingdom,
the Commission centrale des Loisirs des Ouvriers de VHainault of Belgium,
and other foreign organizations and associations that promote libraries,
culture and artistic education for adults, sport, popular tours, and so on.
In addition to these characteristics, however, the Italian movement has
intrinsic features of its own which differentiate it from all organizations
of the kind.

The Dopolavoro is a public institution which, by its technical, organ
izing and directive functions is able to deal directly with the problems
of welfare, education and recreation of the working classes. Whereas in
other countries - including those that have reached the highest degree
of material civilization - the solution of the various problems of instruc
tion, physical education, and the various forms of social aid for the work
ing classes is left to private initiative, in Italy alone, thanks to the
enterprising spirit of Fascism, these tasks have become an integral part
of the State's activities, and in this field also the State asserts its posi
tion as the controlling force of the nation.

The execution of such a vast programme inevitably necessitates a
very complicated administrative and technical organization.

The centre of the organization is the Secretary of the National Fa
scist Party, who is now represented by an Extraordinary Commissioner;
immediately subordinate to him is the central direction, which acts as
an executive body. The various sections : accountancy, bookkeeping, pre
paration of balance-sheets, co-ordination of internal services, registration,
archives, distribution of membership cards and collection of dues, are
entrusted to the administrative, secretarial and registration departments.
There are also technical departments to draw up programmes for the
different branches of the O.N.D.'s activities and the execution of all
the work of propaganda and organization.

Special technical commissions, composed of specialists in the various

The Dopolavoro Organization 211

branches - sport, trade instruction, popular culture, philodramatic so
cieties, music etc. - assist the central direction and its subordinate offi
ces in preparing and carrying out programmes. The Inspection Office
supervises the provincial organizations. The above are the principal
departments working from the centre.

The provincial Dopolavoro sections deal with the propaganda and
organization of the movement in the several provinces. Works and
services of common interest are arranged through their means: compe
titions, lecture circuits, sporting matches; the distribution of member
ship cards and of propaganda material and films to local Dopolavoro
clubs and affiliated associations. The provincial Dopolavoro offices are
presided over by the provincial secretaries of the P.N.F., assisted by a
competent director and by technical commissions.

In each locality the Dopolavoro organization is represented by its
local club - a meeting place founded by the O.N.D. to enable the workers
to benefit by and take part in such recreational, artistic, sporting and
like events and excursions, as the possibilities and specific recpiirements
of the district permit. A number of other institutions are annexed to
the Dopolavoro Institution: clubs, societies, and groups of associated
workers belonging to different workshops, etc.

The programme of the O.N.D. is divided into four great sections:
Instruction (culture for the people and the teaching of trades); Artistic
education (dramatic societies, music and chorus singing, fcinematography,
wireless, folklore); Physical education (Italian Excursion Federation and
Central Sporting Com mission); Social welfare and hygiene (dwellings,
hygiene, provision for the future, leisure-time occupation for the various
classes of workmen).

It will probably be of more interest to give a brief summary of the
more important works, rather than a detailed explanation of the various
services that correspond with the several branches of the above pro
gramme and with their many ramifications.

Extensive arrangements have been made in all the local Dopolavoro
offices and societies federated to the O.N.D. for the higher education
of the people; and the same measures have been taken in numberless
industrial concerns, in the offices of the Railway Dopolavoro and those
of the Postal Service and Tobacco Monopoly: libraries, reading rooms,
evening instruction courses, lectures with lantern slides or kinematograph
films, people's universities. The general management supports and sub
sidizes these undertakings, supervising them with a view to their co
ordination and consistent purpose. The Dopolavoro makes considera
ble use of the educational kinema, availing itself for the purpose of the
L.U.C.E. Institute's films and those of the Collection of the Rome Gover
norship. It was the first to organize open-air kinemas in Italy. The
O.N.D.'s programme of popular instruction has the approval and constant

212 What is Fascism and why ?

support of the Ministry of National Education. A measure has been
passed providing that elementary and intermediary teachers who give
their work for the benefit of the Dopolavoro's higher education for the
people shall be entitled to a special order of merit, which will have pre
ference over other documents in competitions and examinations for pro
motion. The National Institute also interests itself in promoting and
assisting evening and Sunday vocational schools and courses in techni
cal improvement.

In this important field, which is the index to the civilization of a
country, out of the 1437 institutions controlled by the Dopolavoro in
1926, only 87 were promoting sections for higher education, folklore,
and trade teaching, the number of such sections being 1249 altogether.
In 1930, the number of institutions controlled had increased to 14,027,
and of this number 5225 had promoted no less than 78,744 sections in
the above mentioned branches. The Dopolavoro had 178 libraries open
to its members in 1926, while in 1930 the number had increased to 2,388.

The Institution is endeavouring to encourage the revival of the filo-
drammatiche by every means in its power: propaganda, theatrical schools,
dramatic publications, artistic shows, the touring " Cars of Thespis ",
tours in the provinces; provincial, regional and national societies, reduced
author's rights, and other forms of encouragement.

In the realm of sport a vast, fertile, and original work is being car
ried on. A truly imposing number of young men and women now go
in for athletics and are being trained in all the soundest forms of sporting
exercise, from gymnastics to fencing, swimming, rowing, cycling, running,
and so on.

The Italian Excursion Federation has grouped together hundreds
of sporting, alpine and excursion institutions, promoting very extensive
patriotic pilgrimages to the battlefields and cemeteries of the war,
joint tours of pleasure and instruction, and Sunday cruises and ex
cursions, in which thousands and thousands of authentic workers have
taken part. The institutions affiliated to the Dopolavoro have increased
the 2538 sports and excursion sections that existed in 1926 to the very
big number of 115,676 in 1930.

The Institution promotes exhibitions, matches, and competitions for
the benefit of the welfare)) section and carries out an important work
of propaganda and organization.

la 1927, the O.N.D., in collaboration with the " Ente Nazionale delle
piccole Industrie " (National organization of small industries) got up the
exhibition of the " Three Venetias " for economic housefurnishing. They
also arranged two other great competitions, in 1928, for the economic
and rational furnishing and fitting out of the home, the competitions being
held in every part of Italy. They constitute the biggest and most organic
experiment of the kind that has yet been attempted anywhere.

Research and studies, popular campaigns and practical courses are

The DopolavoTo Organization

213

now being organized to encourage the cultivation of allotments and kit
chen gardens. After taking part in the International Congress for the
organization of kitchen-gardens, which was held at Luxembourg in June,
1927, the Dopolavoro has been endeavouring to unite together the mani
fold but disconnected efforts being made in outlying districts and by
various local societies into a national organization.

In addition to the O.N.D.'s part in creating new hygienic conditions
of life for the working classes: improved dwelling houses, kitchen gardens
and flower gardens, factory restaurants, depots for the sale of food
stuffs, small-loan banks, etc; the institution concerns itself with hygienic
propaganda, collaborating, by its publications and lectures, in the cam
paigns against tuberculosis and cancer and drink, in the anti-malaria
crusade, the propaganda for seaside hospices, alpine colonies and sana-
toriums.

The progress of the Dopolavoro organization may be realized from
the following figures concerning membership cards. In 1926, the O.N.D.
controlled 1497 institutions with a total membership of 280,584; in 1929,
the number of institutions controlled was 11,084 and the number of mem
bers 1,445,226. The table published below, however, will be more elo
quent than any verbal testimony.

DISTRIBUTION BY REGIONS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE
<c OPERA NAZIONALE DOPOLAVORO

Eegion

Number of Members

1926 | 1927

1928

1929

1930

73.984
15.043
60.027
2.605
20.099
8.692
13.686
21.877
4.952
2.163
25.327
555
11.166
6.615

3.007
10.786

118.362
24.286
131.228
4.667
38.553
16.245
28.066
48.290
11.136
5.747
44.017
1.126
21.750
12.674
188
6.353
21,253
4.396

146.775
48.907
171.264
16.304
78.491
28.802
43.854
66.079
10.958
15.547
76.427
14.071
67.165
30.295
3.883
15.182
40.889
7.696

229.507
79.380
266.521
25.314
96.636
39.093
92.871
104.893
31.106
23.993
83.820
21.390
98.934
51.254
5.862
33.360
100.180
11.112

50.000

252.964
85.322
302,629
27.848
130.730
49.751
94.673
132.906
38.152
26.878
108.606
23.031
123.696
39.231
7.954
41.706
98.772
20.691
600
25.000

Venetia Tridentina ....

Julian Venetia

i\T~)T r n7 f zi and IVtolisc

Sicily

Grand Total

280,584

538,337

882.589

1,445,226

1,622,140

214 What is Fascism and why?

If such satisfactory results have been obtained already in the short
existence of the institution - six years - it is mainly due to the fact that
the heads of the Dopolavoro have always put into practice the fundamen
tal principle of Fascist education, which consists in working with purpose,
method and order. Before the advent of Fascism, people here were for
ever talking of social reforms, everyone was posing as apostle of the
workers' redemption, but it all ended in words, for nothing practical was
ever accomplished. To-day, little is said, but much is done. Improved
organizations, better equipment, a broadening of functions, the growing
number of members are all so many signs of the vitality of this work,
which Fascism ranks among its finest achievements.

THE ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS CAMPAIGN

by the Health Authorities.

The earliest efforts to promote institutions to fight tuberculosis in
Italy were due to voluntary co-operation, the moneys collected by propa
ganda, and the initiatives of hospitals. The organization created by these
means was necessarily incomplete and subordinate to the existence of the
enterprises forming it, nor was it always proportionate to the local needs
of the population requiring assistance or the general requirements of the
Nation. Not until 1914 were the first modest appropriations written in
the budget of the Ministry of the Interior in favour of the campaign against
tuberculosis.

The close of the war and the victory of Italian arms was, however,
the signal for the Nation to face boldly the most serious problems of civil
life, and among these problems tuberculosis loomed large. Some ten
thousand consumptives were returned by our enemies to the Mother Country
the wreckage of the prisoner concentration camps; others were stricken
by the disease in our own ranks, and the necessity of coming to their
succour was responsible for the first government measures taken in 1917
and for the efforts made by the mobilized army to set aside and specialize
certain military hospitals to receive and treat the invalids. In 1919 a
Decree Law enacted the measure authorizing the institution of competitions
between the different provinces, communes, etc., for the establishment
of dispensaries and hospitals to combat the disease.

The Italian Red Cross was in the vanguard of the early organization;
its war service being over, it kept on and supplemented its anti-tubercu
losis organizations and opened them to the civil population. It organ
ized model dispensaries and preventive work, accumulating much valuable
experience from the daily practice of these services and calling the atten
tion of the public to the crying need for help by its untiring efforts and
the prestige of its name.

Nor should we forget the support and stimulus lent to the campaign
by voluntary associations, responsible for the creation of some of the old
est anti-tuberculosis organizations, and later on united in the National
Fascist Federation for the Campaign against Tuberculosis, which took
over and voluntarily carries on the task of popularizing at home and abroad
the Government's policy for combating the scourge.

On coming into power, the Fascist Government took the view that
the campaign against tuberculosis could not be carried on adequately by
voluntary effort alone. Voluntary effort is, indeed, indispensable; for no
great initiative of social assistance can attain its ends unless the work
of the government is enthusiastically supported by the population. But
so grave a disease and one so widespread as tuberculosis, which attacks the
population from generation to generation at the very age when it is start
ing to work and entering on military service, calls for a united plan of

216 What is Fascism and why?

action, laid down by the government and equally efficient in all parts
of the country and among all groups of the population; a plan propor
tionate to the supreme need of safeguarding the nation's health, its great
est and most precious possession.

Thus, from the moment that the Duce took the helm of state, a whole
ehainwork of provisions was gradually forged, from the Act of the 31st
December, 1923, amending the laws on Public Health and enabling the
Prefects to order the constitution of anti-tuberculosis associations in their
respective Provinces, to the Act of the 23rd June, 1927, rendering compul
sory the establishment of such associations in each of the several provin
ces of the Realm; and the Act of the 2nd May 1928 making insurance
against tuberculosis compulsory - to mention only the basic measures
that aim at fighting the disease directly.

The Act of the 23rd June 1927 forms the framework of the organi
zation by combining in an obligatory Association for each Province: the
Provincial Administration, the Communes forming it, and all institutions
interested in the anti-tuberculosis campaign within the Province; while
allowing any voluntary organizations formed for kindred purposes to join
the Association at their own discretion. The Association is a centre of
enterprise, co-ordination and discipline, vested by law with the requisite
powers to unite into one body all tht anti-tuberculosis efforts of the Pro
vince and thus effectively carry out all the functions of prophylaxis and
treatment requisite for the defence of the population. For these purposes
the Act allocates to the Associations an income of then* own in the form
of a communal per capita contribution, amounting in certain provinces
to over one lira per inhabitant-year; to this is added a contribution from
the province on the basis of a yearly lump sum equivalent, in several pro
vinces, to the total amount contributed by the communes forming it. To
the above are added the contributions of the other associated organs. To
give a complete notion of what Italy is doing to fight consumption, we must
add to the budgets of the associations all the incomes which each of the
several hospitals or preventive sanatoriums devote on their own account
to the work - amounts largely formed by donations and legacies.

The function of the Associations can be properly appreciated only
when viewed as part of the general anatomy of the State's health services.
The Health Authority of the Province is the Prefect, assisted by the pro
vincial medical officer and the Provincial Board of Health, while the
Association - which the law has seen fit to place under the personal guid
ance of the Prefect, so as to enhance its importance and authority -
acts as the executive organ in the campaign. The nature of the contagion
and its social consequences account for the complex nature of the organi
zation, which looks to the Association for direction in its big task of so
cial medicine, for which the State is responsible.

One feature of some of these defence organizations, which vary accord
ing to the nature and the stage of the disease from simple anti-tuberculo-

The Anti-Tuberculosis Campaign 217

sis dispensaries to big sanatorium^, is regarded as of particular importance;
namely the creation and upkeep of a number of hospital beds for the
treatment and cure of adult patients: treatment and recovery rendered
possible in at least one third of the cases by the advance of medical know
ledge and collassoterapia (treatment of collapse), Dr. Forlanini's brilliant
discovery. It is a principle of the National Government that cure being
possible, it must be made available to all citizens. And since the cost
of treatment is considerable, and beyond the means of ordinary wage-earn
ers, each workman is required to set aside a small fraction of his monthly
earnings in order to form a fund sufficient to come to his assistance and
that of his family should they fall victims to the disease. All for each
and each for all; the solidarity of all the citizens for the common weal:
on this principle was framed the scheme for the compulsory insurance
against tuberculosis foreseen by the Duce in Art. XXVII of the Labour
Charter. For the present the scheme embraces all workers in concerns
that pay only a low level of daily or monthly wages; but the obvious
benefits it is bound to yield will certainly make it necessary to extend it
to other categories of workers. The benefits of the insurance scheme na
turally relieve the burden falling on the Associations and this necessitates
agreements, now in course of being framed, to systemize, province by pro
vince, the execution of the hospital in-patient arrangements made to meet
the needs of the population. Insurance has been centralized with the
Cassa Nazionale per le Assicurazioni Sociali (1), being combined with in
surance against disablement and old age; in this manner and without
extra expenditure recourse was had to an organism already in being and
functioning through the collection and administration of the large funds
accruing to it. At the same time, it found in the Cassa Nazionale a di
recting body, trained and specialized in the wise use of its resources accor-
ing to a uniform plan throughout Italy, saving, of course, exceptional needs
peculiar to certain regions. This has avoided a deal of waste, which would
inevitably have resulted under a different system from the dispersal of
insurance premiums.

An action that does great credit to Italian industry was that of the
General Confederation of Industries in collecting funds to set up the Benito
Mussolini Institute in Rome, a clinic for diseases of the respiratory organs,,
that carries on scientific and medical research and observation, as well
as preparing the cadres of the forces of the great social crusade. The
technical directions of the associations, directions of anti-tubercular dis
pensaries, hospital services and prophylaxis services require a large num
ber of specialized medical staff and auxiliary staff, the training of which
will be one of the outstanding achievements of the Benito Mussolini Insti
tute. If the liberality of our manufacturers who founded the Institute
be maintained at a level sufficient to allow it to carry on also the work

(1) Vide the account of this Institution on pp. 258-261.

218 What is Fascism and why ?

of research for the advance of knowledge regarding epidemiology and the
treatment of tuberculosis, this Institute will meet a great national need,
and fill an important place in the complex system directed and developed
by the higher Health Authorities.

The prevention of tuberculosis, when contagion has already taken
place, is a problem that presents itself more particularly in infancy and
childhood. For this reason the Opera Nazionale per la Maternita e Pln-
fanzia, another characteristic creation of the Regime, has entered the lists
in the anti-tuberculosis campaign. This organization devotes its efforts
more especially to the care of children of tuberculous parents or children
who have lived together with persons affected by the disease and show
symptoms of disturbed development in consequence of tubercular infec
tion contracted. Experience proves that cures can be effected in almost
one hundred per cent of the cases treated and that the recovery is lasting
and sufficient to allow the child to contribute later on his share to society.
Certain preventive sanatoriums of this type already existed in Italy, set
up by local bodies and by the Italian Red Cross. The work of a great
national organization such as the Institute for the care of Mothers and In
fants will be able to direct them towards unified action and add enormously
to their efficiency.

After giving the initial impetus to the work by organizing anti-tuber
cular centres during the war, it has, since 1917, kept going a big sea-side
Sanatorium, organized sea-side colonies to build up the health of delicate
young recruits, symptoms of poor health being so often due to latent or
declared tuberculous infection. The National Militia for Public Safety
affords like help to young officers and soldiers suffering from tubercular
lesions and to youths of pre-military age registered for enrolment who show
symptoms of feeble health. The Opera Nazionale Balilla acts on similar
lines both by looking after the general well-being of healthy children of
school age and by tending the health of sickly and ill-developed children.
Under this system the State keeps a vigilant eye on the young generation
of military age and those who will soon attain it and holds out a help
ing hand to them.

The Opera Nazionale per gli Invalidi di Guerra (National Institute
for Disabled Ex-Service Men) assists among others 21,900 tuberculous
patients, recognized as affected during the war or immediately afterwards.
Among these are a number of men who formed part of the Austro-Hun-
garian Army and are now Italian citizens: charity makes no distinctions
in the face of misfortune. The National War Orphans* Fund devotes
its care and preventive efforts to the the children of men killed in the war,
thus fulfilling the duties of the new generation towards those who fell on
the field of honour to uphold the Italian Flag.

We must also recall the deserving initiatives of hospital organizations,
those of big industrial concerns such as the Fiat, and private munificence,
which have vied with one another in organizing anti-tuberculosis efforts

The Anti-Tuberculosis Campaign 219

to complete the big plan of defence set in motion by the Duce's inspiring
words.

The big share of tuberculosis in the Italian death rate is shown by
the following data relating to 1926:

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS 683,307

from Diseases of the heart & pericardium 76,944 11.30/

Diarrhea & enteritis under 2 years 67,724 = 9.94 /

Acute Bronco-pneumonia, including infantile forms .... 67,093 9.86 /

Senile decay 60,709 = 8.79 o/

Consumption of respiratory organs 42,779 = 6. 3 o/ ,

Other forms of Tuberculosis . . 15,100 = 2.22o/ \ ' ' 57 < b79 -^/o

Apoplexy, trombosis, softening of the hrain 44,080 6.48 / o

Total of deaths from small-pox, measles, scarlet fever, typhoid,

meningitis, diphtheria, pertusis, influenza 37,371 = 5.69 /

Now, however, the war on tuberculosis is being waged on all fronts
and important results are already recorded. Italy at present occupies
the ninth place in the scale of mortality. If Australia and the United
States were left out of count she would be seventh.

The progressive increase of the receipts of the Provincial Anti-tuber
culosis Associations, of those from insurance against tuberculosis through
the medium of the National Social Insurance Bank, and all the anti-tu
berculosis measures taken in the Army and Voluntary Militia for Na
tional Safety through the National Institute for War Disabled, for War
Orphans, and the National Institute for Mothers and Infants, as well
as the splendid and far-reaching work of the Italian Red Cross, justify
the confidence that Italy's position in this uninvidious scale will decline.

A succint idea of the range of Italy's energetic work is afforded by the
following aggregate figures, referring to 1928.

In that year there were 242 anti-tuberculosis dispensaries scattered
throughout the "Kingdom under the control of the Provincial Associations.

There were 37 sanatoriums, with 2891 beds, and during the year they
accomodated 7251 patients.

Hospitals for consumptives and general hospitals containing special
wards for tuberculous patients numbered 183 in 1928, with 9867 beds;
they accomodated 28,712 patients. There were 35 hospitals for the sur
gical treatment of tuberculosis, including special wards for this purpose,
numbering altogether 5040 beds: 21,200 patients needing such treat
ment were taken in.

In the aggregate, Italy in 1928 disposed of 255 institutes, between
hospitals and sanatoriums, with a total of 17,795 beds and a movement
of 57,163 cases.

In the same year, preventive institutes throughout the Kingdom num
bered 68, with 5,193 beds, and took in 13,673 patients.

Anti-tuberculosis organization throughout Italy, considered as a con
certed plan of action directed by the state, is still in its infancy, having

220 What is Fascism and why ?

hardly completed its second year, but by gathering together the scattered
forces already in action, organizing them into a definite system and getting
them into proper working order, it succeeded in 1928 in treating, by way
of prophylaxis and cure, 65,000 in-patients in hospitals and sanatorium^.
At that date the compulsory insurance scheme and the Mothers 9 and In
fants' organization were not yet functioning.

The data for 1929, now being collected and compiled and not yet
complete, are sufficient to enable us to state that the funds devoted to
the purpose during that year amounted to two hundred million lire and
the cases dealt with to about one hundred thousand. The figures mount
up steadily as the work proceeds and its services are organized. We
must further add to them the figures for out-patient treatment and the
treatment of patients received in day-sanatoiiums, sun-bath stations, and
specialized open-air schools. All of these organizations, to whomsoever
their foundation may be due, and whoever may immediately direct or
control them, centre round the great central organisms, the lines of which
are laid down by the highest Health Authority in the Kingdom, the Mi
nistry of the Interior. This ensures perfect co-ordination of action, with
out any dispersion of energies, interference, uncertainty, or contradictions
injurious to the efficiency of the work.

FASCIST FINANCE

by ANTONIO MOSCONI, Minister of Finance.

f With regard to finance, the action of the Fascist Government during
trie above mentioned period has particularly aimed at the following
ends:

a) The settlement of War Debts;

6) The settlement of the Floating Debt;

c) The revaluation of the currency;

d) The amortization of the National Debt;

e) The balancing of the State Budget;

/) The gradual reduction of the burden of taxation;
g) Various provisions to promote the economic development of
the Nation.

THE SETTLEMENT OF WAR DEBTS. - Owing to the War, Italy has
had to bear huge financial burdens. To meet these, the resources of
the country were drawn upon through taxes and loans and only to a
limited extent have England and the United States helped by the grant
ing of cash credits*

Taking into account the total amount of interest due, the debt with
England at the beginning of 1926 reached about 612 million pounds
sterling, and towards the U. S. A. it amounted to about 2,042 million
dollars.

By the Washington Agreement of the 14th November 1925, Italy
undertook to re-pay to the U. S. A. this debt in sixty-two progressive
annual instalments with an average interest of 0.42 %; while by the
London Agreement of the 27th January 1926 she undertook to pay
England 277 million pounds sterling, inclusive of interest, in 62 years.
The British Government restores by annual amounts the Italian gold
leld in London.

Italy undertook to pay the annual instalments fixed by the two
Agreements above-mentioned, drawing on the amount that is due to
her by way of war reparations estimated at a figures equal to the above.
A special bank with an autonomous menagement was established and
entrusted with the business of receiving the German reparations and
paying the debts, keeping the two items closely correlated.

This relation has now been fully confirmed in the Young Plan and
in successive agreements concluded at the two International Conferences
recently held at the Hague.

On this basis Italy will receive from the annual instalments from
Germany a quota sufficient to pay her own war debts, and, further, an
unrestricted quota of 427 million (gold) marks for 37 years, a just and
^ery moderate contribution towards the heavy burdens that the nation
las had to, and must yet bear, independently of actual war expenses:

222 What is Fascism and why?

pensions, and compensation for damages connected with the war. This
extra expenditure can be met by means of loans either at home or
abroad.

A very important operation in this regard has been effected by the
issue of 5 % % Bonds from which Italy has obtained about 250 million
lire.

By the Hague agreements Italy has effectively helped in the set
tlement of Eastern Reparations, strengthening her good relations with
Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Greece.

A place of the highest importance has properly been assigned to us in
the International Bank which, besides facilitating the application of
the Young Plan, will be able to do a useful work of co-ordination
between the central banks of the different countries.

THE SETTLEMENT OF THE TREASURY FLOATING DEBT. - During
and immediately after the war, the issue of ordinary Bills (Bonds) had
increased to more than 25 milliards in 1922, reduced subsequently to
about 18 milliards in June 1926. To these obligations were added those
of the five year, seven year, and nine year Treasury Bonds to the amount
of a farther 12 milliards, some at very short periods, and these of course
aggravated the situation.

The arrangement or settlement of such a heavy short term floating
debt was a fundamental and urgent necessity for the financial recovery
of the country.

It was absolutely necessary to consolidate these liabilities, seeing
that it was a Question of definitive fiscal requirements, and not simply
of a transitory need of the Treasury. To this end it was provided that
the Bonds should be converted into certificates in a new National Loan,
the " Littono ". This conversion compulsory for the ordinary, five year
and seven year bonds, was left to the discretion of holders and later
suspended in regard to the nine year bonds. It took effect on the
basis of 87.50, and assured to the bearers a small premium at the time
it took effect and an increase of interest. The new bonds were also
offered at the same price for public subscription, and received large
support both in the country and abroad.

THE RECOVERY OF THE CURRENCY. - In order to arrange the con
ditions necessary for the recovery of the currency, as early as May 1926
it was decided to unify the issue of bank notes, making the Bank of
Italy the sole issuing bank. The Bank of Naples and the Bank of Sicily,
exempted from this service, attained greater importance as commer
cial institutes of credit in the development of the vast and intensive
toancial and economic work, especially in the southern provinces and

After the issue of bank notes had been unified, it was decided to

Fascist Finance 223

withdraw and cancel the 25 lire notes, to issue silver coins in place of
the other bank notes, and to strengthen the Bank of Italy's reserves
by means of the money derived from the Morgan loan, which enabled a
reduction amounting to 3 % milliards of the state debt towards the
banks of issue. It was further decided to unify the circulation and to
separate the management pertaining to special subsidies rendered necessary
for the settlement of difficult situations of banks, a settlement which has
already yielded very noteworthy results that will permit it to be
concluded definitely at no very distant date.

In the meantime a wise policy was pursued to regulate the influx
of foreign capital into Italy, securing it on favourable terms and for
productive works, that is to say, on conditions such as to yield good
results in regard to the balance of payments.

\ The crowning of this vast plan was the stabilization by law of the
lira and the cessation of forced currency sanctioned by decree-law of
the 21st December 1927. >

The new parity of the lira was fixed on the basis of 7.919 grammes
fine gold for every 100 lire, that is to say, 19 lire to the dollar, 92.46 to
the pound sterling, and 3.66 to the pre-war gold franc. The Bank of
Italy was instructed to exchange at its Head Office in Rome the respec
tive bank notes on presentation into gold, and, if so required, into foreign
bills convertible in gold.j

The excess value 01 the gold reserves and foreign bills resulting
from the revaluation were assigned to the complete settlement of
the advances received by the State in bank notes and other items
pending between the State and the Bank of Issue.

The decree-law of the 21st December 1927 further made it com
pulsory for the Bank of Italy to keep a reserve in gold or in foreign bills
not below 40 % of the face value of the notes in circulation and its
other obligations at sight.

In February and June 1928 further regulations were approved which
gave complete settlement to this important matter also in regard to
relations between the Issue Department and the State.

Pursuing its action of monetary and financial adjustment, the
Government abolished the restrictions of the previous years relating
to the freedom of exchanges, taking into consideration the favourable
influence the reform of the currency had produced on the movement
of the exchanges themselves and on the reserves of the Issue Depart
ment. Even during the great financial crisis in foreign countries, the
lira has given sound proof of stability, not changing from the gold
point and showing less fluctuation than the pound sterling, the mark,
and other gold standards. The Government control over increases of
capital and over the constitution of limited companies was likewise
abolished, for, once the currency was stabilized, it became merely a
vexatious and useless interference-

224 What is Fascism and why ?

AMORTIZATION OF PUBLIC DEBTS. - To face the problem of the
progressive reduction of the Public Debt the following conditions were
first necessary:

a) the finances of the State had to be placed on a solid basis
and the conditions of the budget be able to assure a margin to be
applied to amortization;

6) the settlement of Inter- Ally War Debts;

c) the adjustment of the floating debt to render stable the position
of the Treasury;

d) and, lastly, the stabilization of the national currency.

All these conditions were verified in 1927, and by Royal Decree-
Law of the 5th August of that year the Fund for the amortization of
the internal public debt was established; to this fund were assigned, as
a beginning, the surplus of the budget for the financial years 1924-25,
1925-26, and 1926-27, and also other amounts rendered available through
being no longer required for their original purpose.

The Fund's annual resources were made up principally of the annual
surplus of the budget besides other proceeds and the gradual accumu
lation of interest on securities acquired by this department.

By a separate decree the Amortization Fund was co-ordinated
with the National Trust for the amortization of the public debt, an
association started through the initiative of the citizens for the same
purpose in 1866.

By decree dated 28th April 1930 the government vested the Fund
with wider administrative freedom and substituted for the annual surplus
of the budget the transfer of the greater part of the proceeds from
tobacco accruing from increased taxation as from the above mentioned
date and up to 500 Trillions annually. To this effect 12 % of the total
monthly proceeds was transferred to the respective current account
instituted with the Bank of Italy. In this manner means were gradually
made available, in place of the system founded on the accumulation of
compound interest, except for the part relating to the funds proceeding
from the National Trust in accordance with the statutory rules of the
Trust itself.

This new system, besides contributing to the regular service of
public debt stock, ensured a gradual benefit to the Treasury through
the interest allowed.

As additional income there was maintained in favour of the Sink
ing Fund the transfer of capital and interest of prescribed state secu
rities, the amount of the prescribed notes in debit of the State and of
the Banks of Naples and Sicily, as also the sums received by the State:
1st. for interest and amortization of loans granted to state ap
proved concerns, to industrial undertakings affecting national defence,
and to industries of Julian Venetia;

2nd. as payments from foreign governments for goods etc.

Fascist Finance 225

This bank farther took over the funds available from the manage
ment of checking and compensation offices, and the department of amor
tization of foreign debts.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BUDGET. - From the time that the
Fascist Party took over the government of the Country, great care
was devoted to the adjustment of the Budget, and by strict curtail
ment of expenditure and a fair increase of receipts the deficit, which
had reached a high figure, has been eliminated., and from 1924-25 a
considerable surplus has resulted. This result has been achieved and
maintained by the most strenuous effort.

The needs of a country with an increasing population like Italy
are vast and complex, while the economic resources are slender,
notwithstanding the tenacious working power of the people and the
encouragement given by the Government to increase productive
activity in all its forms. The difficulties that had to be overcome during
the period under review were chiefly due to the necessity of facing:
a) greater burdens for interest, depending on the consolidation
of the floating debt;

6) reduced receipts, caused by difficulties arising also from the
general European and world situation of industrial and commercial
business;

c) the gradual suppression of surplus wartime taxation;

d) dwindled receipts due to certain taxes being reduced so as
to stimulate business and facilitate the lowering of prices to correspond
to the new adjustment of the currency, as illustrated more fully in
the following paragraphs.

It was also necessary to provide, though with stricter limitations,
for rebuilding up stocks of military material not replaced immediately
after the war because of insuperable financial straits; for the execution
of public works, and the development of agriculture through land
reclamation and agrarian improvements.

These necessities have been met, above all, by applying taxes more
rigorously as step by step it became possible to reduce the high rates.
It must be remembered that in order to obtain promptly bigger receipts
to meet the heavy requirements consequent on the war, it was ab
solutely necessary to raise the taxes to such an extent that in many
cases this caused a considerable cutting down of estates and incomes.
This high rate of taxation has been rectified in the work of reconstruc
tion by bringing the fiscal system to a more normal standard; but, on
the other hand, assessment has been made more severe, and under the
law recently approved, severe penalties have been fixed to prevent
evasion; among other things persons who do not fulfil their obligations
in regard to taxation being now liable to be suspended from the ex
ercise of their profession.

226 What is Fascism and why ?

Furthermore, an increasing return has been obtained from the duties
levied on luxury articles, such as tobacco, wine and spirits, on which
the rates have been progressively increased. In 1928 this was done in
order to procure the means necessary to give a greater impetus to the
policy of public works. Taxes of a social character have also been in
stituted, such as the tax on bachelors, which aims at providing the means
for infant welfare and maternity benefits.

Lastly, provision has been made for the adjustment of the tax on
trade and succession duty, regulated in such a manner as not to hinder
the development of the productive forces of the nation.

In regard to expenditure, while meeting the absolutely necessary
demands mentioned above, a firm and strict watch has resulted in les
sening assessments when possible and preventing an increase where it
has not been found possible actually to reduce these. Since the reva
luation of the lira, special provisions have been adopted, and a very
careful revision of the estimates of the budget, bringing about a
reduction totalling about one milliard lire. A saving has in particular
been made in the expense of the civil service, forbidding new charges
to be made for the period of four years beginning from August 1926,
while reducing, and even suppressing altogether in the higher grades,
the bonus to meet the higher cost of living.

The results obtained are summarized in the following statement,
which shows the receipts and the expenditure of the budget in each
financial year and the consequent increase or decrease:

Financial Actual Actual Increase or

Year Receipts Expenditure Decrease

(Millions of lire)

1919-20 14,202.- 21,141.7 7,939.7

1920-21 17,392.3 34,805.9 - 17,413.6

1921-22 18,167.7 34,320.7 16,153.-

1922-23 17,166.7 20,575.7 3,409.-

1923-24 19,027.5 19,853.2 825.7

1924-25 18,753.1 18,585.4 + 167.7

1925-26 20,126.- 19,901.7 + 224.3

1926-27 20,542.8 20,107.1 + 435.7

1927-28 19,257.9 18,760.6 + 497.3

1928-29 20.200.8 19,645.7 + 555.1

Note. - In the above figures for 1919-20 to 1925-26 there have
been included the expenses in connection with railroads, which were
entered separately in the budgets of those years, while from 1926-27
onwards they were included in the central expenditure. For the same
reason both the receipts and expenses of the Postal, Telegraph, Telephone,
and Monopolies Departments have been eliminated for the period prior
to their being constituted autonomous concerns, that is to say, up to
the year 1924-25 for the receipts and to 1927-28 for the expenses; thus

Fascist Finance 227

only the net proceeds now incorporated in the State budget are taken
into account.

Lastly, mention must be made of the law of the 9th December 1928
which has produced considerable modifications in the book-keeping
system of the State, simplifying financial documents and approximating
the results of the Budget department to those of cash accounts and
rendering clearer the computation of balances.

MEASURES IN REGARD TO TAXATION. - In September 1926, after
having in the previous years taken bold measures to get rid of all the
superfluities of war finance and brought back the system of taxation to
a simple and strictly scientific basis, the Regime again took up the
examination of the problem relating to the lightening of the burden
of taxation.

( By Royal Decree-Law of the 20th September 1926, No. 1643, among
other measures relief from the agricultural land tax was granted in
the case of damage caused by atmospheric conditions J

In order better to equalise the burden of the land tax a consi
derable impetus was given at this period to the work of compiling the
new register, and in a very short time a general revision of valuations
was effected. To favour the granting of credit on real estate, the inter
est on loans granted by Institutes of Land Credit was exempted from
income tax.

Measures were also adopted for reforming the system of applying
the income tax on the incomes of Institutes of Credit, Savings Banks,
and generally speaking, of all limited companies, establishing that,
should the balance-sheet ia any year show a loss, the Company has the
right to relief of the whole tax assessed for the said year on the basis of
the former balance-sheet.

