Mussolini as revealed in his political speeches (November 1914-August 1923)

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MUSSOLINI
AS REVEALED IN HIS POLITICAL SPEECHES

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MUSSOLINI

‘AS REVEALED
Poets FOLTTICAL SPEECHES

(NovemBER 1914—AvcusT 1923)

SELECTED, TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY

BARONE BERNARDO QUARANTA
di SAN SEVERINO

1923
LONDON & TORONTO

J. M. DENT & SONS LTD.

NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.

Onity AUTHORISED EDITION

All rights reserved

102930

01309721

NORTH
BTAFFORDOHIRE
POLYTECHNIC

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

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INTRODUCTION
A NOTE ON ITALIAN FASCISMO

In an interesting article published last year in our Press,
Ettore Ciccotti shows that Italian Fascismo does not repre-
sent an absolutely new political event, but is part of the
general historic development of nations. In the first years
of its appearance it was compared to the “‘krypteia” of
Sparta, to the ‘“‘eterie” of Athens, and to similar phenomena,
which are repeated as a manifestation of self-defence of
strong and active groups or classes, uniting and forming
centres of resistance; exercising thus, by their extended
action, general functions of State in a period in which its
protection is weak or inefficient, and shows signs of disin-
tegration or degeneration. Other examples of this pheno-
menon can be found in the history of the Church and in -
the Italian Communes, in England, Germany, in the Clubs
of the French Revolution, and in the rest of Europe. When
in a nation which shows such signs this form of vitality does
not exist, we witness the general collapse of that nation,
as in Russia at this moment, where only the radical uproot-
ing of Bolshevism might lead to the general resurrection
of the country.

The after-war period in Italy, as elsewhere, had caused
complete apathy, slackness and disorder in Parliamentary
State functions, characterised by many elaborate pro-
grammes, but few facts. The Italian working classes,
moreover, had been hypnotised by the nefarious gospel
of Lenin, which had powerfully contributed to bring
about the grave state of affairs in Italy in 1920, when the
Communist peril had reached its acute stage. The continued

1x

x A NOTE ON

strikes in all industries had caused prices to rise at a
tremendous pace; the production of commodities had been
reduced to a minimum; the enormous deficit in the railway
and postal departments, the debt and the general budget
of the State were alarming, while foreign exchanges had
reached fantastic figures. The arrogance of the Communist
elements had become unbearable, and officers at times were
obliged to dress in plain clothes in order not to be attacked
by Bolshevists, while soldiers, Carabineers and Guardie
Regie were frequently insulted and in some instances even
killed by Communists.

But the gallant fighters of the Trentino, of the Carso and
of the Grappa, the volunteers who had saved Italy and
arrested the advance of the enemy on the Piave could not
reconcile themselves to this state of affairs, to the idea of
watching with folded arms the complete loss of the fruits
of victory for which half a million men had left their lives
on the battlefields. These brave youths, with an indomitable
courage, ready to face all, full of the purest ideals and
passionate love for our country, representing a new force
and a new Italy, had already in April 1919 grouped them-
selves together in a “fascio” (bundle), as the “Fascio
Nazionale dei Combattenti” (National Fasces of Com-
batants), under the leadership of Benito Mussolini, who
was the inspirer and organiser of the movement and had
himself been their comrade at the front.

They became stronger every day and dealt the initial
blow to Communism in 1921, when the first encounter took
place between Fascisti and Communists at Bologna, which
marks the waning of Bolshevism and the rise of Fascismo.

But it was not an easy matter for the new movement to
make its way, as in its laborious progress it met with end-
less difficulties, and above all had to fight the apathy
of the people and the general scepticism regarding it.

ITALIAN FASCISMO xi

Fascismo had to deal with peculiar mentalities, to fight
various organisations, including the State, which felt itself
being undermined by this new political group, while its
chief enemy, the Bolshevist faction, had made endless
victims among its rank and file during the past.

It was not possible, however, for the Fascisti to deal with
the Communists otherwise than by using violence, as normal
means would have been entirely inadequate against the
seditious elements (made all the more arrogant by the
manifest impotence of the State and the laisser faire
attitude of public opinion), in view of the daily increas-
ing number of crimes committed against property and
peaceful individuals.

Fascisti, moreover, started a strong movement against
the composition of the Chamber, maintaining that it no
longer represented the nation, that it had grown pre-
maturely old and must, therefore, be quickly dissolved and
a new appeal to the electors be made as soon as possible.
They had been deeply concerned, on the other hand, with
the Italian economic crisis, which, according to Edmondo
Rossoni, the able organiser and Secretary-General of the
Syndicalist Corporations, could not be overcome without an
increase in the production of commodities to be obtained
by a more rigorous discipline in the labour question; thus
an economic victory followed the victory on the battlefields.
The masses of the working classes, many of them previously
Socialists and Communists, enrolled themselves among the
Fascisti syndicates scattered all over Italy and were able
to settle various important disputes.

The alleged dissension between Fascismo and the Italian
Monarchy had always been a favourite weapon in the hands
of the anti-Fascisti elements. The Hon. Mussolini, in his
speech at the great Fascista Mass Meeting at Naples on
24th October of last year, clearly manifested his party

xii A NOTE ON

feeling in the matter, as can be gathered by his own words
uttered there (see Part IV. page 171, of this collection).
The attitude of Fascismo towards Monarchy clearly defined
by its leader was very opportune, and contributed to the
greater popularity of the movement throughout the country,
where this institution rests on a solid base, represents
Italian unity, and is to-day associated with its illustrious
representative, King Victor Emmanuel III., an example of
domestic virtue in private life, one of the most cultured
men of our times, beloved by all classes, who at the front
proved himself the first soldier among soldiers and gained
the popularity of the whole nation.

The Army was secretly or openly greatly in favour of
Fascismo, the successful efforts of which to save the country
from the Social-Communist factions it could not forget.
The soldiers could, therefore, never have marched against
the Fascisti—who represented Italian patriotism. The very
generals of the regular Army, such as Generals Fara,
Ceccherini, Graziani, de Bono, and others, in black shirts,
themselves directed the famous “March to Rome.”

With reference to religion, Mussolini’s Government pro-
mised to respect all creeds, especially Catholicism. At Ouchy
he said to the Press: ‘My spirit is deeply religious. Religion
is a formidable force which must be respected and defended.
I am, therefore, against anti-clerical and atheistic demo-
cracy, which represents an old and useless toy. I maintain
that Catholicism is a great spiritual power, and I trust that
the relations between Church and State will henceforward
be more friendly.’ And while the Minister for Public
Instruction, Senator Gentile, has introduced compulsory
religious instruction in the elementary public schools, the
Under-Secretary of the same Ministry, Hon. Dario Lupi,
one of Mussolini’s closest friends, issued, as one of his first
acts, a timely and peremptory order to the school authorities

ITALIAN .FASCISMO xiii

requesting the immediate replacement of the Crucifix and
the picture of the King.

Fascismo, which during the last months of 1922 had seen
its membership increasing by leaps and bounds, finally
won with a note of fanaticism the very heart of the
country from the Alps to the southern shores of Sicily.
Latterly it had exercised the functions of State almost
undisturbed, and did not spare either institutions or indi-
viduals in the pursuit of its end. It had demanded and suc-
cessfully obtained the dismissal of the Pangermanist Mayor
of Bolzano, Herr Perathoner; it had occupied the Giunta
Provinciale of Trento, causing the removal of the Italian
Governor, maintaining that he had been too weak in his
attitude towards arrogant Pangermanists in that region; and
had acted successfully as arbitrator in the labour dispute
between Cantiere Orlando of Leghorn and the Government
itself. It was no wonder, then, if after the big October
meeting of last year at Naples and the ‘March to Rome”
with the famous Quadrumvirate formed by General Cesare
- de Bono, Hon. Cesare Maria de Vecchi, Italo Balbo, and
Michele Bianchi, then Secretary-General of the Party,
Mussolini, the creator of this mighty movement, was sum-
moned by the King to form the new Fascista Cabinet.

It might be a cause of surprise to the superficial observer,
this sudden ascent to power of a party which, a few days
before it took the government into its hands, had been
threatened with martial law, an order which the King wisely
refused to sign, thus avoiding civil war. But whoever has
followed the development and progress of Fascismo during
the last four years, considers its great strength and power in
the country, its formidable membership (now over a million
strong) compared with that of any other party (the Socialists
are reduced to seventy thousand), and takes into account
the high and patriotic principles on which this movement is

xiv A NOTE ON

founded will not wonder that the party got to power
through an extra-parliamentary crisis. We cannot and
must not forget that these “ black shirts’””—as the Fascisti are
called—have really saved Italy from Bolshevism, which was
sucking her very life-blood, and that they are thereby entitled
to the gratitude of our country and of the world at large.
“The Moscow conspirators, whose object was the overthrow
of Western civilisation, swept with a wide net,’ writes Lord
Rothermere in his recent article, Mussolini: What Europe
owes to him. “They made great headway in Germany,
especially in Berlin; they seized Budapest under the
direction of a convicted thief, but it was upon Italy they
counted most, and when Mussolini struck against them in
Italy, he was fighting a battle for all Europe.”

I do not think—and the Hon. Mussolini agreed with me
in one of the conversations I had with him—that people
abroad, especially in England and the United States, know
much about Fascismo. It had been diagnosed as a sporadic
revolutionary movement, which sooner or later would be
put down by drastic measures. Not many have realised
that in this after-war period there is no more important
historical phenomenon than Fascismo, which, as our Prime
Minister said, “is at the same time political, military,
religious, economic and syndicalist, and represents all the
hopes, the aspirations and requirements of the people.”
The popular air “Giovinezza” (Youth), the official song of
the Fascisti, with its thrilling notes, which magnetised the
heart of the people, the characteristic black shirts with the
shield of the ‘“‘fascio” on their breasts, the “gagliardetti”
(Fascisti standards)—all these have largely contributed
towards rousing a delirium of enthusiasm among the masses
for the great cause.

But three other important elements account for the
success of the “National Fascista Party” (as it is now

ITALIAN FASCISMO xv

officially constituted, with its “Great National Council”),
namely its military organisation, its powerful Press, and,
above all, the personality of Mussolini himself, the ‘‘ Duce,”
as he is called. The military organisation is entirely on
Roman lines, with Roman names of “legion,” “Consul,”
“cohort,” “Senior,” ‘‘Centurion,” ‘“Decurion,” ‘‘Triari,’’
etc. The symbol of Fascismo is the same as that of the
lictors of Imperial Rome—a bundle of rods with an axe in
the centre—and the Fascista salute is that of the ancient
Romans—by outstretched arm. The coins which are being
struck bear on one side the King’s head and on the other
the Roman ‘“‘fascio;” in the same way special gold coins
of one hundred lire will be issued shortly, to celebrate the
first anniversary of the “March to Rome.” There is the
most rigorous discipline, and the motto: ‘No discussion,
only obedience,” has proved of immense value in all the
sudden mobilisations and demobilisations carried out, often
at a few hours notice, which could give points to the
best organised army in the world. On the occasion of
the mass meeting preceding the ‘March to Rome,” which
was attended by over half a million men, in less than
twenty-four hours forty thousand left the town in perfect
order and without the slightest hitch.

Fascismo possesses a large Press, which comprises five
dailies and a large number of weekly, fortnightly and
monthly publications and a publishing house in Milan.

But the decisive factor in the great victory of
Fascismo is due to the personality of the great leader of
this army of Italy’s salvation, the very soul of this
mighty movement.

Few public men of our time have had a more rapid,
brilliant and interesting career than Benito Mussolini, the
son of a blacksmith. He is the youngest of his predecessors
in this office, as he was born only forty years ago at Pre-

xvi A NOTE ON

dappio, in the province of Forli, where the villagers still
call him simply “Our Benit.’”’ He was deeply attached
to his mother, Rosa Maltoni, and her death caused him
intense sorrow. He has one sister, Edvige, and a younger
brother, Arnaldo, who, since the elder one has become
Prime Minister, has taken his place as editor of IJ Popolo
@’Italia. Mussolini first worked in his father’s forge and
then, having occupied for a time the position of village
schoolmaster, emigrated to Switzerland, from which country
he was, however, expelled on account of articles he had
written advocating the Marxist doctrines. Returning once
more to Italy, he became an active member of the Socialist
Party and finally editor of its organ, the Avanti. Upon the
outbreak of war in 1914, with his keen political insight,
Mussolini saw the necessity of Italian intervention, and in
consequence was forced to leave the official Socialist Party,
giving up all the positions he held in it. He founded his
Popolo d'Italia, and began fiercely to sound the trumpets
of war, inciting his country to abandon her neutral attitude
and to throw in her lot with the Allies. He gained his end,
and in 1915 he went to the front as a simple soldier in the
11th Bersagliere Regiment. In 1917, as the result of the
bursting of a shell, he received thirty-eight simultaneous
wounds; he was obliged to go to hospital, was promoted
on the field, and invalided out of the Army. He then
returned to Milan, and having resumed the editorship of his
paper, the Popolo d’Italia, began his political battles, and
continued to fight through its columns, spurring his country-
men on to final victory.

With no exaggeration it can be stated that since the
advent to power of Mussolini every day has seen a steady
advance in the direction of the rebuilding of the country
within and a notable enhancement of our prestige abroad.
His strenuous everyday work is inspired by an indomitable

ITALIAN FASCISMO xvii

determination to make Italy worthy of the glories of Vittorio
Veneto, strengthened and disciplined, and he will spare
neither himself nor those around him in his attempt to
bring about its realisation.

He wishes to secure Italy’s rightful position in the world.
Mussolini’s foreign policy of dignity, honesty and justice has
already been outlined in his opening speech before the
Chamber, and can be summarised thus: ‘No imperialism,
no aggressions, but an attitude which shall do away with
the policy of humility which has made Italy more like the
Cinderella and humble servant of other nations. Respect
for international treaties at no matter what cost. Fidelity
and friendship towards the nations that give Italy serious
proofs of reciprocating it. Maintenance of Eastern equili-
brium, on which depends the tranquillity of the Balkan
States and, therefore, European and world peace.”

It is enough to cast an eye on the numerous legisla-
tive and administrative work accomplished by Mussolini’s
Government in these first eleven months to convince one-
self that he is in deep earnest as to the vast programme of
reconstruction he means to carry through. With reference
to domestic matters, the Fascista Government has passed a
great number of bills and projects of laws concerning the
Electoral Reform Bill approved by the Chamber last July,
radical reform of the entire school system, institution of the
National Militia, and abolition of the Guardie Regie (which
was a poor substitute for the Carabineers), industrialisation
of Public Services (Posts, Telegraphs, Railways), abolition
of Death Duties between near relations, enactment of
Decree on the Eight Hours Work Bill, reformation of the
Civil Law Codes, reduction of Ministerial departments,
now only nine, which formerly were sixteen, and formation
of the recent Ministry of National Economy, under which
are grouped various others: Industry, Agriculture, Labour,

b

xviii A NOTE ON

etc., reduction of the National Debt by over a milliard, a
comforting contribution towards the balance of the Budget,
as is gathered by the speech delivered in June, at Milan,
by the Minister of Finance, Hon. De Stefani.

Mussolini, besides having established a real discipline
(there are no more strikes since the Fascista Government
is in power), and having fully restored the authority of
the State, has shown himself to be the most practical
anti-waste advocate which the world has yet known. As to
foreign policy, besides adhering to the Washington Disarm-
ament Conference, and having signed conventions relative to
the laying of cables for a direct telegraphic communication
with North, Central and South America, negotiated im-
portant commercial treaties with Canada, Russia, Spain,
Lithuania, Poland, Siam, Finland, Esthonia, etc., and
having exercised beneficial influence in the Ruhr conflict
and in the Lausanne Conference, has been an element of
equilibrium for the new after-war international policy
in the world.

The selection of his speeches contained in this volume
is not a mere translation, since, in fact, the exact equivalent
of this book as it has been arranged, classified and edited is
not to be found in any other language. These speeches,
illustrated by the valuable prefatory notes, almost all of
which have been supplied to me by one who has been closely
associated with Mussolini during the whole of his political
career, serve, in my opinion, as could no biography, to
reveal the mind, character and personality of Mussolini him-
self. Delivered at intervals throughout the various stages
of his career, from Socialist to Fascista Prime Minister,
they enable the reader to follow intimately the events
which led up to the Fascista Revolution and its leader’s
attainment of his present strong position. The forcible
and sober style of his character, shorn of every unnecessary

ITALIAN FASCISMO xix

word, betrays the dynamic force and intense earnestness
of this man, who has been compared to Cromwell for his
drastic and dictatorial methods in the Chamber, and to
Napoleon for his eagle-like perception, for his decisiveness
and his marvellous power of leadership.

Mussolini is a volcanic genius, a bewitcher of crowds.
He seems a regular warrior, with an indomitable daring,
great physical and moral courage, and he has seen death
near him without wavering. He is the real type of Roman
Emperor, with a severe bronzed face, but which hides a
kind and generous heart. He is what people call a real
“self-made man,’ and is a great lover of the violin and of
all kinds of sport: fencing, cycling, flying, riding and
motoring. Mussolini gets all he wants and quickly, and, as
all his party do, knows exactly what he does want.

Apart from all that has been said, the present collection
of speeches, besides showing Mussolini’s strong hand in
the difficult art of statesmanship, displays clearly in almost
every page (and so, possibly, the book may also appeal to
others than politicians), additional important elements
which are not usually found in a volume of political
speeches, namely a richness of sympathy for mankind, a
blunt straightforwardness, a gentleness of soul together
with exceptional moral strength, pure idealism, which lift
him not only above party politics, but also high above the
average of mankind.

Such is the builder of New Italy, and the enthusiasm and
deep confidence which Mussolini has inspired in our country,
and the unanimous approval his work has prompted abroad,
are a good omen for Italy’s future fortunes and for the
welfare of the world at large.

BERNARDO QUARANTA di SAN SEVERINO.

Siena, Via S. Quirico, N.1.
October 1923.

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(English Translation)
FASCISTA NATIONAL PARTY

FASCISTI OF ALL ITALY!

Our movement has been crowned with success. The leader
of our Party now holds the political power of the State for Italy and
abroad. While this New Government represents our triumph, it
celebrates, at the same time, our victory in the name of those who
by land and by sea promoted it; and it accepts also, for the purpose
of pacification, men from other parties, provided they are true to
the cause of the Nation. The Italian Fascisti are too intelligent to
wish to abuse their victory.

FAscisT1!

The supreme Quadrumvirate, which has resigned its powers
in favour of the Party, thanks you for the magnificent proof of
courage and of discipline which you have given, and salutes you.
You have proved yourselves worthy of the fortunes and of the
future of your Fatherland.

Demobilise in the same perfectly orderly manner in which you
assembled for this great achievement, destined—as we firmly
believe—to open a new era in the history of Italy. Return now to |
your usual occupations, as, in order to arrive at the summit of her
fortunes, Italy needs to work. May nothing disturb the glory of
these days through which we have just passed—days of superb
passion and of Roman greatness.

Long live Italy!
Long live Fascismo!

THE QUADRUMVIRATE.

xxi

CONTENTS

FacsIMILE LETTER
INTRODUCTION: A NoTE on ITALIAN FAscismo

REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL OF THE MANIFESTO ISSUED BY THE
Hon. MussoLint AFTER HE anp His Party SUCCEEDED TO
THE GOVERNMENT 3 ‘ 3 A ° ;

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

PART I
MUSSOLINI THE “SOCIALIST ”

“Do NOT THINK THAT BY TAKING AWAY MY MEMBERSHIP CARD
YOU WILL TAKE AWAY MY FAITH IN THE CAUSE”’ .

(Speech delivered at Milan, 25th November 1914. )

PART II
MUSSOLINI THE “MAN OF THE WAR”
For THE LIBERTY OF HUMANITY AND THE FUTURE OF ITALY .
(Speech delivered at Parma, 13th December 1914.)

“ EITHER WAR OR THE END OF ITALY’sS NAME AS A GREAT POWER ”’
(Speech delivered at Milan, 25th January 1915.)

“To THE COMPLETE VANQUISHING OF THE Huns ”’

(Speech delivered at Sesto San Giovanni, 1st December 1917. )

“No Turninec Back!”
(Speech delivered at Rome, 24th February 1918.)

THE FATAL VICTORY
(Speech delivered at 'Bologns, aath May 1338. )

“In Honour OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ”’
(Speech delivered at Milan, 8th A onl ou )

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
(Speech delivered at Milan, Zot Ontier 1918, )

In CELEBRATION OF VICTORY :
(Speech delivered at Milan, ‘gith Notember 1978. ye
xxiii

PAGE
vi

XX

xxi

18

25

39

37

49

52

58

XXiV : CONTENTS

PART III
MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE”
PAGE
WorkKMEN’s RicHtTs AFTER THE WAR . . Os
(Speech delivered at Dalmine, noth M veh GAS )
SACRIFICE, WORK, AND PRODUCTION . . OF

(Speech delivered at Milan, 5th February 1920, )

‘(WE ARE NOT AGAINST LABOUR, BUT AGAINST THE SOCIALIST
PARTY, IN AS FAR AS IT REMAINS ANTI-ITALIAN” . = : 71

(Speech delivered at Milan, 24th May 1920.)

FascisMo’s INTERESTS FOR THE WORKING CLASSES : < 45
(Speech delivered at Ferrava, 4th April 1921 .)

“‘ My FATHER WAS A BLACKSMITH AND I HAVE WORKED WITH Him;
He Bent JRON, BUT I HAVE THE HARDER TASK OF BENDING
SOULS) =: 2 s : A = ; 2 - 79
(Speech delivered at Milan, 6th December 1922.)

LABOUR TO TAKE THE FIRST PLACE IN NEw ITALY . a : 82
(Speech delivered at Rome, 6th January 1923.)

PART IV
MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA”

THE THREE DECLARATIONS AT THE First Fascista MEETING . a is7
(Speech delivered at Milan, 23rd March 1919.)

OUTLINE OF THE AIMS AND PROGRAMME OF FASCISMO . : a Oe
(Speech delivered at Milan, 22nd July 1919.)

FASCISMO AND THE RIGHTS OF VICTORY : : + tog
(Speech delivered at Florence, 9th Oclober rere)

THE Tasks OF FAscIsMO . - 108
(Speech delivered at Tyieste, ‘20th September 1920.)