Another important measure of relief was adopted by exempting obli
gations issued by Provinces, Communes, Corporations, and limited com
panies from income tax. This measure aimed at encouraging the ac
cumulation of national savings for productive investments, such as
shares in industrial and commercial companies, or investments of public
interest represented by the shares of self-governing Corporations.

Another exemption accorded by the above-mentioned decree covers
subsidies, etc. to corporations and private individuals in the interest of
the nation.

With the intention of encouraging insurance, the surplus profits
shown in the Balance Sheets of Mutual Insurance Syndicates against
trade accidents were declared exempt from tax.

Another measure was adopted in favour of workmen, whereby those
not in receipt of a regular wage, employed by the State, Provinces, Com
munes, and autonomous concerns, are to pay income tax at the reduced
rate of 4% on all their earnings.

228 What is Fascism and why?

With, regard to taxes on business, consideration has been given to
the possibility of sacrificing certain sources of income in order to encou
rage national production and develop foreign trade.

Suitable relief was granted in regard to deeds and agreements made
for the employment of funds of the National Institute of Insurance,
the National Department of Social Insurance, and the National Accident
Assurance Department. A special reduction to one-tenth the normal
tax was granted on deeds by which Communes and Provinces renew con
tracts regarding aqueducts, gas and electric light, permitting payment
to be made in annual instalments instead of a single sum, so as not to
interfere with, the circulating capital of the contracting firms.

By another decree temporary exemption from the conveyance tax
was granted with respect to the merging of commercial companies, in
order to strengthen their position and render their business more
profitable through amalgamations.

Privileges were also granted to commercial correspondence so as
to facilitate business.

Among the measures adopted to favour trade, mention should be
made of the introduction of a special reduced tax on Bills of Exchange
of not more than one month's maturity, and the reduction by one-
quarter on those of longer term, and the suppression of the stamp duty
on hotel and boarding house accounts.

In 1927, after the stabilization of the lira, which brought about a
complete revision on sound lines of production and trade, the financial
administration took further action.

The measures adopted aimed at:

a) alleviating the conditions resulting from the reduction of prices
of agricultural products and ensuring more economic agrarian production;
6) compensating house owners for the reduced income due to
rent restriction (which is now being abolished), facilitating also transfers
or sales by a considerable reduction of the registration and mortgage
taxes;

c) exercising an influence on the costs of industrial production
and trade by eliminating the tax on articles of luxury and reducing the
direct taxes affecting manufacturers and merchants, who, in the majority
of cases, did not care to pass on the burden of these taxes to their
creditors or staffs;

d) helping the greater development of the telephone systems,
by reducing the tax on salaries and wages of the contracting companies;

e) encouraging the expansion of Italian trade abroad.

To give greater impulse to the economic betterment of the South,
a ten year exemption from income tax was granted, and from the
tax on land, buildings, and relative super-taxes to concessionnaires of
water supply from the Sila for generating and transmitting electricity,
and to works that use the energy so produced, as also to all new techni-

Fascist Finance 229

cally organized establishments set Tip by the 30th September 1931 in
the city and territory of Frame and the industrial zone adjoining the
port of Pola.

For the benefit of the mercantile marine, an important asset of
national power, the incomes earned in Italy by United States shipping
companies was declared exempt from income tax; the United States
government having accorded, by way of reciprocity, exemption from the
corresponding American income tax to Italian shipping firms on the
incomes earned by these in the United States.

International conventions have been agreed by Italy in order to
avoid double taxation and to favour in this manner the development
abroad of the productive activity of our industrial and commercial
undertakings. The period in which Italian Companies are permitted
to contract loans and to place bonds abroad exempted from income tax
was extended to the 31st December 1930.

By recent measures various taxes which hindered business and
trade have been abolished. The tax on trade is also receiving attention
in order to make its application easier and simpler. Facilities and
tax reductions in connection with amalgamation contracts of commer
cial firms have been extended and a reduction of one-fifth of the stamp
duty has been granted on bills of exchange issued on exports.

In regard to Customs, certain duties were re-examined in order to
control consumption in the country and avoid unnecessary burdens on
the balance of trade, or to protect certain important branches of
our production. Of special importance are the measures that refer to
customs dues on wheat and wheat products, to safeguard the home
production, which, owing to the special care given by the Fascist Govern
ment to this cpiestion, shows a marked increase justifying the hope
that no imported wheat will be necessary. Other important measures
are those raising the duty on sugar to the 1921 rate in the interest of
the national beetroot cultivation.

On the other hand, exemption was granted on raw materials requir
ed from abroad, and new temporary concessions on imports of goods
to be worked were accorded, so as to encourage and assist the spirit of
enterprise of Italian industry.

The fiscal system relating to spirits was modified in order to promote
the sale of wines not intended for home consumption and the use of
alcohol for motor oil.

In the process of simplifying and lightening taxation, the recent abo
lition of internal customs dues (with the resulting abolition of " octroi "
barriers) is a step of the greatest importance. These dues have been
replaced by taxes on a limited number of articles. Thus a consider
able saving has been effected in collecting the dues. As some Com
munes may lose by this new arrangement, a fond has been established
by transferring the additional government duty on wines and spirits

230 What is Fascism and why?

to balance the communal budgets. The State budget has been compen
sated for this by the increased stamp duties and by the tax on coffee.

VARIOUS MEASURES TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. - In order
to exercise a sound check on internal financial markets a careful watch
has been kept on exchange agencies. To safeguard the interests of the
thrifty and to encourage the formation and development of new capital,
banking Companies and banks that receive deposits of money were
placed under the watch of the Ministries of Finance and of National
Economy.

The National Insurance Institute was authorized by Royal Decree-
Law of the 2nd June 1927 to assume the responsibility of credits for
the exportation of national products, instituting a special department
which, in its initial stage, is run by the government, but will, in due
course, have its own funds. The granting of these guarantees is subject
to special privileges in exceptional cases and cases of particular interest
from the national economic standpoint.

Special loans have been granted to certain industries of importance to
national defence, such as the Societa Alti Forni of the Julian Venetia and
the Cogne National Company. This latter Company, has further been
authorized recently to convert its loan into new share capital, and has
received state guarantee for the issue of debentures.

A similar state guarantee has been given to an issue having as its
aim assistance in the development of the Institute (formed by public
organizations) for the generation and distribution of electric power.

Considerable financial assistance has been given to harbour works
at Genoa, Naples, Trieste, Venezia Marittima and Marghera, Fiume,
and Civitavecchia. Furthermore, to facilitate the erection and enlarge
ment of industrial establishments in the districts close to the principal
ports of the kingdom, partial relief from taxation was granted to the
industrial zones of Trieste, Leghorn, and Pola, while considerable ad
vances or allowances have been granted to the general warehouses of
Trieste and Fiume and the provveditorato (Commissioner Office) of the
harbour of Venice.

In many leading cities of the kingdom great stimulus has been
given to house building, especially in Rome and Naples, through the
financial assistance granted to the Roman Institute for workmen's dwel
lings and the National Institute for Housing State Employees, and
through mortgage loans and other assistance of a fiscal character. Sepa
rate mention must be made of the grant of 5 millions annually for the
construction of houses for invalided and disabled ex-service men. By
these means, houses costing a total of 200 millions can be erected for
the men who have so large a claim on the country's gratitude.

Timely reforms have secured the greatest efficiency in regard to
reconstruction work in areas stricken by the more serious earthquakes;

Fascist Finance 231

while state measures have rendered assistance in other disasters, not
only by granting immediate relief to the most needy, but also by helping
to set up again machinery and plant needed for the economic activity
of the regions most severely damaged.

This work of reconstruction has assumed special importance in the
areas devastated by the war. In the period under review, thanks to
a series of simplifying measures, the work of settlement and adjustment
has been greatly accelerated. The right to compensation was extended
also to those who, though not Italian citizens at the time the damage
was done, served faithfully and honourably in the Italian army, becoming
later our fellow citizens. Loans were also granted to navigation com
panies of the Julian Venetia to enable them, in the interests of the nation,
to repair the damages suffered through their ships being requisitioned
by the Austro-Hungarian authorities.

The part played by the Deposits and Loan Bank by granting long-
term loans at very low interest has been of great help in furthering
works of social and economic importance.

The work of the above mentioned Institute during these four years
has been made more effective by measures to establish new sources of
supply and to develop those already existing.

Special measures were also adopted to enable this bank to carry
out financial operations in collaboration with other Institutes and also
to extend its help to certain particular ends, amongst which may be
mentioned the activity entrusted to the National Institute for Housing
State Employees, which has thus been put in a position to accelerate
its programme of construction with special regard to certain districts
in which the need of suitable houses is most felt.

The action of Provident Institutes, administered directly by the
Bank on behalf of a number of diverse categories of workers, grew
steadily more extensive and efficient. Appropriate measures provide for
the more liberal treatment of retired workers ; new categories heretofore
left outside have been admitted as members, while redemption and cu
mulative services have been provided for on fair terms.

The beneficent work of the Provident Fund for civil and military
State employees and their families has progressed. Medical assistance,
in the case of serious illness or surgical operation, is afforded to mem
bers who are no longer in the service, with the right to the normal
pensions for themselves, or their families in case of their decease, while
the granting of scholarships has been extended. To encourage the in
creased national production of tobacco, thereby enabling the Monopolies
Department to reduce as far as possible its importation of raw material
from abroad, the price of home-grown tobaccos has been maintained at
a suitable level to encourage home-growers. With the same intention,
the Monopolies Department has absorbed the home production, em
ploying Italian tobaccos in place of foreign material.

232 What is Fascism and why ?

During the year 1921-22, slightly over six million kilogrammes of
Italian tobacco were employed as against 28 millions of imported
tobacco, or 18 % national and 82 % foreign. In the year 1928-29 the
position was completely changed: there were employed 7 million kilo
grammes of foreign tobacco against 29 millions of Italian, or 81 % nat
ional and 9 % foreign. This means that several hundreds of millions
have been saved to the nation.

The Italian Tobacco Company has been constituted with the financial
help of the State, to facilitate the exportation of products made from
national tobaccos.

Another field in which the financial administration has shown
great activity in order to enhance national resources has been the
development of spas owned by the State.

Works of great beauty and importance have been completed at
Montecatini in the four years under review. At Salsomaggiore, the
finest spa in Italy has been established; two large hotels have been built
with departments for all kinds of treatment at tariffs which enable many
to take advantage of them who were unable previously owing to the
high cost. Great progress has also been made on the industrial side
by the erection of the Chemical Institute for the extraction of iodine,
table salt, and sundry bye-products.

Recoaro, situated at the foot of the Pasubio, that witnessed so much
slaughter and so much valour, is now rising again to the importance it
had during the time of the glorious Venetian republic. Santa Cesarea,
at the very extremity of Italy at the mouth of the Otranto Canal (the
only thermal station in the South), has also received the attention of
the government which will enable it to develop considerably.

Another thermal station has now been added to those originally
owned by the State - namely Levico - in the valley of Sugana, close
to Trento. The National Government has taken steps to restore this
station to the importance it had at the time of Austrian rule, and by
recent laws the ownership of the springs of Levico has passed from the
Commune to the State. The management of this, as of other spas,
having been assigned to private enterprise, the Treasury participating
in the profits, it will attain its purpose while benefiting the peoples res
tored to Italy after the war.

The State has also re-organized and intensified the breeding of shell
fish in the Gulf of Taranto, entrusting the business to private enterprise.
Good results have already been obtained both in production and finan
cially. With part of the revenue accruing therefrom to the State, a
large establishment of marine biology has been erected at Taranto which
will serve for important scientific studies.

In addition to this industry of Taranto, there is that of the two
lakes in the Campi Flegrei, viz. Fusaro and Mare Morto, now restored
to their former importance for the production of fish, oysters, etc.

Fascist Finance 233

Fresh stimulus has been given to works for the preservation and
increased efficiency of state irrigation canals, especially the important
Cavour Canal system.

In order that waters not altogether sufficient for the needs of agri
culture may he employed with a complete knowledge of the needs of
separate estates, and to ohtain the best economic results, the Fascist
Government, pursuing after three quarters of a century the work of
Count Cavour - who in 1853 created the Land Irrigation Society to
the west of the Sesia has set up a similar irrigation organization in
the territory comprised between the Sesia, the Po, and the Ticino, and
to this organization, known as the East Sesia Irrigation Association,
it granted in 1929 the concession of the management of the State canals
in that zone.

The full efficiency now mantained in the irrigation system of the
Cavour Canals, extending to more than 1500 km. in the six provinces
and distributing 290 cubic metres of water per second to 500,000 hec
tares of land calls for special mention.

The work of the Finance Department has also been directed to the
development of the direct production and sale of printed matter on
behalf of the State by the creation of the State Poligraphic Institute,
in which, by suitable agreements, the " cartevalori " (Treasury note)
office, the State Poligraphic Institute, and the State Publishing Office
have been amalgamated.

This, in short, is the work accomplished by the Finance Department
during the four years 1926-29, a work which is steadily progressing
towards the goal of the betterment of the country.

NOTE. At the moment this edition is going to press, the splendid success of the new
national Loan for the renewal of the Nine-Year (1922) Treasury Bonds is announced. In
response to the Government's appeal for the subscription of 4 thousand million lixe for
the renewal of the Bonds, the Country has answered by subscribing over 7 thousand millions
in Italy and the Colonies.

THE BANCA D'lTALIA

by BONALDO STRINGHER, late Governor of the Banco, d'ltalia.

In 1925 the extensive programme of the National Fascist Govern
ment for the rehabilitation of the currency was in its initial stage.
After the execution of the agreement for the settlement of Italy's
war debt to the United States, Count Volpi opened the negotiations
which led to the London Agreement for the settlement of the debt to
Great Britain.

These highly important steps opened up a period of strenuous
financial activity extending over two years: the unification of the note
issue accompanied by assigning to the Central Bank the function of
safeguarding the national savings; the consolidation of the floating debt,
the gradual revalorization of the lira, and finally the return to a currency
convertible into gold by legal stabilization at a more appreciated level.
To write fully on the action of the Banca d'ltalia during this period
would be equivalent to recording the history of events which stand out
as vital dates of the present national revival. They are sufficiently
well known and, being of recent date, are vividly remembered by all
who lived through them. It is not out of place, however, to give a
brief outline of the most notable features of the period.

The concentration in the hands of the Banca d'ltalia of the note
issue was sanctioned by the Royal Decree of the 6th May 1926, converted
into law no. 1362, of the 25th June 1926.

The means by which this unification was effected were the following:

1. The transfer to the Banca d'ltalia of the bullion reserve and
its equivalent held by the Banco di Napoli and the Banco di Sicilia,
against their outstanding notes;

2. The transfer to the debit of the Banca d'ltalia of the notes
issued by the two banks above-mentioned in circulation on the 30th
June 1926;

3. The transfer to the Banca d'ltalia of the credits of the Banco
di Napoli and the Banco di Sicilia with the Special Independent Section
of the Syndicate for Advances against Industrial Securities (Sezione spe-
ciale autonoma del Consorzio per sovvenzioni su valori industriali)^ with
all securities and reserves relating thereto;

4. The transfer to the Banca d'ltalia of the credits of the Banco
di Napoli and the Banco di Sicilia with the Royal Treasury in respect
of advances and notes supplied to the State, as outstanding on the 1st
July 1926 (1).

Apart from the last item, it was obviously necessary to concentrate

(1) The Treasury having repaid in June to the two banks the full amount of their old sta
tutory advances, totalling 125 million lire, the bullion reserve which was set against these
notes, outstanding on State account, to the extent of one-third, became available as cover
against the outstanding circulation on trade account.

The Banca d'ltalia 235

in the hands of the Central Bank the credit with the Special Independent
Section of the above Syndicate, in view of the fact that the liquidating
machinery of that credit and the provisions to meet possible losses in
cluded the creation of reserve funds by setting aside the excess profits
shown on the balance-sheets of the creditor banks, and of a proportion
of the State tax on the circulation of bank-notes.

The above-mentioned transfers from the southern banks to the
Banca d'ltalia resulted in the following increases in the accounts of the
latter:

310.9 million gold lire (of which 241.8 millions in actual gold), corres
ponding, at the provisional rate fixed, to 1480.9 million paper lire, in the
bullion and equivalent reserve;

802.1 million lire in the credit with the Special Independent Sec
tion of the Syndicate for Advances against Industrial Securities;

1489.3 million lire in the extraordinary advances to the Royal Trea
sury;

3782.3 million lire in the circulation of notes as against the above
items.

Consequently the Bank's credit with the Special Independent Sec
tion increased to 3381.1 million lire, while the credit with the State
in respect of statutory and extraordinary advances rose to 6129 A million
lire.

After providing in this way for the concentration of the note issue
in a single bank, the Government proceeded to give effect to a care
fully studied plan of currency deflation in order to protect and improve
the rate of the lira. This naturally included, as regards the note circula
tion of the Bank, a reduction in the amount of State liabilities to
the Bank, together with an increase of the bullion reserve covering its
notes (1)

Thus the State handed over to the Banca d'ltalia the sum of
90 million dollars (of which 70 million were the balance of the Morgan
loan and 20 million were available out of other Treasury funds), equal
to 463.9 million gold lire. As against this the outstanding Treasury debt
to the Bank was reduced by 2500 million lire, causing an immediate fall
of the total debt to 4229.4 million lire. At the same time, the bullion and
equivalent reserve held by the Bank was increased by the said amount
of 463.9 million gold lire.

It should be added that, with the object of reducing that part of
the note circulation which was connected with the Bank's credit with
the Special Independent Section, the Treasury decided to realize the
Treasury Bonds set aside at the Bank for meeting the final losses of the

(1) Cfr. Royal Decree-Law n. 1506 of the 7th September 1926. A farther point consi
sted in the adoption of a limit to the circulation of the hank notes issued in respect of tran
sactions undertaken to meet trade requirements. It is unnecessary however to insist on this
subject since the measure became void as a result of the currency reform.

236 - What is Fascism and why ?

Section, with the object of making a settlement in advance, by applying
the proceeds for the reduction of the Bank's credit.

On the sum thus realized by the redemption of the said bonds the
Treasury decided to allow interest at the rate of 4.50 % per annum in
a special account, in order to maintain the safeguards which had been
previously adopted to meet expected losses.

It is well to recall that on the 20th November 1926 the Special In
dependent Section was suppressed and the Istituto di Liquidazioni (1)
was created to take its place. To this Institute the whole of the out
standing transactions, amounting in all to 3,369 million lire, were transfer
red, representing the total credit of the Banca d'ltalia with the new con
cern. But on the same date the reserves accumulated to meet the losses
of the liquidation amounted to 1,466 million lire (2) this being deducted
from the Bank's credit, thus automatically reduced to 1,898 million
lire.

With reference to the control exercised by the Banca d'ltalia over
credit institutions receiving deposits as provided for by the Royal
Decree (no. 1511) of September 7th 1926, completed by that of Novem
ber 6th (no. 1830), it should be remembered that previously the Ministry
of National Economy exercised supervision over savings banks, pledge
banks engaged in sundry business transactions (Monti di Pieta), and
various other special credit institutions; but all other banks, including
those involving greater risk to the depositors, were not subjected to
control.

The new regulations required all existing banks to be registered at
the Ministry of Finance; no new banks or fresh branches of existing
banks could be established without the ministerial assent, only granted
after consultation with the Bank of Issue.

In order to strengthen the position of the Banks, it was required
that, as from the closing of the 1926 balance sheet, yearly additions of not
less than 10 % of the net profits should be placed to reserve until the
reserve fund reached an amount equal to 40 % of the paid up capital.

For rural banks, the proportion of net profit to be added to the

(1) See Royal Decree Law n. 1832, of the 6th November 1926.

(2) The reserve fund was fed by the following items:

a) The Profits realised by the administration of the Istituto di Liquidazioni:

6) All net profits: obtained, or to be obtained, by the Banca d'ltalia in the years 1923
to 1930 inclusive, over and above the dividend distributed to the shareholders and the amount
paid to the State for the year 1922;

c) The interest on Government securities formerly included in the reserve of the Istituto
di Liquidazioni, which were transferred to the Bank, reducing its credit in a corresponding degree;

e) The interest due by the Royal Treasury, as mentioned above, in respect of the sums
reimbursed to the Banca d'ltalia by the Special Independent Section and subsequently by the
Istituto di Liquidazioni, either in respect of realised capital or of reserve;

In the years from 1923 to 1929 the excess net profits alone appearing in the Bank's ba
lance-sheet which were employed for reducing its credit with the Istituto di Liquidazioni, to
talled 228.5 million lire.

The Banco, f Italia 237

reserve fond was fixed at nine-tenths until the fund should amount to
10 % of the deposits. (1)

The regulations also determined :

a) the minimum capital for new banks and provided that;
fe) the minimum ratio of capital and reserve to the total amount
of the deposits was to be as one to twenty;

c) the maximum limit of credit facilities which may be afforded
by a bank to each one customer was fixed at one-fifth of the lending
bank's capital.

The above rules were not intended to eliminate all dangers and draw
backs nor to give a sure guarantee to the depositors; before all legisla
tion, the security of the depositors must rest on the capacity, alertness
and, above all, the straightforwardness, of the men who conduct the
Bank's business. The new regulations, deliberately avoided the adoption
of more rigorous measures which might have been an obstacle to the free
development of credit, and must be regarded in part as a warning to
awaken the conscience and emphasize the responsability of all those
who are entrusted with the administration of the savings of the Italian
people. At the same time it is obvious that it rests with the depositors
to see that they entrust their savings to reliable banks affording
evidence of sound and prudent administration and that they are not
misled by the attraction of high interest rates on their deposits or other
advantages.

In the three years that have elapsed since the adoption of the above-
mentioned law, the Bane a d'ltalia, through a special control depart
ment at its head office and the action of its various branches, has super
vised 3981 banks; it has passed on 177 applications for absorption or
amalgamation; it has carried out 1140 inspections, and has examined
1567 applications from banks desirous of exceeding the limit of credit
facilities to customers.

Since mention has been made above of the issue of the Littorio loan
(Decree Law of November 6th 1926), it should be remembered that, dur
ing and after the war, the characteristic features of Treasury bills had
been lost sight of and they had become something in the nature of
interest -bearing notes circulating in addition to the non-interest bearing
currency and bank notes.

Short-dated securities which, for that very reason, were not liable
to fluctuations in price, were apt to be used as a substitute for cash, and
could always be used as security for loans in cases of urgent necessity.
But these qualifications, while favouring the issue of the bills, contained
an intrinsic drawback, for they increased inflation to the detriment of

(1) This rule does not affect the savings hanks of pledge-banks (Monti di Pieta) of the
first category, for which the Decree Law of Febrary 10th 1927 enacted that seven-tenths of
the net profits should be set aside to create or increase the reserve fund until the latter should
reach the proportion of one-tenth of the whole deposits.

238 What is Fascism and why ?

price levels, and should the Treasury have decided to stop their issue
their redemption would have entailed huge capital disbursements which
would have exhausted the Treasury cash balance, converting security
inflation into currency inflation.

Since currency deflation was decided by the Government, it was
obviously necessary, in order to complete the financial provisions requir
ed for balancing the budget, to protect it from the dangers of an ever
increasing floating debt, if the dangers incurred in many countries where
conditions were not unlike our own were to be avoided.

At the and of October 1926, the position of the Italian Treasury
and of the note circulation was such that no further delay was possi
ble in proceeding to the consolidation of the floating debt.

The flotation of the above-mentioned public loan was thus made by
authorising the issue of bonds in which Treasury bills, 5-year and 7-year
Treasury bonds, repayable on or after the llth November of that year (1)
had to be converted, the Treasury being required to use the net proceeds
of the bonds offered to the public " for the exclusive object of paying
off short-dated State obligations ".

The Banca d'ltalia was officially entrusted with the duty of receiv
ing subscriptions in Italy and in the Colonies, with the assistance of
post-offices, public bodies, savings-banks, and other banking institutions
selected by the Banca d'ltalia and the Ministry of Finance.

It will be remembered that the whole country responded to the
appeal of the Government almost unanimously, so that the result-surpas
sed the most sanguine expectations. The subscriptions in the Kingdom
and in the Colonies amounted to about 3,256 million lire, while those
abroad reached 200 million lire (2).

The final and conclusive stage of the measures taken by the
Government to ensure the country the necessary basis for a quiet and
fruitful work of reconstruction was the repeal of the inconvertibility of
bank notes.

The Royal Decree Law of the 21st December 1927 fixed the new
parity for the lira at gr. 7,919,113 of fine gold for every 100 lire, the
parity of the dollar exchange rising to 19 lire, the sterling exchange to
92.46 lire and old gold lira to 3.666 lire.

The Banca dTtalia is required to convert its notes either in to
gold or in to foreign currency convertible into gold at the exchange
rate fixed by the Bank, which, however, must not in any case exceed the

/o\ C t0tal f tke Treasur y biUs and bonds to b * converted was 20,600 million lire.

(2) The amount subscribed directly at the offices of the Banca d'ltalia, including 50 mil
lion lire which was subscribed by the Bank itself, was 973 million lire, while 384 million lire
was subscribed at the post-offices, 87 million lire at the offices of public bodies, and 1 812 mil
lion lire at banks and savings-banks thereto authorised.

The Banca f Italia 239

limit of the gold export point. In other words the gold exchange standard
was adopted. (1)

The transition to such standard implied first of all the revaluation
at the new gold parity of the reserve originally held by the Bank, which
was entered in the balance-sheet in gold lire at the old parity, and the
surplus in new lire thus obtained was used for cancelling the balance
of State liabilities to the Bank in respect of extraordinary advances
granted by the latter, amounting to 4,227 million lire (2). It is easily
comprehensible that no surplus was available for that part of the
reserve consisting of the 90 million dollars previously paid over to the
Bank by the Treasury and of the bullion and equivalent reserve transfer
red from the southern banks, since both items had been entered at
rates of exchange higher than the new parity which was finally fixed.
Consequently there was a balance to be adjusted in favour of the
Bank, which was originally entered as a liability of the State (3).

Therefore, at the time when the said revaluation was taking place,
the Royal Treasury transferred to the Central Bank of gold exchange
foreign currencies for an amount equivalent to the difference between
the original purchase price and the value in new lire of the foreign
currencies previously transferred to the Bank.

The reserve of the Banca d'ltalia, which on the 20th December
amounted to 2910.9 million gold lire (old parity) or 2397.9 gold lire,
apart from the gold deposited in London, was increased by the trans
fer of foreign currencies from the Treasury to the Bank, amounting to
3,302.1 million gold lire, equivalent to 12,105.9 million new lire. This
was the amount written into the balance-sheet of the Bank for the new
reserve held as cover for the notes issued by the bank and all other
sight liabilities, namely, cash orders and drafts, private deposits on
current account and Treasury deposits on current account placed with
the Bank, in its capacity of Treasurer to the State (4).

(1) The notes to be converted must be presented at the Head Office of the Bank and
the TrmnTrmTn amount to be converted must be equivalent to the value of 5 Kg. of fine gold at
the rate of 100 lire per gr. 7.919.113.

(2) The revaluation applied also to the certificates for gold deposited abroad (amounting
altogether to 504 million gold lire) which was included in the Bank's reserve. But since, follow
ing the settlement of the War Debt between the British and Italian Governments of 1926,
the gold deposited with the Bank of England was considered as an actually pledged and fixed
deposit, that amount, as from the 21st December 1927, was deducted from the reserve and en
tered as a State liability to the Bank in gold, to be repaid in half-yearly instalments at the
same rate at which the gold would be returned to the Italian Government by the Bank of
England.

(3) It may be realised that the 90 million dollars were paid over to the Bank against the
cancellation of 2,500 million lire of the out-standing State liabilities, equivalent to an exchange
rate of 27.77 Ike to the dollar, whereas the 310,9 million gold lire forming the reserve of the
Southern Banks which were transferred to the Banca d'ltalia, implied for the latter the charge
of 1409,9 million lire of notes of the said banks, equivalent to an exchange rate of 4.79 lire
for avery gold lira.

(4) In order to ensure the success of the stabilisation it was necessary, as had been done
in other countries, when re-establishing the currency of the country on a gold basis, to obtain

240 What is Fascism and why?

As a result of the currency reform, the Banca d'ltalia was placed
in a position enabling it to perform its duties under normal conditions,
all restrictive rules due to the difficulties of a now distant past having
been finally removed. Thus the maximum note circulation is determined
both in theory and practice by its ratio to the bullion or equivalent
reserve, which must not fall below 40 % of the note circulation and
all other sight liabilities When the ratio of the reserve exceeds that
figure there is a corresponding margin of increase for the note circu
lation, which can be raised until the said proportion of 40 % of all
sight liabilities is reached. But it is obvious that, within this margin,
the Central Bank, as the supreme controller of the market, has the
duty of keeping its note circulation within certain limits, avoiding any
expansion inconsistent with the requirements of the money market.

On the other hand, should the ratio fall below 40 %, a special
tax is levied on the notes remaining uncovered after all other sight
liabilities are covered in the due proportion by the reserve. If the ratio
is less than 40 % but not below 30 % this tax is equal to bank rate
plus one-tenth, and on every subsequent 10 % fall in the ratio the
amount of the tax is further increased by an additional tenth of
the current bank-rate.

Bank-notes issues for temporary advances to the State, which are
authorized up to a maximum amount of 450 million lire, must have
the same security as the others, namely they must be covered by
reserve at the rate of 40 %, whereas in old times the reserve cover for
such notes was fixed at one third. Such notes, however, would be, as in
the past, exempt from the ordinary circulation tax.

Moreover, the Bank is required to provide, through control of the
note circulation and opportune interventions in the foreign exchange
market, that the fluctuations of the lira exchange should remain within
the gold points; and it is also empowered, when the conditions of the
circulation require it, to proceed to realize a portion of the foreign
currency included in the reserve.

It is well to emphasize the fact that a not negligible part of such
foreign currencies as were added to the reserve at the time of the stabi-

a foreign credit for a substantial amount, as evidence that any emergency could have been
faced. The negociations which were conducted in London in a spirit of cordial co-operation
between the Governor of the Bank of England, the Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York, and the Governor of the Banca d'ltalia - the last authorised thereto by the
Treasury - led to the opening of two separate one-year credits, for an aggregate amount equi
valent to 125 million dollars. The first of these credits was for the equivalent of 75 million dol
lars and was granted by the leading Central banks under the auspices and with the concurren
ce of the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The second, amount
ing to the equivalent of 50 million dollars, was arranged by Messrs. J. P. Morgan & C of
New York, in conjunction with leading London banks.

Since the Banca dltalia never required to make use of such credits, at the maturity of
the 20th December, 1928, the option which had been agreed for renewing the credits if required
for a farther period of one year, was not exercised.

The Banca fltalia 241

lization of the lira had been obtained by using bank notes for their pur
chase, and these notes could not remain indefinitely in circulation after
the changes caused in the home market by the currency reform. It
is a known fact that the State debt in respect of outstanding notes
is repaid largely through the surplus value attributed to the bullion
reserve, placing the whole weight on the shoulders of the Central Bank.
The latter could not maintain indefinitely a circulation of notes dis
proportionate to its normal business turnover (1).

In fact, a reduction in the large stock of foreign currencies accu
mulated at the time by the Banca d'ltalia was inevitable, unless, in
deed, some quite exceptional circumstance had altered the condition of
our foreign trade in such a way as to render the Italian balance of
international payments largely favourable. As a matter of fact, in the
two years following the currency reform, the reserve has fallen from 12,000
million lire to 10,300 million lire, while the note circulation has been redu
ced from 18,000 million to 16,800 million, the average amount of notes out
standing in the two years under consideration having moved from 17.7
to 16.5 thousand million lire. At the same time the gold reserve has
risen from 4,547 to 5,190 million lire. The Bank was authorized by law
to convert into gold a part of its foreign currency reserve. The increase
above mentioned as for 608.5 million lire is in respect of such conver
sions, while the balance of 34.5 million lire is in respect of the half-yearly
restitution during the two years of the gold deposited in London, the gold
credit of the Bank with the State having been correspondingly reduced.

The total sight liabilities of the Banca d'ltalia requiring a reserve
cover having moved from the end of 1927 to the end of 1929 from a
total of 21.8 to 18.8 thousand million lire, the ratio of reserve has been
maintained between 55.47 and 55.13 %, the surplus of reserve over and
above the legal minimum of 40 %, viz. the reserve available for further
liabilities, has been reduced from 3377 million lire to 2838 million lire (2).

It may be added that, as is known, in the year 1928 the Banca
d'ltalia decided to increase its authorized capital from 300 million lire
to 500 million lire, raising the paid-up portion of the capital from 180
million lire to 300 million lire. Of the 200,000 new shares which were

(1) Prior to the stabilisation, the increase of 90 million dollars in the reserve of the Bank,
as already mentioned, was set off by cancelling 2,500 million lire due by the Treasury to the
Bank; the revaluation of the Bank's reserve at the time of the stabilisation brought about
the cancelling of the balance of the State debt, amounting to 4227 million lire, therefore the
total amount of 6,227 million lire of notes which were already, and continued to be, in circu
lation without having a corresponding basis of banking transactions, representing purely and
simply a debt of the State, were in fact a surplus of paper notes circulation at the charge of
the Central Bank.

(2) From the returns of the Bank as on March 20th 1930, it will be seen that the total
sight liabilities are reduced to 17.7 thousand million lire, the circulation of notes alone being
reduced to 15.9 thousand million lire, while the ratio of the reserve is 57.19 % the gold in
hand amounting to 5,205 million lire and the ratio of gold to the notes outstanding being eqpial
to 32,78 %.

242 What is Fascism and why?

issued, one half were allotted to the existing shareholders pro rota of
the shares respectively held, while the other half were attributed to the
ordinary savings hanks proportionately to the amount of deposits held
by each. The sum required to pay for the 100,000 shares given to the
shareholders was drawn from the funds of the shareholders' special
reserve. The premium at which the new shares were issued was employ
ed to increase the reserve funds of the Bank. Therefore at the pre
sent time, against a paid-up capital of 300 million lire there is a statu
tory reserve of 100 million lire, or one-fifth of the authorized capital
as prescribed by the Statute, in the same way as, previously, when
the authorized capital was 300 million lire, there was a statutory re
serve of 60 million lire, including the old extraordinary reserve of 12
million lire. At the present time, in addition to the statutory reserve,
there is again an extraordinary reserve of 32 % million lire. On the
other hand, the shareholders' special reserve amounts to 111 million
lire (1).

With regard to the business of the Bank it may be observed that,
from the end of 1927 to the end of 1929 the normal assets, consist
ing of discounts, advances and deferred payments at clearing houses
have increased from 5,520 to 6,234 million lire, whereas the average
amount of the said assets fluctuated during the two years between a
maxim urn of 6,641 and a minimum of 5,273 million lire.

The Bank's credit with the Istituto di Liquidazioni which, at the
end of 1927 amounted to 1,434 million lire, was reduced to 651 million
lire on December 31st 1929, and now (March 20th 1930) it does not
exceed 777 mill ion lire, thanks to the considerable yearly contribution
paid by the Bank out of its own profits.

After the heavy sacrifices which it has spontaneously made, by
giving an active contribution to the country's recovery from the cre
dit difficulties of a not distant past, the Banca d'ltalia is now able to
view with satisfaction the approach of a time when the burdens on
its balance-sheet will be curtailed and disappear altogether, thus enabling
it to advance with undiminished fervour and greater speed on the path
traced by its historic traditions. It will then contribute with all its
forces to the achievement of the Government's noble endeavours on
behalf of national economic development.

NOTE. - As regards the general position of the country it is well
to quote the following passage from the report read by the Governor

(1) The shareholders of the Bank have paid for each share 600 lire on capital account
and 200 lire on reserve account: thus altogether 80 million lire were withdrawn from the
shareholders special reserve. The savings banks paid for each share 600 lire on capital ac
count, 200 Ike on reserve account, 175 lire as premium towards the shareholders' special reserve,
and 325 lire as addition! premium for creating a new extraordinary reserve: altogether, 1300
lire per share.