FASCISMO AND THE PROBLEMS OF FOREIGN POLICY : é skort
(Speech delivered at Trieste, 6th February 1921.)

How FascisMo WAS CREATED. : . 134
(Speech delivered at Bologia, oad April 109k a)

THE ItaLy WE WANT WITHIN, AND HER FOREIGN RELATIONS welds
(Speech delivered at Udine.)

CONTENTS XXV

PAGE
“THE PIAVE AND VITTORIO VENETO MARK THE BEGINNING OF
New ITaty ” ; . So
(Speech Gehuared at Rritions: 2 ath September 1922.)
THE Fascista DAWNING oF NEw ITALY : : = ror

(Speech delivered at Milan, 6th Oeiober rere )

“ THE MOMENT HAS ARRIVED WHEN THE ARROW MUST LEAVE THE
Bow OR THE CoRD WILL BREAK ”’ : ely E
(Speech delivered at Naples, 26th Oetobey 1922) )

PART V

MUSSOLINI THE “ FASCISTA MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT ”

FASCISMO AND THE NEW PROVINCES . - eros
(Speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st uae Toer )

THE QUESTION OF MONTENEGRO’S INDEPENDENCE ; = 89
(Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921. )

D’ANNUNZIO AND FIUME . : 192
(Same speech ddiivered 4 in the Chanter, aist ae 1921, )

ITaLy, SIONISM, AND THE ENGLISH MANDATE IN PALESTINE . - 194
(Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.)

THE ATTITUDE OF FASCISMO TOWARDS COMMUNISM AND SOCIALISM . 196
(Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.)

Tue ATTITUDE OF FASCISMO TOWARDS THE POPULAR PARTY. THE
VATICAN AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY 4 ze 2OL
(Same speech delivered in the Chamber, ast June 1921, )

PART VI
MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA PRIME MINISTER”

A NEw CROMWELL IN THE PARLIAMENT 2) 209
(Speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922, )

THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE FASCISTA GOVERNMENT . ‘ 210
(Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922. ‘ae

RNVE CONTENTS

PAGE
THe Poricy oF FaAscisMo FoR ITALY: EcoNoMy, WoRK AND
DISCIPLINE ; 215

(Same speech deaneved in the Chambon 16th 'N guanber 1922, )

*‘ CONSCIENTIOUS GENERAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE CONDITIONS OF THE

CoUNTRY AND ITS FOREIGN PoLicy” . ~E 2i9
(Speech delivered before the Senate, 27th N ome ee )

“T REMAIN THE HEAD OF FASCISMO, ALTHOUGH THE HEAD OF THE

ITALIAN GOVERNMENT ” : 5 ee)
(Speech delivered in i onton, iath Beceuber 1922. )

“Our Task IN History IS TO MAKE A UNITED STATE OF THE

ITaLian NaTION ” Z 5 7 E2zo
(Speech delivered at ome) 2nd J ae 1923. )

THE ADVANCE IN THE RUHR DISTRICT ? 230
(Speech delivered at Rome, 15th January 1923, bepes he Cabins )

THE GOVERNMENT OF SPEED E 234

(Speech delivered at Rome, 19th J. ey 1623, at the pera eaetr af
Motov Transport Company.)

THE MARCH OF EVENTS ON THE RuuR. THE POSITION OF ITALY 2) 8235
(Speech delivered at Rome, 23rd January 1923, before the Cabinet.)
THE RuHR, THE CONFERENCE OF LAUSANNE, AND THE PORT OF

MEMEL - 240

(Speech delivered at Bae, Ist Pulp nets Sees ae Caley

RATIFICATION OF THE WASHINGTON TREATY OF NAVAL DISARMAMENT 243
(Speech delivered before the Chamber of Deputies, 6th February 1923.)

MESSAGE FROM THE Hon. MUSSOLINI TO THE ITALIANS IN AMERICA
UPON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF THE CONVENTION FOR
THE LAYING OF CABLES BETWEEN ITALY AND THE AMERICAN
CoNTINENT ; : : “ : : : . « 245

(Rome, 6th February 1923.)

For THE CARRYING OUT OF THE TREATY OF RAPALLO . : - 247

(Prefatory remarks to the Deputies, 8th February 1923, accompanying
the Project of Law presented by the Hon. Mussolini, Minister for
Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister.)

THE AGREEMENTS OF SANTA MARGHERITA. ITALY AND YUGOSLAVIA 251
(Speech delivered before the Chamber of Deputies, 10th February 1923.)

QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE SENATE. THE oe
FIuME; ZARA AND DALMATIA . “e258

(Speech delivered before the Senate, 16th Febeuaey 1923, )

CONTENTS XXVii

PAGE
A REVIEW oF EUROPEAN POLITICS IN THEIR RELATION WITH ITALY 264
(Speech delivered before the Cabinet, 2nd March 1923.)

THE ITALO-YUGOSLAV CONFERENCE FOR THE COMMERCIAL TREATY 271
(Speech delivered at Rome, 6th March 1923.)

“ History TELLS Us THAT STRICT FINANCE HAS BROUGHT NATIONS
TO SECURITY” . 272

.

(Speech delivered at the Minsiry of Pongacr oth March 1923.)

“IT IS NOT THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF EUROPE ALONE THAT WE
HAVE TO RESTORE TO ITS FULL EFFICIENCY ” . : ; see 74:

(Speech delivered at Rome, 18th March 1923.)

“ ONLY THOSE WHO PROFITED BY THE WAR GRUMBLED AND STILL
GRUMBLE, CURSED AND STILL CURSE AT THE WAR” 3 peer 2 770)

(Speech delivered at Milan, 29th March 1923.)

“ PATRIOTISM IS NOT FORMED BY MERE Worps ”’ ; eee 77
(Speech delivered at Arosio, neay Milan, aah March 1925; )

QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE CABINET . : a ksh
(Speech delivered before the Cabinet, 7th April 1923.)

“MINE IS NOT A GOVERNMENT WHICH DECEIVES THE PEOPLE ” 2 254
(Speech delivered at Rome, 2nd June 1923.)

“ In TimE Past AS IN TIME PRESENT, WOMAN HAD ALWAYS A
PREPONDERANT INFLUENCE IN SHAPING THE DESTINIES OF
Humanity ” R E . 286

(Speech ier at Puiu, bed ies eee

““So LONG AS THESE STUDENTS AND THESE UNIVERSITIES EXIST, THE
NATION CANNOT PERISH AND BECOME A SLAVE, BECAUSE UNI-
VERSITIES SMASH FETTERS WITHOUT ALLOWING THE FORGING
oF NEw ONEs ” 289

(Speech delivered at the aseoesiy of Bagin aya J une 1023, a

Iraty’s FoREIGN POLICY REGARDING GERMAN REPARATIONS, Hun-
GARY, BULGARIA, AUSTRIA, YUGOSLAVIA, TURKEY, ae
POLAND AND OTHER COUNTRIES . 2od

(Speech delivered before the Bevdes 8th Tum 1924. ‘

“THE INTERNAL POLicy ” . 306
(Speech delineéed before the ‘Sate. 8th iow 1923. )

** As SARDINIA HAS BEEN GREAT IN WAR, SO LIKEWISE WILL SHE
BE GREAT IN PEACE” . - : : : jy 210)

(Speech delivered at Sassari (Sardinia), toth June 1923.)

XXViil CONTENTS

PAGE
“ Men Pass AWAY, MAYBE GOVERNMENTS TOO, BUT Iraty LIVES
AND WILL NEVER DIE” : : ‘ ‘ 3 F 323
(Speech delivered at Cagliari (Sardinia), 12th June 1923.)
“ FascisMO WILL BRING A COMPLETE REGENERATION TO YOUR
Lanp ” ; : : : . : é s 326
(Speech delivered at Iglesias (Sardinia), 13th June 1923.)
“As WE HAVE REGAINED THE MASTERY OF THE AIR, WE DO NOT
WANT THE SEA TO IMPRISON Us” 5 : A ? 2 328
(Speech delivered at Florence, 19th June 1923.)
‘« ] PRomIsE YOU—AND GoD Is MY WITNESS—THAT IT SHALL CONTINUE
Now AND ALWAYS TO BE A HUMBLE SERVANT OF OUR ADORED |
AT Ses ear’ : 5 5 : : : : A 330
(Speech delivered at Flovence, 19th June 1923.)
“Tye VICTORY OF THE PIAVE WAS THE DECIDING FACTOR OF THE
War” ‘ é 4 3 : : ; F : 331
(Speech delivered at Rome, 25th June 1923.)
Tur RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND THE UNITED STATES . - 335

(Speech delivered by the American Ambassador at Rome, 28th June 1923,
and the Italian Prime Minister's reply.)

‘““Tup GREATNESS OF THE COUNTRY WILL BE ACHIEVED BY THE

New GENERATIONS ” : : c : : 343
(Speech delivered at Rome, 2nd July 1923.)
Tur SITUATION ON THE RUHR AND OTHER QUESTIONS OF ForEIGN
POLICY : : : . ‘ : . . : - 345
(Speech delivered 3rd July 1923, at the Council of Ministers.)
Tur ELECTORAL REFORM BILL . : 347

(Speech delivered before the Chamber of Deputies, 16th July 1923.)

Tur MASSACRE OF THE ITALIAN DELEGATION FOR THE DELIMITATION
OF THE GRECO-ALBANIAN FRONTIER - : : . - 363
(Rome, 27th August 1923.)

INDEX : . : . . : ‘ - - : - 365

PART I
MUSSOLINI THE “SOCIALIST”

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MUSSOLINI THE “SOCIALIST”

“DO NOT THINK THAT BY TAKING AWAY MY
MEMBERSHIP CARD YOU WILL TAKE AWAY
MY FAITH IN THE CAUSE”

Speech delivered on 25th November 1914, at Milan, before the
meeting of the Milanese Socialist Section, which had decreed
Mussolini’s expulsion from the official Socialist Party.

In the fearless militarism of the dramatic speech with which this
volume begins, the Socialistic activity of Benito Mussolini ends—
of Benito Mussolini, who from the autumn of 1914 could have been
considered the recognised and acclaimed leader of the Italian
Socialist Party. He-had attained with giant strides the highest
rank in the party’s hierarchy, namely the editorship of the Avaniz,
the chief organ of the political and syndicalist movement. He had
been a clever and aggressive writer in a weekly provincial paper of
Forli, called La lotta di classe, and an ardent Sunday orator for
the “ville” of Romagna. He had revealed himself a “comrade”’ of
tremendous power at the Congress of Reggio Emilia, held in the
summer of 1912, where he delivered a memorable speech bitterly
criticising the flaccid mentality of Reformism then dominating
the party.

It was within two months of his success at Reggio Emilia that
the revolutionary leaders, feeling the need of strong men, entrusted
to Benito Mussolini the editorship of the Avanti, which was the
most powerful weapon of the party.

The following speech was delivered before a furious crowd of not
less than three thousand holders of membership cards, who hastened
from other centres adjacent to Milan, amid a diabolical tumult in
an atmosphere of organised hostility, which was the more violent
by contrast with the fanatical devotion which Benito Mussolini had

1 Class struggle.
3

4 THE SOCIALIST

evoked during the two years in which he had been the undisputed
mouthpiece of the party.

This atmosphere of intolerance and hatred had been fostered by
the neutralist adversaries who had succeeded to the management
of the Avanti after the present head of the Italian Government had
left the party.

As is known, the excited meeting held in the spacious hall of the
Casa del Popolo closed with a resolution for the expulsion of the
new heretic, which was passed, except by a negligible minority
of about fifty supporters, who afterwards stood by Mussolini in the
victorious campaign for intervention.

My fate is decided, and it seems as if the sentence
were to be executed with a certain solemnity. (Voices:
“Louder! Louder!’’)

You are severer than ordinary judges who allow the
fullest and most exhaustive defence even after the sentence,
since they give ten days for the production of the motives
of appeal. If, then, it is decided, and you still think that
I am unworthy of fighting any longer for your cause—
(‘“Yes! yes!” is shouted by some of the most excited
among the audience.)—then expel me. But I have a right
to exact a legal act of accusation, and in this meeting the
public prosecutor has not yet intervened with regard either
to the political or to the moral issues. I shall, therefore, be
condemned by an “order of the day’ which means nothing.
In a case like this, I ought to have been told that I was
unworthy to belong any longer to the party for definite
reasons, in which case I should have accepted my fate.
This, however, has not been said, and a great many of
you—if not all—will leave this room with an uneasy
conscience. (Deafening voices: ‘No! no!’)

With reference to the moral question, I repeat once more
that I am ready to submit my case to any Committee
which cares to make investigations and to issue a report.

As regards the question of discipline, I should say that

THE SOCIALIST 3

this has not been examined, because there are just and
fitting precedents for my changed attitude, and if I do
not quote them it is because I feel myself to be secure
and have an easy conscience.

You think to sign my death-warrant, but you are mistaken.
To-day you hate me, because in your heart of hearts you
still love me, because . . . (Applause and hisses interrupt
the speaker.)

But you have not seen the last of me! Twelve years of
my party life are, or ought to be, a sufficient guarantee of
my faith in Socialism. Socialism is something which takes
root in the heart. What divides me from you now is not a
small dispute, but a great question over which the whole
of Socialism is divided. Amilcare Cipriani can no longer
be your candidate because he declared, both by word of
mouth and in writing, that if his seventy-five years allowed
him, he would be in the trenches fighting the European
military reaction which was stifling revolution.

Time will prove who is right and who is wrong in the for-
midable question which now confronts Socialism, and which
it has never had to face before in the history of humanity,
since never before has there been such a conflagration as
exists to-day, in which millions of the proletariat are pitted
one against the other. This war, which has much in common
with those of the Napoleonic period, is not an everyday
event. Waterloo was fought in 1814; perhaps 1914 will see
some other principles fall to the ground, will see the salva-
tion of liberty, and the beginning of a new era in the world’s
history—(Loud applause greets this fitting historical
comparison.)—and especially in the history of the pro-
letariat, which at all critical moments has found me here
with you in this same spot, just as it found me in the street.

But I tell you that from now onwards I shall never
forgive nor have pity on anyone who in this momentous

6 THE SOCIALIST

hour does not speak his mind for fear of being hissed or
shouted down. (This cutting allusion to the many promi-
nent absentees is understood and warmly applauded by
the meeting.)

I shall neither forgive nor have pity on those who are
purposely reticent, those who show themselves hypocrites
and cowards. And you will find me still on your side. You
must not think that the middle classes are enthusiastic
about our intervention. They snarl and accuse us of temerity,
and fear that the proletariat, once armed with bayonets,
will use them for their own ends. (Mingled applause, and
cries of ““No! no!”’)

Do not think that in taking away my membership card
you will be taking away my faith in the cause, or that you
will prevent my still working for Socialism and revolution.
(Hearty applause follows these last words of Mussolini,
uttered with great energy and profound conviction. He
descends from the platform and makes his way down the
great hall.)

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MUSSOLINI THE “MAN OF
THE WAR”

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MUSSOLINI THE “MAN OF THE WAR”

FOR THE LIBERTY OF HUMANITY AND THE
FUTURE OF ITALY

Speech delivered at the Scuole Mazza, Parma, 13th December 1914.

This speech was delivered under the stress of great excitement.
The most ardent supporters of active neutrality were assembled
at Parma, a citadel of revolutionary Syndicalism, which opposed
Party Socialism, and the majority of whose members, after the out-
break of the European War, sided against the Central Empires and
in defence of intervention. Among these we remember Giacinto
Menotti Serrati, then Editor-in-chief of the Avanti, and Fulvio
Zocchi, a ridiculous and malignant demagogue, now removed from
political life.

But, notwithstanding this pressure from outside, the people of
Parma, mindful of their Garibaldian and anti-Austrian traditions,
sided enthusiastically with Mussolini and Alcesto De Ambris, the
leader of Syndicalism and member of Parliament for the city, who
had been the first to support the section of the extremists.

CiTIzENS,—It is in your interest to listen to me quietly and
with tolerance. I shall be brief, precise and sincere to the
point of rudeness.

The last great continental war was from 1870 to 1871.
Prussia, guided by Bismarck and Moltke, defeated France
and robbed her of two flourishing and populous provinces.
The Treaty of Frankfurt marked the triumph of Bismarck’s
policy, which aimed at the incontestable hegemony of
Prussia in Central Europe and the gradual Slavisation of
the Balkan zones of Austria-Hungary. One recalls these
features of Bismarck’s policy in trying to understand
the different international crises which took place in Europe
from ’70 up to the bewildering and extremely painful

9

Io THE MAN OF THE WAR

situation of to-day. From ’70 onwards there were only
remoter wars among the peoples of Eastern Europe, such as
those between Russia and Turkey, Serbia and Bulgaria,
Greece and Turkey, or wars in the colonies. There was,
in consequence, a widespread conviction that a European
or world war was no longer possible. The most diverse
reasons were put forward to maintain this argument.

Illusions and Sophisms. It was suggested, for example,
that the perfecting of the instruments for making war
must destroy its possibility. Ridiculous! War has always
been deadly. The perfecting of arms is relative to the pro-
gress—technical, mechanical and military—of the human
race. In this respect the warlike machines of the ancient
Romans are the equivalent of the mortars of 420 calibre.
They are made with the object of killing, and they do kill.
The perfecting of instruments of war is no hindrance to
warlike instincts. It might have the opposite effect.

Reliance was also placed on “human kindness” and other
sentiments of humanity, of brotherhood and love, which
ought, it was maintained, to bind all the different branches
of the species ‘‘man” together regardless of barriers of land
or sea. Another illusion! It is very true that these feelings
of sympathy and brotherliness exist; our century has, in
truth, seen the rapid multiplication of philanthropic works
for the alleviation of the hardships both of men and of
animals; but along with these impulses exist others, pro-
founder, higher and more vital. We should not explain the
universal phenomenon of war by attributing it to the caprices
of monarchs, race-hatred or economic rivalry; we must take
into account other feelings which each of us carries in his
heart, and which made Proudhon exclaim, with that per-
ennial truth which hides beneath the mask of paradox,
that war was of “divine origin.”’

THE MAN OF THE WAR bin

It was also maintained that the encouragement of closer
international relations—economic, artistic, intellectual, poli-
tical and sporting —by causing the peoples to become
better acquainted, would have prevented the outbreak
of war among civilised nations. Norman Angell had
founded his book upon the impossibility of war, proving
that all the nations involved—victors and vanquished
alike—would have their economic life completely convulsed
and ruined in consequence. Another illusion laid bare! Lack
of observation. The purely economic man does not exist.
The story of the world is not merely a page of book-keep-
ing; and material interests—luckily—are not the only
mainspring of human actions. It is true that international
relations have multiplied; that there is, or was, freer inter-
change—political and economic—between the peoples of
the different countries than there was a century ago. But
parallel with this phenomenon is another, which is that the
people, with the diffusion of culture and the formation
of an economic system of a national type, tend to isolate
themselves psychologically and morally.

Internationalism. Side by side with the peaceful middle-
class movement, which is not worth examination, flourished
another of an international character, that of the working
classes. At the outbreak of war this class, too, gave evi-
dence of its inefficiency. The Germans, who ought to have
set the example, flocked as a man to the Kaiser’s banner.
The treachery of the Germans forced the Socialists of the
other countries to fall back upon the basis of nationality
and the necessity of national defence. The German unity
automatically determined the unity of the other countries.
It is said, and justly, that international relations are like
love; it takes two to carry them on. Internationalism is
ended; that which existed yesterday is dead, and it is

I2 THE MAN OF THE WAR

impossible to foresee what form it will take to-morrow.
Reality cannot be done away with and cannot be ignored,
and the reality is that millions and millions of men, for the
most part of the working classes, are standing opposite
one another to-day on the blood-drenched battlefields of
Europe. The neutrals, who shout themselves hoarse crying
“Down with war!’ do not realise the grotesque cowardice
contained in that cry to-day. It is irony of the most atro-
cious kind to shout ‘‘ Down with war!’’ while men are fighting
and dying in the trenches.

The Real Situation. Between the two groups, the Triple
Entente and the Austro-German Alliance, Italy has re-
mained —neutral. In the Triple Entente there is heroic
Serbia, who has broken loose from the Austrian yoke;
there is martyred Belgium, who refused to sell herself;
there is republican France who has been attacked; there is
democratic England; there is autocratic Russia, though her
foundations are undermined by revolution. On the other
side there is Austria, clerical and feudal, and Germany,
militarist and aggressive. At the outbreak of war Italy pro-
claimed herself neutral. Was the “exception” contemplated
in the treaties? It seems as if it were so, especially in view of
the recent revelations made by Giolitti. If the neutrality of
the Government meant indifference, the neutrality of the
Socialists and the economic organisations had an entirely
different character and significance. The Socialist neutrality
intended a general strike in the case of alliance with Austria;
no practical opposition in the case of a war against her.
A distinction was made, therefore, between one war and
another. Further, the classes were allowed to be called up.
If the Government had mobilised, all the Socialists would
have found it a natural and logical proceeding. They ad-
mitted, therefore, that a nation has the right and duty to

THE MAN OF THE WAR 13

defend itself by recourse to arms, in case of attack from
outside. Neutrality understood in this way had necessarily
to lead—with the progress of events, especially in Belgium
—to the idea of intervention.

The Bourgeoisie is Neutral. It is controversial whether
Italy has a bourgeoisie in the generally accepted sense of
the word. Rather than the bourgeoisie and lower classes,
there are rich and poor. In any case, it is untrue that
the Italian middle classes are, at the moment, jingoist.
On the contrary they are neutral and desperately pacifist.
The banking world is neutral, the industrial classes have
reorganised their business, and the agrarian population,
small and great, are pacifists by tradition and tempera-
ment; the political and academic middle classes are neutral.
Look at the Senate! There are perhaps exceptions, young
men who do not wish to stagnate in the dead pool of
neutrality; but the middle classes, taken as a whole, are
hostile to war and neutral. As a conclusive proof, compare
the tone of the middle-class papers to-day with that
shown at the time of the Libyan campaign, and note the
difference. The trumpet-call which then sounded for war
is muffled now. The language of the middle-class Press is
uncertain, wavering and mysterious, neutral in word but,
in effect, in favour of the Allies. Where are the trumpets
that summoned us in the September of 1911? The
secret is out, and ought to make the Socialists, who are
not stupid, stop and think. On the one side are all the
conservative and stagnant elements, and on the other
the revolutionary and the living forces of the country. It
is necessary to choose.