The Banco, tf Italia 243

of the Banca d'ltalia at the General Meeting of the Bank's Share
holders held on March 31st, 1930:

" For our country the past year has actually involved afresh step along
the difficult path of economic restoration, although our progress was hampered
by the conditions of foreign markets and by the handling of the interna
tional problems from the solution of which benefits are expected for all the
nations which were tried by the war.

u Considering the various obstacles in the way of speedy recovery in
countries better provided than our own, it is no small satisfaction to record
our steady advance in the process of readjustment required by the currency
reform introduced two years ago.

" Beginning with the Budget, we find that the balance achieved has
been well maintained.

" The financial year ending on the 30th June 1929 closed with actual
receipts totalling 20,200.8 million lire against an expenditure of 19,645.7
million lire, showing a surplus of 555.1 million lire.

" The estimates for the present financial year 1929-30 originally con
templated actual receipts of 18,571 million lire against expenditure o/18,313
million lire, with a surplus of 256 million lire.

" Owing to the changes brought about by supplementary estimates in
the course of the first eight months of the year, it is estimated that for the
full year the receipts witt be reduced to 18,347 million lire and expenditure
increased to 19,396.4 million lire, thus anticipating a deficit 0/1,049.4 mil
lion lire.

" The actual results for the first eight months however, show receipts
at 12,638.7 million lire and expenditure at 12,925.6 million lire, or a de
ficit of only 286.9 million lire .

SAVINGS BANKS

by CESARE FERRERO DI CAMBIANO, late Minister of State, President of the Association
of Savings Banks.

Savings Banks were started in Italy just over a hundred years ago,
first in the Venetian district and in Lombardy, then in Piedmont, af
terwards in Tuscany and later on in the other provinces of Italy. Par
ticularly after the Unification of the kingdom., they acted for a long
time as a kind of moneybox for the modest savings of the less well-
to-do and the working classes.

And it is precisely because these Banks were intended for the good
of the poorer classes and for encouraging thrift among the hard-working
population, that the Communes, Provinces and National Societies started
them more particularly in Northern and Southern Italy, while in Central
Italy, that is to say in Emilia, Tuscany, the Marches and Latium, they
were almost exclusively founded by a band of generous and far-seeing
men who contributed the first capital by issuing shares among them
selves, whence we have the name Share Banks, preserved in memory of
the founders, though they never took a penny by way of repayment
or interest, their chief work being to nominate the managers of the
Banks. Bishops and other church dignitaries deserve honourable men
tion as having been among the founders.

When economic and financial conditions changed and savings had
increased, and at the same time the structure and work of the Savings
Banks had been perfected under the law of the 15th July 1888, which
fortunately assured them freedom in the investment and use of depo
sits, there began that evolution which has conferred so many benefits
and enabled these Banks to attain their present flourishing position as
disinterested credit institutes ennobled by tradition, by their provident
work and by the increased confidence placed in them throughout the
country, especially in those districts where they operated.

This advance and evolution in the intents and purposes of the Sa
vings Banks, which the law of 1888 fortunately allowed and the Go
vernment favoured, was revealed and stressed during the Savings Banks
Congress held in Turin in 1911, where, one might say, the new functions
of these Banks were unanimously planned and afterwards gradually car
ried out. Thus to their original work was added another duty more in
keeping with modern times and the needs of the country, modest and
prudent at first, but slowly becoming more developed, always respecting
of course the limits which distinguish them from ordinary Banks*

These Saving Banks continued to develop and flourish marvellously,
and not even the Great War was able to hinder their action or diminish
the trust placed in them.

We thus come to our own times, during which the development
and fortunes of the Savings Banks and the vastly altered conditions of

Savings Banks 245

economy and credit suggested to the present Government a new trans
formation, which has been carried out under the care of Signor Belluzzo
by the law of 29th December 1927.

This law, of exceptional importance, has exercised a beneficial in
fluence on the Savings Banks, and is one of the greatest achievements of
the Fascist Regime, because it has consolidated the benefits which the
Savings Banks render to the credit and economy of the nation, ensuring
the necessary conditions for success: benefits which have been increased
by the measures decreed for safeguarding savings - still insufficient (in
our modest opinion) but indicating a healthy tendency.

Savings banks having thus become credit banks small or large ac
cording to their potentiality and sphere of action, naturally required to
be placed on a broader and sounder basis, the small banks that formely
operated on a small scale and did business of varions kinds being unable
to act as credit banks.

The smaller and less powerful banks had to amalgamate with their
more powerful neighbours and become their agencies or branches; the
others, while safeguarding their independence, had to enter into closer
co-operation, coming to agreements for the collection of savings, the rate
of interest paid on them, the uses to which they could be put. The
rule requiring all the federated banks to restrict their activities to a
clearly defined territory, had the beneficial effect of eliminating compe
tition, which had been gaining ground and doing much harm.

It is due to the Belluzzo law that all this has been effected by merg
ing the smaller Banks, by concentration, and by federating those banks
which appeared stronger and more active. This was the beginning of a
new era in banking, which will certainly be fertile of results, and increased
business will accrue as time consolidates these new amalgamations, as yet
subject to adjustment and reform based on the teaching of experience.

Meanwhile, by the energetic but cautions application of the new'
law by the organs of the Government entrusted with the dissolution of
savings banks having less than 5 million lire and facilitating the amalga
mation of those whose deposits did not reach 10 millions, about 99 Banks
have been closed, reducing the number of remaining Banks from 204
as it was at the commencement of the reform, to 105.

These 105 Banks, in spite of the laborious task of negotiating com
plicated agreements, have been concentrated into provincial, inter-pro
vincial and district Federations which are still being formed and organ
ized: namely, 6 Provincial and 7 Regional.

The Banks of the provinces of Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Cuneo, Peru
gia, Pesaro and Terni, have been formed into Provincial Federations;
and those of the Ahruzzi, Emilia, Latium, Liguria, Tuscany and Venice
into Regional Federations. The Federation of those of Piedmont is at
present under consideration, and we look forward to their taking a
worthy place alongside their colleagues.

246 What is Fascism and why ?

The Savings Bank of the Lombard Provinces, on account of its tradi
tion and its special nature, already forms a most powerful federation, with
its 4 milliards of deposits and its admirable organization. In Sicily, the
only Savings Banks are those of Palermo (the Vittorio Emanuele) and
the Bank of Sicily, which form a section by. themselves, and which for
peculiar and obvious reasons cannot be merged or federated. These
remain as they were.

In the South of the Neapolitan Provinces, for the same reasons that
hold good for Sicily, the Savings Section of the Bank of Naples, which has
united in it some smaller banks of that region, remains as it was, and
for the present no change seems practicable. This also applies to the sole
surviving Savings Bank of Cosenza.

To describe completely the structure of the Savings Banks and their
business, we must also say something about the Association and the
Institute of Credit which bind them together.

It may be said that all the Savings Banks are members cf this Asso
ciation to which they refer as a centre of information and encpiiry. It
expresses their wishes, represents their collective interests, assists and
advises them and defends their interests, always respecting their intan
gible autonomy. As an organ of communication and stimulus, appre
ciated by the Government, it has worthily co-operated in enforcing
the new law of amalgamation and federation, and has always responded
willingly to every call and invitation made by the Ministry - which
listens to its impartial and deferential advice and in its turn promotes
understandings to the common advantage.

The Institute of Credit combines the Savings Banks in their financial
relations by its capital of nearly 80 millions, representing their partici
pation, by the circulation of cheques which they issue and pay for con
siderable amounts (in 1929 about 6 milliard lire), and by the operations
decided in common, thus enabling them to respond better to applications
on behalf of public utility works so often made them,

These two organs - the Association and the Institute - complete
the scope and activity of the Savings Banks, which they help to increase
and prosper for the public welfare.

In order to estimate the importance of the Savings Banks, which haa
gone on increasing every year, it is necessary at this point to remember
the amount of savings coUected. In 1925 they were lire 12,766,000,000;
in 1926 lire 13,000,000,000; in 1927 lire 13,900,000,000; in 1928 lire
15,626,000,000 and at the end of 1929 they reached the total of lire
16,300,000,000.

This progress is worthy of note considering the state of our economy
and compared with the deposits collected by other institutions and the
Post Office Savings Bank itself, which offers all the conditions of secu
rity and in certain instances even higher interest. The following fact also
should be noted, viz. that the Savings Banks have never made their

Savings Banks 247

deposits attractive by offering large interest, with the exception of some
small banks which hardly count and have been recalled by the As
sociation to the traditions and duties of Savings Banks from which they
had departed owing to keen competition.

Our Savings Banks, indeed, have always attracted deposits and sav-
in<*s thanks to the unfailing security guaranteed by the safest re-in
vestment aud the entire absence of hazard or speculation.

The employment or re-investment of the savings entrusted to them,
regulated and specified by the law and by their statutes with respect to both
nature and amount are all co-ordinated to the high aims of Savings Banks.
The Banks come to the aid of house-building and landed property by
their mortgages, working in conjunction with the Institutes of Land
Credit; some of these are carried on by the Savings Banks themselves or
by associated institutes such as the Bank of the Lombard Provinces, of
Bologna, and of Verona, now united with that of the Venetias informing the
Institute of Land Credit of the Venetian Provinces, the Institute of St.
Paul in Turin and the Monte dei Paschi of Siena.

The Banks supply credit to Provinces, Communes, and Trusts by
book credits helped by the guarantee forthcoming from the additional
duties on articles of consumption.

Industries and commerce are assisted by the discount of bills, of
exchange, brokers' discounts, advances and current accounts, and the
Banks have favoured the establishment of general warehouses by grant
ing l n g Period loans. Hydro-electric and irrigation works have been
promoted, as for instance by the Turin Savings Bank granting about 40
million lire solely to the works of the Dora.

They have promoted co-operation, through the Institute of Co-opera
tive Credit (now the Labour Bank), and have always favoured building,
cooperative societies, and provision stores.

By acquiring bonds (almost exclusively State Bonds or those guaran
teed by the State), they contribute largely to public credit, maintaining
market quotations at their proper level. The Savings Banks in 1929
employed more than five and a half milliards in bonds.

In all these re-investments the Savings Banks naturally employ many
hundreds and thousands of millions: in house mortages about 2 milliards,
in credits close on 3 milliards, in bankers ' discount over 2y 2 milliards,
and in contango operations nearly 900 millions. These figures are for
1928, as those for 1929 have not yet been compiled.

But, in addition to the above activities, our Savings Banks give
ample and generous support in every contingency of national life. They
have taken a large part in the issue of Treasury Bonds and Loans (war
bonds and later on those known as " Littorio bonds), thus fulfilling
their duty towards the State; and have further always taken a conspi
cuous part in every undertaking which interests public welfare, pro
duction, and the high political aims of the Government.

248 What is Fascism and why?

Thus they have assured the support of their capital to the integral
reclamation of the land, within the limits of their possibilities and with
due regard to security.

In regard to agrarian credit, following the provisions of the Govern
ment in favour of agriculture, the Banks have liberally contributed to
the capital necessary for the creation and working of the National Trust
for Agrarian Improvements Credit. They have also favoured the regional
Institutes of Agrarian Credit, although they already exercised to a con
siderable extent agrarian credit especially in the mainly agricultural pro
vinces.

The Savings Banks took a large share in the increase of capital of
the Bank of Italy when the latter, according to the wishes of the Head
of the Government, became the only bank of issue. Their contribution
amounted to 130 millions.

To come to minor matters : the Savings Banks have helped the
agrarian improvement of Tripolitania, assisting in the formation of a
Trust for granting agrarian loans. Through the Consorzio di Credito
per le Opere pubbliche, they have granted the State a loan of a
hundred and a half -mill-inn lire to be used in public works on behalf
of the two Libyan colonies.

They have everywhere contributed largely to financing institutes
for workmen's houses and the National Institute for the housing of State
Employees.

And as in former times the Savings Banks had willingly contributed
to the institution of the National Provident Bank (which has now become
the National Bank for Social Insurances and the National Accident Assu
rance Institute in the creation of Loan Trusts for the sufferers of the
Calabrian-Sicilian earthquake of 1908 and later the Marsica earthquake
and the eruption of Vesuvius, so now they have contributed their help to
the Trust set up for the sufferers of the earthquake in Tuscany and
Emilia, intensified their operations in favour of disabled and ex-service
men, and of those who suffered in the war in the invaded provinces,
and of insurance against sickness.

We must not overlook the provident share the Savings Banks have
taken in the Consorzio Sowenzioni Valori on behalf of industry, the
Credit Trust for Public Works, the Institute of Credit for Public Utility
Works, and the Institute of Naval Credit, all wisely exercised and with
assured advantage to public economy.

There is yet another field in which the Banks have played a large
part, and we must add a laudable part, not to their own advantage but
to the benefit of the public exchequer ; namely the direction of offices for
the collection and receipt of taxes. This is a new task for the Savings
Banks which they undertook at the invitation of the Government and in
order to render an important service to the State and the taxpayer.

It may be said that the principal tax offices are now in the hands of

Savings Banks 249

these Banks, i. e. those of Turin, Milan, Florence, Genoa, Venice, Rome,
Naples, and Palermo, to mention only the big cities.

We are still passing through a period of adjustment which is not
certain of proving lucrative for Savings Banks, and perhaps it may be
at first even onerous; but once this period is over, and the tax offices
properly organized, both the State and the taxpayers will feel the benefit,
apart from the fact that the office of tax collecting thus becomes a form
of public service and no longer subject to private speculation.

What I have written may appear unduly laudatory of our Savings
Banks, but I have adhered strictly to facts of which I have a personal
knowledge as president of the Association and the Institute of Credit
which combines them.

All Italians know the benefits that the Banks confer by the dispo
sal of their funds, which fully justifies their claim to be " disinterested
institutes of credit *% since the sole benefit they gain from their admi
nistration is public gratitude and the satisfaction of knowing that their
duty has been well done.

In all parts of Italy where Savings Banks are established they largely
assist the local public administration in every contingency, whether loans
or some other need are in question. They never deny their help to any
public work or in any public disaster; they associate themselves with
every public utility work, thus combining foresight with providence.

In accomplishing this generous mission, which is their chief aim,
the Banks ask simply that genuine thrift be yet better safeguard
ed, reserving the terms " Savings Bank ", " Savings Book ", and " Sa
vings Deposit " to our Banks only, because they alone have the respon
sibility of savings and because they alone really guarantee them under
the protection of the law and the care of the Government, and with
the reserves that accumulate.

Our Italian Savings Banks made this request at the Congress of
Trieste and Palermo, and the act of 1888 governing their foundation had
already mentioned it. Not only the Italian Banks, but the Savings
Banks of the whole world attach importance to this privilege, which was
unanimously voted at the International Congress of Thrift hsld in London
last October, at which Savings Banks of 57 States were represented, and
it was urged that the resolution should be transmitted to all the Govern
ments. For this reason our Italian Banks recommend it most strongly.

They also and above all request, in the interest of their autonomy
and their work - already strictly regulated by the law and by their own
statutes and watched over by the Government that they should not be
subjected to the risk of coercion and impositions likely to disturb them.

The Head of the Government is folly alive to this need and has
expressed himself very clearly on the subject. He and the Nation may
be sure that Italian Savings Banks appreciate the trust put in them and
will not fail to show r themselves worthy of it and of their traditions*

THE BANKING POLICY OF THE FASCIST GO
VERNMENT

by GIUSEPPE BIANCHINI, Deputy, President of the Fascist General Banking Confederation.

In considering this question from a general standpoint, it must not
be forgotten that the action of the Fascist Government in economic
relations is regulated by the Labour Charter. This document was of
ficially approved by the Grand Council in January 1926, and consti
tutes the fundamental declaration of the principles on which the Fa
scist State intends to regulate the relations between the State and
the citizen, to develope its policy in the field of production, and to re
gulate labour relations.

Paragraph IX of the Labour Charter stipulates : The intervention
of the State in economic production shall take place only when private
enterprise is lacking or insufficient, or when the political interests of
the State are involved. "

These principles have been rigorously applied also in the field of
Finance. Therefore the activity of the Banks has had no special limi
tation or restriction apart from the application of the laws safeguard
ing thrift.

These laws are of the 7th September and 6th November 1926,
and contain sundry dispositions which may be summarized as follows:
1st. To establish a new Bank it is necessary to obtain the per
mission of the Government which has to see that the capital is sufficient
and is paid in.

2nd. The Banks are under the vigilance of the Ministry of Fi
nance, exercised through the Bank of Issue; this control, however, is
limited to ensuring:

a) that a certain proportion between deposits and the bank
capital is maintained;

6) that the bank does not assume obligations towards any
single firm beyond the limits fixed by law;

c) that the bank fulfils the obligation to establish reserve
funds and publish regularly its balance-sheets and statements of account.
Banks are, therefore, private concerns, conducted by individuals
or companies, regulated by the laws of commerce, and by the special
laws above-mentioned when savings deposits are accepted, which do not
in any way modify their nature and leave intact the responsibility of the
management.

On no occasion has the Fascist Government or authorized public
bodies expressed the opinion that Banks must be nationalized, indeed,
the principles of the Labour Charter exclude this possibility.

With reference to the Bank of Italy, that is to say, to the Institute
or Bank of Issue, it must be stated that the Fascist Government by

The Banking Policy of the Fascist Government 251

the law of the 6th May 1926 withdrew from the Bank of Naples and
the Bank of Sicily the right to issue notes in order to centralize this
light in the Bank of Italy. But the constitution of the Bank of
Italy has not changed: its share capital has been preserved, being re
presented by shares quoted on the Stock Exchange, giving the right
of attendance at the annual meetings. The relations between the
Government and the Bank are governed by suitable conventions, and
the Bank enjoys the privilege of issuing notes, the Government has
reserved to itself the right of controlling the exercise of this privilege,
the amount of the Reserve Fund, and the appointment of the Governor.
These dispositions correspond to those generally in force in countries
more advanced in financial matters and recognized by the Finance
Committee of the League of Nations. The Bank of Italy is not dependent
on the Government and is not obliged to make subsidies to the Government
beyond the limits fixed by the laws regulating issue, and only in the
cases and with the guarantees provided for by these laws.

The law of the 3rd April 1926 and the regulations of the 1st July
1926 have established the basis of the corporative system by decreeing
that all labour relations shall be regulated through the organizations
of employers and employed.

The law was applied to Banks, and the Fascist General Banking
Confederation was established, recognized by Royal Decree of the 26th
September 1926. The Federation has its headquarters in Rome, and
at present includes seven national associations, namely:

1st National Banks.

2nd District Banks.

3rd Private Banks.

4th Financial Institutions (Trust and Holdings).

5th People's Banks.

6th Rural Agricultural Banks.

7th Stock and Exchange Brokers.
The Federation is divided into two sections:

An Industrial Section which regulates labour relations. This Sec
tion undertakes:

a) the study and solution of problems affecting labour between
banks and their staffs, in accordance with present regulations and with
the intention of fostering collaboration;

fc) the study and application of social legislation and useful edu
cational measures and schemes, with a view to helping the relation
between capital and labour in the national interest.
The Economic Financial Section proposes:

a) to encourage the systematized development of the financial
and banking business of the nation, and the safeguarding of the legal
common interests of the several categories belonging to the affiliated bo
dies, in harmony with the general good of the country;

252 What is Fascism and why ?

b) to protect and promote the interests and claims of the
banking classes through suitable action taken with Public Bodies;

c) to provide, through a permanent advisory office, interpretation,
and explanation of legislative provisions that concern banking;

d) to promote and maintain good-will among the affiliated bodies,
by lending itself, at the request of the parties concerned, to settle dis
putes in a friendly manner, even if these are of a non-general character ;

e) to favour the study and technique of banking, the working out
of banking regulations, and the study of statistics and economics.

The Statute decrees that the Banking Federation shall not work
for profit (Article 5), and that its Members (Article 7) shall conform their
conduct to Italian principles and national solidarity.

The Federation has no right to intervene in the business of banks,,
nor can it impose rules of a compulsory nature. The conduct of banks
is under the responsibility of those directly interested, and the Fede
ration can only intervene in cases which constitute a violation of the
law. In such case it should report these facts to the competent bodies
to be judged according to law.

We must, therefore, exclude the possibility that the Banking Fe
deration and its organs (which are nominated in accordance with the
suggestions made by the members of the organizations) can interfere
with the control of the conditions of banking operations. The Fascist
Government has never shown any desire to interfere in this matter,
having indeed recognized that even money is a commodity which cannot
be withdrawn from the influence of economic laws.

The Stock Exchange is regulated by various special laws and a
Commission has been appointed to codify these laws. Owing to the
rather unfavourable trend of the Share Market, caused by world depres
sion, many proposals have been put forward regarding possible reforms
of the Exchange. No action, however, has been taken by the Govern
ment, and we can safely state - especially as the time is not favourable -
that the Government does not intend to apply any reform-
On the Italian Exchange, transactions are effected in cash or on
term. These transactions are carried through by " calling out " in a
special enclosure to which only stockbrokers and representatives of the
principal banks are admitted.

During the war and the period of depreciation, various special mea
sures were adopted consistent with the limited activity of the Exchan
ge, but all these measures were abolished by the Fascist Government,
thus giving the Share and Money Market that liberty held to be indis
pensable to its function.

The existence of a wide and free market of Shares and Bonds is a
first condition for the development of national economy. Thus one
of the first acts brought forward by the Fascist Government by the law
of the 10th November 1922 was to abolish the law of the 24th Septem-

The Banking policy of the Fascist Government 253

her 1920 which made inscribed bonds compulsory and which had been
passed under the Government of Signor Giolitti for fiscal reasons, for
the purpose of taxing movable property more heavily. The Fascist
Government justly considered that in order to develop Italian economy
it was necessary to promote thrift and the flow of capital to industrial
and commercial business. In order to facilitate savings, Succession
Duties were abolished (a law proposed in 1923 by the Signor De Stefani),
and other measures which kept away capital from being invested in
Bonds and hindered free circulation were likewise abolished.

In conclusion, the programme of reconstruction of the Fascist Go
vernment has some well-defined fundamental points which have been
consistently followed. These are:

a) the balancing of the State's Budget;

6) sound currency ;

c) encouragement of thrift;

d) application of the principle, also in the field of banking, that
44 the private organization of production is a function of national in
terest."

THE ORGANIZATION OF CREDIT IN ITALY

by the Fascist General Banking Confederation.

No periodical statement covering all the Institutions dealing with
credit was issued in Italy before the year 1928. It was in that year
that the series of laws (1) which provided the present regulations govern
ing savings' banks were first applied. These regulations, issued in 1926-27
and applied during a difficult period, have very largely contributed to
the consolidation of Italy's credit organization, Since the Banca d'ltalia
was assigned the task of supervising all institutions dealing mainly with
deposit accounts, adding its practical control to the formal control already
exercised by government institutions, Italy's banking system, which had
not been exempt from certain plethoric manifestations during the long
period of inflation, has been assisted in its adjustment by an institution
peculiarly adapted for the purpose. With the aid of the Banca d'ltalia,
the banking system of the country has been reorganized and developed
and its functions specialized, with the result that the productive organi
zation of the country has materially improved.

Since it has become obligatory for all concerns dealing in credit to
inscribe their names on the Rolls of the Ministry of Finance, and to pre
sent to the Banca d'ltalia a half-yearly statement of accounts and a yearly
balance sheet compiled on a uniform model that was made compulsory
on January 1, 1929 (the yearly balance sheet only is necessary in the
case of private bankers and private or limited partnerships), we shall
shortly be in possession of such statistical data for the study of our
banking system as few European countries possess; data as complete and
perfect as those made possible in the United States by the creation
of the Federal Reserve System.

We give below some of the important results to be expected from
the growing influence of this control and supervision of Italy's banking
organization.

By the foregoing general remarks we have merely wished to call at
tention to the importance of this new departure, which is, indeed, well
known to banking experts abroad no less than in Italy, similar reorgani
zations, based on Italian experience, having recently been introduced
in other countries.

The last published returns of Italy's banking organization show that
on February 28, 1931, there were 3962 concerns de.ali.Tig in credit. Of
these, 1375 were banks and private bankers, 200 were savings' banks
and Monti di Pieta (pledge banks) licensed to deal in deposit accounts,
and 2387 were rural banks and similar institutions. It is of importance

(1) We allude principally to the Royal Decree of September 7, 1926, N 1511, the regu
lation issued by Royal Decree on November 6, 1926, N 1830, and the Royal Decree of
February 10, 1927, N 269, on the organization of Savings' Banks and Pledge Banks,

The Organization of Credit in Italy

255

to note that the number of these concerns has been continually decreasing
during the past three years; only 9 new institutions have been constitut
ed, while 610 of those already inscribed on the Rolls have been cancelled.
Of this number, 336 gave up dealing in deposit accounts; 100 went bank
rupt and closed down; and 174 were merged into other concerns.

The three groups indicated below are classified into seven categories,
according to the nature of the concern and the task entrusted to it in
the credit organization of the country. We give the total number of
each category, their aggregate capital and the sum total deposited by
creditors, whether agents or holders of current accounts.

CREDIT BANKS OPERATING IN ITALY ON DECEMBER 31, 1929

(millions of lire)

Capital (Working
capital & reserve)

Creditors' deposits, whether
agents or current account
holders

Commercial Credit Banks .
People's Banks ....
T?w?l B^nta .....

447
648
2429

4,786.3
719.7
60.5

30,803.6
8,500.7
1,311.9

Agricultural Credit Institu-

53.4

112.1

Savings Banks and Pledge
Banks

140

1,029.1

17,182.4

Public Institutes and Corpo-

1,907.2

5,351.9

Banking Firms ....

316

264.7

1,510.8

Total

4079

Against a total capital of about eight thousand eight hundred million
lire, the entire sum deposited amounts to little less than 64.8 thousand
millions. From this sum must be deducted the total amount of agents 7
accounts (i. e., the sums credited to bankers for clearing transactions, bills
remitted for collection, etc.) especially in the case of banks of the first
category, among which there are four national credit banks. The savings*
deposits, properly speaking, collected by the whole of these institutions,,
amounted to 38.4 thousand millions on December 31, 1929, against 37.7
on December 31, 1928 and 33.8 on December 31, 1927. These figures do
not include deposits collected by the Post Office Savings' Bank, which
has nearly 11,000 offices distributed throughout the Kingdom.

We give below the operations of savings'deposits and interest-bearing
bonds for the whole of the commercial Savings' Banks, Post Office Sav
ings' Banks, a group of ordinary banks (the four national Credit Institutes
and 38 Regional Banks) and the People's Banks (the three most important:
those of Novara, Milan and Bologna). The figures are for the last three
years, with the addition of those for 1921, to show the progress made.
Taking the lira for the latter year at its present gold value, we have
calculated the index of increment for each of the five groups.

256

What is Fascism and why?
SAVINGS' BANK OPERATIONS

(Depositors* credit account in millions of lire).

SAVINGS' BA3STKS

Index gold
value

Peoples' Banks

Index gold
value

Ordinary

Postal

1921

7.630.4

8,137.6

100

565.5

100

1928

13,956.6

10,826.1

194.9

1.013.3

222.4

1929

14,600.7

11,376.4

203.6

993.6

217.3

1930

15,244.9

12,521.4

218.2

1,083.1

237.0

Big Credit Institutes

Index gold
value

Regional Banks

Index gold value

1921

2,711.0

100

2,676.8

100

1928

3,805.9

174.1

3,902.0

180.8

1929

3,901.0

177.9

3,631.3

167.7

1930

3,909.6

178.3

3,529.7

163.0

The above-mentioned concerns are divided into national, inter-regional,
regional, provincial and local Banks, according to the range of their sphere
of action and the undertakings they have to discharge. The local insti
tutions are Rural Banks (institutions of the Raffeisen type), Communal
Agricultural Credit Banks, and private banks, although the latter have
a very different field of action, which is generally limited to the bigger
money markets and connected with the work of the Stock Exchange.

Outside the Bank of Issue, which has 93 branches in the principal
centres of the Kingdom, there are only four Institutions of a national
character in Italy. Their total capital is 2540 millions, and they have
available funds, represented by deposit accounts and credit balances
of agents with current accounts, amounting to 18.8 million lire.

CAPITAL, RESERVE AND DEPOSITS OF THE GREAT CREDIT ISTITUTIONS.

(in millions of lire).

Paid up capital

Reserve

Total

Banca Commerciale Italiana ....

700

610

1.310

Credito Italiano ,

500

314

814

Banco di Roma

200

259

Istituto Italiano di Credito Marittimo .

126.5

142.5

The Organization of Credit in Italy

257

Savings & >
current account
deposits

Agents* creditor
Balances

Total

Banca Commerciale ItaJiana ....

1.360

7,051

8,411

Credito Italiano ........

1 337 !

f. nno

7OOQ

Banco di Roma

459

1 f\Q(\

21 C C

,155

Istituto Italiano di Credito Marittimo .

156 |

778

934

These Institutions are the sinews of the credit organization briefly
described above. They centralize the distribution of credit to industries,
regulate the financing of capital through the market and promote the
expansion of the country's trade through a vast network of interna
tional relations.

THE NATIONAL SOCIAL INSURANCE FUND

fey PAOLO MEDOLOGHI, Director General of the National Social Insurance Fund.

The Cassa Nazionale per k Assicurazioni Sociali (National Social
Insurance Fund) centralizes and co-ordinates numerous social activities.
Indeed with the exception of the insurance against industrial accidents,
the Fund administrates all the compulsory insurance schemes now exist
ing in Italy: namely, sickness and old age insurance, unemployment in
surance, tuberculosis and maternity insurance, besides controlling various
special benefit schemes provided for particular classes of workers. The
fund, moreover, promotes and stimulates a spirit of foresight among young
people by giving its moral and financial support to the constitution of
mutual funds in the schools; it contributes effectively through its financial
activity to the prevention of unemployment, and also promotes and sup
ports numerous activities of various kinds which, in the field of produc
tion and public utilities, assist the work of the Country's economic recon
struction.

The National Social Insurance Fund, instituted by the decree-law
of 21st April 1919, no. 603, has continued, as a compulsory scheme, the
work previously carried out for over twenty years as a voluntary assisted
scheme by the National Workmen's Fund for Disablement and Old Age
Pensions, and it has rapidly become a highly important institution both
for the welfare of all workers for whom it was created and as a busi
ness and financial organization. The value of the total property belonging
to the Fund, which amounted to 448 million lire at the end of the year
1919, had risen to 1,343 millions at the end of 1922 and amounted to
5,035 million lire at the end of 1929. Including also the assets of the auto
nomous provident schemes controlled by the National Fund (unemploy
ment, tuberculosis, maternity, seamen's disablement insurance), the total
amount of the financial means at the disposal of the National Fund at
tained at that time to 6,371 million lire.

Tbis rapid and continuous growth of the Institution is due also to
the active stimulus which Fascism, from the very beginning of its rule,
has imparted in all fields to government action for the protection of the
working classes. As far back as 1923, measures were taken for the co-or
dination and improvement of unemployment insurance, the administration
of which was transferred in that year to the National Social Insurance Fund.
At the end of 1927 the compulsory insurance against tuberculosis
added to the already considerable duties of the National Fund, and ta
this new branch of activity the Fund devoted and devotes its most careful
attention and the means at its disposal. The law providing for insurance
against tuberculosis, one of the most distinctively Fascist social measures,
owes its origin to the XXVIIth Clause of the Labour Charter, which pledged
the State to enact compulsory insurance against vocational diseases and
tuberculosis as a preparatory step to general sickness insurance.

The National Social Insurance Fund 259

Compulsory insurance against tuberculosis, enacted a few months
only after the promulgation of the Labour Charter, by a decree of Octo
ber 27, 1927, came into operation on the 1st of July 1928, and the Na
tional Fund began to extend the assistance provided for by the insurance
scheme as from the 1st January 1929.

In this initial operation period of the law, the National Fund has
necessarily been obliged to avail itself of the help afforded by existing sa-
natoriums and similar hospitals for the treatment of tuberculous patients,
to the extent of the beds these institutions could spare for the insured,
and domiciliary treatment was resorted to when these did not suffice.
But the accelerating impulse communicated to all manifestations of na
tional life by the Fascist regime is being felt also in this domain, and the
Fund will have numerous and large sanatoriums ready in an even short
er time than that fixed by the law. In principle, it is intended to build
one lowland sanatorium in each province of the Kingdom, whereas only
a few, but very capacious, mountain sanatoriums will be erected. At
present sanatoriums and hospitals are in course of construction, which
will contain a total of over 6,000 beds.

During the year 1930 treatment in institutions and at home as well
as dispensary treatment, where possible, was taken advantage of by
43,000 insured persons and 14,000 members of their families, with a
total of 7,600,000 treatment-days. It may be hoped that such a sub
stantial contribution to the fight against tuberculosis will yield very
useful results, which will already be felt a few years hence.

As we have previously pointed out, Fascism has given substantial
proof of its vigilant care for the welfare of the working classes, also in
respect of other provident schemes, and particularly sickness and old age
pensions.

Going beyond the declarations of the Labour Charter, the Govern
ment, by act of the 28th December 1928, notably increased the amount
of pensions, although the rate of contributions was left unchanged. This
was possible owing principally to the economies effected by the National
Fund in management expenses, which were kept within very moderate
li-mit.fi (about 4.50 per cent, of the contributions cashed), as well as to
other favourable circumstances, and especially the fact that through wise
administration the investment of funds has enabled the Institution to
obtain a higher rate of income than had been counted on when the tech
nical bases of the law were framed.

The pensions allocated before the enactment of the above measure
were increased in very different proportions: the lowest increase being
30 per cent, and the highest 96 j>er cent. This greather liberality resulted
in an increase by 30 million lire in the total burden on the pension fund.
The average increase of workmen's pensions arising out of the law of
December 13, 1928 will amount to 30 per cent as compared with the
pensions allocated under the previous legislation.

260 What is Fascism and why ?

The above does not cover all the new provisions. In accordance
with the population policy of the Fascist regime and following the modern
trend of social insurance, which tends to benefit not only the individual
but the whole of his family, the law of the 13th December 1928 introduced
also a special increase of the pensions proportionate to the family charges
of the insured, the pension being increased by one-tenth for every child
under 18 years of age, without a number limit, so that cases are not im
possible in which the amount of the pension received is twice the standard
rate.

At the end of 1930, the National Fund was paying in connection
with all the insurance schemes administered by it, some 245,000 pensions,
corresponding to a total amount of 177 millions per annum.

In fulfilment of another promise contained in the Labour Charter,
the Fascist Government, by decree-law of May 1929, extended the scope
of maternity insurance, and as a result of this extension the maternity
benefit was raised to 150 lire, the obligation to cease work one month
before confinement was introduced and, for the period in which absence
from work was made obligatory, involuntary unemployment benefit was
allowed, the standard daily rate of benefit being increased by 50 centimes.

In 1930 the National Fund paid about 100 million lire under the unem
ployment benefit scheme. Moreover, it has contributed to the financing
of public utility works, the execution of which has rendered possible a
considerable employment of labour.

Besides its work in the actual insurance field, the National Fund has
devoted much of its activity to the prevention and treatment of disease.
It has thus instituted convalescent homes (at the Salviatino in Florence,
at Orio Canavese in the province of Aosta, at Asso in the province of
Como), it has afforded treatment in our most famous spas (Salsomag-
giore, Sirmione, Battaglia), and has opened dispensaries for the treatment
of trachoma in the districts which suffer most from that complaint. More
over, the Fund has instituted maternity and infant dispensaries in
centres where female workers are more numerous.

Lastly, the financial activity which the National Fund is carrying
out in the field of public works, in accordance with the lines laid down
by the Government has been extremely useful in the interests, of national
economy and highly beneficial to the working classes.