We want the War! But we want the war and we want it

at once. It is not true that military preparation is lacking.
What does this waiting for the spring to come mean?

I4 THE MAN OF THE WAR

Socialism ought not, and cannot, be against all wars,
because in that case it would have to deny fifty years of
history. Do you want to judge and condemn in the same
breath the war in Tripoli and the result of the French
Revolution of 1793? And Garibaldi? Is he, too, a jingoist ?
You must distinguish between one war and another, as between
one crime and another, one case of bloodshed and another.
Bovio said: “All the water in the sea would not suffice to
remove the stain from the hands of Lady Macbeth, but a
basinful would wash the blood from the hands of Garibaldi.”

Guesde, in a congress of French Socialists held a few weeks
before the outbreak of war, declared that, in case of a con-
flagration, the nation that was most Socialist would be the
victim of the nation that was least. To prove this, notice
the behaviour of the Italian Socialists. Look at them in
Parliament. Treves lost time by quibbling. At one moment
he exclaimed, “We shall not deny the country.”’ In fact the
country cannot be denied. One does not deny one’s mother,
even if she does not offer one all her gifts, even if she does
force one to earn one’s living in the alluring streets of the
world. (Great applause.)

Treves said more: ‘‘ We shall not oppose a war of defence.”
If this is admitted, the necessity of arming ourselves is
admitted. You will not open the gates of Italy yet to the
Austrian army, because they will come to pillage the houses
and violate the women! I know it well. There are base
wretches who blame Belgium for defending herself. She
might have pocketed the money of the Germans, they say,
and allowed them a free passage; while resistance meant
laying herself open to the scientific and systematic destruction
of her towns. But Belgium lives, and will live, because she
refused to sell herself ignobly. If she had done so, she would
be dead for all time. (Great applause, and cries of “Long
live Belgium!” The cheering lasts for some minutes.)

THE MAN OF THE WAR | 15

The War of Defence. When do you want to begin to defend
yourselves? When the enemy’s knee is on your chest?
Wouldn’t it be better to begin a little earlier? Wouldn’t
it be better to begin to-day when it would not cost so much,
rather than wait until to-morrow when it might be dis-
astrous? Do you wish to maintain a splendid isolation? Butin
that case we must arm; arm and create a colossal militarism.

The Socialists, and I am still one, although an exasperated
one, never brought forward the question of irredentism,
but left it to the Republicans. We are in favour of a
national war. But there are also reasons, purely socialist
in character, which spur us on towards intervention.

The Europe of To-morrow. It is said that the Europe of
to-morrow will not be any different from the Europe of
_ yesterday. This is the most absurd and alarming hypothesis.
If you accept it, there is some absolute meaning for your
neutrality. It is not worth while sacrificing oneself in order
to leave things as they were before. But both mind and
heart refuse to believe that this spilling of blood over three
continents will lead to nothing. Everything leads one
to believe, on the contrary, that the Europe of to-morrow
will be profoundly transformed. Greater liberty or greater
reaction? More or less militarism? Which of the two groups
of Powers, by their victory, would assure us of better con-
ditions of liberty for the working classes? There is no doubt
about the answer. And in what way do you wish to assist
in the triumph of the Triple Entente? Perhaps with articles
in the papers and “orders of the day”’ in committee? Are
these sentimental manifestations enough to raise up Bel-
gium again? To relieve France? This France which bled
for Europe in the revolutions and wars from ’89 to ’7z and
from ’71 to 14? Do you then offer to the France of the
“Rights of Man” nothing but words?

16 THE MAN OF THE WAR

Against Apathy. Tell me—and this is the supreme reason
for intervention—tell me, is it human, civilised, socialistic,
to stop quietly at the window while blood is flowing in
torrents, and to say, ‘““I am not going to move, it does not
matter to me a bit”? Can the formula of “‘sacred egoism”’
devised by the Hon. Salandra be accepted by the working
classes? No! I do not think so. The law of solidarity
does not stop at economic competition; it goes beyond.
Yesterday it was both fine and necessary to contribute
in aid of struggling companions; but to-day they ask
you to shed your blood for them. They implore it. Inter-
vention will shorten the period of terrible carnage. That will
be to the advantage of all, even of the Germans, our enemies.
Will you refuse this proof of solidarity? If you do, with
what dignity will you, Italian proletarians, show yourselves
abroad to-morrow? Do you not fear that your German
comrades will reject you, because you betrayed the Triple
Entente? Do you not fear that those in France and Bel-
gium, showing you their land still scarred by graves and
trenches, and pointing out with pride their ruined towns,
will say to you: “Where were you, and what did you
do, O Italian Proletarians, when we fought desperately
against the Austro-German militarism to free Europe
from the incubus of the hegemony of the Kaiser?” In that
day you will not know how to answer; in that day you will
be ashamed to be Italian, but it will be too late!

The People’s War. Let us take up again the Italian
traditions. The people who want the war want it without
delay. In two months’ time it might be an act of brigandage;
to-day it is a war to be fought with courage and dignity.

War and Socialism are incompatible, understood in their
universal sense, but every epoch and every people has had
its wars. Life is relative; the absolute only exists in the

THE MAN OF THE WAR 17

cold and unfruitful abstract. Those who set too much
store by their skins will not go into the trenches, and you
will not find them even in the streets in the day of battle.
He who refuses to fight to-day is an accomplice of the
Kaiser, and a prop of the tottering throne of Francis Joseph.
Do you wish mechanical Germany, intoxicated by Bis-
marck, to be once more the free and unprejudiced Ger-
many of the first half of last century? Do you wish for a
German Republic extending from the Rhine to the Vistula?
Does the idea of the Kaiser, a prisoner and banished to
some remote island, make you laugh? Germany will only
find her soul through defeat. With the defeat of Germany
the new and brilliant spring will burst over Europe.

It is necessary to act, to move, to fight and, if necessary,
to die. Neutrals have never dominated events. They have
always gone under. It is blood which moves the wheels of
history! (Frantic bursts of applause.)

18 THE MAN OF THE WAR

“EITHER WAR OR THE END OF ITALY’S NAME
AS A GREAT POWER”

Speech delivered at Milan, 25th January I915.

The progress of Milanese, which is to say of Italian intervention-
alism, thanks to the authority and the influence of the Lombard
metropolis, the throbbing heart of the country, begins with the
meeting held in the great hall of the Istituto Tecnico Carlo
Cattaneo. At this meeting there were present forty-five “fasci,’”’
called “fasci di azione rivoluzionaria,” formed almost entirely in
the principal regional and provincial centres. Among the most
notable supporters were a group of soldiers of the 61st and 62nd
Infantry, the poet Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi, and the
old Garibaldian patriot Ergisto Bezzi, called the “Ferruccio”
of the Trentino.

I THANK you for your greeting, and am happy and proud
to be present at this meeting which represents, perhaps,
in these six months of a neutrality of commercialism and
smuggling, branded with Socialism, a new fact of the utmost
importance and significance.

While listening to the reports which were made here,
my mind carried me back to the first Congresses of the
International, when the representatives of the various
sections of the different countries prepared written reports
which gave full details as to the situations of the respective
peoples. This was a splendid means of coming to a closer
understanding. I pass now to speak of the international
state of affairs.

The diplomatic and political situation cannot be spoken
of without the military. The military situation is stationary,
although, to-day, it is clearly in favour of the Germans,
who occupy the whole of Belgium, with the exception of

THE MAN OF THE WAR 19

880 square kilometres, who hold ten rich and populous
departments of France, and a great part of Russian Poland.
Besides, the recent attack upon Dunkirk and the activity
of the submarines and dirigibles show that the Germans
are still full of fight, and wish to carry the war on literally
to the utmost limits of their powers of attack and defence.
Thus the intervention of Italy is not late. I think the right
moment has come now, when the military situation hangs
in the balance. There is neither advance nor retreat on
either side, for which reason it would be a good thing to
decide the game by the introduction of a new factor, the
intervention of Italy and Roumania.

The principal international events of this week have been
the Berchtold resignations, the consideration of interven-
tion by Roumania, and the treaty of the Triple Entente for
the regulation of Russia’s financial difficulties.

Russia. It really seems to me that there was a moment
of slackness in the pursuit of the war on the part of Austria
and Russia. It is enough to call to mind a short paragraph
in an official Russian paper, the Ruskote Slovo, in order to
realise that there was a time when Russia wavered.

“It is true,” says the paper, “‘that on the 4th September,
Russia, France, England, Belgium and Serbia undertook
not to make peace individually; but this pledge brings with
it the necessity of supporting the expenses of war in common,
especially now that Turkey has come to the help of the
Central Powers. Our treasury is empty. Where can we
obtain that money which is more important than men?
If England refuses, we shall be obliged to end the war in
any way convenient to Russia.’”’ Really threatening words
these, of which England, however, understood the mean-
ing, and immediately took steps to prevent their realisa-
tion by launching the loan of fifteen milliards in favour of

20 THE MAN OF THE WAR

Russia to be subscribed to in the capitals of the Triple
Entente. And, in fact, immediately after the announce-
ment of the loan the tone of the official papers changed,
and there was no more talk of making a separate peace.

Austria. There were other symptoms of restlessness in
Austria. Clearly, up to the present, Austria has been
sacrificed the most. She has lost Galicia and been defeated
by the Russians and Serbs.

It may be then that the resignation of Berchtold is an
indication that Austrian politics are taking a new direction.
In what sense? I do not think in the pacifist sense. Austria
is tied to Germany, and Germany leans upon Austria and
Hungary. Burian’s journey to the German General Staff
was made, I think, with the object of obtaining military
aid for Hungary. Austria and Hungary are preparing
themselves against Roumania, because this nation will
probably intervene before Italy.

Roumania. Roumania has four million men concentrated
in Transylvania under the rule of Austria-Hungary; she
is a young nation with a perfect army of 500,000 men,
and she will be obliged to end her hesitation, probably
owing to the fact that the Russians are at her frontier.
Nothing would embarrass the Roumanians as much as
this, since they remember that in 1878 the Russians
occupied Bessarabia. When the Russians, therefore, are
in Transylvania, the intervention of Roumania will be
decided at once.

Valona. One fact that has a certain importance where
Italy is concerned is the occupation of Valona, which has
come about in curious circumstances with the occupa-
tion of Sasseno, and the landing of the marines before the
Bersaglieri. I do not think that there are really rebels in

THE MAN OF THE WAR aI

Albania; and I think that Italy will stop at Valona. I do
not think either that Valona will run any serious risk,
because the Albanians have rifles but no artillery. Albania
does not exist in the true sense of the word, as the Albanians
are divided both by race and tribe, and I do not think that
an organised movement is to be feared.

Switzerland. One point that we must take into considera-
tion is the position of Switzerland—a point, to my mind,
rather obscure. It is true that we can feel, to a certain
extent, reassured by the fact that the President of Switzer-
land at the moment is an Italian. But without doubt a
restless state of mind prevails among the German element
there. The voice of race calls louder than the voice of political
union; the German Swiss lay down laws; they circulate
pamphlets which say ‘“‘Let us remain Swiss’’; they go in
search of the Swiss spirit, but I think that it would be diffi-
cult to find it. In any case, it is certain that they make
acid comments on the articles in the Pofolo d'Italia! Taken
as a whole it can be said that a Pan-German movement has
developed in German Switzerland, which manifests open
sympathy towards the Central Powers.

Zahn, a Swiss writer, in this way published an ode and
sent money to the German Red Cross. A political personality
of Basel sent information about the troops and the Swiss
defence to the Frankfurter Zeitung. The novelist Schapfer,
of Basel, went to Berlin to extol Germany and to sing
Deutschland tiber Alles at a public meeting. The journalist
Schappner advocated in the Neues Deutschland that Swit-
zerland should abandon her neutral position in order to
help Germany, and have as compensation Upper Savoy,
the Gex region and a part of Franche-Comté so that she
might form an advanced post of Germany towards the south,
declaring at the same time an alliance with Austria-Hungary

22 THE MAN OF THE WAR

which would enable Switzerland to extend her boundaries
also towards Italy.

The Neue Zurcher Nachrichten has even gone to the extent
of taunting Belgium with her unhappy fate, saying that the
neutrality of Belgium would have been violated by her
own Government, and calling her the betrayer of Germany,
and saying that Germany had every right to punish her.

These are all documents which are worth while knowing
about, because they denote a state of mind that might have
a surprise in store for us. Switzerland is made up of
twenty-four cantons, in one of which the Italian language
is spoken; but I don’t think that much reliance can be placed
on that fact. For the rest, I know that the General Staff
preoccupies itself a good deal with the possibility that,
either through love or fear, Switzerland will allow the
Kaiser’s troops to pass through Swiss territory, in which
case they would then find themselves at once in Lombardy.

The Dilemma of Italy. This meeting, therefore, asks for
the repudiation of the Treaty of the Triple Alliance as the
first step to mobilisation and war. Otherwise, if the treaty
is still in force, you can see how it can be interpreted in
any sense. At first it bound us to intervene on the side of
Austria and Germany, and we were taxed with being
traitors when we declared ourselves neutral. To-day it
proves that it is our duty to remain neutral. Treaties then
are interpreted according to the letter, according to the
spirit and according to the convenience of those who have to
interpret them! Necessity demands, therefore, the explicit
repudiation of the Treaty of the Triple Alliance. Perhaps
this can be made the casus belli. We are not diplomats, but
it is certain that if Italy repudiates the Treaty of the Triple
Alliance, Germany will ask for explanations, and if, at the
same time, there was mobilisation against Austria and

THE MAN OF THE WAR 23

Germany, we should be able to reach the stage in which a
solution by arms would be forced upon us. For us the casus
bell4 was magnificent and solemn; it was that created by
the violation of the neutrality of Belgium. Italy ought to
intervene in the name of jus genttwm, in the name of her own
national security. She has not been able to do so then;
but now we must decide. ‘‘Either war, or the end of our
name asa great power.” Let us build gambling-houses and
hotels and grow fat. A people can have this ideal also,
which is shared by the lower zoological species!

In reality the German working classes have embraced the
cause of Prussian militarism, and so, my friends, the chief
reason for remaining neutral falls to the ground. You
Italian Socialists are preparing to commit the same crime
of which you accuse the German Socialists. We, in the mean-
time, question the right of the German Socialists to call
themselves Socialists any more. The International compact
is only of value when it is signed and respected by all the
contracting parties. Since the Germans are the first to
have broken it, the Italians are no longer under obligation
to hold by a contract which might mean their ruin.

It is a fact, however, that Italy is “‘still bound to the
Triple Alliance.’ This Government of ours is pusillanimous,
because the repudiation of the Triple Alliance does not
mean a declaration of war or even mobilisation. But, mean-
while, this would prove that the Italian people vindicate
their right to independence of action in this period of history.

The Revolutionary War. To say that we are causing a
revolution in order to obtain war, is to say something which
we cannot maintain. We have not the strength. We find
ourselves face to face with formidable coalitions, but the
fasci of action have this object, to create that state of mind
which will impose war upon the country.

24 THE MAN OF THE WAR

To-morrow, if Italy does not make war, arevolutionary posi-
tion will be inevitably decided, and discontent will spring
up everywhere. Those same men who to-day are in favour
of neutrality, when they feel themselves humiliated as men
and Italians, will ask the responsible powers to account for
it, and then will be our chance. Then we shall have our war.
Then we shall say to the dominant classes: “You have not
proved yourselves capable of fulfilling your task; you have
deceived us and destroyed our aspirations. Your first care
should have been the completion of the unity of the country,
and you have ignored it. You have been warned about it
by democracy in general and by the Republican Party
particularly.” This will be a case which will surely end
in condemnation; in condemnation which cannot be other
than capital. And then perhaps we shall issue from this
harassing period of history. Every day we feel that there
is something in Italy which does not work, that there is a
cog missing in the gear, or a wheel that does not go round.
The country is young, but its institutions are old; and
when—if I may be allowed to quote once more from Karl
Marx, the old Pangermanist—a conflict between new forces
and old institutions begins to shape itself, that means that
the new wine cannot any longer be kept in the old skins,
or the inevitable will occur. The old forces of the political
and social life of ely will fall into fragments. (Loud
applause.)

THE MAN OF THE WAR 25

“TO THE COMPLETE VANQUISHING OF
THE HUNS”

Speech delivered at Sesto San Giovanni, 1st December 1917.

After the Caporetto disaster the patriotic organisations of Milan
had consolidated their union, previously undermined by the op-
ponents of war, who, thanks to the leniency of the Government,
had been able to work in the interest of the enemy. They developed
the existing sphere of propaganda, advocating resistance within
the country. One of the centres most infected by neutralist opposi-
tion was undoubtedly Sesto San Giovanni, a large borough of
the working classes at the gates of Milan, completely controlled by
Social-Communist administration.

Mussolini, having just left the military hospital, where he had
been lying ill as a result of many wounds received when a “bersa-
gliere’’ of the 11th Regiment, spoke in this hostile citadel as only
he could speak; and it is certainly beyond question that his frank
and incisive eloquence was mainly instrumental in dispersing the
bitter anti-war feelings fomented by stubborn and impudent
Socialist neutralism.

WorKMEN and citizens! The other evening, after three years’
silence, I spoke to the audience of the Scala; an imposing
audience and a large hall; but I prefer this friendly gather-
ing of workmen and soldiers, because, in spite of everything,
I am, and shall always remain, one with the masses
which produce and work, and the implacable adversary
of every parasite.

The International Illusion. I am here to talk to you of the
war, and to remind you of an article, which some of you will
still remember, in which, in a certain degree, I foresaw this
truce. ‘‘A truce of arms” I called it then, and I repeat these
words to-day. When one speaks of war, one must do so

26 THE MAN OF THE WAR

with a clear conscience and without all those useless orna-
ments of speech typical of an old, artificial style of literature.
We must remember that while we stand together here to
think of them, the best among our men, our brothers, your
sons and your husbands are consuming themselves, suffer-
ing and perhaps dying for us, for our country and for our
civilisation! We wished for the war, it is true, but because
the arrogance of other men imposed it upon us. We had
entertained the illusion that it was possible to realise the
international dream among the peoples, but, while we were
sincerely putting our faith in this beautiful chimera, the
German ‘‘Internationals,” with Bebel at their head, were
declaring themselves to be first Germans, and afterwards
Socialists! And in the International Congresses the Ger-
mans always systematically refused to bind themselves to
decisive action with the Socialists of other countries, under
the specious pretext that the retrograde constitution of
their country did not allow them, without jeopardising
their organisation, to conclude international agreements.
They held too much by their organisations, by their hundred
and one deputies and by the fat and swollen purse of marks,
which is the only thing which has been saved from German
Socialism. (Loud applause.)

While Germany was preparing for war by organising
formidable means of dominion and massacre, nobody in
England, France, Italy or Russia dreamed of the im-
minence of the terrible scourge.

The True Germany. We had a very wrong idea of Germany.
We only knew the Germany of the flaxen-haired Gretchens
and of home-sick novels, and not that of Von Bernhardi,
Harden and the Hohenzollerns.

It was Germany who wanted the war. Harden said so
in an ill-considered outburst of sincerity. The Socialists,

THE MAN OF THE WAR 27

who claimed more land for the expansion of the German
people, wanted it; spectacled professors incapable of syn-
thesis, but terrible in analysis, prepared it; the military
caste imposed it. The pretext for the unchaining of these
forces was soon found. Two revolver shots in I914; some
bombs thrown; two imperial corpses hurried away in a
court coach were the pretext. The war, for which the
Central Powers were prepared, blazed up on all sides.

The Socialist Intervention. We Socialists who were in
favour of intervention advocated war, because we divined
that it contained within it the seeds of revolution. It is
not the first instance of revolutionary war. There were the
Napoleonic wars, the war of 1870, the enterprises of
Garibaldi, in which, had we lived in those days, we should
have joined in the same spirit and the same faith.

Karl Marx, too, was a jingoist. In 1855 he wrote that
Germany would have been obliged to declare war against
Russia; and in 1870 he said of the French: ‘“‘ They must be
defeated! They will never be sufficiently beaten.” And
when in 1871 the Socialists of France, with Latin ingenuous-
ness, after declaring the Republic, sent a passionate appeal
to the Germans for peace, Karl Marx said: ‘These imbe-
ciles of Frenchmen claim that for their rag of a republic
we should renounce all the advantages of this war.”

One does not deny one’s Country. It is possible to remain
a Socialist and be in favour of certain wars. When the
country is in danger, it is not possible to remain pacifist.
A man cannot ignore his country any more than a tree
can ignore the earth which provides it with sustenance.
(Applause.) Our people have understood it, and you, who
carry in your veins some drops of the warrior-blood of those
men of Legnano who drove away Barbarossa, of the people

28 THE MAN OF THE WAR

of the Cinque Giornate, join with me to-day in inciting
our soldiers to free our land from the shame of servitude.
(Applause.) To deny one’s country, especially in a critical
hour of her existence, is to deny one’s mother!

It was thought that the soldiers’ strike would bring peace.
But, when our soldiers found that the enemy, instead
of throwing down their rifles, mounted cannons and field-
guns, instead of fraternising, massacred old men, women and
children, and far from returning to their own country,
advanced into ours, they only waited until a large
enough river divided them from the adversary to place
before them once again the impassable barrier of the
Italian forces. (Loud applause.)

Our set-back is not due to fear of the Germans. The
victors of eleven battles, the soldiers of the Carso, Bain-
sizza, Monte Santo, Cucco and of Sabotino do not fear
spiked helmets. The armies of all the combatant countries
have had moments of bewilderment, but not one recovered
itself as quickly as we have. After only one week of retreat,
our troops faced the enemy again and forced them back.

A Resolute Resistance. We have skirted the abyss; we
might have been lost, but we have saved ourselves. While
the Germans were hoping for still further revolution, the
soldiers re-established the force of resistance which had
been weakened; and now at the front the only fraternity
is that of rifle shots. (Applause.)

When the storm is passed we shall be proud of having
done our duty. Wilson, convinced pacifist, was drawn into
the war by an elevated humanitarian motive, which made
him feel that to prolong the war was an act of intolerable
complicity with the Germans, and he gives us an example.