From 1920 up to the end of 1929 the National Fund invested 3,793
million lixe in public works, as hereunder detailed:

Land reclamation, agrictdtural ameliorations and alter
ations % L. 867,945,000

Railway construction 1,069,000,000

Promotion of popular housing 398,000,000

Loans to communes and provinces 931,000,000

L. 3,265,945,000

The National Social Insurance Fund 261

L. 3,265,945,000

Hydro-electric and thermo-electric plants . 122,000,000

Financing of shipping companies 87,000,000

Financing of air navigation companies 19,300,000

Financing of public utility works of special importance, as
the Apulian Acqueduct, the spas of Salsomaggiore and

Montecatini, industrial schools, etc 107,500,000

Participation in the capital of public utility enterprises (Na
tional Labour Bank, Credit Consortium for Public Uti
lity Works, Institute of Naval Credit, etc.) . . . . 51,000,000
Acquisition of securities of public utility enterprises (rail
way bonds, bonds of the Credit Consortium for Public
Works, bonds of the Relief Fund for Sufferers from
Earthquakes, bonds of the Land Credit Institution,
of the National Labour Bank, etc.) . . . . 140,700,000

Total L. 3,793,445,000

In 1930 the National Fund displayed considerable financial activity
with the object of promoting public works, particularly those which,
requiring a considerable amount of labour, constitute an effective means
of preventing unemployment. In that year the investments by the Na
tional Fund amounted to about 796 million lire, distributed as follows:

Railway construction L. 44,400,000

Land reclamation 316,055,000

Sea and lake transports 13,200,000

Popular housing 72,700,000

Loans to communes and provinces 143,300,000

Various public utilities, among which the Apulian Acqueduct
(39 million lire) and the Autonomous Road Fund (105

million lire) 206,300,000

Total L. 795,955,000

The figures we have given above do not call for particular explanation
or illustration, being sufficiently representative of the social and economic
importance of the National Social Insurance Fund, the farther consoli
dation and growth of which will be materially promoted by the spirit
of cordial co-operation which the Corporative Order has created among
the productive classes. This co-operation, which has proved so efficient
in promoting and improving the laws providing for the protection of work
ers, will be no less helpful in securing the full enforcement of social provi
dence laws and in diffusing the understanding of the advantages deriving
therefrom among the working classes.

THE NATIONAL ACCIDENT ASSURANCE FUND

by GIULIO CALAMANI, Director General of the National Accident Assurance Fund.

The Cassa Nazionale Infortuni (National Accident Assurance Fund),
founded by Act of Parliament in 1883 and re-organized by legal enactment
of the Fascist Government on June 25th, 1926, is a State controlled
Institution under the surveillance of the Ministry of Corporations, which
supervises the management directly through its representatives in the
Board of Management and the Executive Committee, and also through
a board of auditors formed of a Councillor of the Court of Audit, who
acts as chairman, and also of functionaries of the Ministry of Corpo
rations and the Ministry of Finance.

The majority of the persons forming the management of the institu
tion are representatives of the Employers' and Workers' Syndical Orga
nizations and are each nominated by their respective organization, thus
ensuring in the domain of social aid and welfare the smooth-working
partnership of employer and employed, which alone can guarantee their
reciprocal rights and the supreme interests of the Nation.

The institution is under the direction of a Board of Management and
an Executive Committee. A Special Committee, nominated from among
the members of the Board of Management, deals with the section for
Agricultural Accident Assurance.

The Board of Management is composed of fourteen members, in
addition to the chairman; two members are representatives nominated
by industrial employers and two by agricultural employers; two are the
representatives of factory workers (insured) and two of agricultural work
ers (insured); two of them are nominated by the Institutions that took
part in the Convention of June 16, 1911, (approved by the Law of March
28, 1912); one is appointed by the Ministry of Corporations, one by
the Ministry of Finance and one by the Ministry of the Colonies; and
the fourteenth is the President of the Cassa Nazionale per le assicurazioni
sociali (National Social Assurance).

The Executive Committee is composed of the Chairman, two Vice-
Chairmen (one nominated by employers and one by insured workers in
the manufacturing trade) and two other members selected by the Board.

The Special Committee in charge of Agricultural Accidents Assurance
is composed of a Chairman, two representatives of agricultural employers,
two representatives of agricultural workers (insured) and representatives
of the Ministries of Corporations and of Finance.

The headquarters of the General Management is in Rome.

The Chairman and members of the Board of Management and the
General Manager of the Institution are all nominated by Royal Decree.

The origin of the Cassa Nazionale Infortuni is closely connected with
the development in Italy of the principle of workers' insurance.

The National Accident Assurance Fund 263

Constituted - by a convention between the government and some of
the more important Credit Institutions and Saving-banks in the King
dom - in 1883, at a time when Parliament had not yet begun to pass
laws safeguarding the rights of the victims of labour and the spirit of so
cial providence was as yet almost unknown, even among the higher clas
ses, the Fund has made steady and growing progress in the development
of insurance, together with comprehensive studies of social and technical
problems and efforts on behalf of the best possible protection of the
worker's future.

The Fund was chosen in 1913 to take over accident assurance in
the new dominions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica; to these concessions
were added those of the Eritrea Colony in 1922 and the Italian Islands
of the Aegean in 1928.

During the war, the Fund patriotically took charge of the assurance
of workers employed in the war zone, Mercantile Marine crews and pri
soners of war.

Later on, the Fund was given the entire charge of carrying out in
the new provinces the laws in force under the extinct Austro-Hungarian
Empire, in regard to the assurance of workers against accidents.

In 1917, when accident insurance had been made compulsory for
agricultural workers also, the National Fund, - by this time well pre
pared thanks to its vast administrative and medical organization - was
given charge of this branch also for the greater part of the Kingdom, thus
adding more than 7 million workers to its register of persons insured.

The Fund's disinterested action in Fiume, before that city was annex-
ed to Italy, is not likely to be forgotten. The large financial aid given
by the Fund to the local District Bank for the Assurance of Workers
against Sickness and Accident, which was on the verge of failure, enabled
that institution to continue its operations, thus ensuring its benefits
to the workers of those regions.

In 1923, the National Government entrusted the Fund with the in
surance of numerous categories of civil servants, thus rendering this
class of insurance more homogeneous and more economical.

The Fascist Government re-organized the National Accident Assur
ance Fund by Royal Decree of May 16, 1926. Under the new Decree,
the Fund has become a State controlled institution, and is to be taken
as the standard type for institutions of the kind.

The present Board, which took over the management immediately
after the Decree was approved, has had the difficult and responsible
task of re-organizing the Institute and increasing its efficiency by a more
practical system of departments and distribution of functions.

The following table shows the progressive development of the Insti
tute's operations from 1884 to the present day. Starting from the hum
ble beginnings of the first three years (1883-1886), we reach the important

III

rH f- rH

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ill'

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rH rH

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j CO CO

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CO ON rj<
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ON CM CO

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rH CO C-

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1/5 co t*-

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rH rH rH

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1 1

1 i 1

O rH IO
CM CM t-

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^< 00

CO ON IO
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CO T? Tjl CM f-

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00 CM ON rH rH
rH VO O in CO
ON rH VO CM <?

^ m to f- t~

YEAR

1885 ^* rst three years of free
1886 insurance

1899 First three years of com-
1900 pulsory insurance after
1901 the 1898 Act

1904 ( First three years of com-
1905 j pulsory insurance after
1906 ( the 1903 Act

.^j^ First year of the inati-
1914 ' tute * 8 earlier reformed or-
1915 i S anizatioi i and two fol
lowing years

OD
&

VO C- CO ON O
CM CM CM CM CO

The National Accident Assurance Fund 265

progress of the last five years (1926-1930) culminating, in 1930, in the
enormous sum of about 7,500,000,000 lire's worth of salaries insured and
about 218,000,000 lire paid in premiums, on the one side, and on the
other, more than 167,000,000 lire paid out in compensation (during the
year) and more than 123,000,000 lire set aside on December 31 for acci
dents not liquidated at the time the year's accounts were closed (Acci
dents' Reserve) and more than 100 million lire in other reserve funds,
including the employees' providence fund. And there is no doubt that
these figures will be increased by the close of the 1931 balance sheet.

By Royal Decree of December 5, 1926, the National Accident Assur
ance Fund is the only institution carrying on compulsory accident as
surance under the fixed premium system. Its long years of experience
and the technical ability and fairness which the Fund displays in the
execution of its public function have won it the confidence of both
employers and employed, as well as the support of the National Fascist
Government.

Its financial progress and the bulk of its operations are evident from
the figures of the 1930 balance sheet, which received the high praise and
approval of the Head of the Government, who has laid down the lines
for the Institute's future activities.

The Fund's medical service has steadily progressed; indeed, the ser
vice has grown beyond the strict necessities of workmens' accident insu
rance. According to the laws in force, the only obligation of insurance
institutions is to settle and pay claims to the victims of accidents, so that
the medical services of these institutions might very well be limited to
the verification of the victim's condition, and as a rule this is in fact
the case. The National Accident Assurance Fund, however, has organ
ized a corps of more than 600 medical men; it has its own staff manag
ing 6 hospitals specialized in the treatment of accidents (the most impor
tant of which is the Ospedale Benito Mussolini at Bologna, which is con
sidered abroad as an unsurpassed mo del of its kind); it has 16 first-aid sur
geries, more than 100 outpatient surgeries of various kinds throughout
the working centres, and provides annually for the free housing and treat
ment of 4000 victims of accidents and the free medical treatment of
800,000 persons.

The National Accident Assurance Fund has published the Rassegna
della Previdenza Sociale since 1914. This is a monthly review of social
questions, law and jurisprudence, social-medical matters and insurance
technique; and it has a Specialized Library at the offices of the General
Management in Rome, which is the only one of the kind in Italy: it
contains more than 15,000 volumes dealing with labour problems and
problems connected with provision for the future and social aid. Among

266 What is Fascism and why?

the books are some very important publications of a medico -surgical na
ture dealing with trade accidents.

At the present day, at the opening of its forty-eighth year, the
National Accident Assurance Fund, covering as it does two thirds of the
workmens' accident risks of the whole country, may pride itself on
having attained to a degree of efficiency and prestige which entitles it
to be considered one of the most important organizations in the econ
omic life of the country, especially in view of its perfect concordance
with the structure and aims of the Corporative State.

THE NATIONAL INSURANCE INSTITUTE

by IGNAZIO GIOKDANI, Director General of the National Insurance Institute.

The Istituto Nazionale delle Assicurazioni, which completed its eight
eenth year on the 31st December 1930, is an original and interesting
institution, as now re-organized by the law of the 29th April 1923. The
results achieved in previous instances by state insurance schemes, work
ing in more or less direct competition with commercial concerns, were,
in fact, by no means encouraging.

In the course of its comparatively short life, the Italian Institute
has not only firmly established its position and held its own, even during
the very grave crises that have travailed Italy and the world during these
last twenty years, but it has become the centre, the dominating factor
in the national life assurance market and won a foremost position among
the insurance undertakings of continental Europe.

The National Institute may be said to occupy a unique position as
an insurance concern: it is not a limited liability company nor yet a
Friendly Society; it is a State undertaking inasmuch as the Italian
Treasury guarantees its policies and its profits belong to the State;
but its administration is entirely autonomous, and, so far as State con
trol is concerned, its position is not very different from that of commer
cial companies; it is in free competition with the latter, being, however,
entitled to claim the assignment of a certain proportion of each risk ac
cepted by them and to refuse any business which it considers undesirable.

By the close of the first decade of its existence, on the 31st Decem
ber 1922, the Institute was in a flourishing condition and - due allowance
being made for the stage of development of insurance business in Italy -
may be said to have achieved important business results. It had insured
a capital of Lire 4,150,394,433 under 542,622 contracts (legal assignments
included) and in 1922 recorded a business of 714,365,942 Lire. On the
1st January 1910 the sixty-one insurance companies operating in Italy
had a total of about 615,000,000 Lire's worth of policies in hand. The
coincidence of the foundation of the Institute and the development of
life assurance in Italy cannot certainly be attributed to mere chance.

The advance made since the 1923 Act came into force is still more
striking. The following figures summarizing business returns from 1923
to 1929 illustrate in a telling manner the work of the Italian State In
stitute of Life Assurance:

Year

Direct business | Total

Mathematical
Reserves

Number
of Policies

Capital

Number
of Policies

Capital

1923

35.303

720.517.132

554.245

4.594.911.901

859.491.961

1924

48.398

1.081.337.906

621.491

5.474.216.465

1.028.736.404

1925

65.868

1.445.123.507

676.077

6.674.259.468

1.206.830.377

1926

85.238

1.651.983.363

740.852

7.935.410.701

1.386.735.581

1927

185.311

1.727.305.892

898.787

9.071.330.931

1.620.940.201

1928

92.829

1.646.196.388

933.280

10.044.261.828

1.901.807.661

1929

98.271

1.701-306.607

980.041

10.725.661.362

2.395.839.025

268 What is Fascism and why ?

The notable increase in the number of contracts executed since 1925
not counting 1927, during which year a considerable business was done
in policies combined with the Prestito del Littorio (Littorio National
Loan) - is to a great extent attributable to the business started in hum
bler spheres: the small policies which aim at encouraging providence
for the future among the poorer classes, as practiced in other countries*

The first returns for 1930 point to a further increase of insurance.
Counting the business done abroad, which is making good progress in
some countries, we have reached a figure not far short of two thousand
million lire: a big figure in itself, and very striking in view of general
economic depression and industrial stagnation.

With its capital of about three thousand five hundred million lire,
the National Institute plays a highly important part in the Country's
economic life, especially in view of the big part it takes in financing
works of national interest: railway constructions, land reclamation, loans
to Communes and Provinces for sanitary undertakings and housing
schemes, the building of dwelling houses in general, and so forth. It
also invests considerable amounts in national bonds and loans secured
by mortgage.

Thus the Institute fulfils perfectly all the aims which the Law assigns
to it: its establishment has awakened a keen sense of the importance of
insurance in the Italian public; by its direct business and by underwriting
part of the risks accepted by commercial companies it acts as a modera
ting influence on the market, without in any way hampering the business
of these concerns; while it gathers and places at the disposal of the State,
of organizations formed for objects of public utility, and commercial
insurance companies, a liberal flow of savings, of the greatest value for
many purposes, owing to the steadiness and continuity that characterize it*

The fact that it found itself again face to face with resuscitated com
mercial insurance companies and obliged to work in competition with
these, compelled the Institute to revise its organization both within and
without, so as to render it more elastic, more agile, and more business
like. Important modifications were introduced in the territorial distri
bution of the General Agencies, and, by recent provision, all the directly
managed agencies, including those in the most important centres, have
been leased out, and it is hoped at the present stage of development
that this system will yield more business at a lesser cost, especially
in the popular insurance lines.

At the same time, the Administration is devoting earnest attention
to improving its technical machinery and bettering policy conditions. This
complex and delicate side of the business has recently been overhauled,
with the result that premiums have been considerably reduced under
many types of contract, and policy conditions simplified, lopped of all
superfluous clauses and made more liberal towards the holders.

Under the new Corporative System of Italian society, the National

The National Insurance Institute 269

Institute has another noble mission to perform: namely, to reach and
appeal to ever wider circles of the population, in order that the under
standing and practice of insuring against the hazards of life may take root
and develop here on the grand scale it has attained to in other countries.
We need only mention the agreements recently made between the Insti
tute and the Associazione Nazionale Fascista Dirigenti Aziende Indu-
striali (N. F. Association of Farm Industries) and the Federazione Italiana
dei Consorzi Agrari (the I. F. of Agrarian Consortiums) for the life insu
rance of their members.

And, lastly, the Institute is taking a leading position, well befitting
a State enterprise, in all the modern lines of activity followed by the
big insurance companies in other countries, and is developing extensive
programs in behalf of public hygiene, with a view to improving the health
and lengthening the lives of the insured. Among measures already taken
we may mention the free medical examination at regular intervals of large
numbers of policy-holders and the agreements made with certain of our
leading health resorts and spas whereby these now grant the most favour
able terms to needy policy-holders.

In this manner, the work of the Institute, which is already so valua
ble in the domain of social providence and national business, is being
completed by activities that assimilate and link it up with Government
Welfare schemes in the interest of the community.

AGRICULTURAL CREDIT AND THE WORK OF
THE NATIONAL CREDIT CONSORTIUM FOR
LAND IMPROVEMENT

by ARNALDO SESSI, Director General of the National Credit Consortium for Land Imp rouement.

The Consorzio Nazionale per il Credito Agrario di Miglioramento
(National Credit Consortium for Land Improvement) owes its origin to
the reform of land credit legislation introduced by the Fascist Govern
ment by Royal Decree Law of the 29th July 1927 (No. 1509), its arti
cles of association being published in the Official Gazette of the 13th
April 1928. The consortium has thus been going for barely two years.

To understand its nature and functions, it is necessary to have some
idea of the manner in which the business is regulated by the above cited
provision.

After defining the character of credit operations in favour of land
cultivation and improvement, and promoting their progressive develop
ment by suitable concessions and guarantees, the measure provides
for the organization of special regional institutes charged with the task
of guiding, co-ordinating, and integrating the action of local land-credit
banks.

But in view of their restricted capital and endowments, the credit
operations of these institutes in favour of land improvement are inevi
tably limited to minor operations. Hence the Act creates a central
credit institute which, while itself acting independently, at the same
time supplements the operations of the special regional institutes for
land improvement and reclamation.

This Institute - the National Credit Consortium for Land Impro
vement - undertakes operations on a bigger scale than can be handled
by the regional institutes under the terms of the agreement restricting
the operations of the latter within the limits of local needs and their
own capacity. The Consortium is in a position to meet bigger demands,
since, apart from its initial capital of 270 million lire, it is authorized
to issue interest-bearing bonds and debentures for a value ten times
that of its capital.

How extensive and important is the function entrusted to the Con
sortium will be realized when we bear in mind the policy of the Fascist
Government in the agrarian domain, a policy which extends from measures
connected with the increase of population to the fulfilment of a progressive
scheme of inland migration; from a complex programme of land trans
formation to the re-settlement of the country regions and the increment
of national agricultural production.

Although during these first two years of its existence the Consor
tium may be said to have acted experimentally - both as regards its
own organization and its approach to the land question and farming mi-

Credit Consortium for Land Improvement

271

lieu, nevertheless it has a very good account to give of its labours, as ex
pressed in the concise but eloquent language of numbers.

The Consortium has had to grapple -with many difficulties in ex
amining promptly and carefully the huge mass of applications that pour
in to it, ascertaining the technical feasibility and economic advantage
of the works for which loans are asked, and preparing a suitable form of
contract to cover the agreements made to finance them, while at the same
time making sure that the works are executed in a manner consonant
with the aims of the credit-scheme no less than with the interest of the
borrowers.

Its task is, indeed, very different from that of an ordinary credit
business, involving as it does wise technical and financial assistance to
progressive and productive private works, indissolubly connected and
closely coordinated with national economic interests.

Careful sifting of applications and rigor in granting them are neces
sary in applying these criteria and are a safe pledge that the national sav
ings, invested through this medium in behalf of agricultural progress,
will prove a sound investment for the individual and the community
at large.

LOANS GRANTED 1928-1930 DISTINGUISHED WITH RESPECT TO REGIONS

AND PURPOSE.

Rural
Buildings

Land
systemization

IRoads

Irrigation and
electro-irrigation
Plants

Crops

Nothern Italy . .
Central Italy . .
South Italy . .

Total Lire

75.667.000
9.177.000
40.673.000

23.901.000
33.410.500
16.853.042

7.778.500
10.648.500
9.381.000

69.888.500
15.522.000
22.405.575

21.448.000
19.384.000
21.589.000

125,517,000

74,164,542

27,808,000

107,816,075

62,421,000

The Consortium counts both on financial institutes and private in
vestors to display interest in this valuable national enterprise by pur
chasing the securities issued by it. These are folly guaranteed not
only by the Consortium's big capital, which increases year by year, by
mortgages and equivalent guarantees that back the operations, by
state competitions, the interest paid on the loans, and the expenditures
made in connection with the works for which they are granted, but
also by the marked increment in the value of the land itself due to
the improvements carried out.

For these reasons the Consortium's 6 % bonds have already found
a ready market, and there is little doubt that the demand will grow

272 What is Fascism and why?

in a measure corresponding to the progress of land improvement and re
clamation work.

It is difficult to foresee what proportions these works may assume,
but the data already available for applications sent in and loans granted
are promising for the future. Altogether this is certainly one of the
most far-seeing and important efforts for land improvement, that forms
so important a part of Fascist rural policy.

THE NATIONAL LABOUR BANK

by the Direction of the Institute.

The Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, a Public Utility Credit Institute,
is the most typical creation of the Fascist Regime for extending credit
to finance enterprises of social importance.

It is the credit organism devised by the Government to coordinate
and strengthen the Nation's economic forces, sanctioned by the Labour
Charter. The statutory rules of this important semi-official credit bank
are contained in the Royal Decree Law of the 18th March 1929 (No. 416)
which transformed the old Istituto di Credito per la Cooperazione into
the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro.

This Law, which establishes the Bank's position as a Public Utility
Institute of Credit, defines its aims of public interest conforming to the
principles laid down in the Labour Charter, and funds its capital in
the amount of 160,000,000 lire, in addition to a 2,000,000 lire reserve
fund. It is the result of four years 9 far-seeing and untiring work on the
part of the Bank's management; a work which has freed the Institute
from the scum of an inglorious past (during which it squandered, under the
pressure of anti-nationalist parties, the greater part of its means on behalf
of parasitical and anti-economic organizations), and has gradually
transformed it from being an institute of ill-conceived political charity
and assistance into a bank regulated by strict economic principles and
organised on sound business lines.

The limited circle of co-operative societies which, in different ways,
absorbed, through the channels of the Bank, millions and millions of
lire from the State coffers, has made way for the vast clientele of the
whole class of producers, whether organized in Companies or Consortiums,
or engaged in private enterprises, so long as they carry on some produc
tive activity of value to national economy.

Agricultural credit has been effectively stimulated by the modalities
prescribed by the present legislation, and effective business assistance
afforded to the institutions created by the Corporative State (Confe
derations, Unions (Sindacati) and Welfare institutes connected therewith)
in obedience to the principles laid down in the Labour Charter and the po
licy of the Government and more particularly the Ministry of Corpora
tions, to which the Bank is associated in its aims, and with which it is
required to work in close collaboration, so as better to assist the activity
of the syndical, corporative, and welfare bodies that depend on it.

Provided that it does not in any way jeopardise the bases of its bu
siness equilibrium and that it remains faithful to the aims and purposes
assigned to it by the law, the Bank may finance on generous terms any
welfare or syndical institutions or bodies of the Regime and extend small
credits in favour of deserving categories of workers (soldiers, disabled men,
artisans, etc.).

274 What is Fascism and why ?

It promotes, moreover, as vigorously as possible the Government's
marketing policy, granting credits to producers of staple foods and doing
the banking service of the important provision markets of the principal
towns.

It performs important banking services for public concerns, corpo
rative organizations and big industrial companies, and receives a great
number of deposits, a sure proof of the increased confidence of the thrifty
public and of the sound administration of the Institute.

True to the Government's policy, the Bank has undertaken an effica
cious work of penetration among our populations of foreign stock so as
to open the way for valuable activities in the field of agricultural credit
in our frontier regions, rich in busy farmlands; absorbing the Trieste and
Gorizia branches of the Banca di Lubiana. It has, moreover, taken part
in founding the Banca delle Marche e degli Abruzzi, contributing effi
caciously to the integration and supervision of this new bank.

We give below a few figures reflecting some aspects of the business
during the 1930 financial year, which show the progressive development
of the Bank and the brilliant results achieved by its efforts:

Deposits received

Up to 31-12-1926 Lire 90,950,600

31-12-1927 > 152,431,200

a 31-12-1928 247,082.000

31-12-1929 265,402,600

i 31-12-1930 307,930,262

The amount of credits to clients amounted on 3 1 December 1929 to
316,817,147 Lire, of which 28 % (Lire 87,400,000) was lent to co-operative
agrarian societies, land reclamation consortiums, collective holdings, pri
vate farmers, etc., 20 % (L. 29,800,000) to public and self-governing bo
dies, 41 % (L. 131,800,000) to concerns, companies, and private persons
whose production is of national interest; 4 % (L. 13,200,000) to syndical
and welfare organizations, and 17 % (L. 14,800,000) to working and build
ing co-operative societies, co-operative stores, etc.

In 1929, 5810 operations were authorized for a total of 452 million
lire, an increase of 80 millions on those of 1928 and of 184 millions on
those of 1927.

In 1930 circular cheques were issued for Lire 635,000,000 on account
of the Bank of Italy, the Bank of Naples, and the big joint stock banks*
an amount exceeding by 40 million lire that of 1929, which was al
most double that of the 1928 and four times that of 1927.

The list of the bank's correspondents has been extended and revised,
and among the many services undertaken special mention is due to
those of the Compagnie Portuali (Harbour Companies), the Opera Nazio-
nale Mutilati e Invalidi (National Institute of Disabled and Mutilated
Men), and the collecting services of the Associazione Nazionale fra i Con-

The National Labour Bank

275

sorzi di Bonifica e di Irrigazione (Nat. Assn. of Consortiums for Land
Reclamation and Irrigation) which the Bank has taken over, so as to
assist the great national enterprise for reclaiming and improving the land
(bonifica integrale). In consequence of the development of all these ser
vices the business turnover has risen from L. 8,769,435,038 in 1929 to
Lire 9,624,731,393 in 1930, an increase of close on one thousand million
lire; while the accounts turnover has risen to Lire 23,195,607,082.

AUTONOMOUS SECTION FOR LAND CREDITS

Side by side with the Labour Bank and connected with it, there is
a powerful organization to extend credit on land: the Sezione Autonoma
di Credito Fondiario, instituted by R. Decree Law of the 2nd December
1923, a corporate body with its own capital and a separate management
from that of the Bank.

Loans subject
to conditions

Loans
amortizing

Certificates

Operations taken over from tbe
former Agricultural Credit
section

issued

drawn

N. VALUE

54
32

VALUE

68
43

135.019.000
48.454.000

113.105.500
48.489.000

71.246.000
61.401.500

336.500
1.618.500

Operations between 1924-1926.

Operations matured in 1927 .

16.715.000

20.002.000

7.400.000

1.171.500

Id. Id. in 1928 .

100.611.000

38.481.000

66.856.500

1.500.500

Id. Id. in 1929 .

97.535.000

58.764.500

75.826.000

2.185.000

Operations matured by 31 March
1930

18.175.000

18
233

20.306.000
299.148.000

22.000.000
304.730.000

1.579.000

TOTALS

281

416.509.000

8.391.000

On 31st December 1930 the Section had outstanding loans for Lire
344,745,097,109; of these loans for Lire 86,405,000 matured in 1930. 88
operations were authorized, for a total value of 60,489,500. The outstand
ing certificates on the 31st December 1930 amounted to Lire 323,596,500,
of which Lire 52,830,000 were issued in 1930.

INSTITUTE OF CREDIT FOR PUBLIC UTILITY
UNDERTAKINGS.

The Istituto di Credito per le Imprese di Pubblica Utilita was consti
tuted by the Fascist Government by Decree Law of the 20th May 1924,
enacted into Law on the 17th April 1925.

Its purpose is to grant loans for carrying out works and installing
plant of recognized public utility, such as the production and transmission
of electric power, communication services, aqueducts, town locomotion, etc.

The loans may be granted only to Companies and private firms of
Italian nationality. They are securel by mortgages on the plant and works
executed and have a privileged claim on the income accruing from them.
This privilege is second only to the State's fiscal claims.

The Institute's capital consists of 100,000,000 Lire, subscribed by pub
lic institutions authorized to accept deposits and savings or exercising
insurance, by savings banks, and private life insurance companies. It
is under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance.

At the close of its last working year, on 31st December 1930, the
Institute, after five years' operation, had granted loans for about one
thousand million lire.

The loans granted consisted of 873,680,000 Lire, advanced to hydro
electric power undertakings or undertakings for the transmission or
distribution of power, and 100,000,000 lire to concessionaires of telephone
services.

Some of Italy's leading electrical companies and most important te
lephone companies have availed themselves of these loans.

On 31st December 1930, the Institute had issued bonds circulating
on the Italian market for 383,892,500 Lire and bonds placed on the New
York market for 18,377,500 dollars.

The organization of the Institute is on simple lines and its work
has been very efficacious, especially in financing Italian electric under
takings.

The cost of administration has been kept within strict limits, not ex
ceeding 33 centimes for each thousand lire of capital loaned, as proved
by the Institute's last balance-sheet.

On the 31st December 1930 the business had constituted a reserve
of Lire 14,408,952.74, equivalent to about 50 % of its paid-up capital of
thirty million lire.

The Institute's bonds have a big sale both in Italy and abroad.

CREDIT SYNDICATE FOR PUBLIC WORKS

The Consorzio di Credito per le Imprese Pubbliche is a public Credit
Bank with head-quarters in Rome, with a capital of 102,000,000 lire, of
which 61,200,000 are paid up.

Institute of Credit for Public Utility Undertakings

277

Its purpose is to grant loans for carrying out public works secured by
the payment of yearly contributions by the Government or tax offices,
the collection of which enjoys the same privileges as that of direct taxes.

The Syndicate is a corporate body with its own administration, under
the surveillance of the Ministry of Finance.

The loans are made against the issue of bonds on the home and
foreign markets. By the 31st December 1930 the Institute had granted
about one thousand million lire's worth of loans.

The sums borrowed were used for the works specified in the following
table:

DESCEIPTION OF THE WOEK

Amount of Loans

o) Reclamation, Irrigation and Hydraulic Works

6) Railway and other Constructions

c) Hydro-electric Plant

d) Diverse works carried out by the Communes and Provinces

) Colonial undertakings *

/) Subsidised Shipping Companies (including issue of bonds on

New York and London)

g) Buildings for War Disabled and Mutilated, guaranteed by

the State

h) Mining Plants

TOTAL . . .

362.806.024,46
141.645.281,26
124.154.945,67
634.736.500,
100.000.000,

476.609.712,50

74.916.499,88
23.524.484,10

1.938.393.447,87

At the time of the Association's last balance-sheet, bonds for a value
of 1,162,648,000 lire were in circulation on the Italian market, for a value
of 9,756,000 dollars on the New York market, and 1,322,300 on the Lon
don market.

The constant aim of the Administration has been to direct the amounts
accruing from the sale of the bonds to works of benefit to the national
revenue or calculated to promote conditions likely to enhance the Coun
try's productive activities.

On the 31st December 1922 the loans amounted to only 174,232,353.52
lire, and the bonds placed to 120,802,500. When the last balance sheet
closed on 31st December last, none of the instalments due on the loans
were in arrears and the Administration had been able to build up a reserve
of 31,112,671.38 lire, equivalent to over 50 % of its paid up capital.

The organization of the business is singularly elastic, management
expenses small (during the last financial year they amounted to only 25
centimes per thousand lire loaned), and there are plenty of opportunities
for an extension of the Syndicate's work. Its bonds find considerable
favour on the home and foreign markets.

THE ITALIAN FEDERATION OF AGRARIAN^ CON-
SORTIUMS.

The Federazione Italiana del Consorzi Agrari was founded at Pia-

cenza in 1892 with an initial membership of a few organizations and

some thirty individuals. The record of its first business year is as foUows:

1893: 65 members; Capital and Reserves, Lire 12,895; Produce

sold, Lire 711,147.

37 years after its foundation it registered the following:
1929: 813 members; Capital and Reserves, Lire 4,760,566; Produce
sold, Lire 371,132,418.

The success of the Federation is sufficient proof of its practical value
to our farmers. It has contributed largely to the improvement of agri
culture by promoting modern technical methods, assisting in land cam
paigns, and encouraging enterprise in farming by furnishing collectively
machinery, fertilizers, seeds, fodder, and anti-cryptogams. It has always
favoured sound co-operation, which views capital as a necessary instru
ment of trade, in its turn viewed not merely as a means of obtaining
a big return for capital.

The Italian Federation of Agrarian Consortiums is constituted as
a limited liability co-operative society, the share capital of which belongs
to the associations forming it. Hence its function is not only to co-or
dinate and direct the activities of the consortiums, but it is in fact direct
ly formed by them.

Its business is mainly commercial, namely the collective purchase
of materials required for farming and the distributions of these to the fe
derated associations.

The scale of the Federation's business is demonstrated by the per
centage of the sale of fertilizers negotiated through its medium to Italian
farmers : considering potash fertilizers only, this rose from 34 % of the
total consumption in 1924 to 50 % in 1929.

In addition to business of this kind, the Federation, in association
with various groups of agricultural consortiums, has organized a healthy
nucleus of Super-phosphate Co-operative Factories, to which it supplies
the necessary raw materials, imported direct by its own steamers from
Tunisia and Egypt.

These factories, which at the present moment number eighteen, and
have an output capacity of 400,000 metric tons, as against Italy's total
capacity of two million tons, are not only one of the most original co-oper
ative creations in the industrial domain, but are the surest defence our
farmers have been able to raise against the dangers of a monopoly of the
industry of chemical fertilizers.

The ever growing importance of the Federation's commercial activity
is clearly shown by the index numbers of its sales.

The Italian Federation of Agrarian Consortiums 279

Taking 100 as tlie amount of sales in 1924, we have the following
figures:

1924 = 100

1925 = 103.50

1926 = 125.90

1927 = 102.85

1928 = 140.27

1929 = 153.90

The Federation also does a considerable business in agricultural ma
chinery, and devotes much interest to the increment of motor-culture,
which it promotes in collaboration with the Sezione Utenti Motori Agri-
coli of the Fascist National Confederation of Farmers.

In 1927 the Federation tackled the problem of the exportation of
fruit and market garden produce, setting up a specialized section which
does business through its own offices in Italy and abroad. The special
task of this section is to co-ordinate the commercial efforts of the fruit
and market garden co-operative societies that are being formed and to
market their produce in Italy and abroad. It further supplies selected
seeds to farmers with a view to improving the standard of their produce
to meet market demands.

The business of the Section is steadily increasing: from 700 truck-
loads of produce exported in 1927 it advanced to 2,000 truck-loads in
1928 and to over 4000 in 1929.

The standardized packing system introduced by the Federation,
the care bestowed in putting up the produce and its reliability in all
particulars have won the favour of foreign markets and more especially
the German market.

Side by side with its commercial activity, the Federation of Agrarian
Consortiums is very active in its efforts on behalf of sound publicity
both at home and abroad. It sees to it that no opportunity is missed
to make Italian produce better known at Italian and foreign fairs and
exhibitions.

It lends a helping hand to all the experimental institutes, especially
those for the cultivation of wheat seeds, market garden and forage plants
and crops of industrial interest; each year it holds courses for training
farmers in the use of motor ploughs in the more important Italian
centres and associates itself with all initiatives aiming at the technical
instruction of farmers and peasants.

The trade movement of which the whole organization of Agrarian
Consortiums is the centre records sale returns of one thousand five
hundred million lire. This shows what an important part the Federation
plays in the agricultural business of our Country, especially when we
reflect that 50 % of the sales are made on credit, according to different

280 What is Fascism and why?

systems, subject to constant revision and improvement to adapt them
to the practical needs of the farmers.

The Federation is closely associated with the National Fascist Confe
deration of Farmers; the latter's efforts on hehalf of national agriculture
being integrated by the commercial activity of the Federation of Agra
rian Consortiums,

The participation of agricultural workers in the management of the
Federation and of the agrarian consortiums has stamped these with a more
complete and up-to-date character. The policy of the Corporative State
is fully expressed in the intimate fusion of principles and practical achie
vement, and this will undoubtedly bring a most valuable contribution
to the solution of the outstanding problems of Italian agriculture.

THE INDUSTRIAL GROWTH OF FASCIST ITALY

by ANTON STEFANO BENNI, Deputy, President of the Fascist General Confederation of Italian
Industries.

The progress achieved by Italian manufacturing industries since
the advent of the Fascist Government is clearly shown by the data we
here purpose to set forth as simply as possible, abstaining from all com
ment not strictly required for their right interpretation.

The significance of the figures for Italian industrial development
is clear and indisputable. It might be said that during the years
from 1922 to 1929 a notable increase of economic activities occur
red not only in Italy but the world over, accompanied by the marked
development of industrial and agricultural production: so much so that
the anxiety aroused in the first post-war years by the scarcity of products
has since given way in most cases to a critical situation arising from the
directly opposite cause, and revealed by the persistent excess of supply
as compared to demand, accompanied by the rapid fall of prices in
almost all countries.