The war will end with our victory; but in order to win,
you, workmen, must produce more. We must have guns,

THE MAN OF THE WAR 29

shells, rifles and bombs in great quantities. Arms and
munitions, at this moment, represent our salvation. To-
morrow, when our factories again produce ploughs and
spades and instruments for agriculture, we shall have the
joy of aduty done. To-day, and until the barbarians are
defeated for ever, instruments of war must increase in num-
ber under the impulse of your decisive will to win. (Loud
applause and demonstration of affection and sympathy.)

30 THE MAN OF THE WAR

“NO TURNING BACK!”

Speech delivered in the Augusteo at Rome, 24th February 1918.

The speech delivered at the Augusteo in Rome may be included
among those made by the most fervent patriots to rouse the country
to a resolute effort after the Caporetto disaster. It was a summons
to resistance, and a strong indictment against the heads of the
Government in Italy which was responsible for the moral collapse
which took place in the Army, due to the evil influences of black-
mail and neutralist Parliamentarianism at work in the country. The
salient feature of this meeting was the leaving of the hall by the
generals representing the “Corpo d’Armata”’ and the Ministry of
War. But it was entirely owing to this meeting of exasperated
patriots that the general policy of the then Prime Minister ceased
to be lenient to the enemy’s sympathisers and that active resistance
paved the way to the victory of the country in arms.

I WONDER if there is anyone among you who remembers
a meeting in favour of intervention in the war, that we held
three years ago in one of the squares in Rome? We were
dispersed by the police, but we were in the right. We
moved on, and history moved on with us.

Three cities created history. But it does not matter.
It is always the cities which create history; the villages are
content to endure it. We, after three years of war, not-
withstanding Caporetto, solemnly and truly reaffirm all
that was deep, pure and immortal in those days in May.

Remember! It was just in the May of 1915 that Italy
was not afraid of knowing how to live, because she was not
afraid of knowing how to die!

The Mistake of May. But we made a great mistake then,
that we have since paid for bitterly. We, who wished for

THE MAN OF THE WAR 31

the war, ought to have taken command of the situation.
(Loud applause.) The Italian people—which is not the
plebeian crowd which gets drunk in taverns, for twenty
centuries of history have not civilised us for nothing—the
Italian people had, even then, a vague apprehension of the
dangers which threatened its mission.

In the May of 1915 the nation as a whole presented a
marvellous concentration of human force. We men of ’84,
when we forded the Upper Isonzo, thought that it was never
again to be crossed by the Germans. When we gained the
other side, with one accord we shouted: “Long live Italy!”
(Loud applause from the whole assembly, who echo the
cry.) It was fine human material which we handed over
to those men who carried on war as if it were a tire-
some task more tedious than the rest. We gave it over
—for a war which, after twenty centuries of history,
was the first war of the Italian people—to men who did
not understand it; to men who represented the past; to
bureaucrats who have spilled much too much ink over the
trials and sufferings of the people.

But we are here to say to you: Gentlemen! the Germans
are on the Piave, the Germans have broken down one gate
of the Veneto and are in the process of breaking down the
other. The moment has come to see if our hearts are made
of steel. (Enthusiastic applause.)

I know these soldiers, because, as a simple soldier myself,
I have lived among them, leading the life of a simple soldier.
I have seen them under all the different aspects of military
life. I have seen them in the barracks, in the hard, bare
military transports while going to the front, in the trenches,
in the dug-outs under ceaseless bombardment when the
shells rained down death; I have seen them when every
heart has stopped beating, awaiting the command of the
officer, ‘‘Over the top”; I know them, these sons of Italy,

32 THE MAN OF THE WAR

and I tell you, they have not been merely soldiers, they
have been saints and martyrs! (Loud burst of applause.)

The Causes of Caporetto. How then did Caporetto happen?
Let us search our consciences courageously as a great people.
Ah! yes! At first, it may have had a military reason,
not later. Later we were face to face with a gigantic
hallucination. (Applause.) Great words were flashed across
the horizon. The formule of ‘“‘salvation”’ had come from
Russia, and from Rome came a fierce outcry against the
war, saying that it was ‘‘a useless massacre.” You cannot
conceive the profound disturbance this outcry caused in
the minds of the multitude. And, as if that were not enough,
without anyone having the courage to take summary pro-
ceedings against the authors, another sacrilegious message
came from Parliament: ‘‘No more trenches next winter.”
And, it is true, we are not any longer in the trenches beyond
the Isonzo; we are on this side of the Piave.

Justice for All. All this was the result of a falsehood that
lay at the bottom of our national life. The words “political
liberty” had been said. Ah! liberty to betray, to murder the
country, to pour out more blood, as said the man in France.
(General applause. Cries of “Long live Clémenceau!”) This
political liberty is a paradox. It is criminal to think that
men are requisitioned, dressed, armed and sent to be killed,
whilst every liberty of speech and power of protest is
denied them; that they .are terribly punished for the
slightest act or word not in keeping with given orders,
while at the same time, behind, in the secret meeting-places,
in the club-houses of brutalised drunkards, plans are allowed
to be matured and words to be spoken which are death
to the war. (Loud general applause.)

But did you not feel, after 24th October, that there was
a great change in us, both collectively and individually?

THE MAN OF THE WAR 33

Did you not feel that the vultures had torn away the flesh
and fixed their claws in the open wounds? Did you not
understand that we were going back to 66? Did you not
take into account the danger that the military system of
66 would be accompanied by the same diplomatic
manoeuvring which we have not yet expiated? One does
not deny one’s country, one conquers it! (Warm applause.)

The Example of Russia. Take a lesson from what has
happened in Russia. The Latin sages used to say that
Nature does not work by sudden leaps. I think, on the
contrary, that she does sometimes. But in Russia they
wanted to make things move too fast. They got rid of
Czarism in order to form the democratic republic of
Rodzianko and Miliukoff. That was in itself a big step,
and I pass over the intermediate action of the Grand Duke
Michael. But, not satisfied with this republic, they
wished to become more Socialist and called for Kerensky.
Kerensky went, because he was a mere figurehead—
(Laughter.)—and now there are other people who still want
to make things move too fast. But now the Germans,
under the pretence of a future pseudo-democracy, have un-
masked their brutal and barbarous annexationist projects.
At Petrograd, it is said, all citizens must dig trenches, and
those falling under suspicion of vagabondage or espionage
will be shot immediately.

An Iron Policy. But meanwhile the Germans advance,
and I think they are impelled by three motives: military,
political and dynastic. I think that the Hohenzollerns
propose to put the Romanoffs back on the throne.
Well! I don’t care if they do! As the Russian people have
proved that they don’t know how to live under a régime
of liberty, let them live in slavery. But, in the meantime,
the defection of the Russians increases our task,

c

34 THE MAN OF THE WAR

It is not the moment to bewail idly or to follow a weak
policy. I seek ferocious men! I want the fierce man who
possesses energy—the energy to smash, the inexorable
determination to punish and to strike without hesitation,
and the higher the position of the culprit the better. (Loud
applause from the assembly which understands the allusion.)

You send the simple soldier, burdened with a family,
full of cares, and whom you have never taught anything
about the country, to court-martial because he has dis-
obeyed some order. If you put this soldier with his back
against the wall, I approve of what you do, because I am
a believer in rigid discipline. But you must not have two
kinds of law. If there is a general who infringes the
Sacchi decree, strike him too. If there is a deputy who,
after the experience of Caporetto, says again that war is
a “useless massacre,” I tell you that he, too, ought to be
arrested and punished! (Ovation.)

Whoever has been to the front and lived in the trenches,
knows what an effect the reading of certain speeches and
Parliamentary reports had upon the minds of the soldiers.
The poor man in the trenches asked himself: ‘“‘Why must
I suffer and die, if they are still discussing at Rome whether
there ought to be war, if those who are at the head of affairs
there do not know whether or not it is a good thing to be
fighting?” That is deplorable and criminal talk, gentlemen!
And now, even after Caporetto, after defeat, irresponsible
people are allowed to make public anti-war demonstrations.
(Loud applause.)

Ghosts! After Caporetto men showed themselves again
whom we thought to have swept away for ever. But we
have driven them back into their holes, because we are still
on our legs.

Yes! Many of our comrades have not come back from the

THE MAN OF THE WAR 35
Carso and from among the Alps. But we carry their sacred
memory in our hearts. I think of the indescribable torture
of mind of those men of the Third Armata, when they had to
abandon the Carso. I think they must have cried out, “ For
what reason, as the result of what unexpected catas-
trophe, are we forced to abandon these rocks?” Because
in the end one loves the tracks, the stones, the trenches
and the dugouts among which men have lived and suffered.
We love the Carso, this heap of stones dotted with little
crosses which mark the graves of those fallen in the cause
of the liberty of our country. (Applause.) We love the
Carso, from which we can view the coveted coast-line, the
riviera of our Trieste. We still carry, alive and splendid,
the torch of the dead; the torch of those who fell in the face
of the enemy. And we are not moved by motives of gain.
We want clear and explicit recognition of the fact that we
have done our duty. And we find ourselves still in the breach,
that we may tell this people, in case they have forgotten,
that there is no turning back. There is no possibility of
choosing. Worry your brains as you will, there is nothing
else to be done, nothing else can be thought of!

Until Victory. The game is such that we must go on,
because there is no other solution than this; victory
or defeat! And it is the life or death of the nation
that is at stake. Also those who assumed power with
different ideas, with the intention of mending the situation,
have had to change their minds. There is no turning back;
we must win! ,

The warning has come from Russia. The Russian rulers
tried to turn back and make peace. They have talked
for days, weeks and months without coming to any con-
clusions, because if Massimalism had sent lawyers more or
less smart, Prussia had sent armed generals who from

36 THE MAN OF THE WAR

time to time tapped the pavement with their swords so
that German rights might be the better understood. Then
they accepted peace. But Prussia, thirsty for land, the
Prussia of the Hohenzollerns, insatiable and implacable,
marches into Russia and occupies territory.

If there is anybody to-day who does not wish for peace,
who prevents talk of peace, who wants to continue the war,
you must not seek him among the people, but at Berlin |
in the company of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. These are
the enemies of mankind and to these one does not kneel.
No! the Latin race holds itself upright! (Ovation.)

We who desired the war and make it our boast that we
did so, we who do not go humbly soliciting electoral divi-
sions, we shall not follow the cowardly demagogic example
of those who wish to ingratiate themselves with the people.
Democracy does not signify descent. It means ascent.
It means raising up those who are down. And so for all the
sacred and youthful blood that has been shed, and that we
have not forgotten, and for the sake of all that is still to be
shed, let us renew the solemn pact of our faith in the
certainty of victory.

No! Italy will not die, because Italy is immortal!
(Frantic applause.)

THE MAN OF THE WAR 37

THE FATAL VICTORY

Speech delivered at the Teatro Comunale, Bologna, 24th May 1918.

On this occasion the principal speaker was the Editor of I Popolo
d'Italia, who had recovered his physical efficiency after severe wounds
received on the Carso, and had a real influence in securing victory
because of the encouragement he gave to the spirit of resistance
within the country.

Bologna was then a stronghold of the opponents of war, on account
of the net of political and syndicalist organisation stretching
throughout the province, and of Socialist supremacy in the communes
and dependent administrations. It is, unfortunately, well known
that the State had by then ceased exercising any authority other
than merely formal in this province.

A mark of Socialist power, which proves also the profound anti-
national feeling of the defeated politicians who to-day stammer so
many lying excuses, is offered by the absolute prohibition of mani-
festations calculated to glorify the Italian Army.

Mussolini’s speech at the “Comunale” temporarily reunited the
sane sections of Bologna to the rest of Italy, then in great anxiety
for her fate and future.

ComBATANTS and Citizens! Will you allow me to pass over
without unnecessary delay the polemics which preceded my
coming to this city? If, as says our great poet Carducci,
“one does not seek for butterflies beneath the arch of
Titus,” one does not seek for them either beneath the arches
of this, our ancient and magnificent town of Bologna,
especially as one would probably not find butterflies at all,
but bats dazed and frightened by this glorious May sunshine.

The form of my speech will not surprise you. In those
days, three years ago, all the Italy that was conscious of
life and possessed of will-power, the only Italy which has
a right to transform her chaotic succession of events into
history, burned with an intense ardour—our ardour. I

38 THE MAN OF THE WAR

have noticed now for some time that there are opportunists
who are trying to open a door for eventual responsibilities
and who are carefully and laboriously cataloguing the
reasons why Italy could not remain neutral.

Destiny and Will. Very well! I admit that there has been
fatality, I admit this compulsion, which was the result of
a number of causes which it is useless to dwell upon, but I
add that at a certain moment we imprinted the mark of
our will upon this concatenation of events, and to-day,
after three years, we are not penitent of what we have
done. We leave this weak, spiritual attitude to those who
seek applause, seats in Parliament, and personal satisfac-
tion; those who thoroughly despise, as I do, all parlia-
menteering and demagogism, are far away from all this.

What Machiavelli says in chapter vi. of the Principe,
about those who, by their own inherent qualities, at-
tained the position of princes, Moses, Cyrus, Romulus
and Theseus, can be applied not only to the individual,
but to the nation. “And examining,” says the Florentine
Secretary, ‘‘their lives and actions, one does not see that
they had other fortune than that of the opportunity which
gave them the material and enabled them to shape it as
seemed best to them; and without that opportunity the
virtue of their souls would have been lost, and without that
virtue the opportunity would have come in vain.”

As to the Italian people in that glorious May, it
can be said that without the opportunity of the war
the virtue of our people would have been lost; but with-
out this virtue the opportunity of the war would have
come in vain.

I have found an echo of the thought of Machiavelli in
the book of Maeterlinck, the great Belgian poet, the poet
who, perhaps, more than any of his contemporaries, has

THE MAN OF THE WAR 39

given expression to the most delicate and complex move-
ments of the human soul. Maeterlinck in his book Wisdom
and Destiny admits the existence of a mechanical, external
fate, but says that a human being can react against it.
“An event in itself,” he says in chapter viii. of this book,
“(is pure water which the fountain pours out over us, and
which has not generally in itself either taste, colour or per-
fume. It becomes beautiful or sad, sweet or bitter, life-
giving or mortal, according to the soul which receives it.
Thousands of adventures, all of which seem to contain
the seeds of heroism, continually happen to those who sur-
round us, whilst no heroism arises when the adventure
is over. But Christ met a group of children in his path,
an adulteress, a Samaritan, and three times in succession
humanity rose to divine heights.’”” The war has been asa
jet of pure water for our nation. It has been deadly for
Spain, for instance, but life-giving to us. We desired it.
We chose. Before making our choice we argued and
struggled, and the struggle sometimes assumed the aspect
of violence; but we won, and now we are proud of
those days, and are glad to think that the memory of
the crowds which filled the streets and squares of our
cities disturbs those who were defeated and those who even
to-day, by the most insidious means, try to extinguish
the sacred flame and the faith of our people. They accepted
this war as one accepts a heavy burden, and their leader,
followed by the curses of the people, withdrew, like an old
feudal lord, to his remote native country, and we can only
wish that he will always remain there.

Enough of Old Age! But, as I am never tired of repeating,
we young men made one fatal mistake then, which we have
paid for bitterly; we entrusted this ardent youth of ours
to the most grievous old age. When I say old age, I do not

40 THE MAN OF THE WAR

establish merely a chronological fact. I think some people
are born old, that there are those at twenty who are in a
mental and physical decline, whereas some men—the mar-
vellous Tiger of France, for instance—at seventy have all
the vibration and fire of virile youth. I speak of the old
men who are old men, who are behind the times, who are
encumbrances. They neither understood nor realised the
fundamental truths underlying the war.

Besides the people, the meaning of this war in its historical
aspect and development has been perceived by two classes
of men: the poets and the industrial world. By the poets,
because with their extreme sensitiveness they grasp truths
which remain half veiled to the ordinary person; and by
the industrial world, because it understands that this war is
a war of machines. Between the two let us also put the
journalists, who have enough of the poet in them not to
belong to the industrial world, and are enough of the in-
dustrial world not to be poets. And the journalists have
often forestalled the Government. I speak of the great
journalists who keep their ears open, on the alert to catch
vibrations from the outside world. The journalist has
sometimes foreseen what those responsible, alas! have
recognised too late.

Quality versus Quantity. This war has so far been one of
quantity. Now, it is realised that the masses do not beat
the masses, an army does not vanquish an army, quantity
does not overcome quantity. The problem must be faced
from another point of view—that of quality. This war,
which began by being tremendously democratic, is now
tending to become aristocratic. Soldiers are becoming
warriors. A selection is being made from the armed mass.
The struggle, now carried on almost exclusively in the air,
has lost the characteristics it had in 1914.

THE MAN OF THE WAR 41

The first novelist who foresaw the problems of the war of
quality was Wells. Read his book The War on Three
Fronts. It is in this book that he advised the exploitation
of the “quality” of the Latin and Anglo-Saxon races. Be-
cause, whereas the Germans only work in close formation,
only give good results through the automatism of the
masses, the Latin feels the joy of personal audacity, the
fascination of risk, and has the taste for adventure; which
taste, says Wells, is limited in Germany to the descendants
of the feudal nobility, while with us it is to be found also
among the people.

Another truth which those responsible realised late was
that, in order to win the armies, the people must be won,
that is to say, that the armies must be taken in the rear.
This would be difficult where Germany was concerned, as she
is ethnically, politically and morally compact. But we are
face to face with an enemy against whom we could have
acted in this way from the very first. We ought to have
penetrated the mosaic of the Austrian State.

A Great People. Among the peoples who cannot be taken
in the rear by surprise, is ours. My praise is sincere. The
people in the trenches are great, and those who have not
fought are great. For deficiency you must look among those
old men of whom I spoke just now.

I have lived among our brave soldiers in the trenches
and listened to them talking in their little groups. I have
seen them during their bad times and in epic moments
of enthusiasm. And when, after the sad 24th October, there
was a certain distrust of them, I would not allow it, because
it seemed to me impossible that the soldiers, who had won
battles in circumstances more difficult than those prevailing
in any other theatre of war, had become all at once weak
cowards, who fled at the mere crackling of a machine-gun.

42 THE MAN OF THE WAR

And it was not so, because if it had been, no river would
have stopped the invading forces, and if we stopped them
on the Piave, it means we could have resisted also on
the Isonzo. (Applause.)

I was reading in the train last night a book of poems
written in the trenches by a Captain Arturo Arpigati. The
literature of the war is the only readable literature, but it
must have been written by men who have really been at
the front. In this verse I recognised my one-time fellow-
soldiers, the humble and great soldiers of our war.
Here it is:

Col vecchio suo magico sguardo
il Dovere, nume d’acciaio

gli inconsci anche soggioga.
benché ne balbettino il nome,
ecco, essi, la madre difendono
ed é la madre di tutti;

e sono essi la Guerra,

e sono essi la Fronte,

sono essi la Vittoria;

dai loro elmetti ferrei

spicca il volo la gloria:

essi martiri e santi,

sono l’eroica Patria, essi. I Fanti!?

But the highest praise of the people in arms is contained
in the thousand bulletins of the Supreme Command. The
unarmed also deserve praise, both those in cities—inevit-
ably nervous and restless by reason of the association of
thousands of human beings and the contact of thousands
of temperaments—and those in the country. From the
Valle Padana to the Tavoliere delle Puglie, from the vine-

‘ As of old, Duty, of the steel hand, enchains even the ignorant by
the magic of her glance. While as yet they can barely stutter her name,
lo! they defend their mother, who is the mother of all.

And they are the war, and they are the battle front, and they are the
victory. Glory is reflected from their steel helmets.

They, the soldiers, are the martyrs and saints and the heroic country.

THE MAN OF THE WAR 43

clad hills of Montferrat to the plains of the Conca d’Oro, the
houses of the peasants stand empty, and with the houses
the stables. The women have seen the father and the
son depart together, the thoughtful territorial of over forty
and the adventurous youth. It is useless to expect from
the humble people of the proletariat a highly developed
sense of nationality. It cannot possess what we have never
done anything to cultivate. From the people who have
exchanged the spade for the gun we simply ask for obedience,
and the Italian people, the people of the country and of
the factories, obey. A sad episode, some signs of restlessness
are not enough to spoil this picture. It had been said that |
we should not hold out six months; that at the announce-
ment of the names of the dead the families would rebel;
that the sight of the maimed at the street corners would
rouse the people to action. Three years have now passed—
three long years. The mothers of the fallen take a sacred
pride in their grief. The maimed do not ask to be called
“glorious,” and refuse to be pitied. Food is scarce, but the
people still resist. The troop trains go to the front adorned
with flowers as in the May of 1915. The dignity and peace
in the towns and in the country is simply marvellous! The
national crisis, which lasted from August to October of
1917, and which is summed up in the two names of Turin
and Caporetto, has been in a certain sense salutary. It was
the repercussion of the great crisis which hurled Russia
into the abyss.

The Russian Tragedy. Was there any definite motive
in the Leninist policy which led Russia to make the
“painful, forced and shameful Peace of Brest”? Yes!
there was. The massimalists really believe in the possi-
bility of revolution by “contagion.” They hoped to infect
the Germans with the massimalist bacillus. They did

a4 THE MAN OF THE WAR

not succeed; Germany is refractory. The very ‘“ minori-
taries” are far from proclaiming themselves Bolshevists.
And more, these “‘minoritaries,’”’ who ought to represent
the fermenting yeast, are continually losing ground. In
three elections there have been three overwhelming
defeats. The ‘“majoritaries” triumph. They are the same
now asin the August of 1914, accomplices of Pangermanism.
They want to win. After Brest-Litowsk the Socialists
lay low; after the Peace of Bucharest they kept silence.

We have seen what have been the results in Russia of
the Leninist gospel, we have seen how the German Socialists,
who accepted “‘neither annexations nor indemnities and the
right of the people to decide their own fate,’’ have inter-
preted this doctrine. The Germans took possession of 540,000
square kilometres of territory in Russia with a population
of fifty-five millions; then they went on to Roumania and
plundered her. If the Peace of Brest-Litowsk was shameful
for Russia, the Peace of Bucharest was not. The Roumanians
were taken in the rear, and could not resist.

In the meantime, Cicerin, the Commissioner of Foreign
Affairs, made the wireless work. A cynic might remark that
if the Roman Republic had a Cicero in a critical hour of her
history, Russia has a Cicerin, whom, contrary to the former,
nobody takes seriously, because it is impossible to take
seriously those who do not know how to take up arms in
the defence of their own rights.