It may also be said that a comparison of the present situation
with that prevailing in 1921-22 gives an exaggerated impression of the
progress achieved, as after the trade depression of 1930 industrial output
touched its lowest post-war level in almost all countries in the years
1921 and 1922.

But if these points should be considered so as to avoid an exag
gerated estimate of the headway made, they in no way detract from the
exceptional importance of the results secured by Italy in the last seven
years.

These results cannot be measured merely by the increase in Ital
ian industrial and agricultural production since 1922, an increase which
is of course but a beginning, for the economic reactions of a political revo
lution are only perceived in their true perspective after a long interval
of time. Although the Fascist Revolution announced itself from the
start as the restorer of social order and productive activities, the
results so far achieved in the economic field do not evidently exceed
the limits of a brilliant recovery, a vigorous affirmation of the vital
forces of the Nation, which has escaped at last from the stifling atmos
phere of disorder characteristic of the fiist post-war years in Italy.

Fascism performed the miracle of bringing the nation to a halt
on the very edge of the precipice down which it was about to fall, lead
ing it along the path to prosperity and progress and healing rapidly and
thoroughly the political and social sores from which it was suffering. By
no other means would it have been possible to secure the brilliant re
covery of economic and more especially of industrial activities recorded
since 1922.

The conditions prevailing in Italy when the Fascist Regime opened

282 What is Fascism and why ?

were such that if the country had merely succeeded in placing itself on a
footing of equality with the other nations in the progressive growth of
its business activities the achievement would already have been a con
siderable one. But there are good reasons for believing that at least
as regards industrial production the results obtained in Italy exceed those
obtained in a like lapse of time by other nations much wealthier and
better equipped for the task.

This impression is fully confirmed by the statistics for the first
three years (1923-25) of the Fascist Regime. During the next few years
currency revaluation and the effort at readjustment it required of the
country first caused a shrinkage in industrial output and then checked
the rate of growth. Nevertheless it seems not unlikely that when all the
index numbers of industrial production are available for 1929 and
1930 they will again show the more rapid rhythm of our industrial
progress.

The following table shows the index numbers for industrial production
calculated by the French statistician, Jean Dessirier, for Italy, France,
Germany, Great Britain, and the United States.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX NUMBERS

(1913 = 100)

1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

Italy 69 81 91 103 130 127 114 120 142

France 55 78 88 109 108 124 109 126 139

Germany 78 89 56 80 94 90 117 117 111

Great Britain 63 79 84 89 86 67 92 89 96

United States 97 127 152 141 156 163 160 168 178

Dessirier's index numbers do not go beyond 1927. We have brought
them up to date by calculating the figures for 1928 and 1929 on the same
basis used by him.

In 1929 the production index numbers for Italy as compared to those
for 1922 show approximately a 75 % increase as compared to 78 % for
France, 24,7 % for Germany, 40 % for the United States and 21.5 %
for Great Britain.

An examination of the figures for exports of finished manufactures
points to yet more reassuring conclusions, for they afford a significant
index to the industrial growth of the several countries.

EXPORTS OF FINISHED MANUFACTURES
(thousands of dollars)

Index

numbers Index numbers

1922 1929 (100^1922) 1930 (100 1= 1922)

148,634 336,327 + 226.3 258,080 + 173.63

1,005,554 1,238,784 + 123.2 1,054,270 + 104.84

1,226,061 2,355,845 + 192.2 2,030,557 + 165.

2,516,515 2,771,615 + 110.2 2,137,190 + 84.90

1,292,307 2,532,000 + 195.9 1,995,660 + 154.40

France .
Germany
Great Britain
United States

The Industrial Grourth of Fascist Italy

283

We have converted all the figures into dollars so as to eliminate the
influence of the different level of exchange rates in the two years under
consideration, and avoid the appearance of wishing to disguise the
relative smallness of our exports when compared to those of the
major industrial countries. Let us add that the higher percentage in
crease of our exports of finished manufactures is perhaps partially due to
the relatively low figures. But when all due allowances are made for
considerations detracting from the importance of the results achieved, the
spectacle afforded by our country in the last eight years is truly admir
able and unusual when we bear in mind her scanty natural resources,
the lack of capital, the liability to natural misfortunes (earthquakes,
floods, etc.), the way in which she has been the victim of the concaten
ation of historical events, to all of which she has opposed those impon
derables which so often decide the destiny of nations : a country thousands
of years old yet always young and able to bring forth, when the hour
strikes, the men essential to her perennial rebirth and to the attainment
of her high destinies.

Even during the crisis of last year which depressed economic
activities in all countries, Italy succeeded in a large measure in safeguard
ing the advantages so far secured, and in spite of inevitable shrinkage
she is still the nation whose exports of finished manufactures show the
largest increase when compared to those of 1922.

As already stated, we shall not enlarge on the growth of Italian
industry in these first eight years of the Fascist Regime, but leave the
figures to speak for themselves.

Unfortunately figures are not available to enable us to follow the
growth of all products. Those at our disposal however afford at least
an approximate idea of our industrial progress.

Leaving on one side the indirect data bearing witness to this
growth, such as the increase in the capital invested in joint stock com
panies engaged in manufactures, the increased consumption of fuels and
electric power, and the larger imports of industrial raw materials, we
will confine ourselves to the growth of production, beginning with the
mining industry, whose importance in Italy is unfortunately all too small,
but which is nevertheless the oldest industry, sharing with agriculture
the honour of laying the foundations of human civilization.

Of Italian minerals the most important are sulphur, lead, zinc,
mercury, iron, pyrites, iron and fuel ores and marble. The respective
output in 1922, 1929, and 1930 is shown, in metric tons, in the
following table:

1922

Sulphur 190,045

Lead and zinc - 125,574

Mercury 1,541

Iron pyrites 486,000

1929

323,835

230,490

1,998

664,543

1930

349,450

186,000

1,925

713,500

284 What is Fascism and why?

1922 1929 1930

Iron ores 311,214 715,171 716,590

Fuel ores 946,230 1.005,393 785,000

Marble 361,441 557,376 492,775

Although in the last two years the output for some of these has
fallen off as compared to the maxima obtained in 1926 and 1927 yet none
(with the exception of fuels adversly affected by the fierce competition
of foreign coal) have fallen below the 1922 level and for most the output
in 1929 was much higher than in 1922. In 1930 the level was main
tained and, indeed, in some cases the figures were higher than for the
previous year, notwithstanding the prevailing crisis.

The iron and steel industry can also point to a really notable growth
both for pig-iron and steel, as shown by the following figures (in metric
tons):

1922 1929 1930

Pig-iron 157,559 678,491 534,293

Steel 1.045,995 2.142,765 1,774,090

Notwithstanding the inevitable reduction caused by the depression,
the output of pig-iron in 1930 was 200 % higher than in 1922 and for
steel there was a 70 % increase.

Yet more marked has been the increase in the case of the non-fer
rous metals such as lead, zinc, and aluminium, as shown by the follow
ing figures (metric tons):

1922 1929 1930

Lead 10,709 22,668 24,263

Zinc 3,082 15,722 19,031

Ahnninium . 810 7,036 8,000

The output of these metals, still in the growing stage, is thus seen
to have been steadily increasing.

We are unable to give definite figures for the engineering trades.
We can, however, point to the fact that exports have risen from 443
million lire in 1922, to 878 million in 1929, and 750 million in 1930;
their nominal value has thus increased nearly twofold, and the volume
has undoubtedly increased threefold when the higher purchasing power
of the lira and the lower price level of 1929, and more especially of 1930
as compared to 1922, are taken into due account.

This growth of exports not only points to the larger output of the
Italian engineering trades but also to the improved quality of the goods
and to the better technical organization of the factories, which has en
abled them to compete successfully on foreign markets where the strug
gle for outlets grows ever fiercer. We need hardly refer here to the
magnificent results secured by the automobile industry, by that specializ-

The Industrial Growth of Fascist Italy 285

ing in electric materials, and by several other very important bran
ches of the Italian engineering trade. The most significant index to
the progress made by the automobile industry is that of the growth
of exports, which have risen from 11,372 cars in 1922 to 23,700 in 1929
and to 20,737 in 1930.

The growth of the chemical industries has been no less rapid and
brilliant. The figures given below afford only a general idea of the in
creased volume of production. But the persistent and methodical way
in which this industry has laboured to complete its output so as to cover
the full gamut of products and emancipate Italy from the dangerous de
pendence on foreign supplies to which the war called attention, is of even
greater interest.

1922 1929

Mineral acids tons 738,760 1,290,000

Alkalis 84,900 230,000

Explosives 2,018 3,812

Compressed gasses C.m. 3,500,000 10,490,000

Synthetic dyes and intermediate

products tons 6,613 14,900

Mineral paints and colors
Nitrogenous fertilizers
Hyperphosphates .
Copper sulphate .
Tan extracts ....

24,600 39,000

41,150 250,000

947,605 1,505,000 (1)

84,000 73,000

45,000 61,500

As it is not possible to give data for all the products manufactured
by the chemical industries, the list of which includes several hundred
items and is growing from day to day, we have referred above only to some
basic products at the head of which we have placed mineral acids, whose
output is generally considered as indicating the development of the
whole chemical industry. As the figures show, the output of these
acids has risen from less than 750,000 metric tons in 1920 to nearly
1,300,000 in 1929, so that roughly speaking the chemical industry has
doubled its output in that period. This first approximation is very ge
nerally confirmed by the figures for the several products.

Another of Italy's key industries is the electrical, and here again
we can point to most notable growth. The number of power stations
has risen from 478 in 1922 to 1072 in 1928 and the installed power from
1,579,000 Kw. to 3,548,000. It is estimated that in 1929 and 1930 the
installed power has increased by a further 700,000 -Kw, and that it now
approximates 4,200,000 kilowatts.

If we turn to the textile industries, of prime importance among
Italian manufactures, the following figures give a fairly approximate idea
of their growth.

(1) 1927.

286 What is Fascism and why ?

Cotton industry 1922 1929 1930

Spindles N. 4,514,000 (1) 5,395,000 5,480,000

Twisting d D 677,061 (1) 780,146 780,146

Power looms 122,506 (I) 150,000 150,000

Output of yarn Tons 154,300 213,156 176,825

B of fabrics 68,052 150,720 124,440

Woollen industry 1922 1929 1930

Combers N. 437 (2) 680

Woollen spindles ...... 520,000 (3) 600,000

Worsted d 435,000 (4) 560,000

Power looms ? 21,000

It should he noted that in the cotton industry the increased output
of fabrics is proportionately much higher than that of yarns. This points
to the care taken of recent years to complete equipment so as to carry
out all the processes called for by the importad raw materials.

The remarkable growth of the woollen industry is only partially
shown by the data for mills and equipment.

Notwithstanding unfavourable conditions due to the intensified
Asiatic competition, the silk industry has made considerable progress
between 1922 and 1928.

In the manufacture of rayon, Italy has made quite extraordinary
progress and now holds the second place among producing countries,
ranking next to the United States with an output of nearly 30 million
kilograms, whereas in 1922 she was at the bottom of the list with an
output of barely 3 million kilograms per annum.

We could prolong this survey considerably without fear of wearying
the reader, for the dryness of the figures is offset by the comforting spec
tacle they afford of flourishing activities, incessant effort, and success
secured in the face of great difficulties.

But lack of space compels us to interrupt this account of the
manufacturing progress achieved by Fascist Italy, for a brief reference
to the part played by the General Fascist Confederation of Italian
Industries during the period under consideration.

And here again we can only just point to some leading facts, without
going into details and giving illustrations which would require too much
space, and would moreover be superfluous, for the Confederation has al
ways worked in close connection with the public administrations, faith
fully following the lines laid down by the Government, so that an adequate
idea of its policies can only he obtained by viewing them as part of the
economic and financial policies of the Fascist Regime.

Here we will only say that the General Fascist Confederation of
Industries was organized about a year after the end of the Great War,
in the most troubled and dangerous period for our Country, when it

(1) 1921 - (2) 1920 - (3) 1918 - (4) 1919.

The Industrial Growth of Fascist Italy 287

seemed as though tlie forces of disintegration might prevail at almost
any moment over the sound energies working for reconstruction. The
Confederation lived through all the anxieties of those years which taught
lessons not easily forgotten and determined the trend of its activities.
It was then that amidst the stormy agitations of opposing parties, when
disorder was spreading and old and new ideologies were being wrecked,
the Man of Destiny boldly laid the foundations for the national re
vival which were shortly to triumph with the establishment of the Fascist
Regime. Under these circumstances it was only natural that the Con
federation of Industries found itself from the start in the front line
of the Fascist movement for the restoration of order, the economic
rehabilitation of the country, and the return to conditions essential for
the profitable expansion of productive enterprise.

The basic principles adopted from the very first by the Fascist Re
gime and ably developed with the establishment of the new syndical
and guild ordinances, have been faithfully followed by the Confederation
of Industries, which has always conciliated the due protection of the
categories it represents with the superior interests of the Nation. While
promoting, as in duty bound, the expansion of Italian manufacturing in
dustries, it has never endorsed claims which it considered either unjusti
fied or excessive, and it has never once ceased from fostering and infusing
in its members a sound spirit of self-reliance, for it is convinced that the
ever fiercer competitive struggle between the nations for securing advan
tageous positions and defending those already occupied calls for more
courage and audacity than are required for success in the field of politics,
and it is vain to hope for victory unless one is prepared to make any
sacrifices to attain the ends in view.

Italian industry has a particularly difficult task to accomplish, not
only because of the scarcity of raw materials produced in the country, but
also because of the limited purchasing capacity of the home market, the in
sufficiency of capital, and the many deficiencies in the banking and com
mercial organization it is dependent on, especially as regards export
trade, deficiencies in large measure due to historical and economic con
ditions rather than to any incapacity or lack of enterprise on the part
of the classes concerned.

Under these conditions there can be no doubt that Italian manu
facturing industries can only hope to succeed in the face of ever fiercer
international competition if they can count on home conditions favour
able to their expansion and if they can succeed in improving their eco
nomic equipment, forestalling, whenever possible, the improvements
introduced by competing foreign industries and never allowing them
selves to be outdistanced.

With this end in view the Confederation of Industries has steadily
been guided in its action by consideration of future rather than of im
mediate needs, giving greater importance to the problems of expansion

288 What is Fascism and why?

and its subsequent possibilities rather than to the contingent needs of
of the moment.

The reports published periodically by the Confederation, of which
there are already a considerable number, afford detailed evidence of
this action and of the policies inspiring it, but it would be impossible to
recapitulate them here however briefly. Suffice it to say that besides
work in the field of wage agreements, the discussion of fiscal and cus
toms questions, and of those relating to commercial and administra
tive legislation and the transport system, the Confederation has under
taken a full program of welfare activities affecting the standard of
living of the workers, the improvement of the technical and adminis
trative organization of the factories, and the coordination of their acti
vities within the general frame-work of national needs.

The results secured in all the fields dealt with are well known and
afford the Confederation just cause for satisfaction. But it is only right
to emphazise the fact that just as Italy is in the front rank of civilized
nations in the field of social legislation, both as regards relations between
capital and labour and as regards social insurances, so she likewise holds a
foremost place among the countries in which manufacturers have distin
guished themselves by voluntary initiatives on behalf of their em
ployees.

Much good work has also been done in improving technical and
administrative organization, and the Confederation prides itself on its
participation in the foundation of the National Corporation for the
Scientific Organization of Work (E. N. I. O. S.) and of the National Cor
poration for a Standardization of Industry (TL N. I.), and on the encou
ragement it has given to timely understandings between manufac
turers whenever they appeared to correspond to the best interests of the
industry and the Nation, strengthening among the parties thereto the
spirit of mutual aid and self-imposed discipline while encouraging the
spirit of enterprise and the tenacious determination to secure success at
all costs.

It is hardly necessary to point out that such action is fully in keep
ing with the needs of Italian economic life, nor need we insist on the im
portance and difficulties of the task incumbent on Italian industry, and
on the Confederation as its authorized representative, especially during
the present depression, with its possible developments so keenly felt the
world over.

It is difficult at this time to determine whether the present eco
nomic crisis is due to overproduction, or to the appreciation of gold, or
to other causes. Its fundamental characteristics are however easily
identified: a general fall in the prices of the leading raw materials, the
consequent demoralisation of the markets, the reduced purchasing power
of large sections of the world's population, the difficulty encounter
ed in placing finished manufactures notwithstanding large price cuts,

The Industrial Growth of Fascist Italy 289

a difficulty partly due to the well-known fact that in times of falling prices
purchasers stand aside in the expectation of further cuts, only huying to
meet immediate needs. The fall in the price of agricultural products
has also had serious consequences for industry, as it has reduced and in
some cases annulled the ability of the rural population to purchase the
products of industry, and also because it has radically modified the re
ciprocal exchange relations between agricultural and industrial pro
ducts, entailing a new and laborious process of adjustment. All these
are conditions affecting the world as a whole.

Italy, as we have already said, cannot hold herself aloof from this
situation. And, indeed, the whole nation, farmers, manufacturers,
merchants and bankers - are holding their positions firmly.

Difficulties to overcome are often the means of strengthening those
who have to meet them, and we are confident of recovery, especially as
we feel we can count on the steady support of the Fascist Government,
which is always endeavouring to increase the productive power of Italian
industry.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY

by GIUSEPPE VOLPI DI MSURATA, Senator, Minister of State.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT IN ITALY. - We can say with pride,
as Italians and Fascists, that the hydro-electrical undertakings in Italy
are among the most progressive in the world, and, if they are consi
dered in relation not to the actual wealth and population but to the
relative per capita wealth and economic status of our country as com
pared to others, they perhaps entitle us to rank ahead of all others.

I say with pride as Italians, because ever since the theoretical and,
later, practical application of electricity, Italians have, by dint of hard
work and ability, made an essential contribution to the progress of the
science and to the industry. And with pride as Fascists, not only because
the political situation of the last seven years has permitted a tremendous
increase in the production and consumption of electricity, thanks to a
period of stable government, but above all because the Fascist Re
gime has, by introducing a few but clear and fundamental laws, assisted
electro-technical development on sound and natural lines to a greater
degree than any other form of direct intervention could have done.

Having completed within three years the work which was entrusted
to me as Minister of Finance, I have been engaged investigating the
development of electrical engineering in other countries with a view
to taking financial and technical interest, thus providing foreign un
dertakings with Italian technical experience in specialized fields.

It may be said that Italian electrical engineering, if not the best
in the world, ranks certainly among the best, having withstood the
crucial tests of the War, of the post-war period and currency depression,
without suffering a decline, or even an abatement of its technical, financial
and economic progress.

This electrical development has proved to be one of the most re
markable and positive influences in the growth of Italian economics,
as was pointed out by Signer Mussolini in a speech which he made
in Rome on January 30th, 1930.

The electrical industry of a country does not constitute a self-
supporting industry; it is a dependent one which embraces and pe
netrates into all other activities of the country - civil, agricultural
and industrial. It is thus clear that the system of fostering electrical
development which we have followed up to now has contributed greatly
to the progress of other national activities.

CONCEPTION OF A GREAT PROBLEM. - It seems almort trite to state
that Italians were pioneers in the science of electricity and its practical
application. The contributions of Volta, Galvani, Pacinotti and Ferraris
to the science do not need to be stressed. It was in Italy that electrical
energy was first transmitted over long distances, the most notable

Hydro-electric development in Italy 291

examples being: Tivoli (1892), Paderno (1896), Vizzola (1898), Cellina
(1905-8), Cismon (1908), etc. These undertakings were conceived and
carried out with true pioneering spirit, with regard both to hydraulic
works and electrical equipment, and are still to be regarded as grand
achievements in the history of industrial development.

As consumers we may also say that we are pioneers, having since
its inception appreciated the economic importance of eletricity and
having promptly replaced oil, gas and coal by electric power for lighting
and power purposes.

Those responsible for our electrical undertakings deserve full ap
preciation for the courage and tenacity with which they faced early
difficulties and for the enterprising spirit shown in creating a market
for electric power.

The situation of the Italian electrical industry at the beginning
of the World War can be briefly described as follows:

Generating stations were isolated and operated as individual units
without technical or financial co-operation. Many of them were steam,
while areas of supply were nearly always confined to the large and me
dium sized towns. This represented a very narrow view of the problem,
and with a few exceptions the industry consisted of a mosaic of small
competing undertakings leading a difficult and hazardous existence. The
hardships of the war and the difficulty of obtaining coal awakened Italy
to the necessity for a sound water-power organization. These circum
stances were responsible for the introduction of legislation to regulate
the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical energy.

Financiers and leading men in industry, realizing the importance
of electricity in national economics, decided that reconstruction on a
sound and solid basis was urgently necessary. A system had to be evolved,
capable of meeting every requirement. The magnitude of the financial
interests involved necessitated definite zones of distribution and stabilized
tariffs.

In spite of the natural inability of the masses to understand eco
nomics, the consumers soon appreciated the necessity for a complete
substitution of coal by electricity in all possible spheres of domestic
and industrial life.

LEGISLATION. - The Fascist Government was the first to perceive
that the importance of the Hydro-Electric industry was becoming a
political question of primary importance, embracing the power require
ments of the whole nation. Since the water resources are State property,
measures were adopted for controlling the utilization of these sources
of energy and for the rationalization of the national wealth in water
power, which shows that our legislation in this matter is perhaps the
most up-to-date and, in many respects, the most practical.

One of the basic principles of our legislation is that the industrial

292 What is Fascism and why?

application of water for any purpose is considered a public utility
enterprise, regulated by the State for the general good. Users of water
by ancient right, or those who had become owners through having held
the rights for more than 30 years, have lost all rights with the exception
of temporary use, whilst ownership has been modified to a concession.

The Hydro-Electric Industry benefits by the privileges granted by
law to all public utility services. Electrical enterprises have full powers
for the purchase of any land for works construction and right of way over
all property for power transmission. It is furthermore laid down that
in granting a concession, the interests of the property owners are not
to be given undue consideration, though they must, of course, be com
pensated; but the first consideration is the better employment of the
water resources of the country, not only for the generation of electrical
energy, but also for agricultural purposes and irrigation.

Gradual transfer to the State of all hydraulic works will constitute
in future a measure which, in effect, will be equivalent to the nationali
zation of water power, whilst allowing full economic liberty for its use
and industrial application.

The Government, moreover, having very much at heart water power
development in Italy and all the economic factors pertaining thereto,
not only grants facilities for financing concessions through certain fi
nancial houses, but also assists by means of subsidies those works which
otherwise could not be undertaken. '

LIMITATION OF STATE CONTROL. - On the other hand, the regula
tions concerning electrical transmission, whether for transmission or
distribution of energy, show how State legislation, when granting facili
ties for generation and distribution, has also covered all contingencies
which might arise with third parties in connection with the construction
of the network itself.

For example, the regulations deal with way-leaves and maintenance
of public safety, road and railway crossings, and crossings over telegraph
and telephone lines, but they do not interfere in the commercial appli
cation of the lines, or, in other words, there is no State intervention in
the matter of distribution of energy.

In short, State control of water concessions tends to bring about
better utilization of hydro-electric power, and all the other regulations
are nothing more than measures designed to co-ordinate the various
interests, to ensure public safety and to facilitate the construction of
the transmission network.

The holder of the concession has full liberty in the matter of trans
mission, distribution and use of the energy generated, and the concession
vests in him the sole right to use the energy. No special privilege is
granted to the holder of the concession, whether a private individual, a
municipal undertaking, or a State concern, as, for example, the State

Hydro-electric development in Italy 293

Railways. No further right is granted to anyone, not even the monopoly
of distribution in any area, large or small, and this applies also to
municipal areas having a municipally-owned electrical undertaking.

Though no monopolies are granted, the big electrical combines
settle the boundaries of their respective distribution areas in a friendly
way, but these boundaries are not rigid, and agreements are made for
supplies to be given across such boundaries when economy dictates the
adoption of this course. Thus the territories are zones of economic
influence rather than definite areas of distribution.

Whilst, therefore, there are in existence and in practice such con
trolling regulations as are absolutely necessary for the technical and
economic distribution of electricity, and since the monopoly of an area
is never granted, every electrical undertaking is faced with the possi
bility of outside competition, which may arise by reason of the relative
economy of different systems of generation and distribution - for instance,
where the cost of local generation by steam permits a lower tariff
than that charged by a hydro-electric undertaking, or when another
hydro-electric undertaking is in a position to offer a lower tariff than
the one in existence.

It is not possible to over-estimate the value of such freedom of
competition. The State has never had the intention of interfering with
tariff charges or in regard to any charges voluntarily agreed between
supplier and consumer, and the tariff revisions enforced in Italy imme
diately after the war were solely for the purpose of adjusting pre-war
tariffs to modern conditions.

THE EFFICIENCY OF THE ITALIAN SYSTEM. - During the Fascist
Regime the value and efficiency of the Italian policy has been most clearly
demonstrated, especially during the period of currency fluctuation.

No inconvenience was experienced, because agreements between
suppliers and consumers were quickly adjusted on a basis satisfactory
to both parties, and the suppliers were able with little difficulty to or
ganize their services to meet the continuously growing power demand.

Another provision which the Government has made during the last
few years, and which has had a stabilizing influence on the electricity
market, is the granting of special concessions, giving fiscal facilities
for the amalgamation of electrical and agricultural undertakings of
every kind, when such amalgamation would result in the economic
advantage of both parties.

The development and reconstruction of electric companies in the
last two years have greatly benefited by the above-mentioned provision,
which I had the privilege of proposing when Minister of Finance, inas
much as it favoured both the amalgamation of undertakings and the
establishment of industrial collaboration between companies operating
in adjoining areas.

294 What is Fascism and why?

What I might call natural markets for power were formed, and
in this way capital expenditure was kept within reasonable limits and
much waste of public money in useless competition avoided.

It has therefore been possible for the big combines to bring about
a system of co-operation and interconnection covering a very wide field,
thus making the fullest use of the various sources of power.

To-day it can truly be said that in Italy generation and distribu
tion of electrical energy form one complete organization, conceived and
developed gradually, and assisted by legislation which has been most
carefully framed in order to allow natural development. Italian in
dustry has a solid asset in its electrical organization as it stands to-day,
and this fact helps to maintain an efficiency as high as can be found
in any country.

A final remark is necessary. In order to attain this degree of elec
tro-technical efficiency, the wise legislation and its application, to which
I have already referred, have not in themselves been sufficient. Other
factors of no less importance have contributed above all, the activity
and confident atmosphere created by the Fascist Revolution have been
instrumental in industrial and commercial expansion, while a new spirit
of devotion to the State has arisen, not only in individuals, but also
in public organizations. It is just this spirit of devotion which has
helped to guide the electrical industry in the wise use of the freedom
which it now enjoys.

GROUPING SCHEMES. - The system of grouping power stations,
transmission lines and distribution networks can be classified under ten
headings:

Piedmont

Lombardy-Liguria

Adamello

Venetia Tridentina

Adriatic

Tuscany-Latium

Central Italy

Southern Italy

Sicily

Sardinia

Each of these groups includes a number of power supply under
takings which distribute the electrical energy and co-operate in all tech
nical and financial matters; as a rule, they are under one management,
so that notwithstanding the number of separate undertakings, they
represent one corporate body.

As a rule, the groups carry out distribution within areas definitely
limited and not overlapping. The linking up of the various systems
is not only for the purpose of providing economical exchange of energy,

Hydro-electric development in Italy 295

avoiding the duplication of transmission lines and distribution networks
and waste of capital and labour, but also of providing, as far as
is possible, interconnection between the power sources of the Alps and
those of the Central Apennines; the former giving abundance of power
during the summer and having a restricted output in winter, whilst
the latter has opposite characteristics.

The main 220,000 volt transmission line from Gardano to Cislago
is an example of plucky enterprise on account of the technical and
financial difficulties overcome, and will permit interconnection and ex
change of energy between the Eastern and Western Alpine power sour
ces. Above all, this interconnection will allow the water power resources
of the Venetia-Tridentina district to be transmitted over the whole of
Northern Italy and over a large part of the Adriatic region.

CAPACITY OF THE HYDRO -ELECTRIC PLANT INSTALLED. - The ca
pacity of hydro-electric plant actually installed in Italy, by the year
1928, reached 3,900,000 horse-power, of which 2,800,000 was located
in Northern Italy, 600,000 in Central Italy, 300,000 in Southern Italy
and 100,000 in the Islands.

The capacity of steam stations in 1928 was in excess of 800,000
horse-power.

To give an estimate of the capacity up to the end of 1929, about
10 % should be added to the above figures.

The total output of electricity in Italy during the year 1929, was
more than eleven thousand million kw. hours, a very imposing figure
in itself, and if we compare it with the output of the most wealthy and
progressive nations of the world, we find that it is only exceeded by
the United States of America, England, Germany and France. If we
consider generation of electricity by water power only, Italy occupies
the third place in the world.

Thanks to the activity of Conte Ciano, Minister of Communications,
Italy occupies one of the first places amongst the more progressive
nations also in the field of railway electrification.

The first experiment in the application of high tension to electric
railways was made in 1902 on the Lecco-Colico-Sondrio line, and marked
the first step in electric railway traction with complete passenger and
goods main line services,

Up to the present time the State Railways, electrified or in course
of electrification by various systems, have a total track length of more
than one thousand miles, of which considerably more than half has been
carried out during the Fascist Regime. In addition, about six hundred mi
les of subsidiary railways, not belonging to the State, havs been electrified.

The vast electrified network of the State Railways now consumes
about 300 million k.w. hours per year with a consequent annual saving
in imported coal of about half a million tons.

296 What is Fascism and why ?

GROWTH OF DEMAND. Italy ranks amongst the first nations of
the world in regard to growth of demand.

The years 1922 to 1929 of the Fascist Regime saw the output of
electrical energy doubled, so that it can be said that during the last
six years Italy has generated as much electricity as she produced during
the previous twenty-five years.

These figures clearly show the value of Italian legislation in elec
trical matters.

FINANCE. The share capital of Italian electric power undertakings
in Italy is to-day in the neighbourhood of ten thousand million lire,
besides bonds to the amount of three thousand million lire issued in
Italy and abroad.

This does not, however, exactly represent the financial situation,
because it is difficult to appreciate in such figures the influence of the
depreciation and revaluation of the currency.

The capital value of the generation and distribution plant, expressed
at the present rate of exchange, may be estimated to amount to, and
perhaps exceed, 22 thousand million lire, based on a capital value
of 2 lire per k.w. hour generated and sold.

These figures, though imposing, do not sufficiently represent Italy's
real financial strength in this field.

The figure of 2 lire per k.w. hour generated and sold is sufficient
to cover generation, transmission and distribution, but it must be borne
in mind that the consumer must incur a considerable expenditure to
make use of the k.w. hour generated. This expenditure is relatively
big, whether it covers the wiring installation of the smallest house, the
electrical ecpiipment of the largest industry, or even the establishment
of an industry itself, as in the case of the electro-chemical industry.

If we bear in mind that, for many years past in Italy, electricity
has almost entirely replaced other forms of pow r er, it is easy to see what
heavy capital expenditure the consumer has had to bear in order to
make use of the quantity of electricity generated, and how the hydro
electric industry has been instrumental in developing many other in
dustries.

It is not possible to give the approximate value of the capital in
vested by the consumer in order to make use of electric power. Should
the motor only be counted, or must we include the whole installation ?
In some cases, as I have already stated, it would be justifiable to include
the entire capital invested in the industry.

However, I believe that consumers' capital expenditure for utili
zation of energy generated may amount approximately to half of the
capital expenditure on generating plant. It is, therefore, approximately
correct to estimate the total capital invested in generation and utilization
of electricity at 30 thousand million lire or more.

Hydro-electric development in Italy 297

I have reason to believe that of the above sum, more than 15
thousand million lire have been expended during the seven years of
Fascist rule: therefore, more than 2 thousand million lire a year of
Italian savings have been invested in the electrical industry.

The capital expended by the consumer for the utilization of electricity
has not received sufficient consideration, and this question is of para
mount importance in regard to the general economics of the country,
because it is not sufficient to estimate only the capital necessary to
provide for a constantly growing power demand, but we must bear
in mind, especially at the present time, the capital required to utilize
the energy.

Responsible individuals in politics and finance should keep before
them this complex question, and it is my opinion that Italian legislation
applied in the spirit of Fascism approaches the question very wisely
by leaving complete liberty to the play of economic interests in this
sphere. Under such conditions only can the growth of production and
consumption be able to maintain its equilibrium, avoiding the crisis
that inevitably would occur if the balance were upset.

LEGISLATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES. - During the last ten years
the legislation of other countries has certainly been tending towards a
policy of more or less direct intervention or towards a more or less close
control of the activities of the electrical industry.

Legislation in different countries takes a variety of forms, even
among the richest and most progressive.

They all, however, aim at fostering the electrical industry, co
ordinating its activities throughout the country, and utilizing national
power resources to the best advantage.

As I have already said, the methods adopted to this end vary con
siderably. Control may be exercised upon the earnings of an under
taking, as in America, or an organization may be formed indirectly under
State direction, such as the " Central Electricity Board " and the " E-
lectricity Commissioners " in England, who have, with Parliamentary
sanction, the right of granting concessions for generation and alloting
territories for distribution. The Central Electricity Board, also, by
means of an extensive transmission network, provides for the required
interchange of power between one area and another.

In France, hydro-electric generation and distribution are a con
cession and are minutely controlled by the State, which has the right
of granting monopolies.

Lastly, in Germany, the States, Provinces, or Communes take part
in the life and development of the electrical industry with the same
degree of liberty which is extended to shareholders in public companies.

I should go beyond my theme if I entered into a comparative in
vestigation of the various legislative measures, which would involve the

298 What is Fascism and why?

necessity of throwing light on the other side of the question by a
critical analysis. Such an analysis would be the more difficult since
legislative measures are mostly of such recent application that, at the
present time, it would be next to impossible to arrive at any definite
conclusion regarding their value in the development of the industry and
particularly in regard to the protection of the consumers' interests.

Low TARIFFS IN FORCE IN ITALY, - Without wishing to give exact
figures, which are difficult of comparison in the case of electricity tariffs,
I can say more or less definitely that in no other country is the price
of electricity, compared on gold basis, as low as in Italy, whilst in no
other country does the Exchequer derive a greater revenue by taxation
from the electric supply industry.

This is not only on account of the higher cost of living in other
countries, but is due to various factors inherent in electrical legislation.

All excessive legislation costs money and sometimes costs a lot.
Any system of maximum tariff must be sufficiently high to allow a
working profit, because otherwise the capital will not be sufficiently
productive, and will therefore be withdrawn.

In other words, I think that any form of interference with tariffs
would ultimately result in increased cost per unit.

The above refers to the richer and more advanced countries. With
regard to the poorer countries and Colonies, development of the electrical
industry has not gone beyond the very early stages, and may be said
to be still in its infancy.

The field, therefore, for the utilization of electricity in these countries
is more or less unlimited for a long while to come, and it is this field
which is of special interest to Italy.

Our technical organization, trained labour, engineers and financiers
have amply demonstrated their capacity to tackle the most arduous
problems. These qualities should, in my opinion, provide an opportunity
for developing the electrical industry in less advanced countries.

THE ITALIAN MERCANTILE MARINE 1922-1930

by the National Fascist Confederation of Maritime and Air Transport Companies.

Leaving out of count all vessels registering less than one hundred
tons gross, the Italian mercantile fleet in 1922 counted 1,413 vessels with
an aggregate gross register of 2,866,335 tons; while on the 1st July 1930
it consisted of 1,380 vessels aggregating 3,331,226 tons gross. Thus an
increase of fully 464,891 tons is recorded during the nine years of Fa
scist rule. While the actual number of the vessels has diminished by 33
- a decrease due in great part to the gradual disappearance of our old
and gallant sailers - the average gross register has increased from 2,028
tons in 1922 to 2,413 in 1930.

Motor ships in 1930 aggregated 61,374 tons gross, and by the 1st
July 1930 - that is to say in the course of about eight years - had increased
to fully 433,335 tons. Tankers, which on 1st July 1923 registered a total
of only 89,399 tons gross, had risen by 1st July 1923 to fully 318,699,
an increase of 229,300 tons.

Under the influence of Fascism, Italian shipowners have given no less
attention to the quality of their fleet than to its quantity.

The Italian mercantile marine owns the following vessels, all of them
registering more than 10.000 tons gross:

1) SATUBNIA 23.940

2) VULCANIA 23.970

3) CONTE BlANCAMANO ....... 24.416

4) CONTE GRANDE 2S.660

5) CONTE Rosso 17.047

6) CONTE VERDE 18.765

7) GANGE 12.272

8) AUGUSTUS 32.649

9) COLOMBO 12.002

10) DUILIO 24.281

11) GIULIO CESARE 21.657

12) ORAZIO 11.668

13) ROMA 32.582

14) VIRGILIO 11.717

15) AUSONIA 12.742

16) ESPERIA 11.405

17; CALIFORNIA 12.767

These figures show that we own 17 ships totalling 329,540 tons gross,
which are all that is most up-to-date and perfect in technical construction,
comfort, and luxury.

Two super-transatlantic liners - the Rex and the Conte di Sa-
voia , the former of the Navigazione Generate Italiana and the latter
of the Lloyd Sabaudo, are at present on the stocks. Each of these giant
liners will register about 47,000 tons. In addition to these, two motor ships
of 20,000 tons each are being built by the Cosulich Company. An
other important vessel now being built is the Victoria of the Lloyd
Triestino, which will register 15,000 tons gross.

300 What is Fascism and why?

The Italian mercantile marine, as we have seen, has made a big
stride forward under Fascist stimulus, in respect of both quantity and
quality; nor has it failed to assert the presence of the Italian flag in all
the main lines of international trade - not only with our huge, luxurious
liners, but also our humble tramps, that play so important a part in the
new Italy's history at sea.

Let us cast a glance at the traffic of three of the most important
international routes: Suez, the Danube, and Panama.

According to the returns of the Egyptian Ministry of Finance
for 1922, the Italian flag's share in Suez traffic amounted to 3.98 % of
world traffic.

During the general trade depression of 1930, the Italian flag's share in
Canal traffic recorded 307 sailings and accounted for 1,502,559 tons net
out of a total of 5,761 passages and 31,668,759 tons.

This shows that, notwithstanding the depression that weighed on
world trade last year, our fleet actually registered an increase in Canal
sailings, advancing from 3.98 % in 1922 to 4.77 % in 1930.

In 1922, the Italian flag participated in Danube traffic to the extent
of 103 ships, aggregating 176,945 tons, equivalent to 15.83 % of the total
navigation, which amounted to 691 vessels with an aggregate tonnage of
1,154,000 tons.

In 1930, the Italian flag recorded 305 vessels in the Danube trade,
aggregating 846,484 tons register, and carrying 621,064 tons of goods,
against a total navigation of 1,678 vessels and 3,934,984 tons of cargo.

Our flag has taken an active part also in far-off Panama Canal traffic.
In 1930 we registered 61 Italian vessels carrying 225,382 tons of goods
against a total movement of 5,885 passages and 27,843,927 tons of cargo.

The Italian flag has taken no less active a share in the traffic of
foreign ports.

In 1929 we registered a movement of 877,023 tons net in Argentine
ports - 7.49 % of the total traffic of 11,711,924 tons net.

In 1930 the Italian flag contributed 749,169 tons out of a total
of 9,886,812 tons. Thus the Italian percentage that year was 7.58 % as
against 7.49 % the previous year. The fact that Italy's share registered
an actual increase in the very midst of the general depression that has
hit the aggregate trade of Argentine ports is a fact deserving of note.

Another point that claims our attention is the figures recording
our traffic in Jugo-Slav ports in 1930. Last year Italian shipping con
tributed 5,500,000 tons net, coming next after the Jugo-Slav flag, and
being far and away ahead of all others.

We find the Italian flag occupying the first place in 1929 in the traffic
of the ports of Varna (524,584 tons net), of Burgas with 486,786 tons
net, and Costanza with 852,000 tons net; it ranked second during the
same year in the port of Alexandria, with 2,529,475 tons; while at Alex-

The Italian Mercantile Marine 1922-1930 301

andretta, in 1929 and 1930 it ranked first, with 225,183 and 209,700 tons
respectively.

In the port of Salonica we again find it first in 1930 with 509,058
tons of mechanically propelled tonnage - actually ahead of the Greek

The position of the Italian flag in the international traffic of our own
ports is not less worthy of note.

In 1922, out of a total of 14,399,608 tons of goods loaded and dis
charged for international trade in our ports, 5,880,745 tons were carried
by the Italian flag and 8,518,863 tons by foreign vessels. Thus our flag
participated in the international traffic of our ports to the extent of
40.9 %, and foreign flags 59.1 %.

It should be noted that the figures relating to ships' supplies, bunkers,
etc., are included in the 1922 figures.

In 1930, out of a total of 20,187,379 tons of cargo, 9,358,918 tons
(46.4 %) were carried by Italian vessels, while 10,828,461 (53.6 %) were
carried by foreign vessels.

International passenger traflic in Italian ports yields the following

In 1922 out of a total movement of 410,443 passengers, 334,610 saUed
under the Italian flag.

In 1930 out of a total of 335,499 passengers, 239,845 were carried

by Italian vessels.

The movement of the port of Genoa - first among Italian ports -
during these first 9 years of Fascist Rule is no less interesting. In 1922
the total movement of this port consisted of 6,645 ships, registering
11,444,913 tons net, and carrying 5,476,789 tons of cargo.

In 1929 the figures had risen to 10,800 vessels, registering 20,169,328
tons net and carrying 8,432,165 tons of cargo.

In 1930 - a black year for the mercantile marine - we have the
following returns: 10,064 vessels, registering 20,311,427 tons net, carrying
7,657,349 tons of cargo.

Ships 9 supplies and bunkers are included in the 1929 and 1930 returns.

Th comparison between the figures for 1922 and 1930 affords elocpient
proof of the fine stand our leading port made under Fascist influence
to resist the grievous depression of last year.

Among the shipping companies that form the backbone of the Italian
Mercantile Marine service, the following deserve special mention.

ON THE TYRRHENIAN SEA: .

La Navizazione Generale Italiana which has its office in (.enoa
and Agencies in the principal cities of the world. It directs very luxu
rious Id rapid lines to North and South America by the motorship

302 What is Fascism and why ?

Augustus (32,650 tons), and by the transatlantic liners Roma (32,600
tons), Duilio (24,500 tons), Giulio Cesare (22,600 tons). It maintains
also services in Central America and the South Pacific (via Panama)
ty the transatlantic liners Colombo, Orazio and Virgilio (12,000 tons
each) and a regular postal service to Australia.

The Lloyd Sabaudo likewise, with its office in Genoa and Agencies
in all the principal cities of the world, directs very rapid and very luxu
rious services to North and South America by the transatlantic liners
Conte Grande (25,661 tons), Conte Biancamano (24,416 tons), Conte
Verde (18,765 tons), Conte Rosso (17,047 tons).
It runs also a regular service with Australia.
Sitmar. La Societa Italiana di Servizi Marittimi, with its office in
Genoa and numerous agencies abroad, directs the Europe-Egypt " Great
Weekly Express "" with the steamers Ausonia (12,743 tons) and Esperia
( 11,405 tons ). It likewise runs luxurious, rapid round services in
the Mediterranean and postal and commercial services with the Black
Sea and Egypt.

La Marinima Italiana, with its office in Genoa and Agencies in
the principal cities, directs a rapid line to the Indies (passengers and
goods) and a commercial line to India and the Dutch East Indies. Spe
cial mention is due to the liners Aquileia (7,039 tons.), Genoa (7039
tons) and the motorships Arabia (7025 tons) and India (6367 tons).

The Compagnia Italiana Transatlantica (C.I.T.R.A.) with its office
in Rome and agencies in the principal cites, directs postal and commercial
services to Sardinia, Tunis, Malta, Libia, Egypt, Eritrea, Somali Land
and South East Africa. In its fleet are to be noted the liners Crispi
(7,464 tons), Mazzini (7,453 tons), Garibaldi (5,278 tons), and the motor-
ship Arborea (4,959 tons).

La Florio^ with its office in Palermo and agencies in the principal
cities, directs rapid daily, weekly and fortnightly services to Sicily, Tunis,
Libia and Egypt. In its fleet are to be noted the motorships Citta
di Palermo., Citta di Napoli^ Citta di Tunisi, Citta di Trapani (all of 5,000
tons). It possesses besides 9 very modern motorships of lower tonnage.

ON THE ADRIATIC:

II Lloyd Triestino, with its office in Trieste and agencies in the prin
cipal cities of the world, directs rapid lines (passengers and goods) to
the Levant, the Black Sea, Egypt, India, and the Far East. In its fleet
are to be noted the steamers Gauge, (12,272 tons), Cracovia (8,052 tons),
Pilsna (8,040) and the motorships Fusijama (6244 tons), Himalaya
(6,240 tons), Victoria (13,500 tons) and also other steamers registering
over 8, 7, and 5 thousand tons.

La Cosulick, with its office in Trieste and agencies in the principal
cities of the world, directs very rapid and very luxurious lines to North
America by the motorship Saturnia (23,940 tons) and Vulcania (23,970

The Italian Mercantile Marine 1922-1930 303

tons), rapid lines to South America and commercial lines to North
America, to Mexico and to South America. Besides the two large mo-
torships in its fleet, are to be noted a third motorship, the Belvedere
(9,000 tons) and the steamer Martha Washington (8,347 tons) and also
numerous steamers of more than 5,016 thousand tons.

La S. A. Navigazione Libera Triestina, with its office in Trieste
and agencies in the principal cities, directs rapid lines to California and
Canada (via Panama Canal) to South America, Mexico, the Congo, South
Africa.

In its fleet are to be noted the liners California (12,000 tons),
Duchessa d'Aosta (7,765 tons), besides numerous other liners of more
than 5, 6 and 7 thousand tons.

La Societa Veneziana di Navigazione a Vapore with its office in
Venice and agencies in the principal cities, directs the regular monthly
Venice-Calcutta service, touching at Dalmatia, Egypt and Eritrea. In
its fleet are to be noted the motorships Cortellazzo, Barbarigo and JSir-
mania (8,000 tons each), besides other steamers Caboto, Dandolo, Manin,
Marco PoZo, Marin Sanudo, Alberto Treves, all over 5,000 tons.

Besides the Companies above mentioned, both on the Tyrrhenian
and the Adriatic there are numerous other companies, such as the Adria,
the San Marco, the S. A. Industrie Marittime (S.A.I.M.), the PugZiez,
the Meridionale di Navigazione, the Soc. Tripcovich, the Lloyd Medi-
terraneo, the Gerolimich, etc., with passenger fleets often of considerable
importance.

GENERAL SURVEY OF ITALIAN INDUSTRIES

THE MINING INDUSTRY

MINES: The mining industry dates back to a remote past in Italy:
it may be said that, after agriculture, it was the principal resource of
the ancient inhabitants of the Peninsula and the Islands.

This industry has had many alternations of prosperity and decad
ence in the course of ages.

Its activities since the unification of the Kingdom are set forth in
the following table (p. 306).

The dire stress of war obliged the country to exploit to the utmost
its mining resources: a special department was set up to deal with fuel;
work was intensified on all hands to furnish the arms needed by the
fighting forces. Notwithstanding the difficulties of improvisation, our
production increased. The output of iron ore rose from 551,259 metric
tons in 1910 to 693,872 in 1918; copper ore from 68,369 to 82,302; lead
ore from 36,540 to 37,583 (41,590 tons in 1915); iron pyrites from 165,688
to 482,060; coal, lignite, etc., from 562,153 to 2,171,397, and mercury
from 839 to 1,038 metric tons.

This sudden expansion of production due to the war was followed by
a violent crisis that reacted on all branches of our mining industry.
Many mines were forced to close down, others to work only part time.

This naturally led to a rapid slump in production.

The general national re -ordering that followed on the advent of
Fascism did not fail to have its effect on the mining industry, as shown
by the statistics of production.

A marked diminution is registered only in the output of fuel,
which fell from 1,739,922 tons to 786,000 tons; but this production was
influenced by the improved situation of the international coal market.

To within the last few decades, our mining industry was carried
on with the most primitive means; it is now gradually improving its
technical equipment by installing drilling machinery, motors for hoisting
the minerals, discharging machinery, etc. The reform of the law on
mines in 1927, which consolidated legislation on this subject, did much
to promote the industry.

Nor has the Fascist Government neglected direct measures to en
courage the development of Italian mining, itself taking charge of initia
tives which private enterprises were unable to tackle with adequate
means. It is thanks to the State's intervention that it has been possible
to carry on the great work of exploring the sub-soil in search of petro-
leum, which has taken such a favourable turn with recent discoveries.
The Government has likewise provided for the exploitation on a big
scale of the asphaltiferous rocks in Sicily, having executed an agreement
for the requisite plant for the production of 50,000 tons of crude fuel oil.

CO rH

O rH

CO O

in rH rH

I I CO

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o
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Mercury

-3 S

306

What is Fascism and why ?

The fervour of research and activity evidenced by the mineral
extraction industry, so validly encouraged by Signor Mussolini's Gov
ernment, reveals the importance of this branch in the economic de
velopment of Italy.

QUARRIES: The extraction of building material from the Italian sub
soil also dates back to remote antiquity. But the extraction of marble,
granite, and other stone has developed to industrial importance only
in recent times.

At the present day, Italy possesses over 1000 marble quarries, the
greater number of which are situated in Tuscany, in the Apuan zone;
in the Vicentino, Bresciano, and Veronese Provinces, and Liguria; there
are other quarries in Piedmont, the Neapolitan Province, Sicily, the
Trentino, Friuli, and in the Provinces of Rome and of Trieste.

Some 4,600 companies are engaged in the extraction and manu
facture of marble; about 10,000 marble work-shops, scattered throughout
Italy, must be added to this number. More than 35,000 persons derive
a livelihood from the industry, if we take into account also the artisan
shops that work in marble. Of this number 14,000 work in the Apuan
region alone.

The most modern machinery is used in the marble industry, motor
power being supplied for the most part by electricity.

The following figures show the marble production of recent years:

1913

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

1916-20
(average)
Met. tons 509,432 200,000 577,640 634,162 622,447 534,820 557,376 492,930

These figures show that Italian marble production, which had de
creased considerably during the war years, made a good recovery in.
the ensuing period, reaching a level never before attained. General
economic depression has caused a fresh slump during the last years.

The greater part of the Italian product consists of white marble,
which represents a value of about 160-180 million lire yearly, but a

PRODUCT

Italian Marble Exports (Metric tons)

1925

1926 1927

1928 1929 1980

Rough Marble
(Met. Tons) 186,456

199,279 198,428

186,384 199,751 151,538

Polish. Marble

& Alabaster . 166,737

.9 155,464 146,420

160,288 156,309 126,931

Totals . 353,193

.9 354,743 344,848

344,830 356,060 278,469

Total value L. 211,243,211 246,889,043 274,145,594 267,208,997 263,704,208 215,340,982

General Survey of Italian Industries 307

great number of other varieties are extracted, and in certain regions
valuable veins of the most precious coloured marbles are met with.

Marble exports represents a valuable asset in Italy's export trade-
in 1928 they brought in about 267 million lire, 89 millions of which are
accounted for by rough marble and the balance by the polished product.

Germany is our biggest customer for rough marble; followed by the
United States, France, Belgium, Spain, and Great Britain. Next in
order of importance come Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland, Japan, Canada,
Austria, France, Australia, and Egypt.

THE METALLURGIC AND ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES

METALLURGIC INDUSTRY. - Only after 1885 did Italy realize that
she had the power to organize a flourishing iron and steel industry. After
ten years of efforts (1885-1886), much hampered by the economic crisis
the country was going through, our output reached about 223,000 metric
tons, of which only 9,000 tons were pig iron, 50,000 steel, and 164,000
iron. In addition to this quantity supplied by the national industry,
Italy consumed 215,000 tons imported from abroad.

When the 1896 crisis settled down, the movement to renew the
national industry rapidly grew and spread, and was greatly stimulated
by the steady and heavy increase of home demand.

From 1895 to 1913, the industry underwent a profound and general
transformation. Works fitted with all the latest technical equipment
sprang up; the older works were completely renewed and the production
of cast iron was far outstripped by the production of mild steel.

At the outbreak of the European war in 1914, the Italian steel in
dustry had a yearly output of 420,000 metric tons of pig iron and 930,000
tons of steel. During the war, our manufacturers managed to overcome
incredible difficulties and to raise the output to a figure never before
reached. The production of electrical steel increased from less than
20,000 tons in 1913 to 74,000 in 1918. And while the steel output of
most countries was decreasing, Italy managed, by a supreme effort, to
increase hers up to 1,304,000 tons in 1917.

A marked contraction followed the close of the war. The ii^dustry
was adversely affected by political competition, social disturbances, the
unstable situation of exchanges which rendered the supply of raw
material difficult and, generally, by the economic depression that
prevaildd all over the world.

Thus the steel output fell in 1921 to a Tnim'TnnTn of 683,000 tons,
and that of pig iron to 60,400 tons.

Since the triumph of the Fascist Revolution there has been a steady
upward trend. From the minimum to which we fell in 1921, we attained
to the figures set forth in the following table:

308 What is Fascism and why?

1922 Steel Met. Tons. 981,419 jPig Iron Met. Tons. 157,599

1923 1,141,761 236,253

1924 1,358,853 303,972

1925 1,785,532 481,799

1926 1,779,519 513,425

1927 1,565,770 489,161

1928 1,963,127 507,611

1929 2,141,765 678,491

1930 1,774,090 534,293

The fall registered in 1930 is related to the general economic crisis,
which reduced the world steel output from 121.5 million tons in 1929
to 95 millions in 1930 and that of pig iron from 99 to 81 million tons.

The Italian industry counts at the present time 14 coke blast-fur
naces, in addition to 2 electric blast-furnaces working in Aosta, and
126 Martin- Siemens furnaces, some of which are of big capacity; 5 blast
furnaces burning charcoal; 69 electric furnaces for pig iron and ferro
alloys; 8 Bessemer and Roberts converters; 89 electric steel furnaces;
7 Blooming mills; 127 trains of rolls for structural shapes and merchant
bars; 13 trains of rolls for wire rods; 19 trains of rolls for wide plates
and sheets; 75 trains of rolls for galvanized sheets and plates for tinning;
10 trains of rolls for seemless tubes; 15 cold rolling mills; 73 drawn wire
mills; 51 nail and tack factories; 19 rivet and bolt factories; 8 welded
pipe factories; 22 spring factories, and 16 chain factories.

THE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY. - The rapid development of Italian
manufacturing industries, and especially the weaving industries, and the
consequent big demand for machinery did much to promote the engi
neering trade. According to the returns of the General Direction of
Statistics, it counted in 1903 4,734 works, with 51,728 H.P., and em
ployed 116,236 workmen.

The first industrial census taken in 1911, while bearing witness to
its steady growth (38,207 works with 146,751 H.P., and employing
334,553 workers), also drew attention to the large number of small busi
nesses (those employing 10 or fewer persons, representing 93 % of the
total in 1911 and accounting for 33 % of the total labour), mostly car
ried on as family concerns.

During the war the complete cessation of purchases from Germany
and the great difficulty in obtaining supplies from other countries, forced
Italy to rely entirely on her own efforts for the manufacture of the vast
and diverse war material she required. The national engineering in
dustry rose splendidly to the occasion, successfully launching out upon
quite new forms of manufacture and grappling with the technical diffi
culties that kept arising.

The labour employed in the engineering industry during the war
period attained, and sometimes surpassed the figure of half a million
persons, between men, women, and boys. In the days immediately
following, this number, though it naturally fell, remained at a high

General Survey of Italian Industries 309

enough level to meet the needs of rebuilding our devastated areas and
renewing worn-out machinery. The national industry, almost unaided,
met the demand for machinery.

In 1920 the Italian industry again began to feel the pressure of
foreign competition; in addition to this the engineering trade was affected
by the cessation of the exceptional demands of war and the days fol
lowing the war, and felt the depression of the post-war social marasmus.
This state of things lasted till the advent to power of the Fascist Go
vernment; and in 1923 a recovery supervened which reached its apex
in 1925-26.

A fresh re-settlement crisis started in 1927, due, in part, to the
revaluation of the lira. On the 15th October 1927, the new industrial
census was taken, and showed that the Country owned 82,093 businesses,
employing a staff of 529,569 persons, and a motor force of 608,093
H.P. Of these businesses, 77,419 employed more than ten persons (a
total of 174,425 workers); 4,417 businesses employed a staff of between
11 and 250 persons (a total of 155,973 workers); and, lastly, businesses
employing over 250 persons accounted for a total of 199,171 workers.

This shows that, since 1911, the number of businesses had more
than doubled, the increase being mostly accounted for by businesses
employing ten or fewer persons, which maintain the same high percen
tage to the whole that they registered in 1911.

The aggregate number of employees, having by then surpassed
half a million, had increased by 58 % ; but the industry's powers of
production had grown in much larger measure, owing to the increased
output of each worker employed, resulting from better organization
and perfected machinery. Eloquent evidence of this fact is furnished
by the big increment in the power installed, this having increased more
than four-fold between 1911 and 1927.

Without entering into a detailed examination of the particular
conditions of the several branches of the industry, it may be said that,
as a whole, the output of the Italian engineering industry is considerably
in excess of the home market's powers of absorption. Its efforts at the
present time are therefore mainly directed to finding fresh outlets for
its products on foreign markets, at the same time securing imports of
foreign machinery.

SHIPBUILDING. - Shipbuilding, which has age-long traditions in
Italy, gained fresh impulse with the constitution of the Kingdom. Pro
gress in shipbuilding brought about the development of other branches
of engineering industry, more especially the construction of motors and
boilers.

In the pre-war period the best evidence of the powers and ability
of Italian shipyards was furnished by naval military constructions, in
the planning of which Italian naval engineering displayed a marked
degree of maturity and talent. On the other hand, the limited develop-

310

WTiat is Fascism and why ?

ment of maritime trade and the consequently unflourishing conditions
of the Italian mercantile marine, prevented our shipyards from com
peting - as they have done since the war - with foreign ones in the
construction of merchant shipping.

The following tahle shows the progress of the Italian shipbuilding
industry:

Years

jieeora or smpDimaing

1903

1911

1930

Shipyards regis
Workers employ

Vessels launche

Average per ve
Mercantile
Fleet
(Net tonnage)

tered

48
9,981

460,535
584,223
1.044,758

64
28,227
202
24,034
119
696,994
410,991
1,107,985

139(1927)
42,087(1927)
126
104,393
828

3,331,000

ped

i number

1 Tons gross

ssel (tons gross)

steamships

sailing-ship ** .....

Total

In considering this striking increase in the volume of shipbuilding,
we must bear in mind the activity of the shipyards of Julian Venetia,
before the war so important an asset of the Austro- Hungarian Empire,
which owned a mercantile fleet of the first order.

During the war, however, these shipyards were, to a great extent,
destroyed or rendered ineffective, and immediately after the war, a
considerable number of them had to be rebuilt when they took on a
different aspect, resembling the Ligurian shipyards, and undertook, like
these, works of mechanical construction.

As most people are aware, there was a tremendous increment (as
from 100 to 235) in the output of world shipping immediately after the
war: this was largely accounted for by the output of countries which,
not having suffered in the great war, were in a position to lay down new
tonnage; Italian shipyards entered the lists later and their activity
grew steadily till it reached its apex in 1926.

The activity of Italian shipyards since the war stands out owing
to its increment being sensibly above the general average increase and
also from the fact that it was largely devoted to the construction of
ships of much larger tonnage than the average.

Since the war, internal combustion engines have come into use
for the propulsion of vessels, a change that obliged many countries to
re-equip their yards to build these motors. In Italy, the construction
of motor vessels began to assume importance in 1922, and rapidly inten
sified during the following years, reaching in 1926 (with 153,121 tons
gross) its absolute maximum, while the highest percentage was attained
in. 1925 (71 %). *

General Survey of Italian Industries

311

Years

Motor vessels launched

Units

Tons Gross
Register

1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929

2
4

15
17
12
15
20

9,500

6,888

27,358

101,299

153,121

49,574

35,652

55,442

Four engineering works were organized to construct the motor ap
paratus of the vessels.

At the present time the Italian shipbuilding industry has a share
capital of close on 500,000,000 lire and has attained to such a high degree
of efficiency that it is able not only to supply the needs of the Navy
and the mercantile fleet, but to do a good export trade as well, compet
ing with shipyards of world reputation.

THE ANSALDO Co. - The " Ansaldo " occupies a leading place among
the great industrial concerns which Italy has created in the course
of half a century.

From the construction of small mechanical contrivances and motor
apparatuses of small power or uncertain type, the " Ansaldo " Co. of
1854 has grown to rank beside the world's great industrial organizations;
the small steamer " San Gottardo ", which fifty years ago was launched
with such high hopes, was the pioneer of a whole series of big and small
marine engineering constructions, whence the " Ansaldo " Works and
shipyards have attained to these results: over 300 vessels built, totalling
over 800,000 tons displacement and a motor power of over 2,500,000
H.P. Almost the whole of the material and machinery used for these
constructions has been manufactured by the "Ansaldo" Co. itself:
plates, sectional forms, ships' screws, big rudders, boilers, the powerful
motor apparatus, first with alternating engines, then with turbines,
and later with Diesel engines; and again field and heavy artillery,
from smaU mobile pieces to the guns of very large calibre that armed
the battleships which still survive at the present time, to the latest type
of big gun that arm our rapid cruisers.

The technical offices of the " Ansaldo " have drawn up thousands
of plans for all types of ships; for power stations of the most diverse

312 What is Fascism and why?

kinds utilizing both, water and thermal power; for all systems of steam
and motor traction; the most complicated metallic structures, and the
most powerful types of artillery. The competence of these offices has
enabled us to hold our own at home and abroad and to maintain the pre
stige that has contributed to Italy's position as one of the Great Powers*

Once having done with war manufactures, the ;4 Ansaldo " Co.
sought to consolidate its position, concentrating its activities in Liguria^
along the Polcevera and at Sestri Ponente, completing plants put in
hand and necessitated by the progress of its constructions.

The big steel-works and steel foundries which count among the
biggest in Europe - represent the most important of the " Ansaldo "
activities: these establishments, which alone employ over 35,000 work
ers, dispose of quite exceptional means of production.

The steel- works are the foundation of the " Ansaldo " system; they
supply the raw material, smelted and semi-fabricated, that serves for
all kinds of manufacture. We may mention here that the " Ansaldo "
is not only a big supplier of our State Administrations, but also one
of the best quoted industries on the Italian and foreign markets. To
gether with rudders, stern-posts, ship plates, and heavy castings for
big guns, the steel-works produce the most varied steel castings for
private industries of all kinds and for other big Italian shipyards, and
lastly, they turn out complete series of rounds, beams, and other steel
manufactures used in the building trade.

The other " Ansaldo " works, whether metal-making and engineer
ing, or electric-engineering and ship -building, embrace the most varied
forms of production.

A degree of perfection has been attained in the treatment of steel
by smelting, and in its alloys and manufacture, as a result of costly
experiment, often of a very delicate kind and not infrequently highly
dangerous, carried on in modern, well-equipped chemico-metalo graphic
laboratories, that constitutes one of the best guarantees of the excel
lence of " Ansaldo ** steel products.

The output of the " Ansaldo " steel-works is partly absorbed by
other of the Company's establishments and in part by the Italian and
foreign markets. The Company's engineering works, electric-engineering
works, and shipyards absorb great quantities for their several manu
factures.

After the different pieces - many of them of tremendous weight -
have been roughly turned out, the processes of mechanical manufacture
follow, being carried out in the Ansaldo Engineering Works; the great
crank shafts are passed to the lathes to be finished; the various
castings for all sorts of machines are very carefully and delicately worked
before being put together to form turbines, boilers, condensers, motors,
locomotives, locomotors, etc., aU works in which a fraction of a milli
meter is an all-important matter and in which synchronism, the most

General Survey of Italian Industries 313

perfect mechanical harmony, and the absolute interdependence of parts
is verified by accurate study and perfect technique.

The name of 4 " Ansaldo " is not only famous on the seas, as it was
on the battlefields during the great war, but is engraved on many a big
thermic and electric power station, on vehicles of steam and electric
traction, on the colossal and powerful cranes of many big ports, metal
bridges and girders of unusual structure, and again it stands out in many
a great building enterprise, in which its products have played an im
portant share.

The whole " Ansaldo " organization is already busily at work to
get the great liner " Rex " ready for the seas within the space of little
more than two years: this ship will register 47,000 tons, measure 265
metres in length, and have a speed of 27.5 knots - over 130,000 H.P.

The business done by the " Ansaldo " Co. in mercantile marine
building is collateral to its work in warship construction. Altogether,
the Company, besides contributing handsomely to Italy's engineering and
business progress, is able to provide her in large measure with the means
necessary for her defence.

THE FIAT Co. - Lord Wester Wemyss, Admiral of the British Navy
and president of the Institute of Naval Architects defined the " Fiat "
as follows:

" A marvellous organization, achieving a maximum of efficiency
with a minimum of effort. The Fiat works indeed bear witness to Italy's
modern spirit ".

This establishment consists of a powerful combination of diverse
productions related to land, air, and sea transports, and has made
amazing progress thanks to the sound technical organization and man
agement of its several parts.

While universally known as a manufacturer of automobiles, the
" Fiat " also plays a very important part in other branches of industry.
In addition to the famous " Lingotlo " Works, it runs 12 other establish
ments of different kinds which, together with the " Lingotto *% cover
an areas of 20 million square metres. The " Lingotto " alone, which
turns out hundreds of automobiles a day, employs 10,000 workmen,
and can boast of an output which ranges from the most economical
cars (model No. 514) to the latest models of luxury car (models " 521 "
and " 525 ").

The "Fiat" starts by producing its raw material with the smelting of
pig-iron and steel. Its " Ferriere " (iron foundries) of Turin cover an
area of 600,000 square metres and employ 3000 workers. There are
also the Avigliana foundries. The engineering plant of these foundries
ranks among the most modern in Europe, comprising two groups of
Martin Furnaces of a productive capacity of over 1000 tons of steel a
day, Bolming trains of 950 mm., etc.

314 What is Fascism and why ?

From their own steel-works, which specialize in steel castings by
means of " Fiat " electric furnaces of the daily capacity of over 150
tons of cast metal, the " Fiat " in addition to common steel produces
special chromium steel, nickel chromium steel, and very soft magnetic
steel, not inferior in its properties to pure Swedish iron.

The " Fiat " foundries produce more especially castings in iron,
bronze, etc., for automobiles, while the works of the " Industrie Metal-
lurgiche " of the Fiat turn out the most varied products: from auto
mobile wheels to armoured cars, farm machinery, and sheets and tubes
of all thicknesses.

In their Modena works, the " Fiat " produces agricultural machi
nery and tractors for sowing, ploughing, and harvesting. The Company
has also set up a big syndicate, with which the " Spa " and " Ceirano "
Cos. have been merged, for the production of industrial auto cars (lorries,
torpedos, and motor cars fitted for all kinds of services).

For marine use, the " Fiat " produces big Diesel-Fiat motors, which
find much favour also in foreign countries. Several of the great Euro
pean and American countries have submarines and motorships fitted
with Fiat motor apparatus manufactured in Turin, in works that have
won the encomium of the most competent authorities in naval engineer
ing. The record achieved by the Brazilian submarine, " Humayta ",
propelled by a Fiat motor, which made Brazil direct from Spezia without
any intermediate call, is of recent date.

The " Fiat " has in addition become a great producer of aeroplanes
and aviation motors. It is, indeed, an air pioneer no less than a
pioneer of the automobile in Italy; and during the war it provided the
Allies with thousands and thousands of motors for their air forces. At
the present time, the " Fiat " is making aviation motors and aeroplanes,
for both civil and military use. Its works constructed the machines
that carried out the first mass flight across the Atlantic, which our air
men executed under the command of General Balbo.

Railway constructions form another branch of " Fiat " business:
Diesel locomotives, carriages for passengers and goods, Pulman cars,
and " Commowealth " cars (already in use in Milan for the handsome
tramways). The most beautiful train in the world, the new train for
the use of the Italian sovereigns, was constructed by the rolling stock
section of the " Fiat " Company.

With 35,000 workers in its employ, the " Fiat " Co, constitutes
one of the great industrial aggregates of Europe. It has 20 branches
abroad, established in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czecho
slovakia, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Jugo-Slavia, Po
land, Roumania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States.
The commercial organization of the Fiat contributes very largely to
Italy's export trade in motor cars, as shown by the following data:

General Survey of Italian Industries 315

Years < Value in lire ! Number

1924

397,751,331

18,933

1925
1926
1927
1928
1929

667,393,011
709,780,115
605,306,700
409,641,557
355,691,529

29,061
34,191
1 33.312
i 28,280
i 23,689

1930

289,693,272

i 20,737

The falling-off in the exports of recent years is mainly due to the
aggravation of the world economic situation and the growing protection
policy of importing countries.

THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

A summary comparison between the Italian chemical industry at
the present time and its conditions immediately preceding the war at
once reveals the enormous progress it has made within the last fifteen
years, both in the number of products manufactured and in the (juantity
of each class.

The war was responsible for Italy's launching out on a number
of new industries, based on both organic and inorganic chemistry., and
at the same time it forced their rapid growth. Later on, the industries
fostered by war were gradually perfected and others radically transformed
to meet peace requirements. All this work of improvement and trans
formation has been greatly assisted by the collaboration of science and
industry, as well as by timely government assistance in respect of
customs duties and taxation.

Marked progress has also been made quite recently, the range of
our products being extended, while the quantities produced are often
in excess of the home demand.

The statistics of our output furnish the most striking evidence of
the progress accomplished.

The production of sulphuric acid increased from 645,000 metric tons
in 1913 to 1,250,000 tons in 1929. It should be noted, moreover, that
while the pre-war production consisted entirely of acid produced by
the lead-chamber process, in 1929 a considerable amount of 66-be con
centrated acid and oleum was manufactured.

The Italian production of sulphuric acid has been increasingly used
as a raw material of other industries, such as the manufacture of super
phosphates and the new industries that have sprung up in Italy - syn-

316 What is Fascism and why?

thetic organic dyes, ammonium sulphate derived from atmospheric nit
rogen, cellulose, kinematographic films, etc.

The manufacture of anhydrous carbonate of soda was started only
in 1919, with an output of 5,200 tons for that year. In 1929 we pro
duced 199,760 tons, the whole of which was absorbed by the home market.

During the period immediately preceding the outbreak of war we
imported about 50,000 tons per annum; thus the home consumption
has been quadrupled since that time.

The production of anhydrous carbonate of soda has enabled us to
substitute this home product for caustic soda, which we used to import
in very big quantities, especially during recent years owing to the ex
tensive manufacture of rayon by the " Viscosa " process. In 1929, by
means of the caustic treatment of carbonate of soda and the electrolytic
process, we obtained an aggregate of about 76,790 metric tons of caustic
soda and 49,570 tons of caustic soda in solution, which covered the home
demand.

The increased production of electrolytic caustic soda obliged us to
dispose of the corresponding quantity of chlorine; this has been largely
utilized as chlorine solution and for the manufacture of hypochlorites,
synthetic hydrochloric acid, chloro-benzol, and various intermediates for
synthetic organic dyes, tetrachloride of carbon, trichloro-ethylene, and
cellulose.

Marked progress has also been made in the production of certain
mineral dyes such as zinc-white, lithopone, (which we started to produce
after the war), ultramarine, likewise an afterwar production, (which we
now manufacture in sufficient quantities to meet the home demand),
and titanium white, which we began manufacturing in 1927, etc.

Since 1924, Italy has also made rapid progress in the production
of ammonia by direct synthesis of the atmospheric nitrogen with hy
drogen. It is hoped that before long this industry will be in a position
to cover home requirements of nitrogen products, while leaving a consi
derable margin over for exportation.