The Russian experiment has helped us enormously, both
from the socialist and the political points of view. It has
opened many eyes which had persistently remained closed.
It must be realised that if Germany wins, complete and
certain ruin awaits us. Germany has not changed her
fundamental instincts. They are the same as those which
Tacitus describes to perfection in his Germania in these
words: “The Germans do not live in villages, but in separate

THE MAN OF THE WAR 45

houses, set wide apart the better to protect them against
fire. To shield themselves from the cold, they live in under-
ground dwellings covered with manure or clothe themselves
in the skins of small animals, of which they have a great
number. Strong in war, but persistent drunkards and
gamblers, armed with spears and well supplied with horses,
they prefer to gain wealth, when it suits them, by violence
rather than by the working of their lands.”

In his De Vita Julit Agricole this Roman writer notes
a contrast between the Germans and the Britons nineteen
centuries ago which is still the same to-day, that is, that
while the Britons fight for the defence of their country and
their homes, the Germans fight for avarice and lust. These
same tribes, driven once to Legnano, have resumed their
march beyond the Rhine and are preparing once more
to take up the offensive against us. But the “lust” of
which Kuhlmann speaks will not carry the Germans beyond
the Piave.

We are on our Feet. According to German calculations,
the Italian nation, as the result of Caporetto, ought to fall
into a state of chaos. Instead, it is on its feet. What vicissi-
tudes may not this last phase of the war bring with it?
Will Germany, who has not been able to beat us by our-
selves, beat the formidable combination of nations which
faces her?

We are one with France, whose soldiers have performed
wonders of heroism. And this France, which we knew so
little, because we had looked for her only in the cabarets
of Montmartre, not frequented by Frenchmen at all but by
adventurers from all over the world, has written for us the
most splendid pages of heroic deeds. She has known how
to rid herself of insidious dangers, to give the death-
blow to the plotters of treachery, both great and small,

46 THE MAN OF THE WAR

and to make the rifles of the executionary squadrons crackle,
a sound which, to one who loves his country, is sweeter
than the harmonies of a great opera. Also we, in Italy,
must act inexorably where traitors are concerned, if we are
to defend our soldiers from attack from behind. Where the
existence of the nation and of millions of men is involved,
there cannot and must not be a moment’s hesitation about
sacrificing the lives of one, ten or a hundred men.

We are one with England, who repeats the words of
Nelson, ‘‘England expects that every man this day will
do his duty.”

And we are one with the United States. This is Interna-
tionalism, the real, true and lasting Internationalism, even
if it has not got the formulas, dogmas and chrism of
Socialism made official. It is in the trenches, where soldiers
of different nationalities have crossed six thousand leagues
of ocean to come and die in Europe.

You must allow me to be optimistic about the out-
come of the war. We shall win because the United States
cannot lose, England cannot lose, France cannot lose. The
United States has a population of 110 millions; one single
levy can produce a million recruits. America, like England,
knows that the wealth of society is at stake.

As long as we are in this company there is no danger of
a ruinous peace. Not to arrive at the goal of peace means
to be crushed; but when we arrive there, we, too, can look
the enemy in the face and say that we, too, small, despised
people, army of mandolinists, have held out to the end,
wept, suffered, but resisted, and have thus the right to a
just and lasting peace!

Convalescence. 1 am an optimist, and see the Italy of
to-morrow through rose-coloured spectacles. Enough of the
Italy of the hotel-keeper, goal of the idle with their odious

THE MAN OF THE WAR 47

Baedekers in their hands; enough of dusting old plaster-
work; we are and we wish to be a nation of producers.

We are a people who will expand without aiming at con-
quest. We shall gain the world’s respect by means of our
industries and our work. It will be the august name of
Rome which will still guide our forces in the Adriatic,
the Gulf of the Mediterranean, and in the Mediterranean,
which forms the communication between three continents.

Those who have been wounded know what convalescence
means. There comes a day when the surgeon no longer
takes his ruthless but life-giving knife from the tray, no
longer tortures the suffering flesh. The danger of infection
is over, and you feel yourself reborn. A second youth begins.
Things, men, the voice of a woman, the caress of a child,
the flowering of a tree—everything gives you the ineffable
sensation of a return. New blood surges through your
veins, and fills you with a feverish desire to work.

The Italian people too will have its convalescence, and it
will be a competition for reconstruction after destruction.
The flag of the disabled is a symbol of a change in their
moral and spiritual life. Just think that certain rascals
thought to take advantage of them for their infamous
speculations. But the disabled answered: «We will not lend
ourselves to this shameful game, we do not intend to accept
from your charity and sympathy help which would humili-
ate us.” And they do not curse their fate, they do not
complain, even if they are without an arm or a leg; even
those who have lost the divine light of their eyes hold their
peace. In vain the enemy hoped to profit by the state
of mind of these people. They reply to this by saying
that all they had they gave for their country, and to-
day they do not wish to be a burden upon her, and so
they work and train themselves, and give further proof
of their devotion to the sacred cause.

48 THE MAN OF THE WAR

The Returning Battalions. I no longer see relegated to
some far future time the day upon which the banners of the
disabled will precede the torn and glorious standards of the
regiments. And around the standards will be collected
the veterans and the people. And there will be the shadow
of our dead, from those who fell on the Alps to those who were
buried beyond the Isonzo, from those who stormed Gorizia
to those who were mowed down between Hermada and the
mysterious Timavo, or upon the banks of the Piave. All
this sacred phalanx we sum up in three names: Cesare
Battisti, who wished deliberately to face martyrdom, and
who was never so noble as when he offered his neck to the
Hapsburg executioner; Giacomo Venezian, who left the
austere halls of your Atheneum in order to go and meet his
death upon the road to Trieste; and Filippo Corridoni,
born of the people, a fighter for the people, and who died
for the people on the first rocky ridges of the Carso.

The returning battalions will move with the slow and
measured tread of those who have lived and suffered much
and who have seen innumerable others suffer and die.
They will say, we shall say:

‘Here upon the track which leads back to the harvest
field, here in the factory which now forges the instruments
of peace, here in the tumultuous city and the silent country,
now that the duty was done and the goal reached, let
us set up the symbol of our new right. Away with shadows!
We, the survivors—we, the returned, vindicate our right to
govern Italy, not to her destruction and decay, but in order
to lead her ever higher, ever on, to make her—in thought
and deed—worthy to take her place among the great
nations which will build up the civilisation of the world
to-morrow.”

THE MAN OF THE WAR 49

“IN HONOUR OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE”

Speech delivered at Milan on the occasion of the popular demon-
stration of 8th April 1918.

The exaggerated welcome lavished upon President Wilson during
his visit to Italy is well known; and of all cities Milan accorded him
the most generous hospitality. Benito Mussolini, who on that
occasion was specially entrusted with the task of addressing the
President of the United States on behalf of the Lombard Asso-
ciation of Journalists, had prepared the mind of the Milanese
eight months before, by a speech delivered in Piazza Cordusio,
extolling the generous and brotherly effort of the great and vigorous
American people.

Citizens! Time does not allow long speeches. I do not
speak of time by the clock, but of historical time, which
for some few weeks has quickened its beat. To-day through-
out Italy demonstrations are taking place worthy of this
unique moment in the history of humanity. (Applause.)
The people of Bergamo go to Pontida to renew the vows
made by the League of the Lombard Communes seven
centuries ago, when they took the field against Barbarossa;
at Rome an imposing demonstration is in progress beneath
the shadow of the imperial walls of the Coliseum; while
here the people of Milan, by their numbers and enthusiasm,
express the keen sympathy they feel for the noble American
Democracy. It was a year ago to-day that America, having
loyally waited for the Germans to come to their senses,
unsheathed her sword and joined the battle. (Applause.)
Six thousand leagues of ocean have not prevented the
United States from fulfilling her definite duty. The im-
portance of her intervention does not consist only in the fact
that America gives us, and will give us, men, ammunition
D

50 THE MAN OF THE WAR

and provisions. There is something deeper in the intimate

reassurance given us as men and civilised people, as America

would never have embraced our cause if she had not been
firmly convinced of the right and justice of it. (Applause.)

Citizens! It is for us a source of pride and satisfaction
to be associated with twenty-three other nations in this
war against Prussian militarism. But it must also be a
satisfaction for the United States to fight side by side with
a great and powerful England which does not tremble
before the varying chances of war; beside a France which
is almost sublime in her heroism—(Applause.)—and beside
the new Italy, which has now definitely taken her place in
the world struggle. (Applause.)

As Italy discovered America, so America and the rest of
the New World must discover Italy, not only in the great
towns, pulsating with life and humming with industry,
but also in the country, where the humble labourers wait
with quiet resignation for the dawn of a victorious and just
peace to appear on the horizon.

There cannot be anybody now, even the most ignorant,
who can sincerely believe that Germany did not want the
war, and that Germany does not wish to continue the war
in order that she may turn the world into a lot of hor-
rible Prussian barracks. (Applause and cries of “Death
to Germany!’’)

This is our conviction, and also the conviction of the
Americans, a great people numbering more than a hundred
million, who have a vast wealth at their command and who
have already submitted themselves to the magnificent
discipline of war.

_ An old story comes into my mind. When Christopher
Columbus turned the prows of his three poor little ships
towards unknown lands and far-off shores, there were those

who called him mad and moonstruck; and certainly some-

THE MAN OF THE WAR 51

times during those three months of wandering a sense of
despair invaded the hearts of those men lost in the midst
of the unknown ocean. But one morning the crew up aloft
saw something new upon the horizon. It was a dark, vague
line. They shouted “Land! Land!” and three months of
misery were forgotten in one delirious moment.

The day will come when from our blood-stained trenches
will arise another such cry; the cry of “Victory! Victory!”
And there will be the right and just peace for all the
nations!

Citizens! On behalf of the Committee of the Wounded
and Disabled Soldiers, I thank you for your solemn demon-
stration and I ask you to join with me in giving three cheers
for America and for Italy. (Warm applause and cheers.)

52 THE MAN OF THE WAR

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Speech delivered at Milan, 20th October 191 8.

Immediately after the end of the war a group of journalists and
politicians, belonging for the most part to the Republican and Radical
democracy, took the initiative in a movement supporting the future
work of the League of Nations. Later, however, this initiative had
to be abandoned by those who were loyal to victory, because it
seemed clear to them that the pseudo-idealism of the Allies would
prejudice the legitimate interests of the Italian nation. The following
speech, however, shows clearly the generosity of Italian ex-soldiers
disappointed by the realism of other countries’ national aspirations.

Tur Executive Committee of the Wounded and Disabled
Soldiers has asked me to speak on the order of the day
expressing support of the idea of the League of Nations,
which, already preconceived in Italy, is now so nobly
advocated by President Wilson, and which proclaims the
determination of the Italian people to co-operate effectively
in bringing about its realisation. I shall do so shortly,
as the question is not new, but is already understood
throughout the country.

The disabled soldiers have taken the initiative, and it
is significant, as only those who have suffered most from the
war have the right to say what the peace ought to be, not
those who have wilfully opposed it and would have led us
to defeat or—not wishing that the people should suffer
defeat—to continuous war.

This is the hour particularly suited to the discussion of
these problems. Already a League of Nations seems to be
in the process of realisation; in the trenches the different
peoples are mixed up and are associating with each other.

THE MAN OF THE WAR 53

The humblest peasant, dreaming of return to his native
village after the hard experiences of the trenches, has
widened his spiritual horizon and, for a time, breathes a
world atmosphere.

In the other nations, the question has already come under
discussion in the papers, the universities and the Parlia-
ments. It could be said that Italy was behindhand, but we
might reply that in a certain sense we have forestalled the
others. There have been epochs in our history when Italian
thought has been almost too universal, but I think perhaps
at those times the universality of our literature, our philo-
sophy, our art, of our spirit, in fact, was our highest and
noblest title to greatness.

But, without returning to the Middle Ages, two men of
the nineteenth century, Cattaneo and Mazzini, prove that
Italian thought led, and that the other nations followed
the furrow we were the first to plough.

This war may be divided into two periods: the first,
from the outbreak of hostilities to the American intervention;
the second, from the American intervention up to to-day.
In the first, the war has a national and territorial character.
The names of Metz, Trento, Fiume and Zara occur frequently,
and can be said to sum up our aims. The territorial ques-
tions come first. The systemised jurisdiction of the world
is not yet spoken of; the war is world-wide in its direct
and indirect repercussion in as far as England has already
made use of her colonies, since Australians and Indians
came to fight in Europe, but it is not yet world-wide in
its extension and aims. The second period began with the
April of ’17. Already, in the first period, English poli-
ticians had begun to disregard the territorial problems;
but this process was shaped, hurried on and definitely
settled by the intervention of America. But in my modest
opinion, the national and territorial questions must not be

54 THE MAN OF THE WAR

underrated too much; that would be to play into the hands
of the anti-war agitators and the Germans. These are
questions of justice. It is a good thing to remember
that Wilson, in all his messages, though he certainly made
a transposition of values, never failed to establish that
vindication of national rights, without which the settlement
of Europe and the world of to-morrow in general could
have no definite meaning.

When we speak of a League of Nations we must take
into account certain dispositions. Cesare Lombroso used
to divide men into two categories: the “ misoneists”’
and the “philoneists’’: the misoneists, who accept the
revealed truths, lean upon them and sleep upon them;
the philoneists, who are restless, impatient spirits and as
necessary to the world as the wheels and shafts to a cart.
For the first the so-called kingdom of the impossible has
always extensive boundaries, but the war has enormously
reduced that kingdom. That which yesterday was a misty,
fantastic Utopia, to-day has become reality and fact.

Our enemies talk too much about the League of Nations.
There are furious ‘‘Wilsonites” of the latest kind in Austria
and in Germany. Now I must say that seeing this kind
of people bleating like lambs makes a certain impression
_onme. (The simile is that of a Republican German paper
printed at Berne.) They are the same who burnt the cities
of Belgium, who sank ships without leaving a trace, or gave
orders to that effect; they are the same who carried off men
and women in their retreat. They shout “ League of
Nations,” but we cannot be mixed up with them. There
is evidently an underlying motive. But they will be
unmasked by the victorious armies of the Entente.

Some people say, Would not this League of Nations
be a substitute for victory? No! on the other hand, it
presupposes victory. Wilson has talked of absolute victory.

THE MAN OF THE WAR 55

It is said, in a Socialist review, that a League of Nations
is impossible if the Allies gain a military victory, because
the desire for revenge would lurk in the depths of the
German mind. Now there are three hypotheses as regards
the way in which the conflict may end. The first is the
victory of the enemy, and this has already fallen through.
If this had come about, there would not have been a League
of Nations, but a master at Berlin and slaves in the rest of
Europe, which would then have become a German colony.
The second is a war which ends in neither victory nor
defeat; and this is the most repugnant and inhuman of
all, as it would leave all the problems unsolved, and give
a peace which was only a truce. The third is the solution
which is now shaping itself gloriously upon the horizon—
our victory. There is no danger of the spirit of revenge
being fostered by the Germans to-morrow, because we allies
in war would remain allies in peace. Germany will find
herself face to face with the same coalition which defeated
her, and will have to resign herself to the fait accompli.
The League of Nations will be formed without Germany,
against Germany, or with Germany when she has ex-
piated her crime by being defeated.

Some people say: ‘“‘ Does it not seem very dangerous to
go back to universality, after the experiences of the past? ”’
Ernest Renan must have been up against this problem when
he wrote: ‘‘The nation which entertains problems of the
religious and social order is always weak. Every country
which dreams of a kingdom of God, lives on general ideas
and carries out work in the interests of the universe, sacri-
fices through this its own particular destiny and weakens
and destroys its efficiency as a territorial power. It was
thus with Judea, Greece and Italy. It will, perhaps, be
thus with France.”

Renan was a great man, but his prophecy has not been

56 THE MAN OF THE WAR

fulfilled. France during the nineteenth century entertained
universal ideas, but with the outbreak of war she recovered
her national spirit. Internationalism may be dangerous when
a single nation advocates it, but to-day all the nations of the
world are seeking each other, in order to lay the foundations
of a lasting and pacific means of co-existence. Besides
this, the racial, historical and moral sense of every nation
has been developed by the war. It is not a paradox but
a reality that the war, while it has made us find ourselves
and exalted the national spirit, has, at the same time,
carried us beyond those boundaries which we have defended
and conquered. ;

There is no danger of the levelling of the national spirit
as the result of contact with other nations. Solid foundations
are needed for national unity, and for this reason the con-
dition of the working classes must be raised. No nation
can become greater in which there are enormous masses
condemned to the conditions of life of prehistoric humanity.

Another paradox of this war is that the nations fighting
against the Germans have not yet formed a peace alliance.
The peace manifesto to the peoples of the world ought to
have come from Versailles. This could help, among other
things, to make the German crisis more acute. It has not
been done yet. The people intuitively felt the necessity.
Sometimes truths are arrived at more quickly by intuition
than by reasoning, and the people felt that that was the
path to follow. And we are upon that path to-day. Not
long ago Clémenceau said that the liberation of France
must be the liberation of humanity.

It is true that to put the idea of the League of Nations
into practice would present difficulties, especially at first.
According to me the problems which will have to be faced
and solved are of a political, economic, military and
colonial order. In a month’s time you will have reports

THE MAN OF THE WAR 57

upon these subjects, and I do not wish to tire you with
hasty anticipations.

We have arrived at a decisive point in history. While
we are gathered here the battle is raging; there are millions
and millions of men who are fighting their last fight. Let
us swear that all this has not been in vain, but that these
sacrifices must mark a new phase in the history of humanity.
Let us say to ourselves that all that can be tried will be
tried, in order to make the purple flower of liberty spring
from the blood shed in the cause of freedom, and that
justice shall reign sovereign over all the peoples of the
renewed world!

58 THE MAN OF THE WAR

IN CELEBRATION OF VICTORY

Speech delivered at Milan, 11th November 1918, before the
Monument of the ‘‘ Cinque Giornate.”

Milan, notwithstanding its multi-coloured local Socialism, had
ever remained the burning heart of the country’s resistance and
spent herself lavishly for the war. On the morrow of the memorable
day of Vittorio Veneto she gave herself up to unrestrained mani-
festations of patriotic joy.

Benito Mussolini—the ardent advocate of intervention in the
harassing times gone by, the indomitable fighter in the Carso
trenches, and the fervent advocate of resistance in the hour in which
the enemy’s friends were crying for “peace at any price ’’—Benito
Mussolini may well be considered as one of the principal artificers
of victory.

The people of Milan felt this in the triumphant rejoicings and

the Editor of Ii Popolo d’Italia was acclaimed by public gratitude
for his part in the union of hearts.

My brothers of the trenches, Citizens! I have never before
felt my inefficiency as an orator as deeply as I do now in the
face of the greatness of the events and your memorable
and imposing manifestation. What can I say to you, when
this manifestation is already more than a speech, a hymn—
more than a hymn, an epos?

We have arrived at this day after many hardships. I
see here, gathered round the monument of the Cinque
Giornate, which is the altar of Milan, those who fought
first and last, those of the trenches who are the survivors
of the sacrifice of devotion, who marked with their blood
the destinies of the country, and the disabled who feel
themselves no longer maimed since Italy has become great.
I see beside them the refugees, who will soon return to their
lands and deserted hearths. I remember what I said last

THE MAN OF THE WAR 59

year; we must love these brothers of ours, warm them by
our firesides, and still more in our hearts. And I see the
people of Milan joined together like all the Italian people
in a superb act of love.

How many different events in the course of a year! Do
you remember these days a year ago? Do you remember
last year at the Scala when we swore that the Germans
should not pass the Piave? And they did not pass, and the
then line of resistance became afterwards the line of advance
towards victory. Even in the darkest hours I did not des-
pair, and paid homage to the fighters. We saw in those days
the first “poilus” and “tommies”; it was the Entente
coming to cement the Alliance in our trenches. After a year
of faith and sacrifice has come victory.

We think with gratitude of the fine leaders who led
us on to victory, but also, still more, of the anonymous
mass of soldiers, our marvellous people, who resisted the
invasion on the Piave, and from the Piave sprang forward
to rout the enemy.

Remember it here—here where we held the first meeting
for war—here, with Filippo Corridoni. (The crowd give a
prolonged ovation to the memory of Filippo Corridoni.)
We wanted the war, because we were obliged to want it,
because it was imposed by historical necessity. To-day we
have realised all our ideals; we have secured our national
aims ; the Italian flag to-day flies from the Brenner to
Trieste and Fiume and Italian Zara. We did not know then
that there were Italian infantry on the other side of the
Adriatic. Now, in all the cities and villages on the eastern
shore, the Italians have planted the flag of their country,
because that shore, which is Italian, must remain Italian.

We have also accomplished the international aims of our
war. When we said, four years ago, that the red flag must
wave over the castle at Potsdam, the dream appeared

60 THE MAN OF THE WAR

madness. To-day the Kaiser has fled, and with the passing
of the Hohenzollerns passes militarism.

The most magnificent political panorama which history
records unfolds itself before the eyes of the astonished
world. Empires, kingdoms and autocracies crumble like
castles built with cards. Austria no longer exists; to-morrow
there will no longer be Imperialist Germany. We, with the
sacrifice of our blood, have given the German people liberty,
while the German people have made a holocaust of their
blood in order to deliver us over to the chain of imperialism
and military slavery. Upon the ruins of the old world is
outlined the dream of a League of Nations.

Victory must also see the realisation of the aims of war
within the country—that is to say, the redemption of labour.
From now onwards the Italian people must be the arbiters
of their destinies, and labour must be redeemed from
speculation and misery.

Citizens! At Trento there is the statue of Dante with his
hand outstretched towards the Alps. It seemed before
that the reproach of the great poet:

Ahi! serva Italia, di dolore ostello,
Nave senza nocchiero in gran tempesta,*

rang out admonishing the country. But Italy to-day is
no longer a slave, she is the mistress of herself and her future.
She is no longer a rudderless ship in a storm, because a
glorious horizon has been opened up by her victory.

And the people are the rudder of this ship, which, between
three seas and three continents, sails serenely and securely
towards the port of supreme justice in the light of the
redeemed humanity of to-morrow. (Prolonged applause.)

‘ Alas! Slave Italy, the home of all griefs,
A ship without rudder in a great storm.

PART III

MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA FRIEND
OFF THE PEOPLE.

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MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA FRIEND OF
THE REOPLE”

WORKMEN’S RIGHTS AFTER THE WAR

Speech delivered 20th March 1919 before the workmen of Dalmine.

The episode of Syndicalist strife, during which the present Prime
Minister addressed a crowded meeting of ironworkers, is often re-
called as a kind of reproach by Italian Socialists. They would like
to attribute to Mussolini and to Fascista Syndicalism the initial
responsibility for that dark period in our national life which had its
dramatic expression in the occupation of the factories.

But the methods of protest adopted by the patriotic Italian
workmen of Dalmine (Bergamo), although primitive on account of
the moral immaturity and technical incapacity of the proletariat at
that time, were provoked by the insolence of employers. For the rest,
the protest was kept within the bounds of correct and calm expression.

A significant item in the story, which reveals the state of mind
of the workers, is the following: tricolour flags, which were then
frequently insulted by organisations of workmen under the thumb
of the Socialist Party, flew from all chimney-tops during the occupa-
tion of Dalmine works, while in the workshops below the work itself
throbbed cheerfully and briskly.

I HAVE often asked myself if, after the four years of terrible
though victorious war in which our bodies and minds have
been engaged, the masses of the people would return to
move in the same old tracks as before, or whether they
would have the courage to change their direction. Dalmine
has answered. The order of the day voted by you on Mon-
day is a document of enormous historical importance,
which will and must give a general direction to the line
taken by all Italian labour.

The intrinsic significance of your action is clearly set
forth in the order of the day. You have acted on the grounds
of class, but you have not forgotten the nation. You have

63

64 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

spoken for the Italian people, and not only for those of your
class of metal-workers. In the immediate interests of
your category you might have caused a strike in the old
style, the negative and destructive style; but, thinking
of the interests of the people, you have inaugurated the
creative strike which does not interrupt production. You
could not deny the nation after having fought for her,
when half a million men have given their lives for her.
The nation, for which this sacrifice has been made, cannot
be denied, because she is a glorious and victorious reality.
You are not the poor, the humiliated, the rejected, as the old
rhetorical sayings of the Socialists would have you be; you
are the producers, and it is in this capacity that you vindicate
your right to treat the industrial owners as equals. You
are teaching some of them, especially those who have
ignored all that has occurred in the world in the last
four years, that for the figure of the old industrial magnate,
odious and grasping, must be substituted that of the
industrial captain.

You have not been able to prove your capacity for
creation, on account of shortness of time and of the con-
ditions made for you by the industrial leaders; but you have
proved your good-will, and I tell you that you are on the
right road, because you are freed from your protectors,
and have chosen from among yourselves the men who are
to direct you and represent you, and to them only you have
entrusted the guardianship of your rights.

The future of the proletariat is a question of will-power
and capacity; not of will-power only and not of capacity
only, but of both together. You are free from the yoke
of political intrigue. Your applause tells me that it is true.
I am proud of having fought for intervention. If it were
necessary, I would carve in capital letters upon my forehead,
so that all cowards might see, that I was among those in

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 65

the glorious May of ’15 who demanded that the shame of
the neutral Italy of those days should cease.

Now that the war is over, I, who have been in the trenches,
and witnessed daily for long months the revelation, in every
sense, of the valour of the sons of Italy—I say, to-day, that it
is necessary to go out and meet the returning workers and
those, who were no shirkers, who laboured in the factories
with minds open to the necessities of the hour. And those
who do not see this necessity, involved by the new order
of things, or deny it, are either stupid or deluded.

I have never asked, and to-day less than ever, anything
from you or anybody. And so I have no anxiety or
misgivings as to the effect that my words will have upon
you. I tell you that your action has been original, and
is worthy, on account of the motives of sympathy which
inspired it.

Another observation. Upon the flagstaff of your building
you have run up your flag, which is the tricolour, and around
it you have fought your battle. You have done well. The
national flag is not merely a rag, even if it has been dragged
in the mud by the bourgeoisie, or by their representatives;
it still remains the symbol of the sacrifice of thousands and .
thousands of men. For its sake from 1821 to 1918 innumer-
able bands of men suffered privation, imprisonment and
the gallows. Around it during these years, while it was the
rallying-point of the nation, was shed the blood of the
flower of our youth, of our sons and brothers. It seems to
me that I have said enough.

As regards your rights, which are just and sacred, I am
with you. I have always distinguished the mass which
works from the party which assumes the right, nobody
knows why, of representing it. I have sympathy with all
the working classes, not excluding the ‘‘ General Federation
of Labour,” though I feel myself more drawn towards the

E

66 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

“Ttalian Union of Workmen.” But I say that I shall not
cease fighting against the party which during the war was
the instrument of the Kaiser. They wish at your expense
to try their monkey-like experiments, which are only an
imitation of Russia. But you will succeed, sooner or later,
in exercising essential functions in modern society, though
the political dabblers of the bourgeoisie and semi-bourgeoisie
must not make stepping-stones of your aspirations so as to
arrive at winning their little games.

They may have said what they liked to you about me, I
do not mind. I am an individualist, who does not seek
companions on his journey. I find them, but I do not seek
them. While this despicable speculation of the jackals
rages, you, obscure workers of Dalmine, have cleared the
way. It is labour which speaks in you, and not an idiotic
dogma or an intolerant creed. It is that labour which in
the trenches established its right to be no longer con-
sidered as labour, necessarily accompanied by poverty
and despair, because it must bring joy, pride in creation,
and the conquest of free men in the great and free
country of Italy within and without her boundaries.
(Enthusiastic applause.)

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 67

SACRIFICE, WORK, AND PRODUCTION

Speech delivered at Milan, 5th February 1920, before the Fascio
Milanese Combattimento,

Ir it were possible, before voting on the orders of the day,
to put into practice the system of democracy, we ought to
have summoned the Assembly. But when events follow
one another with lightning speed, it is not possible to
carry out this system of absolute Democracy.

We have, therefore, voted the orders of the day, and
wait for you to ratify them. We have brought forward
three, and done so from a point of view essentially Fascista.
I dare to say that one is born a Fascista, and that it is diffi-
cult to become one. All the other parties and associations:
argue on a basis of dogmas and from the standpoint of
definite preconceptions and infallible ideals. We, being an
anti-party, have no preconceptions. We are not like the
Socialists, who always think that the working masses are
in the right, and we are not like the Conservatives, who
think that they are always in the wrong. We have got
above all this and have the privilege of moving on the
ground of pure objectivity. Voting these “orders of the
day,” after a serious and elaborate discussion, we have kept
before us three classes of facts or elements. First, we have
kept in mind the general interests of the nation, particularly
as regards the recent strikes. Secondly, we have considered
the subject of production, because if we kill production, if
to-day we render sterile the fount of economic activity,
to-morrow there will be universal poverty. Thirdly, we
have been guided, in voting these orders of the day, by
our disinterested love for the working classes.

68 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

All must sacrifice themselves. I agree with those who
recommend the spirit of sacrifice also to the working classes;
I agree, because we do not only say to the working men
that they must wait, while still working, for better times
to come in order to break the vicious circle in which they
move; we also say that, generally speaking, capital must
be controlled. In this connection I announce to you that in
a short time a manifesto will be issued in which it
will be once more asserted that, in order to solve the
financial problem, it is necessary to resort to a three-
fold measure: first, the partial confiscation of all wealth
over a certain amount; secondly, the heavy taxation of
inheritance, and thirdly, the confiscation of super war profits.

No Pessimism. I am not a bit pessimistic about the future
of the Italian nation. If I were, I should retire from public
life. But as I am profoundly optimistic, I think that with
the January strikes over we have passed the critical period
of our social crisis.

You will tell me that February has not brought much
light; we have the strike of 50,000 textile workers be-
longing to the Popular Party, which shows that black
Bolshevism has the same destructive and anti-social char-
acter as the other Bolshevism. But it seems to me that the
social crisis is stabilising itself while awaiting solution.
If we can get over these next six or eight months without
catastrophe, if we can increase our trade with the East,
if the workmen can be made to understand that we cannot
take our money there but must send our manufactured
goods, and that only thus will the high rate of living be
diminished, because only from the East come those raw
materials of which we stand in need, it is certain that the
workmen will repudiate the more destructive than con-
structive weapon of strikes and settle down to serious work.

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 69

Sure Repentance. Our position as regards the syndicalist
movement is not reactionary, as has been said by some pur-
posely malicious adversary. I wrote some very bitter articles
during the strikes, but these articles, which were so in-
criminating, brought me approval which was very signifi-
cant. If there is a man in the Italian Union of Workmen
who has worked seriously, it is the republican Carlo Bazzi,
who has recently founded the Syndicate of Co-operation,
which is the necessary counterwork to the Socialist co-
operative movement. Now Bazzi wrote my brother! a letter
which contained these words: “I fully subscribe to Mussolini’s
article ‘You are immortal, Cagoia.’”’ This is enough for me.
But, at the same time, I do not require that everybody shall
agree with me, and that there shall be no one who differs.
I am always ready to persuade myself of my mistake when
I am in the wrong. But I do not think that our work can
be valued now. I think that within five or six months’ time
there will be quite a few Socialists who will recognise
that I am the only Socialist that there has been in Italy
for the last five years; and I am not being paradoxical,
even if I add that the Socialist Party on the whole is detest-
able. I think, too, that a great many elements of the
Centre and followers of Turati are beginning to recognise
it even now, and that in a short time the working classes
will admit that the days of 15th April and zoth-zrst
July, with all our violent opposition, were providential and
miraculous, because, having put the stake between the
wheels of the runaway coach, we prevented that what has
happened in Hungary should happen in Italy.

Production necessary. To-day it is said that poverty
should not be socialised, but that is what we said two years
ago, just as to-day it is said that there must be increased

? Arnaldo Mussolini, Editor of I/ Popolo d’Italia.

70 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

production, as we said two years ago. And when history
comes to be written, as it will be shortly, then our work
will be judged very differently from that of the Socialists
and the responsible elements in the working classes.

The discussion of this evening, I think, might end with
a declaration upon these four points:

1. The meeting ratifies the “orders of the day” voted by
the Executive Committee and the Central Committee.

2. The meeting reaffirms its solidarity with the just
demands of the postal telegraphists and the railway men and
all the State employees (because I have never been tired of
repeating that we are against the strike, but not against the
demands of the staff).

3. The meeting votes a warning to the Government that
the working of the State services must be made really
efficient, whether it be by removing the bureaucratic manage-
ment or by industrialisation. (And I think that autono-
mous organisations can be formed of the postal, telephone
and railway services, in which the agents would have a
large direct representation.)

4. Finally, the meeting votes its sympathy with all the
working-class elements who are agitating against the Socialist
Party and urges them to gather together in a compact body
so that, though hitherto it has not been possible, from to-
day onwards it may be possible, even in Italy, to live and
work and struggle without being slaves to the new
tyrannies, without the necessity of being compelled to
become a mere member in a flock of membership card-
holders like a flock of sheep.

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 723

“WE ARE NOT AGAINST LABOUR, BUT AGAINST
THE SOCIALIST PARTY, IN AS FAR AS IT
REMAINS ANTI-ITALIAN ”

Speech delivered at Milan, 24th May 1920, at the second National
Fascista meeting.

The following is not a conventional speech, but represents a
sincere act of faith, made in the darkest hour through which Italy
passed, the hour which followed upon the sweeping electoral and
political triumphs of 1919, when communal and provincial adminis-
trations were divorced from the Liberal policies.

The subversive newspapers of the day regarded that second
Fascista meeting as a useless attempt at galvanisation, since the
movement which was destined later to conquer the State seemed
then merely to lead to a blind alley. Such is the futility of news-
paper prophecies!

Worps, at certain times, can be facts. Let us act, then, in
such a way that all the words we utter now may be
potential facts to-day, and reality to-morrow.

Five years ago, at this time, popular enthusiasm burst
forth in all the streets and squares of the towns of Italy.
Looking back now and studying the documents of those
times, I can state, with certainty and a clear conscience,
that the cause of intervention was not taken up by the
so-called middle classes, but by the best and healthiest
part of the Italian people. And when I say the people,
I mean also the proletariat, because nobody could imagine
that the thousands and thousands of citizens who followed
Corridoni were all from the middle class. I remember that
one Agricultural Chamber of Labour, that of Parma, declared
in favour of intervention on the part of Italy with a great
majority. And even admitting that the war was a mistake,
which I do not admit, he who scorns the sacrifice which —
has been made is despicable.

——

a2 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

If you want to go back and make a critical examination,
I am ready to argue with anybody and to maintain: First,
that the war was desired by the Central Powers, as has been
confessed by the politicians of the German Republic and
confirmed by the imperial archives. Secondly, that Italy
could not have remained neutral, and thirdly, that if she
had, she would find herself, to-day, in a worse condition
than she actually does.

On the other hand, we who intervened must not be sur-
prised if the sea is tempestuous. It would be absurd to
expect that a nation which had just passed through so
grave a crisis would recover itself in twenty-four hours.
And when you think that after two years we have not yet
got our peace, when you think of the weakness of those who
govern us, you will realise that certain crises of doubt are
inevitable. But the war gave that which we required of it—
it gave us victory.

Let us idealise Labour. When, not long ago, you hissed the
song of the sickle and the hammer, you certainly did not
mean to disdain these two instruments of human labour.
There is nothing more beautiful and noble than the sickle,
which gives us our bread, and nothing finer than the hammer,
which shapes metals. We must not despise manual work.
We must understand that if it is overrated to-day, it is
because mankind, as a whole, is suffering from a lack of
material goods. It is natural, therefore, that those who
produce these necessaries are excessively overrated. We
do not represent a reactionary element. We tell the masses
not to go too far, and not to expect to transform society
by means of something which they do not understand. If
there is to be transformation, it must come when the his-
torical and psychological elements of our civilisation have
been taken into account.

DPE PRIEND OF THE: PEOPLE 73

Let us unmask the Deceivers. We do not intend to oppose
the movement of the working classes, only to unmask the
work of mystification which is carried on by a horde of
middle-class, lower-middle-class and pseudo-middle-class
men, who think that they have become the saviours of
humanity by the mere fact of being possessed of a card of
membership. “We are not against the proletariat, but
against the Socialist Party in as far as it continues to be anti-
Italian.”’ The Socialist Party continued, after the victory,
to abuse the war, to fight against those who had been in
favour of intervention, threatening reprisals and excom-
munication. Well, I, for my part, shall not give way. I
laugh at excommunication, and as for reprisals, we shall
answer with sacred reprisals. But we cannot go against
the people, because the people made the war. We cannot
look askance at the peasants, who to-day are agitating for
the solution of the land question. They commit excesses,
but I ask you to remember that the backbone of the infantry
was the peasantry.

Repentance. We do not deceive ourselves by thinking
that we shall succeed in sinking completely the now
wrecked ship of Bolshevism. But I already note signs of
repentance. I think that some day the working classes,
tired of letting themselves be duped, will turn to us, recog-
nising that we have never flattered them, but have always
told them the brutal truth, working really in their interests.
If, to-day, Italy has not fallen into the Hungarian abyss,
it is due to us, because we have saved them by active
interposition and by our life.

We have then one clear duty, which is to understand the
social phenomenon which is developing before our eyes,
and to fight the deceivers of the people and maintain a sure
and immovable faith in the future of the nation.

74 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

Towards Equilibrium. There has been a period of
lassitude on the morrow of all great historical crises. But
afterwards, little by little, the tired muscles recover. All
that which before was neglected and despised becomes
once more honoured and admired. To-day nobody wants
to talk of war, and it is natural. But when a certain
period of time has elapsed, things will change, and a large
part of the Italian people will recognise the moral and
material value of victory, they will honour those who fought
and will rebel against those Governments which do not
guarantee the future of the nation. All the people will
honour the great ‘‘arditi.’”’ It was the “arditi” who went «
to the trenches singing, and if we returned from the Piave
and the Isonzo, if we still hold Fiume, and are still in
Dalmatia, it is due to them.

Three martyrs, among the thousands who were conse-
crated to the war, clearly defined what were to be the
destinies of the nation. Battisti tells us that the boundary
of Italy should be at the Brenner; Sauro that the Adriatic
must be an Italian sea and commercially Italo-Slav; while
Rismondo tells us that Dalmatia is Italian. Very well!
Let us swear upon the standard which bears the sign of
death, of that death which gives life, and the life which does
not fear death, to keep faith to the sacrifice of these martyrs!
(Loud applause.)

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 75

FASCISMO’S INTERESTS FOR THE WORKING
CLASSES

Speech delivered at Prato della Marfisia in Ferrara, 4th April 1921.

The manifestations of enthusiasm culminating in the meeting at the
Prato della Marfisia solemnly confirmed the triumphant develop-
ment of Fascismo at Ferrara, the red province par excellence. On
that occasion some fifty thousand contadini, who had come on foot
from the remotest centres of the vast province, spent the day
acclaiming the “leader of the black shirts’? and the new faith in
Italy. A noteworthy feature was that many red flags belonging to
the disbanded and defeated Socialist leagues were deposited before
Mussolini and thereupon trampled underfoot by the crowd.

PEopLE of Ferrara! and I say people intentionally, because
that which I see before me now is a marvellous gathering
of the people, in both the Roman and Italian sense of the
word.- I see among you children who are upon the thres-
hold of life, and not long ago I shook hands with an old
Garibaldian, a survivor of that heroic Italy which was
born at Nola in 1821, when two cavalry officers hoisted the
flag of liberty against the Bourbons, and which triumphed
at Vittorio Veneto with the great and magnificent victory
of the Italian people. I see also among you factory hands
and their brothers of the fields.

We, Fascisti, have a great love for the working classes.
But our love, in as far asit is pure, is seriously disinterested and
intransigent. Our love does not consist in burning incense and
creating new idols and new kings, but in telling upon every
occasion and in every place the plain truth, and the more
this truth is unpalatable the greater the need to speak it out.

We, Fascisti, hitherto slandered and maligned, wished
to continue the war in order to obtain freedom of movement
in Italy, and although not giving way to a sense of weak
demagogism, we are the first to recognise that the rights

76 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

of the labouring classes are sacred, and even more so the
rights of those who work the soil. And here I can give
hearty praise to the Fascisti of Ferrara, who have under-
taken with facts, and not with the useless words of the
politicians, that agrarian revolution which must gradually
give the peasants the possession of the soil. I strongly
encourage the Fascisti of Ferrara to go on as they have
begun, and to become the vanguard of the Fascista agrarian
movement in all Italy.

How does it come about that we are said to be sold to
the middle classes, capitalism and the Government? But
already our enemies dare no longer continue this accusation,
so false and ridiculous is it. This impressive meeting would
move a heart harder than mine, and shows me that you
have done justice to those base calumnies put into circu-
lation by people who believed in the eternity of their for-
tunes, while in reality they had barricaded themselves in
a castle which must fall with the first breath of a Fascista
revolt. And this Fascista revolt, and we could also use the
more sacred and serious word revolution, is inspired by
indestructible and moral motives and has nothing to do
with incentives of a material nature. We, Fascisti, say
that above all the competition and those differences which
divide men—and which might almost be called natural
and inevitable, since life would be extraordinarily dull if
everybody thought in the same way—above all this there
is a single reality, common to all, and it is the reality of
the nation and of the country to which we are bound, as the
tree is bound by its roots to the soil which nourishes it.

Thus, whether you like it or not, the country is an in-
destructible, eternal and immortal unity, which, like all
ideas, institutions and sentiments in this world, may be
eclipsed for a time, but which revives again in the depths
of the soul, as the seed thrown in the soil bursts into

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 99

flower with the coming of the warmth of spring. We have
thus, by our furious blows, broken the unworthy crust be-
neath which lay imprisoned the soul of the proletariat.
There were those among the proletariat who were ashamed
to be Italian; there were those who, brutalised by propa-
ganda, shouted “‘ Welcome to the Germans!”’ and also ‘‘ Long
live Austria!’’ They were for the most part irresponsible
but sometimes wicked! Well we, Fascisti, want to bring
into every city, into every part of the country, even the
most remote, the pride and passion of belonging to the most
noble Italian race; the race which has produced Dante,
which has given Galileo, the greatest masterpieces of art,
Verdi, Mazzini, Garibaldi and d’Annunzio to the world,
and which has produced the people who won Vittorio Veneto.

And not this only. We do not intend to push the working
classes backwards. All that which they have won and which
they will win is sacred. But they must acquire these con-
quests by material and moral improvement. We, Fascisti,
do not speak only of rights, we speak also of duty, as Maz-
zini would have wished. We have not only the verb “‘to
take,”’ we have also the verb ‘‘to give,’”’ because sometimes
when our country calls, whether she be threatened by an
internal or external enemy, we exact both from our adherents
and from those who sympathise with us readiness even for
the supreme sacrifice. And you, Fascisti of Ferrara, have
consecrated the Fascista ideals with martyrdom.

If the idea of Fascismo had not contained in itself great
potentiality, nobility and beauty, do you think that it would
have spread with this tremendous impetus! Do you think
that seven lives would have been given for it, lives which
point out to us the path of perseverance and victory? A
short time ago I went to your cemetery. One by one we
visited the graves and threw our flowers upon them. Those
seconds of silence which we passed there were pregnant

Toa THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

with feeling. Each one of us felt that within those graves
were the bodies of young men in the flower of their days,
men who were certainly loved and who had before them all
the possibilities of life. They are dead; they have fallen.
But we, in this great hour of your history, O people of
Ferrara, will recall them one by one in the orders of the day;
and since they are not dead, because their mortal clay is
transformed in the infinite play of the possibilities of the
universe, we ask of the pure, bright blood of the youth of
Ferrara the inspiration to be true to our ideals, to be
faithful to our nation. And so we are content that our
flags, after having saluted the dead, smile on life, because
the working people of Ferrara, and of all Italy, have found
the true path that had been forgotten, have cast off all those
ignoble politicians who had filled their heads with lying fables.