To give some idea of the progress we have made in the course of
a few years in the production of synthetic ammonia, we need only recall
that in 1923 the output of ammonium sulphate was 11,385 metric tons.
In 1924 the output had increased to 13,720 tons, and this year the pro
duction of synthetic ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen was started.
In 1929 the production of ammonium sulphate amounted to more than
144,000 tons, of which 128,000 was synthetic ammonia and the rest
liquid ammonia obtained from gasworks and coke furnaces.

We must also record the big stride forward recently made in the
boric industry, both by increasing the production of boric acid and
borax by fixing in the form of salts the ammonia present in the vapours
given off by volcanic steam jets (soffioni); by isolating and then com
pressing the anhydrous carbon present in the said steam, or by utiliz-

General Survey of Italian Industries 317

ing the steam emanating from the subsoil for heating and motor power*
and purifying it to obtain considerable quantities of electric energy.

Mention is also due to the following enterprises: the splendid plant
recently set up to extract aluminium from our bauxite; the plant which,
by subjecting leucite to the Blanc process, furnishes us with considerable
quantities of aluminium and potassium salts; and the plant which, for
some years past, has been producing large quantities of zinc from poor
ores by electrolytic means based on the Cambi process.

Since 1926 we have been extracting iodine from the Salsomaggiore
waters and bromine from the acqua madre of salterns, and have already
attained to a production sufficient to cover the home demand.

Other important Italian chemical industries are citric and tartaric
production, which in 1929, yielded respectively about 3,700 metric tons
of citric acid and 5,640 tons of tartaric acid, a large part of which was
exported; the alcohol industry, which during the 1929-1930 financial
year furnished 398,372 hectolitres of pure alcohol and 110,401 hectolitres
of inferior alcohol, and the industry in refined cream of tartar, which
yielded about 1700 tons in 1929.

Since the war, we have made a successful start in manufacturing
lactic acid and man trite from the fermentation of molasses, and during
these last years have begun to produce butylic alcohol and acetone from
the fermentation of starchy substances (risine); these products are of
great importance owing to the progress we are making here in the
manufacture of cellulose paints and acetil-cellulose rayon.

Sensible progress is also being made in the manufacture of tannic
extracts.

Since the war we have started the synthetic production of acetic
acid, formic acid, and, more recently, methyl alcohol. These organic
industries are already, or will shortly be in a position to furnish the
material for various national manufactures in quantities sufficient to
<cover our own needs and also to leave over a certain margin for expor
tation.

Extremely fine progress has been made in the manufacture of in
termediates and their respective synthetic organic dyes. Prior to the
war Italy had only a limited production of sulphur dyes, mostly sulphur
black. At the close of hostilities, an endeavour was made to preserve
the finest plant that had served for the manufacture of explosives, by
adapting and transforming a great number for the manufacture of in
termediates and synthetic organic dyes.

Our industry at the present time is elaborating and transforming
raw materials into the successive products, each one more complex than
the previous, from which it then derives dyestuffs sulphur dyes, acid,
-chrome-acid, direct, and basic dyes - that find so much favour in the
'wool and cotton trades. For some years past we have been manufac
turing synthetic indigo on a big scale, and during these last years we

318 What is Fascism and why?

have been making also dyes of the indantrene type. The manufacture
of vat dyes has given rise here also to that of hydro -sulphites.

In 1913 our importation of synthetic organic dyes was in the neigh
bourhood of 6,300 metric tons; in 1929 the figure had declined to 1,701.6
tons. A considerable percentage of these imports consists of dyes which.,
owing to the limited use of them made here, it has not so far seemed
worth while to start making ourselves. Some of the Italian dyes and
intermediates are exported. In 1929, 601.4 metric tons of synthetic.,
organic dyestuffs and 529.4 tons of intermediates were sent abroad.

Other branches of industry that have arisen in Italy since the war
are the manufacture of celluloid and synthetic resina of the bachelite
and similar types.

We began making celluloid in 1924 and attained to an output of
200 tons during that year; in 1929 the output exceeded 621.5 tons.
This industry gave rise in 1925 to the manufacture of synthetic cam
phor derived from spirits of turpentine. The output of synthetic cam
phor was large enough in 1929 amply to cover home requirements: in
deed, during that year we had an importation of 113.3 metric tons as
against an exportation of 135.7 tons.

The production of synthetic resina, of the bachelite and other types,
was started in Italy in 1920, the output in 1929 being 515 metric tons.

The industry in cellulose paints is also making headway, together
with the manufacture of various solvents and plastic substances for
the said paints - such as acetone, amylic alcohol, butyl alcohol, ethyl
amile, and butyl acetates, and butyl phthaleine.

Italy makes ample use of her extensive and varied chemical pro
duction, often in replacement of foreign products that were largely im
ported in the past; a great many of them are also finding favour on fo
reign markets.

THE FERTILIZER INDUSTRY. - The development of this industry
has enabled Italy not only to look ahead of situations and events that
are now maturing, but'" it has placed her in a position to offer Italian,
farmers national products both of fertilizers and cryptogams of a quality
and at a price that cannot be beaten on the international market,
and in quantities sufficient to meet all present requirements and those
of the near future.

The first factory of super-phosphates in Italy was opened in
Turin by the Sclopis Company; new enterprises in the first place of a
private character followed, and, later, limited companies and co-operative
societies were formed. At a later stage, groups of factories were formed
in north Italy under the auspices of the " Unione Fabbriche Concimi", and
in Southltaly under that of the " Societa Colla e Concimi ". The desirability,
from the technical stand-point and that of economy, of uniting into a
single group the producers of raw material (pyrites and sulphur) and of

General Survey of Italian Industries 319

finished products (super-phosphate), led in 1918 to the merging in a
single organization (Societa Montecatini) of all the leading mines and
factories of the Union and the Colla e Concimi Co., while the several
co-operative societies adhered to the Federazione dei Consorzi Agrari of
Piacenza.

There are in Italy at the present time 83 factories of super-phos
phates, suitably distributed throughout all parts of Italy. Their output
capacity is about 2,500,000 metric tons a year, while national consump
tion attained to a maximum of 1,500,000 tons in 1926.

As for quality, the Italian super-phosphate industry has followed
the most modern technical systems. Thus the production of high-grade
super-phosphates has been greatly intensified (16/18-18-/20/19/21 of
phosphoric anhydride) while - unlike the practice followed in other
countries - maintaining the same price per unit in factory as paid for
the low-grade qualities (14/16), thus giving farmers a great advantage
in economy of transport. By adhering to this policy, the general indu
stry which now unites phosphate, nitrogenous and potash fertilizers, has
been able to do much more; it has managed to replace inert substances
(such as sulphuric acid in super-phosphates and in sulphate of ammonia)
by active and useful matter, and now offers our farmers phosphate of
ammonia, manufactured at the Crotone works, containing about 50 %
of phosphoric anhydride and 20 % of nitrogen; one hundred kilos of
phosphate of ammonia is equivalent, in fertilizing power, to over 300
kilos of super-phosphate and 100 kilos of sulphate of ammonia.

This gives an idea of the wonderful stride Italy has made in the
fertilizer industry, which now tends to gather into a single product the
three substances essential to the development of plants phosphates,
nitrogen, and potash - substituting useless ingredients by fertilizing
matter. Splendid plants, such as those of Merano, Crotone, etc., that
bear witness to the unceasing progress of chemistry and demand fine
technical organization and the immobilization of very considerable
capital - have now replaced the humble factories of past times.

The production of synthetic nitrogen essential to the progress of
agriculture has been assured, thanks to the construction of plant with
a productive capacity of 70,000 metric tons of nitrogen per annum -
a capacity considerably in excess of national requirements. Thus Italian
farmers can now obtain at home all that they require in the way of
fertilizers (ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, calcium-cyanamide,
etc.), and more particularly calcium nitrate, which must and will replace
the former big importation of sodium nitrate from Chili. This national
product not only offers all the advantages of the foreign product, but
enables farmers to dose their soil gratis with 28 % of lime.

The attention of Italian experts and manufacturers has been en
gaged also in studying the production of the third element essential to
plants, potash. Advanced research, now about to take concrete in-

320 What is Fascism and why?

dustrial form, has of late been endeavouring to obtain both alumina
and potash - the latter in the form of potassium nitrate - from leucite
(double silicate of aluminium and potash) of which Italy possesses such
fine deposits, more especially in the central regions.

The national industry has thus met in a generous measure all the
requirements of Italian farmers, both in the quality and the quantity
of the fertilizers offered them, while considerable saving has been effected
by the development of the industry.

The prices of Italian chemical fertilizers have reacted to the fall
in the price of agricultural products generally, maintaining, in fact, a
lower level than the products themselves; their price in terms of gold
francs is actually lower than the pre-war price, while the price of Thomas
slag, sulphate and chloride of potash (imported fertilizers exempt
from customs duty) are higher, in terms of gold francs, than the pre
war price.

The above brief summary shows that the Italian fertilizer trade
has a very satisfactory account to give of itself. In respect of quality,
quantity and sale price - the three essentials so far as the consumer
is concerned - it is doing all that is possible to meet the needs of agri
culture, thus preparing the way for an increase of production that should
do much to alleviate the present situation.

THE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES

THE SILK INDUSTRY. - The breeding of silkworms for the produc
tion of raw silk on an industrial scale was established in Italy at an
earlier date than in other silk-producing countries, the first attempts
of the kind being made more than a hundred years ago. Since that
time, the number of properly built and organised filatures have been
continually increasing; and side by side with the increase in production,
there has been a constant improvement in the technical staff and in
the machinery used, with the result that the silk yarn placed on the
market is finer and purer in quality and more uniform from year to year.

One of the most important innovations made in this industry was
that of using steam instead of the old-style wood fire beneath each bath.

In 1866 there were 4092 silk filatures in Italy, the total number
of baths in use being 50,685; 3706 of these filatures were still using the
old-fashioned baths with a wood fire beneath to heat the water, while
the number of basins in use was 29,324. There were only 386 filatures
using the steam bath, with 21,361 basins in use. With the progress
of time, however, the old system has gradually disappeared and been
replaced by the new, and the number of basins in use also increased:
in 1891, out of 58,360 basins, 51,952 were steam heated and only 6408
"were heated over open fires.

General Survey of Italian Industries 321

The total number of basins in use in 1917 was 60,185; but the industry
suffered severely during the war and for some years after, the progres
sive fall in exchange rates having a particularly disastrous effect on
it. The natural consequence was that a rigorous work of selection was
instituted and filatures based on ancient systems and those that were
inferior for one reason or another had to go and leave the field clear for
the more modern, better organized and better placed filatures. It is
confidently expected, however, that as conditions grow normal, the
filatures that have been got rid of will gradually be replaced by finer
and more modern ones. According to the census taken in 1930, there
were 776 filatures in Italy, using altogether 56,800 basins.

The annexation of the new Provinces proved a considerable ad
vantage to the silk industry in Italy; Trent, especially, is a very im
portant centre of silkworm culture.

It is a well-known fact that Italy stands in the front rank in this
industry, thanks to her fine and extensive plants; she exports silk to the
other countries of Europe, and to the East and Far East.

Italian silk-producing machinery is, in fact, so excellent, that even
Japan, the world's biggest producer, started importing and later copying it.

The production of silk in this country increased from about 1,650,000
kilograms in 1863 to about 5,200,000 in 1913. From that period it drop
ped off, reaching its minimum of 2,133,600 kilograms in 1919; but since
then the production has started to increase again.

The following figures deal with raw silk production of the last few
years:

PRODUCTION OF RAW SILK IN ITALY.

1926 1927 1928 1929

from Italian cocoons kg 3,855,086 4,626,910 4,836.133 4,826.378

from imported cocoons kg. . . . 510,750 382,900 400,000 694,225

Total 4.365,836 5,009,810 5,236,133 5,520,603

Italian silk holds a high place for use in the two main branches:
raw silk weaving and twisted silk goods.

Italy's high grade or " extra " raw silk for the loom holds first place
among consumers in all countries on account of its durability, elasticity,
the evenness of the thread, its compactness (cohesion of the floss) and
uniform quality. These qualities are not always to be found in the
silk production of other countries, not so much on account of ^fective
manufacture as of an inferior quality of silk-worm, due to differences
in seed, climate and mulberry trees, and also to the chemical composi
tion of the water used in throwing, etc.

322

What is Fascism and why ?

In the throwing of raw silk for twisting, the Italian industry excels
in the production of very fine qualities for organzine. The Piedmontese
and Brianza marks of organzine are particularly favoured, as are also
the classic Lombard tram and the silks worked with a special twist; and
their fame has heen justly and laboriously won by great accuracy in
manufacture.

Generally speaking, the amount of silk goods turned out yearly
in Italy is from four to five million kilograms, including organzine, tram,
crepe, grenadine, spun silk, sewing silk, silk cord, etc., the whole of
these products being made either from Italian or from Asiatic silk.

About a fourth of the silk so worked is used in the national looms,
the remainder being exported, chiefly to the countries of Central Europe.

The exportation of silk twist from Italy reached its maximum in
the years 1908-1912, the yearly average being 3,503,000 kilograms. Since
1912, the quantity exported has varied, but always with a tendency to
decrease.

The trade in dyed silk is not of great importance. The official fi
gures are as follows:

EXPORTATION OF REELED SILK FROM ITALY,

Single

Doubled or twisted

Keeled silk, dyed

Kg.

lire

Kg.

lire

Kg.

lire

1913

4.526.400

217.267.200

2.833.100

141.655 000

139.759

7.267.468

1926

3.840.400

1.464 371.785

1.998.500

764.306.924

6.898

2.986.203

1927

3.102.600

803.292.974

2.102.800

645 628.592

34.063

11.461.908

1928

3.711.106

806.761.255

1.923 900

467.765.202

4.909

1.228.503

1929

3.873.000

795 700.962

2.107.300

484.202.006

5.745

1.275.530

1930

4.608.600

655.748.183

1.848 700

338.114.273

3.956

624.115

There are ahout 200 silk-weaving factories in Italy, all supplied
with excellent machinery; most of them have been rebuilt or remoder-
nized during the period since the war ended. The progress made in
this industry is evident from the following table, which gives the ap
proximate number of looms working in Italy from 1876 to 1928.

SlLK LOOMS IN ITALY.

Year
1876
1898
1912
1921
1925
1928
1930

Power Looms

250
3.000
15.000
17.500
21.500
22.500
24.950

Hand Looms

12.000

5.000

3.000

General Survey of Italian Industries 323

Without taking Japan into account, the information regarding that
country being insufficient, Italy takes the fourth world-position in the
silk- weaving industry, in regard both to number of looms and to output,
the countries preceding her being America, France and Germany.

Italy turns out the most varied assortment of silk goods, dyed either
in the piece or in the skein, namely: silks for dresses, printed silks, silks
for ties, umbrellas and sunshades, silks for men's clothing, handkerchiefs,
shawls, scarfs, upholstery silks, velvet, fancy velvet goods, church
hangings, flags, banners, silk art textures, silks worked with gold and
silver thread, special textures for the East, silk ribbon, aeroplane and
airship textures, veils, tulle, knitted silk in the piece, silk covers, etc.

There are no statistics to hand concerning production, but it is
calculated that during normal periods about 75 million metres are turn
ed out annually in Italy, to the value of more than 2,000,000,000 lire.

The silk weaving industry gives work to a number of allied industries
that have attained considerable importance at the present day, namely:
the dyeing and silk printing industries and silk manufactures. The
establishments carrying out these processes in Italy are all fine buildings
supplied with the latest machinery, and give work to about 6,000 per

sons.

II. THE ARTIFICIAL SILK INDUSTRY. - The artificial silk or " Rayon "
industry deserves a special place in the record of industrial progress.
The last to be started of the more important Italian textile industries
(1908), it ranks among the best organized at the present day, and stands
out also as one of the finest in international comparisons.

The share capital of the artificial silk industry, which was 350,000,000
lire in 1920, is now more than 2,000,000,000 lire.

There are 14 companies manufacturing artificial silk in Italy; they
possess altogether 25 factories and give employment to 36,000 workers.
Two new companies are setting up new plant, and will give work to
between two and three thousand persons.

Side by side with the production proper of artificial silk, there are
28 factories for finishing the product and getting it ready for the con
sumer; and these factories employ more than 3000 workers.

The artificial silk industry, therefore, gives employment to at least
40,000 workers, the greater number of whom are women. This is a
large number, especially when it is remembered that an extensive use
of machinery is absolutely essential in the trade.

Except for cellulose and cotton pulp, which are imported from
abroad and represent only 10 % of the cost price, the industry gets its
enormous supplies of raw material in the country itself: caustic soda,
carbon bi-sulphide, bi-sulphate of soda, hydrochloric acid, hypochlorite
of soda and cellulose acetate.

The machinery also is made in Italy.

324 What is Fascism and why?

The following table gives the figures of Italy's production as com
pared with the total world production.

ITALY WORLD'S TOTAL

Kg. Kg.

1913 150.000 11.000.000

1922 3.000.000 35.500.000

1923 5.000.000 47.500.000

1924 8.000.000 64.000.000

1925 14.000.000 85.500.000

1926 18.000.000 106.000.000

1927 25.000.000 143.010.000

1928 28.000.000 180.000.000

1929 32.000.000 205.250.000

1930 30.000.000 '

These figures bear witness to the rapid progress of the industry.

Italian manufacturers were among the first to realize the possibilities
of this manufacture. Thanks to their efforts, Italy, which, together with
Switzerland, ranked seventh among the countries producing artificial
silk in 1913, had attained to the first place in Europe and second in the
world in 1927.

The use of artificial silk in the country is making giant strides. The
number of kilograms sold yearly during the past nine years were: 700,000
in 1920-21; 1,000,000 in 1922; 2,600,000 in 1923; 5,400,000 in 1924;
5,900,000 in 1925; 6,000,000 in 1926; about 8,000,000 in 1927, in spite
of the textile depression; 10,000,000 in 1928 and 13,000,000 in 1929.

Large quantities of artificial silk are used in the country for manu
factures, part of the product being exported in the form of fabrics and
manufactured goods. Second among producing countries, Italy ranks
first in the world among exporters of rayon goods.

As will be seen from the following table, yearly imports exceeded
exports up to 1915; this state of affairs was changed in the period fol
lowing the war, but the advantage gained was not very great up to the
end of 1920. It is only since 1921 that exports have enormously exceed
ed imports, although artificial silk is being imported in continually
increasing quantities.

Italy's importation of artificial silk is due to the purchase abroad
of types and <jualities that are not yet made here, or produced in in-
sufiicient quantity. A large quantity of artificial silk is also imported
into the country to be worked or dyed and then re-exported. As soon,
however, as the plants that are being set up to complete the manufacture
of fine and extra-fine Qualities are ready for work, the importation of
special types will immediately decrease and eventually be stopped.

Artificial silk is exported from Italy to all the markets in the world;
the national industry has established an important commercial organiza
tion, which is in such excellent working order that the stream of trade
can at any moment be diverted to suit the capricious movements of the
market.

General Survey of Italian Industries 325

IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF ARTIFICIAL SILK AND WASTE

Importation Exportation
Kg. Kg.

1905 2.613

1906 20.978

1907 36.414 5.818

1908 41.009 20.076

1909 69.905 87.771

1910 211.608 89.364

1911 281.369 193.413

1912 330.422 268.207

1913 357.344 152.688

1914 344.945 215.400

1915 365.665 697.047

1916 139.843 323.085

1917 23.984 247.362

1918 4.976 93.000

1919 78.664 230.433

1920 374.120 396.346

1921 256.582 1,050.829

1922 432.052 2.013.392

1923 546.537 2.735.181

1924 697.052 5.651.135

1925 653.433 8.517.612

1926 813.828 11.700.139

1927 543.179 16.330.591

1928 579.986 17.189.231

1929 610.130 19.518.856

1930 (11 months).. . . 1.007.348 17.377.239

It is due to this elastic system for finding a market, combined with
the excellent qiiality of the goods and their relatively low price that
the Italian artificial silk industry has been able to increase its exports,
even in periods of exceptional difficulty.

III. THE COTTON INDUSTRY. - The Italian cotton industry was
started only after the unification of the Country.

In 1876 it already counted 645,000 spindles and 26,000 power looms.
The finishing processes of the industry were also set going: bleach- works,
dye-works, and calico-printing works. Italian manufactures gradually
replaced imported yarns and fabrics.

In 1900 the number of spindles had increased to 2,111,000, and
of looms to 70,000.

The number went on increasing in a truly surprising manner during
the following years. In 1903 we counted 2,933,900 spindles and 78,000
looms; in 1908 the figures had risen to 3,968,000 and 90,000 respectively,
and in 1912 to 4,582,000 and 115,000.

This extension of plant was carried beyond the limits of actual
requirements, however, causing during some years, from 1908 onward,
a surplus production that gave rise to serious depression.

From 1912 to 1913 the number of spindles remained pretty station-

326 What is Fascism and why ?

ary; in 1917-1918, during the painful period of the occupation of Ve-
netia, many works were wrecked and sacked; but these were rebuilt
later. In 1930, the Italian cotton industry counted 5,450,405 spindles
(of which 816,187 belong to the old fashioned self-acting type and
4,636,208 to the more recent ring type), and 150,000 looms, of which
128,000 are of the ordinary type and 18,000 of the latest automatic
structure, besides 4000 hand looms.

With this equipment, the Italian industry represents 3.17 % of
world cotton spinning and 4.82 % of the weaving industry.

The production of cotton yarns grew proportionately with the in
crease in the number of spindles: from some few thousand tons, it stead
ily rose to 186,200 tons in 1912.

Woven fabrics made similar headway and replaced in part the
foreign goods that Italy had previously imported. From 1870 to 1890
imports of cotton yarn and fabrics fluctuated around 20,000 metric
tons a year; during the five years, 1890-94, imports from abroad fell
precipitately to 7,500 tons, while exportation made a timid start with
2,500 tons. By 1895 imports had fallen to a negligible figure, while
exports made a fine stride, and went on increasing year by year till
they attained to about 60,100 metric tons in 1911* At that time exports
accounted for 35 % of the national output. After various vicissitudes
we find an exportation of 83,800 tons in 1915; while the total output
in that year attained to 253,000 metric tons. During the war this de
clined to 113,300 tons - three-fifths of the normal production - and
exports declined in like measure.

Exports recovered briskly after the victory, rising in 1919 to 64,100
metric tons, and in 1920 to 65,000; but later on a variety of circum
stances, and more particularly the social crisis which Italy went through
between 1919 and 1922, caused production and exportation to decline
in 1921 to 136,800 tons and 53,100 tons respectively, and in 1922 to
154,300 and 41,200 tons.

The advent to power of the Fascist Government created the condi
tions essential to the re-organization and recovery of business, and this
reacted immediately on the cotton trade: by 1923 production was again
on the up-grade, with an output of 160,700 tons, increasing to 174,700
in 1924; 205,500 in 1925; and 208,100 in 1926. There was a paraUel
increment of exports: 61,900 tons in 1923; 72,900 in 1924; and 85,200
in 1925. In 1926 exports slumped, leaving considerable stocks on the
home market, which caused a decline in the production figures of 1927
(181,600 tons), while exports registered 74,800. In 1928 exports rose
to 83,400 tons, while the national output was just over 200,000 tons.
In 1929 a fresh advance was made both in output and exportation, the
former rising to 213,000 tons and the latter to 83,600, the highest export
figure so far reached.

In 1930 the Italian cotton industry felt the effects of world economic

General Survey of Italian Industries

327

depression and the output of both spindles and looms declined. The
quantity of yarn exports, however, remained at the same level as the
preceding year, while exports of woven fabrics feU. During these last
years our manufacturers have been engaged in renewing old plant and
fitting out their factories with the most modern equipment, with the
result that the Italian industry is now in a position to vie technically
with the competition of foreign countries, and should, therefore, be
able to make a fresh and vigorous start as soon as the hoped for economic
recovery supervenes.

THE WOOL INDUSTRY

The Italian wool industry is of ancient date. Biella - its centre
at the present day - was already exercising it in the Middle Ages with
real industrial understanding.

Following on the stagnation of the second half of the XVIIIth Cen
tury, it was likewise in the Biellese district that the industry again
began to flourish, achieving enormous progress in the craft.

At the present time wool is one of Italy's most important industries.

The returns for 1918 record 65,000 workers as against 38,000 m
1907 30 000 in 1894, and 25,000 in 1876. It is estimated that m times
of normal business the wool industry employs about 80,000 persons.

It is almost wholly concentrated in four regions: Piedmont, \enetia,
Lombardy, and Tuscany. . .

The recent development of wool combing is shown in the following

table:

Year

1850
1890
1910
1915

Mechanical Combs

10
65

174
302

Year

1920
1925
1928
1930

Mechanical Combs

437
624
680
754

The normal output of the Italian plant may to-day be estimated
at about 18-20,000,000 kilograms of tops per annum, as against not
more than 6,650,000 kilograms in 1913. * n +1. j mm A

This increase in national production has caused a fall m the demand

osg, worsted spinning, is usuaUy an auxiliary pro
cess to weaving: there are, however, a number of businesses in Italy,
owning a limited number of spindles, that spin wool only.

It is estimated that we have at the present time 600 000 spindles
for sp^g wooUens and that between 15,000 and 20,000 persons are
employed if this branch. The Italian output of woollen yarn completely
covers the home demand.

328 What is Fascism and why ?

The majority of Italian spindles for spinning worsteds are in the
hands of firms that do not weave them. As in other countries, the
spinning of worsteds in Italy claims much more careful attention than
the spinning of wools.

The development of worsted spinning, which hegan in Italy in the
first decade of the present century, has gone on making steady progress
to the present day: the total number of worsted spindles has in fact
increased from something less than 100,000 in 1894 to 260,000 in 1907,
377,000 in 1913, 435,000 in 1918, and about 587,000 at the present time.
About six sevenths of the spindles are on the French system.

It is estimated that some 15,000 persons are employed in worsted
spinning.

The normal output capacity of Italian worsted spindles may be
estimated at about 18,020,000 metric tons of worsted yarn per annum-
Weaving is carried on in all the provinces of the Kingdom.

At the present time there are some twenty firms owning over 200
looms apiece, with an aggregate of close on 10,000 looms; the remaining
10,000, or some few more, are distributed between a great number of
firms, most of them of medium size (from 50 to 100 looms). In the Biel-
lese and more especially in the Prato district, there are also a number
of small firms owning some ten looms apiece, or even fewer, most of
which work on account of larger concerns.

The total number of power looms engaged in the manufacture are
reckoned at about 21,000 at the present time.

Between 35 and 40 thousand persons altogether are engaged in
the industry.

The total yearly output, in normal business times, may be reckoned
at 80 to 100 million metres of woollen material and materials of mixed
wool and other yarns, including upholstery goods, covers and carpets.

The Italian production covers the whole range of woollen manu
factures, Italian plant being able to turn out everything that can be
made out of wool: woollens, worsteds, women's dress materials, covers
and shawls, felt and cloth for industrial uses, velvets and pile fabrics,
woollen linings, carpets and rugs, upholstery and curtain goods, baize
for writing and billiard tables, cloth for carriage upholstery, knitting
yams, etc.

The progress of the wool industry is reflected in the export trade
of woollen manufactures. Exports of worsteds, which barely counted
at all before the war, amount to a respectable figure in recent years,
and consist mostly of worsteds produced from wools worked on account
of foreign countries. Yarn exports, which were an almost negligible
quantity at the beginning of the century, have increased steadily; in
1928 they attained to the figure of 2,000 metric tons, 1,420.79 tons were
exported in 1930.

By far the most important branch of Italian wool exports consists

General Survey of Italian Industries 329

of woollen and mixed woollen fabrics, and the returns of these during
the last twenty-five years gives the pulse of the Italian woollen industry*
From 650 metric tons in 1900, they had risen to 2,900 tons in 1913,
over 8,000 in 1924, and by 1925 to more than 9,600 tons. A decline
is recorded in 1926 and 1927, due to the difficult period the industry
was then going through. In 1928, however, exports of woollen and
mixed woollen fabrics were again on the up-grade, touching the high-
water-mark so far reached (9,270 tons) a value of 300 million lire. In
1930 exports of woollen goods amounted to 9,270 tons, representing a
value of about 280 millions.

THE PAPER INDUSTRY

According to statistics computed in 1862, at the time of the unifi
cation of the Kingdom the Italian paper industry counted 687 vats and
only 59 machines. In 1876 the numbers had risen to 813 vats and
168 running machines. At the present time the number of vats has
shrunk to 25 (being used only for making certain very special qualities
of paper), while the number of machines has risen to 612, divided among
470 paper mills.

The first four of these machines, three metres wide, were installed
between 1904 and 1910, and two four-metre machines were set up between
1913 and 1922. .

The use of modern plant has greatly reduced the cost of production,
and by now Italian requirements are entirely covered by national produc
tion, which has progressed at the rate shown below:

Metric Tons 23,995 in 1862

150,000 1903

296,587.6 1915

363,750 1927

323,748 1928

343,442.8 1929

342,248.8 1930

The Burgo paper mills alone - classified in German statistics as
occupying the 6th place among European paper factories - with a move
ment of forty-five truck-loads (about 450 tons) daily of paper and raw
materials, contribute about 75,000 tons yearly, or about 23 % of our to
tal output of paper. These mills provide 80 % of Italy's total require-
ments of paper for newspapers, and use up to fifty ^'^^ *
wood to obtain over 60,000 tons of pulp, whole using over 100,000,000

k * W Ita[y Imports at the present time about 50 % of the wood used. We
also cultivate poplars on a considerable scale for this purpose and the
Fascist rural policy should do much to promote this form of estivation,
especially in the Valley of the Po, where poplars grow very rapidly. Our

330 What is Fascism and why?

statistics show that 1,250,000 hectares of land are uncultivated in Italy,
and Signor Belluzzo, when studying the question of poplar cultivation,
stated that there were 19,000 hectares of land that lent itself to this
cultivation along the banks of the Po alone.

If the area in question were carefully planted with poplars, Italy
would be assured her whole requirements of wood pulp for paper-making
in the immediate future.

Thanks to the progress made by this industry, Italy has been able
to reduce her imports of rolls of paper to 50 truck-loads a month, and
has exported paper to England, France and even Germany for a value
of 65 million lire.

Among factors favourable to the future development of the paper
industry, we must reckon the still low level of home consumption (9 kg.
per inhabitant), and the possibilities offered by our natural resources, such
as water-power, which offset other deficiencies.

Experiments in the manufacture of cellulose from wheat and rice
straw and from esparto grass are being made, and it is hoped these may
be instrumental in enabling us to obtain at home all the cellulose required
by the paper industry.

THE CEMENT, LIME AND PLASTER INDUSTRY

The earliest factories of natural Portland cement in Italy were
opened atCasale Monferrato towards 1878 and in the Bergamasco province
in 1888. Artificial cement works were opened at Palazzolo sulTOglio
towards 1875 and at Civitavecchia in 1900.

During the last 10 years the industry in Portland cement has greatly
developed owing to its being used, in combination with iron and steel,
as re-inforced concrete for building purposes.

These two new qualities of cement were followed by others, among
which we may mention smelted aluminous cement, manufactured at Pola.

The manufacture of artificial cements (super-cements) of high tensile
strength deserves special mention; these attain a higher breaking strength
in two or three days than is obtained from Portland cement in 28 days.
The manufacture of the cement known on the market as Granite Cement
was started in 1924 at Bergamo, and later at Como and in other loca
lities. The production of cement of high tensile strength is a steadily
growing business owing to its increasing use in modern building.

Italy also manufactures Puzzuolana cement and blast furnace cement.

156 cement works belong to the companies controlled by the Na
tional Fascist Federation of Cement, Lime and Plaster Industries; they
have 825 kilns, of which 780 are vertical and 45 rotary, and employ
some 21,000 workers. The output of cement in 1930 amounted to
3,482,300 metric tons.

General Survey of Italian Industries 331

The cement industry is carried on in all parts of Italy, except
Basilicata.

Cement imports are not an important item. On the other hand,
a marked increase is recorded in our exports of the last few years. From
12,600 metric tons in 1928 it rose to 30,600 tons in 1929 and 26,900
tons in 1930.

The Italian lime industry is very extensive.

Slaked lime is used not only for building purposes, but is also much
used at the present time in the manufacture of Calcium carbide, and
in the most diverse industries, from steel to paper-making.

The industry in slaked lime was started in Italy towards 1850, when
the first railways were being built. The first great works were opened
at Palazzolo sulTOglio (Brescia) in 1855, on the initiative of a French
Company, for the express purpose of providing construction material
for the Milan- Venice line. Later on the works passed into the hands
of an Italian Company.

The industry is carried on in most parts of Italy; there are seven
hundred and sixty-two Italian lime works owned by Companies con
trolled by the National Fascist Federation of Cement, Lime, and Plaster
Industries; they own 1,150 kilns and employ some 6,700 workers.

The output was between 1,500,000 and 1,600,000 metric tons in
1929, 25 % of which consisted of hydraulic lime, 25 % of slaked lime,
and 50 % of lime in cakes.

The Italian plaster industry is carried on actively in the Marches,
Emilia, Piedmont, Tuscany and Lombardy.

Plaster factories belonging to Companies controlled by the N. F. F.
of Cement, Lime and Plaster Industries number 179; they own 200 kihis
and employ about 1,200 workers.

The national output of plaster in 1930 amounted to about 470,000

metric tons.

FOOD INDUSTRIES.

CHEESE-MAKING. - Italian milk production ranks fifth in the world
scale, while her cheese industry ranks among the first, both in quantity
and variety of qualities.

. ,T M *\

According to the returns of the last industrial census (1927),
possesses 8,535 dairy produce factories, employing 24,155 persons. The
1911 census reported only 6,403 such establishments and 21,893 employ

ees.

ees. . j i

A large amount of machinery is used in the dairy industry and,
as this develops and improves, there is a progressive tendency to increase
the plant.

332 What is Fascism and why ?

Cheese is produced in all regions of Italy. In certain parts the
yearly production is very large and feeds a big trade; in others, cheese-
making is confined to the spring and autumn seasons, or to the winter-
spring season. Lombardy, Piedmont and Venetia have all-the-year-
round industries, with the exception of the Alpine zones, where the
production is divided into summer work in the Alps and winter and
spring work in the valley.

Cheese-making in Emilia is carried on between March and Novem
ber, and from winter to the end of spring in Latium and Sardinia.

The bulk of Italian cheeses are made from cow's milk, but sheep's
milk is also used to a considerable extent, while goat's milk plays a lesser
part, and small quantities of cheese are also made from buffalo's milk.
In point of number of milk-producing animals, however, sheep come
first. The latest census records 2,500,000 dairy cows, 8,000,000 sheep
and 1,500,000 goats.

Milk production, estimated at 35,000,000 hectolitres in 1913, had
risen by 1925 to about 45,000,000 hectolitres, divided as follows:

Cow's Milk HL 37,000,000

Sheep's Milk 6,500,000

Goat's Milk 1,500,000

Buffalo's Milk 10,000

Total ... 45,010,000

The rearing of livestock for milk having considerably increased in
certain provinces, in which the cultivation of industrial crops (beet,,
hemp, tomatoes) has been reduced and replaced by meadow-land, we
may reckon the total Italian milk production at the present time to
be in the neighbourhood of 50,000,000 HI., of which about 33,000,000
are absorbed by cheese-making, producing fully 250,000 metric tons of
cheese, besides 50,000 tons of butter.

The value of the milk used annually in the cheese industry may
be estimated at something over three thousand million lire.

During the war there was a big decline in the export of our cheeses ^
but our foreign trade revived when the embargo on exports was removed.

By this time, however, our exporters found themselves in a very
different position to that which they had occupied before the war, owing
to the fact that several countries, Argentina for instance, being no long
er able to obtain supplies from overseas, had, during the war period^
begun to imitate certain types of Italian cheese and had even started
to export their products; none the less our manufacturers, thanks more
especially to the high quality of their cheeses, soon regained their foot-
ting in the markets they had lost and secured fresh outlets.

The types of cheese most commonly exported are: grama, reggiano,
parmesan, and lodigiano, Roman pecorino, gorgonzola, bel paese, pro-

333

General Survey of Italian Industries

volone, incanestrato, quartirolo, fontina. Emmenthal and sbrinz cheeses
must now be added to the list.