We, O Italians of Ferrara, have no need to go beyond
our boundaries, beyond the seas, in order to find the word
of wisdom and of life. We do not need to go to Russia in
order to see how a great people may be massacred. We donot
need to turn the pages of the Muscovite gospels; gospels
which the prophets themselves are reviling since, over-
whelmed by the reality of life, they are denying them. We
have no need to imitate others, because brilliant original
minds are to be found in Italy in all branches of civilisation
and learning. And if there is to be Socialism, it cannot be
the bestial, tyrannical Socialism of yesterday, it can only
be the Socialism of Carlo Pisacane, of Giuseppe Ferrari and
Giuseppe Mazzini.

Here, O people of Ferrara, is your history, your life
and your future. And we, who have undertaken this hard
battle, which has cost us tens and hundreds of lives, we do
not ask you for salaries, we do not ask you for votes. We
only ask you for one thing, and that is that you shall shout
with us “ Long live Italy!’ (Loud applause.)

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE - 79

“MY FATHER WAS A BLACKSMITH AND I HAVE
WORKED WITH HIM; HE BENT IRON, BUT
I HAVE THE HARDER TASK OF BENDING
SOULS”

Speech delivered at Milan, 6th December 1922, before the workmen
of the iron foundries, in answer to Engineer Vanzetti, the manager.

On the occasion of his first visit to Milan after assuming the
Premiership of the Council, the city where he had lived and the centre
of his victorious political strife, Mussolini was urgently summoned
to the works of the Lombard Iron Foundries (Acciaierie Lombarde),
where he was welcomed with enthusiastic demonstrations of support
and appreciation. During the stormy years of 1919-20 these very
works were the scene of extraordinary events,

I Am particularly glad to have seen these works, already
known to me by what has been accomplished in them
in the last five strenuous years. I am not going to make
a speech, but, as has always been—and always will be—
my way, I shall tell you things clearly as they are, things
that will interest you.

The Government over which I have the honour of pre-
siding is not, cannot and does not wish to be anti-pro-
letariat. The workmen are a vital part of the nation; they
are Italians and, like all Italians, when they work, when
they produce and when they live orderly lives, must be
protected, respected and defended. My Government is very
strong and does not need to seek a great deal of outside
support; it neither asks for it nor refusesit. If the workmen’s
organisations choose to give me support, I shall not reject it.
But we shall have to come to a clear understanding and to
make definite agreements in order to avoid dissension later.

I was deeply moved just now while I was visiting the

80 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

factory, and seemed for an instant to be living again the
bygone days of my youth. Because I do not come of
an aristocratic and illustrious family. My ancestors were
peasants who tilled the earth, and my father was a black-
smith who bent red-hot iron on the anvil. Sometimes,
when I was a boy, I helped my father in his hard and humble
work, and now I have the infinitely harder task of bending
souls. At twenty I worked with my hands—I repeat, with
my hands—first as a mason’s lad and afterwards as a mason.
And I do not tell you this in order to arouse your
sympathy, but to show you how impossible it is for me
to be against the working class. I am, however, the
enemy of those who, in the name of false and ridiculous
ideologies, try to dupe the workmen and drive them
towards ruin.

You will have the opportunity of realising that more
valuable than my words will be the acts of my Govern-
ment, which, in all that it does, will be inspired by and keep
before it these three fundamental principles:

First: The Nation, which is an undeniable reality.

Secondly: The necessity of PRODUCTION, because greater
and better production is not only the interest of the capi-
talist but also of the workman; since the workman,
together with the capitalist, loses his livelihood and falls
into poverty if the productions of the nation do not find a
market in the trade-centres of the world.

Thirdly: THE PRoTECTION OF THE LEGITIMATE RIGHTS
OF THE WORKING CLASSES.

Keeping these three essential principles in sight, I intend
to give peace to Italy and to make her more respected
at home and abroad.

Nobody wants to go in search of adventures which will
imperil the lives and wealth of the citizens; but, on the
other hand, neither do we wish to follow a policy of

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 81

renunciation nor allow Italy to be the last considered
among the nations. In order that we may be listened
to in international conferences—conferences which are of
the greatest importance to you workmen—it is necessary
that the most rigid discipline be maintained at home, as
no one will listen to us if we have a disturbed and
unsettled country behind us.

You, workmen, must not think that it is only the head
of the Government who is speaking to you now, but a man
who knows you well and who is known by you; a man who
understands your value and what you can and what you
cannot do. But, as the head of the Government, I tell you
that this one over which I preside is serious, strong and sure
of itself, and no slow-moving bureaucracy; it is a Govern-
ment that wishes to act in the interests of the working
classes, interests which will always be recognised when
they are just.

The workmen thought that they could, and ought to,
disassociate themselves from the life of the nation; and
this has been a great mistake. They ought, instead, to be
a most intimate part of the nation, so that all our long and
laborious toiling may not be miserably lost.

This is the message which comes from our dead, who,
hovering above us, repeat this command.

The Italian people must somehow find that medium
of harmony necessary for the reconstruction and develop-
ment of civilisation; and if there be rebellious and seditious
minorities they must be inexorably stamped out.

Treasure up these words in your hearts and remember
the motto of the Fascista Syndicates:

The country must not be denied but conquered.

I raise my glass with you and drink to the future and
the fortunes of Italian industry, that it may take a glorious
place in the eyes of the whole world.

F

82 THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE

LABOUR TO TAKE THE FIRST PLACE IN
NEW ITALY

Speech delivered at Rome, 6th January 1923, before. a repre-
sentative gathering of Fascisti dock-workers from Genoa who had
presented him with an illuminated address.

You must certainly be aware of the fact that I take a great
interest in your city—an interest which dates from 1915
when Genoa, together with Milan and Rome, led the way
to revolution; because the revolution which has brought
the Fascisti into power began in the May of 1915, was
continued in the October of 1922, and goes on still, and
will go on for some time. I am very pleased to accept your
message, and I thank you with sincere cordiality.

I must tell you that the Government over which I have
the honour of presiding never has had, never can and
never will have the intention of following a so-called anti-
labour policy. On the contrary, I want to praise the working
classes, who do not put obstacles in the way of the Govern-
ment, who work, and who have practically abolished
strikes. They have redeemed themselves, because they no
longer believe in the Asiatic Utopia which came from Russia;
they believe in themselves, in their work; they believe in
the possibility, which for me is a certainty, of a prosperous
Italian nation.

You have been directly interested in this greatness of the
nation, and you, who come from such a live centre as Genoa,
are the most suited to feel this ferment of new life, all this
active preparation for a new destiny.

The Government, as you see, governs for all, over the
heads of all, and, if necessary, against all. It governs for all,

THE FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE 83

because it takes into account all general interests; it governs
against all, when any group, whether of the middle class
or of the proletariat, tries to put its interests before the
general interests of the nation. I am sure that if the working
classes—of which you are the aristocratic minority—
continue to give this noble exhibition of tranquillity and
discipline, the nation, which was upon the verge of ruin,
will recover itself completely.

I do not say things which have not been well considered
and thought over; and, after two months of government,
I tell you that if the Fascista revolution had been post-
poned for another few months or perhaps only another
few weeks, the nation would have fallen into a state of
chaos. All that we are performing now is really work in
arrears; we are freeing the citizens from the weight of
laws which were the result of a foolish demagogic policy;
we are freeing the State from all those superstructures
which were suffocating it, from all the economic functions
which it was unfitted to perform; we are working to balance
the budget, which means re-establishing the value of the
lira, which means taking a position of dignity and influence
in the international world. 2

The Italy which we wish to make, which we are building
up day by day, which we shall succeed in making, as it is
our aim and our immovable determination to do, will
be a magnificent creation of power and of wisdom. You
can rest assured that in this Italy the workman—and all
labour both of the brain and of the hands—will take, as is
right, the first place.

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MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA ”

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MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA”

THE THREE DECLARATIONS AT THE FIRST
FASCISTA MEETING

Speech delivered at Milan, 23rd March 1919, at the first Fascista
meeting.

In the spring of 1919, the most critical period through which
Italy has passed, the attempt initiated by Benito Mussolini to
summon the men prepared to fight Bolshevism, that apparently
triumphant beast, seemed absolute madness. A handful of bold
spirits, for the most part ex-soldiers coming from the extreme
interventionist sections, responded to the appeal. But the gravity
of the moment and the danger of physical sacrifice to which they
exposed themselves were not sufficient to lessen their ardour and
determination for an immediate counter-offensive. This had its
conclusive expression in the assault upon and the burning of the
offices of the newspaper Avanti, which took place on a day of general
strike, when two hundred thousand workmen marched defiantly
through the streets of Milan.

First of all, a few words about the proceedings. Without
too much formality or pedantry, I will read you three
declarations which seem to me worthy of being discussed
-and voted upon. Then in the afternoon we will resume
the discussion of the declaration of our programme. I tell
you at once that we cannot go into detail. Wishing to act,
we must take salient facts as they exist.
The first declaration is as follows:

The Meeting of the 23rd March first salutes with reverence and
remembrance the sons of Italy who have fallen for the cause of the
greatness of the country and the liberty of the world, the maimed
and disabled, and all the fighters and ex-prisoners who fulfilled
their duty, and declares itself ready to uphold strongly the
vindication of rights, both material and moral, advocated by
the ‘Association of Fighters.”

87

88 THE FASCISTA

As we do not wish to form a Party of ex-soldiers, because
something in that line has already been done in various
cities in Italy, we cannot say exactly what this programme
of vindications will be; those interested will do so. We
declare simply that we will uphold them. We do not wish to
classify the dead, to look into their pockets to find out
to which party they belonged; we leave this sort of occupa-
tion to the Official Socialists. We include in one single
loving thought all the fallen, from the general to the humblest
soldier, from the most intelligent to the most ignorant
and uncultured. But you must allow me to remember with
special, if not exclusive, affection our dead, those who were
with us in the glorious May: the Corridoni, Reguzzoni,
Vidali, Deffenu, and our Serrani—all that marvellous youth
which went to fight and remained to die. Certainly when one
speaks of the greatness of the country and the liberty of
the world, there may be someone who will sneer and smile
ironically, because it is the fashion now to run down the war,
but war must be either wholly accepted or wholly rejected.
If this line is to be taken up, it will be for us to do so and
not the others. Besides, wishing to examine the situation
in the light of facts, we say that the active and passive
sides of so immense an undertaking cannot be established
with cut-and-dried figures. One cannot put on one side the
“quantum” of that which has been accomplished and
that which has not; the “qualifying” element must be
taken into account.

From this point of view we can, with complete certainty,
maintain that the country is greater to-day, not only be-
cause it extends as far as the Brenner—reached by Ergisto
Bezzi, to whom my thoughts turn—(Applause.)—not only
because it extends as far as Dalmatia; Italy is greater,
even if small minds try their little experiments, because
we feel ourselves greater inasmuch as we have the experience

THE FASCISTA 89

of the war, inasmuch as we willed it, it was not forced upon us
and we could have avoided it. The choosing of this path
was a sign that there are elements of greatness in our history
and our blood, because if it were not so, we, to-day, should
be the least important people in the world. The war has
given us that for which we asked. It has yielded its negative
and positive advantages: negative, in as far as it has pre-
vented the Houses of Hapsburg and Hohenzollern from
dominating the world—and this result, which all can see, is
enough in itself to justify the war; and positive, because in no
nation has reaction triumphed. Everything moves towards
a stronger political and economic Democracy. In spite
of certain details which may injure the more or less
intelligent elements, the war has given all that we asked.

And why do we speak of ex-prisoners also? It is a burning
question. Evidently there were those who surrendered
themselves, but those are called deserters. The large majority
of the mass which fell prisoner did so after having fought
and done their duty. If this were not so, we could begin
to brand Cesare Battisti and many brave and brilliant
officers and men who had the misfortune to fall into the
hands of the enemy.

The National Vindications. Second declaration:

The Meeting of the 23rd March declares that it will oppose
Imperialism in other peoples which would be prejudicial to Italy, and
any eventual Imperialism in Italy which would be prejudicial to
other nations, and accepts the fundamental principle of the League
of Nations, which presupposes the geographical integrity of every
nation. This, as far as Italy is concerned, must be realised on the
Alps and the Adriatic with the annexation of Fiume and Dalmatia.

We have forty million inhabitants and an area of 287,000
square kilometres, divided by the Apennines, which reduce
still further the availability of the land capable of cultiva-
tion. In ten or twenty years’ time we shall be sixty millions,

go THE FASCISTA

and we have a bare million and a half square kilometres
of land in the way of colonies, which to a large extent is
barren, and to which we certainly can never send the surplus
of our people. But, if we look round, we see England, with
forty-seven million inhabitants, and a colonial empire of fifty-
five million square kilometres, and we see France, with a
population of thirty-eight millions, and a colonial empire
of fifteen million square kilometres. And I could prove to
you with figures that all the nations of the world, not
excluding Portugal, Holland and Belgium, have colonies
which they cling to, and are not in the least disposed to
relinquish for all the ideologies which come from the other
side of the ocean. Imperialism is at the base of the life
of every people which desires economic and _ spiritual
expansion. That which distinguishes the different kinds of
imperialism is the method adopted in its pursuit Now
the method which we choose, and shall choose, will never
resemble the barbaric penetration of the Germans. And we
say, either everybody idealist or nobody. One cannot under-
stand how people who are well off can preach idealism to
those who suffer, because that would be very easy. We
want our place in the world because we have a right to it.
I reaffirm the principle of the Society of Nations, but we
must beware lest this principle mean only protection of
the material interests of wealthy nations.

In View of the Elections. Third declaration:

The Meeting of the 23rd March pledges the Fascisti to prevent
by every means in their power the candidature of neutralists of
any party.

You see I pass from one subject to another, but there
is logic in it, an underlying thread. I am not an enthusiast
for ballot-paper battles, so much so that for some time
I have abolished the chronicles of the Chamber, and no-

THE FASCISTA gi

body is sorry. My example, too, has caused other papers
to do the same, within the limits of strict necessity. It is
clear in any case that the elections will take place before the
end of the year. The date and the system to be followed
are not yet known, but this year these electoral campaigns
and ballot-paper battles will take place.

Now, whether one likes it or not, the war having been of

late the dominant event of our national life, it is clear that
in these elections the subject of the war cannot be avoided.
We shall accept the battle precisely on the topic war,
because not only have we not repented of that which we
have done, but we go further and say, with that courage
which is the result of our individuality, that if the same
condition of things which existed in 1915 were repeated in
pialy, we should demand war again as in I9gI5.
' Now it is very sad to think that there are those who
formerly were in favour of intervention and who now have
changed. Only a few have done so, and it has not always
been for political reasons. Some have changed for those
‘reasons, and this I do not wish to discuss, but there
has also been defection due to physical fear. “‘In order to
pacify these people let us cede Dalmatia, let us renounce
something!” But their calculations have piteously failed.
We shall not only refuse to take up this political line, but
/ we shall not give way to that physical fear which is simply
~ absurd. One life is of the same value as another, and one
barricade is as good as another. If there is to be a fight, we
shall engage also in that of the elections.

There have been neutralists also among the official Social-
ists and the Republicans. We shall go and examine the pass-
ports of all these people, both the ultra-neutralists and those
who accepted the war as a painful burden; we shall go to
their meetings, we shall present candidates and find every
possible means of routing them. (Prolonged applause.)

‘

92 THE FASCISTA

OUTLINE OF THE AIMS AND PROGRAMME
OF FASCISMO

Speech delivered at Milan, 22nd July 1919, at the Liceo Beccaria.

The evening before the general international strike of the 2zoth
and 21st of July 1919, called by the federal organisations as a
reaction to the rash movement, the National Socialists, the Repub-
licans, the Democrats and the Fascisti met in order‘to share the
responsibilities for possible complications and to demonstrate the
inconsistency of so-called revolutionary attitudes.

This manifestation, according to the intention of its organisers,
had also the object of marking the beginning of a political con-
centration of the Left, composed of ex-interventionists. But the
attempt afterwards failed, chiefly on account of want of understand-
ing on the part of the Republican Party, and because of the develop-
ment of the spiritual crisis within the mass of Italian Fascismo.

I THINK that it will depend upon the sincerity and loyalty
with which we join in this meeting whether it will become
an historical event, or a little fact of everyday life destined
to pass without leaving any trace.

This being the case, it will not surprise you if I speak
with a frankness almost brutal. I add at once that
the friendly confusion of this moment of reunion after
schisms and separations will not eliminate the necessity
of settling certain personal and political questions, other-
wise this union, which we wish to be eminently fruitful,
cannot be other than painfully sterile.

What are we looking for, we who are members of U.S.M.,
the Fascio of Fighters, the Association of Fighters, the
Association of Arditi, the Union of Demobilised, the Associa-
tion of Volunteers, the Association of Garibaldians, the Re-
publican Party, the Italian Socialist Union, the Corridoni
Club, etc. — we who are together represented in the

¢

THE FASCISTA, 93

Committee of Intesa e Azione! which was formed at the
time of the movement against the high cost of living?
We are looking for the least common denominator for
this understanding and action. Shall we find it? Yes!
We come from different schools; we have different tem-
peraments, and temperaments divide men more widely
than ideas; we belong to an individualist people; but all
this does not prevent something else bringing us together
and binding us both in these present contingencies and in
that which has to do with the action of to-morrow.

The Basis of Umity. There can be a thousand shades of
ideas among us, but upon one important point we are all
agreed, and that is in regarding the Socialist manifestation
as a bluff, a comedy, a speculation and blackmail. Also
we are all agreed in making a differentiation between the
Socialist Party and the mass of the workmen. The Socialist
Party has usurped up to yesterday the name of being a
pure revolutionary organisation, of being the protector
and the exclusive, genuine representative of the working
masses. This is all nonsense and must be cleared up.
Referring to statistics, we find that out of forty-two millions
of Italians, hardly sixty thousand were enrolled in the
Socialist Party in the August of 1919, and the dominating
element is a group composed of lower-middle-class people
in the most philistine sense of the word.

In the unlikely and absurd event of a triumph on the part
of the Leninist revolutionaries, ten of these idiots would be,
to-morrow, the ten Ministers of the Italian nation. The
Socialist Party is one thing, and the organised mass of
working men another, and the disorganised mass yet another -
and seven times larger than the rest put together.

We must not allow ourselves to approach the working
classes in the sometimes unctuous, sometimes theatrical,

1 Understanding and Action.

94 THE FASCISTA

manner of the demagogues. The masses must be educated
and for this reason must have the straight truth. Many of the
crowds which the Socialists sway are not worthy of blandish-
ments, because they consist of masses of brutes infected
and barbarised by the “Red” gospel. Our working-
class colleagues know all about it, because they have had
to leave certain factories. We must not present ourselves
to the masses as charlatans, promising Paradise within
a short time, but as educators who do not seek either
success, popularity, salaries or votes.

Produce! Produce! Produce! The Admonition of Merr-
heim. The way in which the working masses should and
must be spoken to has been shown us by Merrheim, one of
the thinking heads of French Syndicalism. Last January
he made a very important speech, and it would be a
good thing to run over those parts of it which are now
of most importance, especially those touching upon the
relations between economics and politics and the neces-
sity of production.

“The militant Socialists must tell the truth, and all the
truth, to the masses, even if the truth brings hatred and
slander. Now the truth is for all those who reflect, that the
bad conditions of life, which are the trouble of the masses,
are not going to be remedied by a solution based on an
increase of wages which is not only inoperative, but entirely
in opposition to economic laws. The masses must be
told that the régime of production and distribution of
commodities must undergo a transformation, if efficacious
and lasting remedies are to be found for existing bad
conditions, and that this can be arrived at by means of the
force of organisation.”’

“. . . It is pleasant to provoke loud applause by telling
the audience at meetings that we are overstocked with

THE FASCISTA 95

commodities, and that they can consume without limit
and enjoy comfort by imposing wages proportionate to their
desires without increasing production.”’

“Courage lies in repeating to the masses that each man
is at the same time a producer and consumer, and
that the continued increase of production is necessary
and indispensable.”

“Courage lies in saying that it is not only impossible
to satisfy those normal needs, natural to everyone, without
normal production, but that it is absolutely impossible to
obtain general comfort for everyone if at the same time
individual production in the general interest is not increased.”

“Courage lies in proclaiming that the purely political
revolution, which inflames the people’s minds, would not
solve the social problem, the solution of which has been
precipitated and rendered essential by the war.”’

“Courage lies in repeating untiringly to the masses that
the revolution which must be brought about must be
economic, and that it is not to be brought about in
the streets by a delirious crowd destroying for the sake
of destruction.”

“ Courage lies in saying that an economic revolution draws
its substance from labour, and that it is strengthened,
advanced, and carried out by the intensification of produc-
tion whether in the fields or in the factories, and by a further
utilisation of scientific processes and methods of production.”

The Italian Situation. We agree upon a third point,
in connection with existing circumstances, that is in
maintaining that our national situation is critical, though
far from being desperate. Briefly, it is this. From the
Ist July we have been defaulting debtors of England.
Since the 31st July other financial agreements with the United
States must be faced. To save the situation a loan of

96 THE FASCISTA

one milliard dollars (seven to eight milliard lire) must be
arranged. The railways have a coal supply for only fifteen
more days. There are enough provisions for another twenty
days, that is to say until the end of the month. Two million
tons of food must be imported to save us from immediate
hunger. But these financial and economic agreements de-
pend upon the political ones at Paris.

The possibility, almost a certainty, has presented itself to us
of obtaining large concessions in Asia Minor, with the coal
mines of Heraclea. Clémenceau has made difficulties about
it, but Lansing told him that he could not see any obstacle,
given that Italy approved of the exploitation of the Saar
mines on the part of France. We may also obtain oil wells
in Armenia.

But these acquisitions in the East are in their turn subor-
dinate to the Adriatic agreements. The solution of the
problem of Fiume is already compromised by the work of
the preceding Delegation, which had already accepted the
principle of a Free State. But the project of Tardieu pre-
sented future dangers as far as the safeguarding of the
Italian character of Fiume is concerned, because the Italian
majority in the city would be overwhelmed by the mass of
Slavs in the country. It is a question, then, of reducing
these dangers to the smallest possible limits by the intro-
duction of another plan which would substitute for the idea
of a Free State that of a Free City with limited boundaries.

In Dalmatia it is only possible for us to save the centres
which have an Italian majority, with guarantees for the
safeguarding of those Italian minorities scattered in the
other centres. The eventual loss of Sebenico, which had
strategic and not national value, would be compensated
for by some other strategic point to be given to Italy.
Lansing said that this would be eventually sought for
in the Mediterranean.