The following figures give an idea of the development of Italian
cheese exportation: in 1876 the total exportation amounted to 1,815,100
kilos, in 1895 it had risen to 8,248,300 kilos, in 1905 to 17,098,900, and
in 1913 it reached a total of 32,804,400 kilos, a figure that was again
reached and indeed surpassed after the war, following on the normal
recovery of trade, as shown by the following table:

TOTAL EXPORTS or ITALIAN CHEESES

Year

Kilos

Lire

1913

32,804,400
14,541,000
22,895,700
33,633,100
39,112.700
33,062,000
31,787,300
36,493,700
32,669,000
36,729,400

73,675,930
203,246,494
331,636,742
411,028.318
488,527,938
455,707,208
413,258,577
442,015,938
368.844,968
368,605,308

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

The principal importing countries are the United States, Germany,
Prance, England, Argentine and Switzerland.

THE WINE INDUSTRY. - The Mediterranean countries are the cradle
of vine cultivation, owing to climatic conditions propitious to its develop
ment.

Italy, though she is behind France in the quantity of wine produced,
is nevertheless the country in which vine culture is most extensive, being
grown practically everywhere, though with varying degrees of intensity.

The latest returns show that Italian vineyards have an extension
-of 4,294,900 hectares.

Unlike the system generally followed in other countries, however,
the area under vine in Italy is not reserved entirely for this cultivation,
the vine being generally grown together with other plants and vegetables.

The quantity of grapes obtained from our vineyards varies considera
bly from one year to another, according to weather conditions and
the greater or lesser prevalence of disease, especially mildew. The
production ranges from 9.6 million metric tons of grapes in 1909 to 3
millions in 1915. During the five years 1923-27, the average production
lose to 6,883,700 tons, and during the last three years as follows: 5,795,800
tons in 1927; 7,496,000 tons in 1928, and 6,204,200 in 1929, and 5,583,700
in 1930.

A small percentage of the grapes is reserved for table use. The

334 What is Fascism and why ?

average consumption for this purpose has heretofore accounted for a-
bout 2 % of the total production; in 1928 and 1929, however, it rose
to about 4 %, thanks to a salutory campaign in favour of fruit eating
and also owing to the fall in prices.

An almost negligible quantity is assigned to the preparation of
grape syrups, which are in fact concentrated must, sometimes corrected
by a slight addition of saccharose and more rarely flavoured with various
essences (orange, citron, and such like). The remainder is used directly
for wine fabrication.

The following table shows the production of wine from 1922 onward:

1922 Hectolitres 35,585,000

1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929

53,948,000
44,714,000
45,367,000
37,076,000
35,650,000
46,822,000
41,000,000

1930 36,318,000

Considered in relation to the world output of wine, the Italian pro
duction comes next in importance after the French. Recent statistical
returns show that the average world production is estimated at some
thing over 190 million hectolitres, of which a little over 160 millions
is produced in Europe.

Thus Italian wines represent more than one fifth of the world produc
tion and one quarter of the European production.

Wine production, and still more so the wine industry proper, is
unequally distributed throughout the different regions of Italy.

Emilia yields the biggest quantity, followed by Piedmont, Campania,
and Tuscany, then Sicily and Apulia, Lombardy, Venetia, and Latium.

The situation is different in regard to the finer classes of wine.

Most Italian wines are a direct product of the alcoholic fermentation
of grape juice, or " must ", without being specially treated afterwards,
the greater part of the output being consumed in the course of the year.

Machinery is coming more and more into use in the preparation
of ordinary table wines, so that the production is taking on the character
of an industry proper, and this is particularly the case in respect of the
preparation of select, superior table, or special wines.

Among the better known table wines we may mention the Pied-
montese wines (Barbera, Grignolino, Freisa), certain wines of the Alto
Adige, Veronese wines, Chianti, Rufino, and Montalbene in Tuscany;
Orvieto, and the wines of the Castelli Romani (Frascati, etc.).

To the second class belong Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara, Ghemme,
Sassella, old Chianti, Carmignano, white and red Capri, Vesuvius, Corvo,
etc.

General Survey of Italian Industries

335

Lastly, among special wines, in addition to liqueurs and raisin wines,
Vermouth, Marsala, and sparkling wines - more especially Asti Spu-
mante - occupy a foremost place.

The following table records Italian wine exports during the last
eight years:

Wines exclusive of Marsala and Vermouth

Marsala. ,

Vermouth

! Bottled Bottled

Year

In barrels In flasks j non _i,i

Barrels

Bottled i

Barrels

! Bottles

HI.

m - ;>

HI.

(hundreds) ;

HI.

(hundreds)

1
1923 697.094

33.121

16.368

6.076

7.553

i
3.293

44.056

23.688

1924 2410.648 47.663

19.278

4.918

9.430

3.481 J

36.363

29.799

1925 2272.856 ', 55.487

22.777

4.686

12.490

4.094 |

45.363

37.716

1926 855.875 56.686

26.585

5.245

10.515

5.153 1

61.958

. 30.784

1927 | 843.720 37.406

21.828

4.420

9.513

4.178

83.362

, 33.273

1928

692.828 48.138

7.717

4.667

8.699

3.245 '

84.417

39.269

1929 ! 739.784 49.420

3.580

4.425

| i
6.638 3.602

93.788

40.110

1830 853.843

49.124 ' 2.752 | 4.159

7.118

2.334 {

84.349

29.041

With the exception of wines in flask and vermouth, a big decline is
recorded in exports of all Italians wines, the reasons for which it is
not possible to analyse here. We will merely state that the exportation
of ordinary wines cannot, for obvious reasons, be constant, but is liable
to ups and downs according to the demand, the production of competing
countries, and the home price.

THE LIQUEUR INDUSTRY. - Italy is beginning to get a footing in
the home and foreign markets by the production of really fine and
delicate liqueurs: strict adherence to characteristic national types should
ensure our making steady headway.

Some of the Italian aqua vitae, obtained principally from the husks
of the grapes after pressing - known also as grappa, brandy, etc. -
are of good quality. The quality known as cognac is made from wine
and matured in oak casks, from which it acquires the characteristic
colour and taste. Besides these there is acqua vitae of marasca cherry
- the popular maraschino produced at Zara.

Italy's production of sweetened liqueurs is of many and diverse
qualities, if not very extensive in quantity. Some of these are distinc
tively sweet; others are more or less bitter, owing to the addition of
bitter drugs, while another class contains medicinal essences.

Our foreign trade in liqueurs is not of much importance. Imports
amount to some 3 to 4 thousand hectolitres yearly. Exportation is
strictly limited so far as acqua vitae is concerned, while a fair trade

336

What is Fascism and why?

is done in liqueurs, especially tonic ones, of which, some 30,000 hun
dreds of bottles are exported each year.

Not\vithstanding difficulties due to many and different causes, there
is reason to hope that the Italian liqueur industry may develop. And
the more strictly we keep to the production of typically Italian liqueurs,
based on essences derived from the national flora so rich in herbs,
flowers, and fruit, produced under the most diverse conditions, from
alpine to semi-tropical zones, and consequently capable of furnishing
the most varied and delicate taste - the greater will be our chance
of success.

THE CANNED FOOD INDUSTRY.

Both vegetable and animal products play a part in the Italian can
ned food industry.

There are at the present time over 600 factories in Italy, with an
aggregate capital estimated at 500 million lire, engaged in preserving
and canning vegetable produce. 300 factories, with an aggregate capital
of over 150 millions are engaged in canning animal products.

Over 60 million lire are paid out yearly in wages and salaries in
the industry.

The vegetable preserving industry, as shown above, is much the
more important of the two.

The influence exercised by the canned food trade on Italian
agriculture and on the nature and quality of the crops sown has greatly
enhanced the value of the land in the areas concerned.

The industry varies considerably according to regional character
istics, and three quarters of its activity is concentrated in Campania (Naples
and Salerno), where there has developed the most varied and complete
cultivation of both vegetables and fruit for canning, the production
finding much favour on the home and foreign markets.

The principal importing countries of Italian canned vegetables are:
the United States; Great Britain; Argentina; Belgium, and France. The
table below records the progress made in exportation (table 1).

Jams, jellies

Fruits and vege

Canned Tomatoes (Met. Tons)

and other fruit pre

tables preserved

Total

serves

in vinegar, brine

Value in

i ears

and oil

Total

peeled

1000 lire

thousands

Met. Tons. 1 1000 lire

Met. Tons.

1000 lire

of lire

1924

2,002.2

12,159

19,722

71,358

64,488.4

29,272,4

200,144

283,661

1925

2,229.6

15,113

19,271.3

73,012

97,246.9

56,839.2

295,407

383,531

1926

2,899.1

20,604

11,204.9

40,771

100,657.2

58,077,

223,313

388,687

1927

2,493.2

15,266

7,083.6

28,216

96,702.9

56,537.5

255,997

299,48

1928

3,165.6

17,361

7,789.2

31,219

93,602.4

60,123.2

249,288

298,116

1929

2,975.7

15,641

7,471.7

30,385

37,958.8

82,951.1

367,865

414,151

1930

3,704.6

17,211

6,766.5

29,243

74,556.1

195,133

General Survey of Italian Industries 337

"With a view to the improvement and development of this industry,
the National Institute of Preserved Foods was established in 1923,
charged with the supervision and control of the preparation of both
vegetable and animal preserves.

This Institute has promoted a series of legislative measures and
regulations with a view to regulating the production of canned food
stuff's. It has further made close contact with the Fascist syndics!
organizations, and by this means has been successful in regulating the
cultivation and sale of tomatoes grown for the industry, as well as in
promoting a higher standard of quality and an increase of exports.

THE ITALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY

At the close of the war, the Italian sugar industry had to face se
rious problems for its development, which demanded quiet political
and business conditions. The advent to power of Fascism created an
atmosphere favourable for this development, which went through two
distinct phases.

The first phase lasted from 1922 to 1925. During this period the
industry was called upon:

1) to study and experiment the form of beet purchase contract
best suited for cultivation in Italy;

2) to bring its plant up to date, and enlarge it to meet the de
mands of production, in order that this might cover home require
ments which were constantly growing.

The studies of cultivation contract resulted in the contract subject
to revision of the sugar content, stipulated for the 1926 season, an
important document which bears witness to what can be achieved
by collaboration and mutual understanding between producers: in this
particular case, between farmers and manufacturers.

The progress of the industry during this period was very striking:
between 1923 and 1924, 17 new sugar factories were built and several
of those already working improved their plant. The Italian sugar
industry at the present day need not fear comparison with that of any
other country. The 53 sugar factories now working can use daily
over 50,000 metric tons of sugar beet and and produce over 6,000 tons
of sugar. Thus in less than 60 working days they are m a position
to cover the whole consumption of Italy, which amounts at present
to about 340,000 tons of sugar per annum.

The second phase extends from 1926 to the present day and may
be described as that of the beet battle and victory.

The exceptional position of the sugar market immediately after the
war when the price of this commodity rose to a very high figure, created
the 'illusion that this state of things would go on indefinitely. So strong

338

What is Fascism and why ?

was this impression that the duty on sugar, which the Alessio tariff had
fixed at 360 gold lire per metric ton in 1921, was entirely suspended in
Italy.

But the situation soon settled down to the level of hard fact. With
the re-organization of the European sugar-beet industry, world ouput
rapidly outstripped world consumption, giving rise to the slump in prices
on the international market which is still causing so much trouble in
all producing, and especially in exporting countries. The fact that the
price of sugar, which immediatly after the war had risen to over 100 pounds
sterling per ton, has fallen by degrees during these last years to less than
10 per ton, gives some idea of the extent and intensity of the crisis.
At the present time sugar on the international market sells at nine and
a half pounds per ton, the lowest price registered during the last thirty
years.

It is to the credit of the Fascist Government that it clearly fore
saw the menace threatening the national sugar industry as a result of
this crisis, and took prompt measures to meet it as it grew more and more
acute, by increasing the customs duty on sugar till, by the decree of the
31st December 1928, it was raised once again to the original figure (Ales
sio tariff of 1921) of 360 gold lire per ton. Thanks to these measures,
which showed the Government's resolve to encourage home production
in order that Italy might become self-supporting in respect of this commo
dity, the sugar beet drive proceeded strenuously during the period under
survey and at last achieved its victory.

The data set forth in the following table are eloquent of the success
attained in the brief period of four years, from 1926 to 1929. The figures
for 1925, during which year the effects of the suspension of the duty
on sugar were most keenly felt, serve as a term of comparison:

YEARS

1925-26

1926-27

1927-28

1928-29

1929-30

Area sown (Hectares) . .

55.113

79.755

93.654

112.120

116.128

Beet production (metric

tons)

1,173,122.9

2,406.008.8

2,064,461

2,817,909.2

3,060,000

Average Sugar content of

beet

15.16

16.18

16 30

i f. (\

Average beet yield per

-LO . \J\J

bectare (kilos) . .

21,300

30,200

22,000

25,100

26,300

Refined i Gross weight

141,111.2

281,423.8

247,819.8

345,674.5

391,843

Sugar (met. tons)

Yield / Net weight

139,700.1

278,609.6

245,341.6

342,217.8

337,924.6

Average Refined Sugar

yield per hectare (kilos)

2,535

3,493

2,619

3,052

3,340

Home Consumption (me

tric tons) ,

319,743.2

323,683.3

343,465.7

355,112.7

340,000

Deficit ( ) or surplus (+)

of production in rela

tion to consumption.

178,632

42,259.5

95,645.9

9,438.2

+ 51,843

(metric tons)

General Survey of Italian Industries 339

Thus it is seen that in 1929 the Italian sugar beet industry not
only covered home consumption, but yielded a surplus of more than
50,000 metric tons. We have attained our purpose. We did not and
do not aim at going beyond this, because the present conditions of our
production do not permit of Italy becoming a sugar-exporting country.
But there is a margin for development in home consumption that justi-
fies^the best hopes for the expansion of sugar beet cultivation and the su
gar industry of our country.

LA RASSEGNA ITALIANA

PUBLISHED THE FIFTEENTH OF EVERY MONTH

Editor: TOMASO SILLANI

Ld Rassegna Italiana was founded in 1918 by Tomaso Sillani
tinder the patronage of eminent political men and brilliant writers.
It has achieved for itself in these thirteen years great authority
and importance both in the country and abroad. It counts amongst
its contributors the best known Italians in the world of politics,
letters, arts and science. In a series of special chronicles it records
political, literary and musical events, with particular reference
to foreign countries. A section of the review is dedicated exclu
sively to Italian and foreign colonial problems and to the politics
of Italy and of European powers in the Mediterranean.

The following excerpts represent two foreign opinions:

" Although the Rassegna Italiana is only in its first year,
it can fairly claim to have established for itself a settled place
in the ranks of the great reviews, not of Italy alone, but of Eu
rope generally. This has been made possible not only by the
uniform distinction of its artistic and literary articles and chronicles
month by month, but more particularly by the authoritative record
it has provided of world-politics from the Italian Nationalist
point of view. Add to this list that there are articles by leading
members of the Italian Government and Senate and it will be
seen how strong a position the Rassegna Italiana maintains in
the authority and distinction of its contributors.

To all students of foreign politics desirous of making

good this defect in their sources of information the numbers of
the Rassegna Italiana during its first year of existence may be
thoroughly recommended".

from the Westminster Gazette. London. (April 26. 1919).

" La Rassegna Italiana, the most important Italian periodical
of today; is an acknowledged leader in the highest European li
terary circles (Italy's leading magazine) ".

from Current History, New York (yol. XXVI, N. 2, May 1927).

Subscription rates: ninety Italian lire annually.

La Rassegna Italiana has taken a very keen part in world
war and peace treaty debates, concerning itself especially with
questions regarding Eastern Europe, the Adriatic, Asia Minor
and North Africa. It has on sale a special collection comprising
the years from 1918 to 1921 inclusive:

8 Volumes (43 numbers) .... lire 350
bound 420

The complete collection from 1918 to 1930:
27 Volumes (163 numbers) ... lire 1500
bound 1700

Foreign rates: 20 % increase.

Forwarding expenses charged to subscriber.

Address requests, checks and other correspondence to ;
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APPENDIX

Bansicilia Corporation

487 Broadway

New York, N. Y.

CAPITAL, SURPLUS, AND UNDIVIDED
PROFITS ABOUT $ 4.000.000.00

DOMESTIC AND FOBEJGN SEOUHITIES BOUGHT AND SOLD
AFFILIATED WITH:

BANK OF SICILY TRUST COMPANY, NEW YORK
AND BANCO DI SICILIA, PALERMO, ITALY

Bank of Sicily Trust Company

487 Broadway

New York, N. Y.

DEPOSITARY OF THE FUNDS OF THE
STATE AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK

AFFILIATE OF:

BANCO DI SICILIA, PALERMO, ITALY
AND BANSICILIA CORPORATION

BRANCHES

MANHATTAN: First Avenue & 12th Street

Tel Stuyvesant 9-2840
MANHATTAN : 188 Bleecker Street

Tel. Spring 7-3460
BRONX: Arthur Avenue & 187th Street

Tel. Sedgwick 3-4661
BROOKLYN: Fulton Street & Rockaway Ave

Tel Dickens 2-8070

EVERY DESCRIPTION OF DOMESTIC AND
FOREIGN BANKING BUSINESS TRANSACTED

NOTES ON THE BANCO DI SICILIA

The economic progress of Sicily depends principally on the pros
perity of her agriculture and, with that in view, the Banco di Sicilia has
pursued for years a constructive financial policy intended to stimulate,
encourage and assist the agricultural industry of the island.

In 1927 alone the Banco di Sicilia invested, in farm credit operations,
153 million lire in small loans to farmers and 50 millions in long term
loans for improvements, changes in crops, etc.; it took over the Banca
Autonoma di Credito Minerario in order to coordinate and unify the va
rious enterprises operating in each mining district; it set aside a special
fond as a working capital of the Credito Zootecnico in order to encourage
the raising of livestock; it founded the Istituto Vittorio Emanuele III
for the reclamation of lands in Sicily; it organized general warehouses;
created the Foundation for the Educational and Economic Improvement
of Sicily; arranged annual competitions for grain producers, for whom it
instituted the prize known as the " Targa del grano "; created a special
Regional Consortium for the development of the fruit industry; promoted,
in cooperation with the Ministry of National Economy, and subsidized
special experiments to encourage the raising and exportation of selected
vegetables ; founded the Association for the tourist development of Si
cily, with the object of making better known the beauties with which the
island has been blessed by both art and nature.

The rapid and remarkable growth of the Savings Institution of the
Banco di Sicilia deserves special mention, for it is today, after twenty
years of existence, one of the most conservative and powerful of its kind
in Italy. It has its own resources of more than 600 millions of lire, with
which it finances to a great extent the Farm Loan Bank of the Banco
di Sicilia, grants loans to Provinces and Municipalities for certain works,
encourages the construction of workingmen's homes and participates in
various consortiums instituted under the auspices of the Fascist Regime
to foster public services and national welfare.

The Banco di Sicilia, being one of the leading banks in Italy, has
always taken an active part with other government institutions, as well
as with other large commercial banks in Italy, in carrying out financial
policy of a national character designed to safeguard and promote the
financial and economic development of the country.

The beneficent action of the Banco di Sicilia extends to the Italian
Colonies and to those foreign countries in which considerable numbers
of Italians are settled.

In Tripoli (North Africa), it maintains an important branch; in Cy-
renaica (North Africa), the branch of its Farm Loan Bank operates; in
the Aegean Islands there are branches in Rhodes and in Coo; in New
York there is an Affiliate, the Bank of Sicily Trust Company, which in
a few years has opened four branches in the more thickly populated Ita
lian quarters, winning the admiration of our nationals whose interests

BANCO DI SICILIA - ITALY

A Banking Institution of Public Credit
HOME OFFICE - PALERMO

PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER
GRAND'UFF. SALVATORE BADAMI

Capital Funds and Reserves . Lit. 425.000.000
Total Resources . . . about 4.000.000.000

BRANCHES

Acireale - Adrano - Agira - Agrigento -
Alcamo Avola - Bagheria - Barcellona -
Caltagirone - Caltanisetta - Canicatti Ca-
rini - Catania - Cefalu Comiso - Corleone

- Enna - Fiume - Francavilla di Sicilia -
Francofonte - Gangi - Gela - Genoa -
Giarre - Grammicliele - Lentini - Leoforte

- Lercara - Licata Lipari - Marsala - Maz-
zara del Vallo - Menfi - Messina - Milan

- Milazzo Mistretta Modica - Monreale

- Nicosia - Noto - Palazzolo Acreide - Pa
lermo - Pantelleria - Partanna - Paterno
Patti - Petralia Sottana - Piazza Armerina

- Porto Empedocle - Racalmuto - Ragusa

- Ribera - Riesi - Riposto - Rome - Salemi

- S. Agata di Militello - Sciacca - Syracuse

- Taormina - Termini Imerese - Trapani -
Trieste Vittoria - Yizzini Tripoli d' Africa

Rhodes

All Commercial and Savings Bank Facilities
More than 3000 Correspondents Throughout the World.

346 Appendix

it effectively protects. Lastly, it has taken a conspicuous part in the
capitalization of the Banca Italiana di Credito in Tunis ( North Africa),
thus showing tangibly its sympathy with that important Italian nucleus
and further enhancing its prestige.

The Banco di Sicilia was established by the Government of the time
with an initial capital of 36,000 ducats (equivalent to about 165,000
Italian Lire). In the year 1926 it gave up the governmental privilege
of bank note issue, but was placed under a more liberal banking law,
which has enabled the institution, to command wider fields of activitiy
and today it has capital funds of about 425 millions of lire and manages
resources amounting to about two billion lire.

Through its well directed and efficiently organized departments, it
carries on all banking operations: commercial, investments, savings, farm
loans and mining credits.

This is certainly a fine and unique example of a great and powerful
credit institution which, while holding strictly to its tradition of probity,
and attending unceasingly to the development and improvement of its
facilities, has at the same time been able to initiate and carry out, under
the guidance of its Director General, Salvatore Badami, who is a fol
lower of the Fascist Government and a faithful interpreter of its spirit,
a fruitful work of progress truly worthy of the region of which it bears
the name.

BANCO DI NAPOLI

Established A. D. 1539

THE OLDEST BANK IN THE WORLD
MAIN OFFICE - NAPLES - ITALY

Capital Surplus Lire 1.342.000.000
Total resources about Lire 9.000.000.000

BRANCHES IN THE UNITED STATES:
NEW YORK: Agency N. 1 - 526 Broadway

Agency N. 2 - 353 E. 149th Street

AFFILIATIONS:

BANCO DI NAPOLI TRUST COMPANY OF NEW YORK
526 Broadway

BANCO DI NAPOLI TRUST COMPANY OF CHICAGO
906 S. Alsted Street

BANCO DI ROMA

SOCIETi ANONIMA

Capital fully paid Lire 200.000.000

Reserve fund Lire 55.000.000

HEAD OFFICE IN ROME - ESTABLISHED IN 1880

OVER 100 BRANCHES IN ITALY

BRANCHES IN THE ITALIAN COLONIES
Bengasi - Tripoli <T Africa - Rhodes (Egean)

BRANCHES ABROAD - Switzerland : Lugano, Chiasso -
Malta : La Valletta - Turkey : Istanbul, Izmir -
Syria: Aleppo, Beyrout, Damascus, Horns, Latta-
qnie, Tripoli Palestine : Caiffa, Jaffa, Jerusalem.

REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES in Berlin, London, New York
Affiliations: BANCO DI ROMA (France): Paris, Lyons

BANCO ITALO EGIZIANO : Alexandria, Cairo, Mansourah,
Tantah, Beni Mazar, Beni Souef, Fayoum, Mit
Ghamr Minieh, Benha.

A NEW ITALIAN CORPORATION IN NEW YORK
THE BANCO DI NAPOLI TRUST COMPANY

The recent opening of the Banco di Napoli Trust Co. of New York
marks a red-letter day in the annals on the Italian colony of New York.

The new Corporation's headquarters are located at the office of the
Bank's Agency in Broadway, entirely renewed and re-decorated for the
occasion, though still preserving its plain business-like aspect.

The Trust Co. was inaugurated on the 24th May of last year and ever
since that date has carried on business on strictly prudential lines, making
cautious but steady progress.

The figures below show the situation of the Trust on the 30th March
of this year:

ASSETS

Cash in hand

Deposits

Securities

Loans and Discounts . . .
Acceptances Customers' ace/.
Sundry Debtors

LIABILITIES

Capital

Statutory Reserve
Special Reserve .
Undivided Profits . .
Deposits . # . . . .
Commercial acceptances
Sundry Creditors
Securities held

79.252.30

3.398.695.77

6.966.923.23

865.753.37

580.103.09

254.647.13

$. 12.145.374.89

1.000.000.

700.000.

13.083.59

24.584.68

7.271.333.19

580.103.09

54.884.75

2.501.385.59

$. 12.145.374.89

The fact that at the close of a few months' business the new Trust
has been able to write in $ 13,083.59 to the Special Reserve bears witness
to the strictly scrupulous policy followed in its administration and has
resulted in a profit of $ 24,584.68.

Without the least wish to depreciate the activities of other banking
concerns of the kind, we would point out that, given the Trust's brief
business career and the unusual conditions of the money market, the
amount of deposits received by it is worthy of note, especially when
compared with the record of other Italian corporations that have been
doing business in New York for several years.

Appendix 349

It must be remembered that the United States was already in the
grips of the general economic depression at the time of the opening of
the Banco di Napoli Trust Co.: money was extremely cheap; the invest
ment market sluggish and distrustful; the production and trade of the
leading industries falling steadily, while the number of business failures
and bankruptcies was rising.

In these adverse circumstances, the Banco di Napoli Trust Co. fol
lowed in New York the traditions of the old and well-famed Italian
Bank, devoting its activities to prudent and conservative operations,
although these are the least remunerative.

In view of prevailing conditions, the item " Loans and Discounts "
has deliberately been kept very low. Similar circumspection has been
exercised in regard to investments: only first-class securities offering the
safest guarantees and selected from among those authorized as legal
investments for Savings Banks of New York State being considered.

The Trust Co. has not yet applied for admission to the Federal Bank
System, nor do we know whether it will apply to be admitted. The
fact of belonging to it would not secure it any advantages so far as
its trustee functions are concerned; and as for banking functions, it is
doubtful whether the American trustees belonging to the system, who
were impelled to join it by conditions created by the war, have derived
any substantial advantages from doing so. The Trust's acceptances
moreover, are already classified among the best and can be discounted
at the lowest rate obtainable: viz. 1% P er cent.

Owing to the prestige of the name it bears - a name dear to Italians,
and especially South Italians, who form the largest contingent of our
emigration to the United States - and the splendid record of the Bank of
which it is an emanation, as well as the privileges the Bank enjoys in
Italy, the future of the Trust is full of the highest promise.

The Italian colony of New York, long accustomed to hard work and
iunured to thrift, should not forget the remote origin of the Bank of
Naples: this was due to the initiative of a few Neapolitan gentlemen who,
being anxious to assist the oppressed people and to rescue them from
usury, founded in 1539 that merciful institution, known as the Monte di
Pieta (Pledge Bank) which, later on subject to numerous transformations,
formed the framework of the oldest bank in the world.

THE

BANCA COMMERCIALS ITALIANA
in the

UNITED STATES

NEW YORK CITY

BANCA COMMERCIALS ITALIANA

AGENCY IN NEW YORK

62-64 William Street

BANCA COMMERCIALS ITALIANA TRUST CO.

Central Office, 62-64 William Street

339 Sixth Ave. at 4th St. 212 Columbia St., B'klyn

114 Mulberry St. 50th and Vernon Aves., L. I. City

116th Street at Second Avenue

BOSTON

BANCA COMMERCIALS ITALIANA TRUST CO.
209 Washington Street

PHILADELPHIA

BANCA COMMERCIALE ITALIANA TRUST CO.
141 6-1 8 So Perm Square 1301 So. Broad St.

THE NATIONAL CITY BANK OF NEW YORK
AND ITS AFFILIATES

The National City Bank of New York was established in 1812 with
a paid-in Capital of $ 800,000. Total Resources on December 31, 1930,
amounted to $ 1,944,244,000. It has one hundred branches in twenty-
four foreign countries in addition to fifty-two branches in Greater New
York. The National City Company, its investment affiliate, has more
than fifty offices located in the principal cities of the United States and
Canada, many of which are connected by a system of 11,000 miles of
private telegraph wire. The Bank has correspondents in every important
city of the world.

The National City Company maintains the world's largest investment
distributing organization with business limited strictly to the purchase
and sale of securities. It underwrites and distributes the bonds of foreign
Governments as "well as the bonds and shares of foreign corporations
and American shares of foreign corporations.

The International Banking Corporation, absorbed in 1926, was found
ed in 1901 to specialize in foreign business.

On August 17, 1922, the Banqpie Nationale de la Republicjue d'Haiti
began to operate under a Haitian charter under the direct supervision
of The National City Bank of New York.

In 1929 The Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, now the City Bank
Farmers' Trust Company, one of the oldest and most respected fiduciary
institutions of the country, became affiliated with the City Bank. This
event completed the rounding-out of City Bank services and gave the
organization influential representation in commercial banking, invest
ment banking and trust fields, under one executive group, headed by
Charles E. Mitchell, Chairman.

On February 24 of this year the City Bank Farmers Trust Company
opened its new 54-story building occupying the block bounded by Wil
liam Street, Exchange Place, Hanover Street and Beaver Street, New
York City.

The National City Bank of New York

DEPOSITORY FOR FOREIGN SHARES

BILLS OF EXCHANGE CABLE TRANSFERS

FOREIGN DRAFTS LETTERS OF CREDIT

TRAVEL CHECKS
Head Office: 55 Wall Street, New York, U. S. A.

BRANCHES IN ITALY

GENOA Via Garibaldi No. 3

MILAN Piazza Cordusio

Ninety-eight Branches and Affiliates in 23 other Foreign Countries
Correspondents located in all Principal Cities of the World

The National City Company

Underwrites and Distributes the Bonds of Foreign Governments,
as well as the Bonds and Shares of Foreign Corporations

Head Office: 55 Wall Street, New York, U. S. A.

Offices or Representatives in the Principal Cities of the World

City Bank Farmers Trust Company

(Affiliated with The National Gty Bank of New York)

Personal Trust ' Transfer Agent * Registrar

Acts as Fiscal Agents or Trustee for Foreign
governments and Corporations

Head Office: 22. William Street, New York, U. S. A.

Trust Service available, at all Branches of The National City BankofNew York,

INTERNATIONAL POWER
SECURITIES CORPORATION

(15 Exchange Place, Jersey City, N.J., U.S. A.)

Supplementing the investment of Ital
ian capital required for the expansion
of important utilities in Italy to meet
the growing need of their services, Amer
ican capital to upwards of $ 30,000,000
has been invested through the Inter
national Power Securities Corporation.

HYDRO-ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENTS
IN ITALY

The utilization of water power for the
generation of electricity in Italy has
been an achievement of the first mag
nitude in the Nation's progress.

ALDRED & Co.
40 Wall Street - New York

Irving Trust Company Building at One Wall Street, New York

New Opportunities for Service

ROUNDING out the eightieth year since the opening of the
first Irving Bank in 1851, the Irving Trust Company on
March 23, 1931 occupied its new headquarters building at
One Wall Street, in close proximity to the Federal Reserve
Bank, the New York Stock Exchange, the Curb Exchange,
the Cotton, Produce, Coffee, Metals and other commodity ex-
changes,and headquarters of most of the large New York banks.

At this advantageous location opportunities for usefulness
to our many friends in Italy and throughout the world, are
greatly increased.

IRVING TRUST COMPANY

Foreign Office One Wall Street

LA LIBRERIA DELLO STATO

ROMA --PIAZZA VERDI ROMA
Newly published :

AMEDEO MAIURI

Sopraintendente agli scavi della Campania e del Sanmo

LAVILLA DEI MISTERI

This is a complete study on the origin and development of the
architectural scheme of a suburban villa of Pompei. The villa's
structure and decoration have been described as they appeared
during the first excavations of 1909-1910, and after the last in
1929-1930. The first part of the volume deals with its position,
its structure, and architecture, describing the various stages of
the building from the middle of the III Century B. C. to the
eruption of Vesuvius. The second part deals -with the mural
decorations, and describes at some length the " megalografia *%
that decorates the walls of a large room.

The subject, the scale on w^hich it is treated, the unity of
the scheme in the illustrated part are quite new in the History
of Pompeian and Roman painting, though already rich in
beautiful documents.

Since the first studies the fresco appeared to represent a
religious worship of a mysterious and secret character, that
gave the suggestive and right name to this building, the Villa
of Mysteries.

At the end of the book are illustrated the frescoes of the
other rooms and the mosaic decoration of the floors, and in
the last chapter are published all the archeological materials
found in the excavation : among others the beautiful marble
statue of the Empress Livia. Besides its artistic value, it
represents the most prominent document on the history of
the villa in the first period of the Empire.

This publication comprises the text and an additional
volume of coloured plates under separate cover.

The book contains 270 pages of text, measuring 28 X 40
cm. printed on Nippon paper, with 121 illustrations in roto
gravure in the text, 13 rotocalcographic full size plates, 5 full
size plates of charts, and a small general map of the whole
excavation.

The case contains 18 big mounted plates in colour of the
chief fresco discovered, measuring 36 X 48 cm.

These are bound in parchment, gilt, in a first Italian Edition
of 500 copies numbered from 1 to 500, at the price of 800 L.
(volume & map).

The English issue of The Villa of Mysteries* will appear shortly.

SILENUS AS MUSICIAN

(FROM THE PUBLICATION: A. MAIURI - LA VILLA DEI MISTERI)

THE MEDICEAN CODEX OF VIRGIL

AT THE BIBLIOTECA LAURENZIANA

OF FLORENCE

This is a perfect fac- simile of the most complete and most
ancient manuscript of the works of the great Poet that we have.

The Manuscript belongs to the IV Century, measures about
16.6 X 21.6 cm., and contains 221 sheets, of which 220 are
original. There are thus 440 pages of 29 lines each, written
in rough capital letters on thin parchment, containing the
Eclogues from verse 48, all the Georgics, and the Aeneid.

It is quite probable that from Rome, where the manuscript
was in the year 494, having passed to the library of Cassiodorus,
it was transferred with this to the Benedictine Monastery of
St. Columbanus in Bobbio, where it remained at least till 1461.
In 1472 it was in the Roman monastery of St. Paul, of the
same Benedictine order ; after remaining a short time at
the Vatican Library it passed into the hands of the Bishop of
Nocera, Angelo Colacci. It belonged afterwards to the Del
Monte family. Francis I De* Medici got it from the heirs
of Cardinal Innocenzo Dal Monte; they took it away from
the Vatican, where it had been put again. At the Lauren-
ziana, the Medicean library, the Manuscript arrived towards
1589, deprived of a sheet, that had been numbered 157 in
the IV Century, which had remained in the Vatican library,
as being part of the Codice Vaticano Lateranense 3225. The
Manuscript since then has always been in the Laurenziana
Library, except during its exile in Paris, to which the red seals
at the beginning of the volume and on the writing of the last
page of the Aeneid bear witness.

The reproduction of this Manuscript, done in polichrome
photoprint by the Poligraphic Institute of the State, has been
executed with extreme care. The latest processes of pho
tographic and photo-mechanic technique have been used, so
that every small detail of composition, colour and aspect of
the parchment could be reproduced with the greatest faith
fulness and accuracy.

Of course the reproduction is in every way perfect and
scrupulous. By kind permission of H. H. Pius XI, the lacking
sheet has also been reproduced and occupies its original place
in this fac-fiimile. Complete and reintegrated, it is published
for the use of scholars and amateurs of all the world.

Two editions have been printed :

One of 500 numbered copies on special Ma-
slianico paper, bound in parchment and
leather, primitive type 1.800 L. each

One of 45 numbered copies on Japanese paper,
bound in leather and wood plates, Medi
cean type 5.000 L. each

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FAC-SIMILE OF A PAGE OF THE CODEX

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