THE FASCISTA 97

Given this situation, it is no exaggeration to say that the
general Socialist strike is a real attempted crime against
the nation. And note: I could understand a strike which
had as its object the setting up of the Soviet in Italy, but I
do not understand or admit this one, which is without aim,
object or justification. It must and will fail, because the
leaders themselves are in the cul de sac of this dilemma:
either tragedy, because the State at this moment has its
repressive machinery in full working order; or comedy,
in the event of a revolt on the part of the workmen already
outlined, and due to their being tired of serving a Socialist
Party mostly composed of middle-class elements.

Perhaps it is worth while in passing to confute the
objection in the Stampa of Portogruaro, which would
like to deny our right of rising up against the strike on the
ground that we were in favour of war. ‘What,’ it says,
“is the damage done in two days of strike compared with
that done in four years of war?” We crush these gentlemen
with the reply that four years of neutrality would have
damaged us more, besides having been to our lasting and
ineffaceable moral shame.

Reactionaries and vice versd. For me revolution is not
an attack of St. Vitus’ dance or an unexpected fit of epilepsy.
It must have force, aims, and above all, method. In 1973,
when the Socialist Party was already rotten, it was I who
put into circulation the words which made the pulses of
the big men of Italian Socialism beat: “This proletariat is
in need of a bath of blood,” I said. It has had it, and it
lasted for three years. “‘ This proletariat is in need of a day
of history.’’ And it has had a thousand.

It was necessary then to shake up the masses, because
they had fallen into a state of weakness and insensibility.
To-day this situation exists no longer. To-day the only

G

98 _ THE FASCISTA

way not to live in fear of a revolution is to think that
we are now in the full swing of one, that it began in the
August of 1914 and that it is still going on. It is not a
question, as some think, of entering into a revolution as one
passes from a state of tranquillity to a state of action.
The task of really free spirits is different. If this great
and immense process of changing the world stagnates or
becomes confused, we can hastenit on; but if it is already pro-
gressing at a frantic rate, then our task is to apply the brakes
and slow it down, in order to avoid disintegration and ruin.
To berevolutionaries, in certain circumstances, time and place,
can be the pride of a lifetime, but when those who speak
of revolution are a lot of parasites, then one must not be
afraid, in opposing them, to pass as a reactionary. One is
always a reactionary and revolutionary for somebody,
Fritz Adler, revolutionary in the time of Sturck, is a re-
actionary to-day compared with the Communists. I am not
afraid of the word. I am a revolutionary and a reactionary.
Really, life is always like this. I am afraid of the revolution
which destroys and does not create. I fear going to extremes,
the policy of madness, at the bottom of which may lie
the destruction of this our fragile mechanical civilisation,
robbed of its solid moral basis, and the coming of a terrible
race of dominators who would reintroduce discipline into
the world and re-establish the necessary hierarchies with
the cracking of whips and machine-guns.

The Compass. At the same time, as regards reaction and
revolution, I have a compass in my pocket which guides
me. All that which tends towards making the Italian
people great finds me favourable, and — vice vers@ —all
that which tends towards lowering, brutalising and im-
poverishing them finds me opposed.

Now Socialism comes into the second category. I find it

THE FASCISTA 99

odd that my friend Carli, the founder of the National
Association of Fighters and a valiant soldier, puts the
Socialists among the advanced parties, storming them with
a succession of “whys,” as he did in the last number of
the Roma Futurista.

I deny the title of vanguard to Socialism. I deny the use
and timeliness of any co-operation with this party. I main-
tain that a reactionary party in 1914, ’15, 16, 17, and ’18
cannot become revolutionary in ’19. I maintain that this
serenading of the Socialists is useless, and this making of
advances not clean. One day, in the culminating moment
of the history of humanity, they embraced the cause of
reaction represented by the Germany of the Hohenzollerns
and Sudekum. Besides, it is idiotic and dangerous to lavish
blandishments upon the official Socialists; we cannot re-
concile ourselves with these people. There have been those
who have attached themselves to the movement of to-day,
but the Socialists have disdained that help, because they
are megalomaniacs and nourish, among other things, the
fatuous vanity of splendid isolation.

The Revision of the Treaty of Versailles. The Peace of
Versailles is not a sufficient motive for the courted col-
laboration. Things must be made clear. The Socialists
talk of annulling the peace; we wish simply to revise it.
We do not condemn wholesale a peace which a German, and
not one of the most insignificant, Edward Bernstein, has called
nine parts just. The revision of the peace must not mean
condemnation of the war. The Florentine Republican Union
has published a manifesto which defines the limits of protest
against the Treaty of Versailles.

“We do not wish to conceal,” say the Florentine Re-
publicans, ‘“‘that, although requiring radical amendments,
the Treaty is, after all, the consecration of the fall of

Too THE FASCISTA

four Imperial autocracies, the fall of numerous dynasties,
the creation of as many republics, the re-establishment of
Poland, the re-conquest of Alsace and Lorraine, and of
Trento and Trieste by Italy, and of Jerusalem by civilised
Europe. All this would suffice, as long as emendations were
made, to bear witness to the supreme sanctity of the Italian
intervention in the atrocious war let loose by the brutal
German Hohenzollerns and Hapsburgs.”’

“We do not approve, however, of the proposed general
strike as a form of protest, because—and we say so
with the traditional sincerity of our party—the country is
thirsty for fruitful work, and this deluge of strikes certainly
does not help in that.”

“The Peace of Versailles must be corrected and brought
into keeping with the progress of humanity.”’

This is also our idea. Rather than seek or beg for
useless co-operation, let us outline a programme of our
own of understanding and action. I refuse, after having
got rid of the old, to accept the new dogmas. I think that
it is possible to create a strong economic organisation in
Italy based upon these principles :—

1. Absolute independence from all parties, groups and
sets.

2. Federation and autonomy.

3. Abolition, as far as possible, of all paid officials.

4. Nosteps to be taken without having consulted regularly,
by means of a referendum, the masses interested.

The means of obtaining this end may be altered according
to time and place. The organisation will promote at times
co-operation, and at times war between the classes and the
expropriation of class. It will not always be for co-opera-
tion, but neither will it always be in favour of class pre-
servation; and when it expropriates, it will not be to
make all poor, but to make all rich. In the conquest of a

THE FASCISTA tor

colonial market and in certain questions connected with
the customs, the middle classes and the proletariat can
work together. When there is division of booty, then
class war; but class war in times of under-production is
destructive nonsense.

In the Political Field. The Electoral Reform will pass.
The scrutiny of lists and proportional representation will
pass. That will determine, for obvious reasons, the great
coalitions —the Socialist -Leninist, the Clerical - Popular,
and, lastly, ours, which might be called the “Alliance for
the Constituent,” the Republican Alliance or the group
of the ‘‘interveners” of the Left.

Our programme is to present candidates who pledge
themselves to place the problem of constitutional revision
before the new Chamber in the first session.

This is the Constituent as I understand it. This is the
lowest denominator to which all of us can pledge ourselves
and around which we can all form a union. The moment
is particularly propitious for such an organisation. I think
that all we who are represented in this Milanese Committee
of Intesa e Azione can follow this path.

It is a case of “nationalising” this attempt, of making
it general all over Italy. We could, if we wished, num-
ber not thousands, but millions of followers. I myself
refuse, in the actual delicate economic situation in Italy,
to adhere to any movement which makes the path clear
for Bolshevism and ruin. The victory cannot and must not
be destroyed. I understand a certain impatience, but I
beg you to reflect that if the lives of individuals are counted
in years, the lives of nations are counted in centuries, and
we must not refer egoistically to ourselves that which is
of a general nature. Good strategy is calculation and
audacity. We do not wish to govern by recourse to the

I02 THE FASCISTA

bayonet alone, becatise that would be dictatorship, which
we condemn. We wish first to sound the masses by
the coming elections. Once having had our principles
accepted, we will spring to action.

The revolution which we desired and obtained in 1915
will be ours again by the victorious peace in its con-
clusive phase, and it will be called “‘ Well-being,” “‘ Liberty ”’
and, above all, “Italy.” (Loud applause.)

THE FASCISTA I03

FASCISMO AND THE RIGHTS OF VICTORY

Speech delivered at Florence, 9th October 1919, at the first
Congress of the Fascisti.

At Florence was held the first Congress of the “Fasci Italiani di
Combattimento,” which was the name originally given to the Fascista
movement. This Congress succeeded the improvised, unorganised
meeting of 19th March at Milan, and was held in an atmosphere of
isolation and hostility, amid continuous tumult and interruption; so
much so, that the members of the Congress were repeatedly obliged
to suspend their proceedings and go out into the streets to defend
themselves against hostile demonstrations.

At that time Florence, the cradle of art, and famed for courtesy
and hospitality, had been temporarily submerged under waves of
Bolshevism; Serrati and Lenin, referring to the Italian situation,
could point to the capital of Tuscany as “the most fertile soil for
the imminent revolutionary harvest.”

But even on that occasion Italian Fascismo was able to hold the
centre successfully, in spite of the numbers of the adversary.

FAscisT1 comrades! I do not know if I shall succeed
in giving you a very connected speech, as I have not had the
opportunity of preparing it, as is my habit. I had intended
to make a Fascista speech to-morrow morning for a personal
reason which might also interest you, and which gave me
the right to ask some hours of rest.

The other day I left Novi Ligure in a ‘“‘S.V.A.” with a
magnificent pilot, and, having crossed the Adriatic, came
down at Fiume, where D’Annunzio gave us a great wel-
come. Returning yesterday, we were caught in a storm on
the Istrian tablelands, and were obliged to go out of our
course and to come down at Aiello.

At Fiume I lived in what D’Annunzio justly calls
“an atmosphere of miracles and prodigies.”’ In the mean-
time, I bring you his message; he was thinking of writing
one especially for our meeting. (Applause.) My arrival at

104 THE FASCISTA

Fiume coincided with the capture of the ship Persia, about
which Captain Giulietti of the ‘‘Federation of the Sea”
was so agitated.

The situation at Fiume is splendid from every point of
view. There are supplies for three months. The Yugoslavs
have no intention of moving. Not only that; the Croats,
to a certain extent, are supplying the town, which shows
how inappropriate and insidious the movement was which
tried to stir up the people and make them. believe that we
were on the verge of a war against the Yugoslavs. Nothing
of this exists. D’Annunzio has not, so far, fired a single
shot against those who are on the other side of the line of
the armistice; on the contrary, he has issued a proclamation
to the Croats, which is a magnificent document both from
the political and the human point of view. It ends with
these words: ‘‘Long live the Italian-Croat brotherhood!
Long live the brotherhood on the sea!”

Now, as regards international relations, the position of
Fiume is perfectly clear. D’Annunzio will not move, because
everything is in his favour. What can the plutocratic powers
of Western capitalism do against him? Nothing! Absolutely
nothing, because to strive against a fait accompli would be
to let loose a still greater calamity which nobody thinks
of either in France or England. In France—and we can say
so with tranquillity—there is a sacred horror of further
bloodshed; and as for the English, they have made war very
well and brilliantly, but now all their ideas are contrary to
any warlike undertakings and any adventures of even a
slightly complicated nature. To-morrow Fiume would be
a fait accompli for everybody, because nobody would have
the strength to modify it. If the Government had been
less cowardly, the problem of Fiume would be settled by
now, and the Allies would have had to accept it.

The Forces of the Socialist Party. And now we come to

THE FASCISTA 105

our affairs. We must keep the Socialist Party within sight.
Let us look a little closer at their forces. They have had
lately to number their forces, and 14,000 of its 80,000
members have disappeared. They are the disbanded.
As many as 500 sections were not represented in what
they call the Assizes of the Italian Proletariat. Nothing of
very great importance was said or done during the congress.
Bordiga is not a great general. He is only a little above
mediocrity. What he said to the tribune was what I told
the crowd in 1913. Only Turati’s speech was of any real
significance. All the other unlimited speeches did not,
in the end, give practical indications of that which the
Socialists wish or ought to do.

Our statements are much more definite than theirs, and
we tell you at once that we must present an ultimatum to
the Government, saying that, if the censor is not abolished,
we Fascisti will not take part in the elections. It is necessary
to protest against an enforced censorship during the period
of the elections, otherwise we shall seem to show that we
are ready to accept an arbitrary act. To this we can
add another positive and effective protest. As for the
Socialists, the larger part of them are distinguished by
physical cowardice. They do not like fighting, they do
not wish to fight; fire and steel frighten them.

On the other hand, and I want to draw your attention
to this, we must not confuse this creation, which is for the
most part artificial, with a party of which the proletariat
is a lowest minority, while those members abound who
want a seat in Parliament, or in the communal councils
and in the organisations It is really a political clique
which wishes to substitute itself for the ruling clique.
We must not confuse this group of mediocre politicians with
the immense movement of the proletariat which has a
reason for its existence, development and brotherhood.

ne THE PASCISTA

Against every Idol. I repeat here what I said before.
No demagogism. Work-worn hands are not yet enough to
show that a man is capable of upholding a State or a family.
We must react against these ‘‘cajolers”’ and these new semi-
idols, in order to uplift these people from the moral and
mental slavery into which they have fallen. We must not
approach them in the attitude of partisans. We are syndi-
calists, because we think that by means of the mass it
may be possible to determine an economic readjustment, but
this readjustment involves long and complicated considera-
tion. A political revolution is accomplished in twenty-four
hours, but the economic constitution of a nation, which
forms part of the world system, is not overturned in twenty-
four hours.

But we do not, by this, mean to be considered as a
kind of “bodyguard” of the bourgeoisie, which, especially
where it is composed of the new rich, is simply unworthy
and cowardly. If these people do not know how to defend
themselves, they must not hope for protection from us.
We defend the nation and the people as a whole. We desire
the moral and material welfare of the people.

I think that, with this as our attitude, it will be possible
to approach the masses. In the meantime, the Federa-
tion of Seamen has separated itself from the General
Federation of Labour; the railwaymen have proved in the
big strike that they are Italian and wish to be Italian;
and while the upper bureaucracy of the public administra-
tion is, on the whole, in favour of Nitti and Giolitti, the
proletariat of the same administration tends to sympathise
with us. For fifty years generals, diplomats, and bureau-
crats have been taken from the upper classes and from a
certain limited number of persons of rank and position. It
is time to put an end to all this, if we want to infuse
new energy and new blood into the body of the nation.

THE FASCISTA 107

For the Elections. And now we come to the elections. We
must deal with them, because whatever happens it is
always a good thing to keep together and not to burn one’s
boats. It may happen that in this month of October events
may be hurried on at such a rate that the elections may be side-
tracked. It may be, on the other hand, that they will take
place. We must be ready also for the second contingency. And
then we Fascisti must do our utmost by ourselves, we must
come out clearly marked and numbered, and if we are few,
we must remember that we have only been in the world
six months. Where there is no probability of isolated success,
a union with the “‘interveners” of the Left might possibly
be formed, which must vindicate, on the one hand, the
utility of the Italian intervention in the name of human-
ity and the nation against all those who opposed it,
whether followers of Giolitti, Socialists or Clericals. On
the other hand, this programme cannot exhaust our action;
and we shall then have to present to the masses the funda-
mental principles upon which we wish to build up a new
Italy. Where the situation may prove more complicated we
might also be able to identify ourselves with a group of -
‘‘interveners’’ in a wider and fuller sense of the word.

After Vittorio Veneto. But we wish, above all, to re-
affirm solemnly at this meeting of ours the great Italian
victory, vindicating it before all those who wish to deny
and forget it.

We have subdued an Empire which was our enemy,
which had advanced to the Piave, and whose leaders had en-
deavoured to overthrow Italy. We now possess the Brenner,
the Julian Alps and Fiume, and all the Italians of Dal-
matia. We can say that between the Piave and the Isonzo
we have destroyed that Empire and determined the fall
of four autocracies. (Enthusiastic applause.)

108 THE FASCISTA

THE TASKS OF FASCISMO

Speech delivered at the Politeama Rossetti at Trieste, 2oth
September 1920.

The following speech may be considered as the first of the series
of those which belong to the period of elaboration of the Fascista
programme. The moment chosen was not the most favourable,
because it coincided with two manifestations equally critical both
with regard to internal and to foreign policy. We refer to the occu-
pation of the factories, then at an acute and threatening stage, and
to the Legionary occupation of Fiume, the first anniversary of which.
was celebrated at this time.

Benito Mussolini, although taking into due account these two
important events, destined not to be ignored by history, could and
did rise above the circumstances of the moment. As a far-seeing
statesman looking forward to resistance and final victory, he drew
the attention of his hearers to a sane conception of the problems of
foreign policy, not included in the enterprise of Ronchi, and, at the
same time, heartening all Italians who were panic-stricken under the
arrogant tyranny of Social-Bolshevism.

I po not consider you, men of Trieste, as Italians to whom
the whole truth cannot yet be spoken, because I think of
you as among the best in the country, and your enthusiasm
to-day has confirmed me in my opinion. The event, which
had its counterpart in Rome on the 2oth September 1870,
was a magnificent picture in a poor frame, but upon this I
am not going to dwell.

A Comforting Balance. After a lapse of fifty years since
the breach of Porta Pia, we must undertake the examination
of our consciences. A nation like ours, which had issued
from many centuries of disunion, which had barely achieved
unity, had not then muscles strong enough to bear the
weight of a world policy. A great Italian thinker broke this
tradition. In fifty years Italy has made marvellous pro-

1 Francesco Crispi.

THE FASCISTA 109

gress. In the first place she has a sure foundation, and that
is the vitality of our race. There are nations which every
year scan the birth-rates with a certain preoccupation,
because, gentlemen, it is just the want of balance in this
sphere which produces the great crises—you know to what
I allude. But Italy is not thus preoccupied. Italy had
twenty-seven million inhabitants in 1870, she has now fifty
million; forty million of whom live in the Peninsula, and re-
present the most homogeneous block in Europe, because,
compared with Bohemia, for instance, where five millions
of the Czecho race govern seven millions of other races,
Italy has only 180,000 German subjects on the Upper
Adige and 360,000 Slavs, all the rest forming one compact
whole. And besides these forty millions, there are ten
millions who have emigrated to all the continents and beyond
all the oceans; there are 700,000 Italians in New York
alone, another 400,000 in the state of San Paulo, 900,000
in the Argentine and 120,000 in Tunis.

National Discipline. It is a pity that foreigners know us
so little, but it is still more serious that Italians know
Italy so little. If they knew her a little better, they would
realise that there are peoples beyond her boundaries who
are more retrograde than she is; they would learn, for in-
stance, that Italy possesses the most powerful hydro-electric
plant in the world.

Do not speak to me of reactionary forces in Italy. Those
who talk to me of a reactionary Government make me laugh,
especially if they are immigrants or renegades from Trieste.
Because if there is a country in the world where liberty
is in danger of degenerating into licence, and where it
is the inviolable patrimony of every citizen, it is Italy.
There has not yet been seen in our country that which
has been seen in France, where, as the result of a political

IIo THE FASCISTA

strike, the Republic dissolved the General Confederation
of Labour, locked up the leaders and keeps them still in
prison. Nor have we seen that which has been witnessed in
England, where so-called undesirable elements are sent over
to the other side of the Channel; or in the ultra-demo-
cratic republic of the United States, where, in one single
night, five hundred rebels were seized and sent over the
Atlantic. If there is something to say, it is this: it is time
to impose an iron discipline upon the individual and upon
the masses, because social renovation is one thing—and
this we are not against—but the destruction of the country
quite another. As long as transformation is spoken of we
are all agreed, but when instead it is a question of a leap
in the dark, then we put our veto upon it. You will pass,
we say, but it will be over our bodies; you will have to
overcome our resistance first.

The Greatness of Victory. Now, after this half-century of
the life of Italy which I have thus roughly sketched, Trieste
is Italian and the tricolour waves over the Brenner. If it were
possible to pause one moment to measure the greatness of
the event, you would find that the fact of the tricolour on
the Brenner is of capital importance, in the history not only
of Italy, but also of Europe. The tricolour on the Brenner
means that the Germans will no longer descend with im-
punity upon our lands. Glaciers have now been placed be-
tween us and them, and on these glaciers are the magnificent
Alpine soldiers who went to the assault of Monte Nero,
who were sacrificed at Ortigara, and who have on their
flag the motto “No passage this way.” (Loud applause.)

Now it is a most important fact that Trieste has come
to Italy after a great victory. If we were not so occupied
with the daily material necessities of life and the solution
of commonplace and banal problems, we should know how

THE FASCISTA tor

to appreciate all that which took place on the banks of the
Piave and at Vittorio Veneto. An Empire was destroyed
in an hour, an Empire which had outlasted a century, an
Empire in which necessity had developed a superfine art
of government which consisted in the eternal “Divide et
impera,”’ according to the wisdom of Budapest and Vienna.
This Empire had an army, a traditional policy, a bureau-
cracy, and had bound all its citizens together in a universal
suffrage. This Empire, which seemed so powerful and in-
vincible, fell before the bayonets of the Italian people.

The Italian Risorgimento is only a struggle between a
people and a State, between the Italian people on one side
and the Hapsburg State on the other, between the live forces
of the future and the dead past. It was inevitable that,
having passed the Mincio in 1859, and the Upper Adige in
1866, we had, in 1915, to pass the Isonzo and get beyond;
it was so far inevitable that the neutralists themselves have
had to acknowledge that Italy could not, under pain of death,
and what is worse, dishonour, have remained neutral.

This vindication of our intervention is the fact which gives
us the greatest satisfaction. And what does it matter if I
read in a gloomy and pessimistic book that the acquisition
of Trento, Trieste and Fiume still represents a deficit in the
balance of the war? This way of arguing is ridiculous. In the
first place, historical events cannot be regulated like a page
of book-keeping with receipts and payments, debit and
credit. It is impossible to make out an estimate of historical
facts and expect it to agree with the final balance.

All this is the result of a melancholy philosophy which was
widespread over Italy after the war. But let us hope it will
soon pass to leave room for a little optimism and pride.
This after-war period is certainly critical; I fully recognise
the fact. But who can expect that a gigantic crisis like that
of five years of a world-war will be settled at once, that the

Ir2 THE FASCISTA

world will return to its previous tranquil state in less than
two years? The crisis is not limited to Trieste, Milan or Italy,
it is world-wide and is not yet over.

The Necessity of Struggle. Struggle is at the bottom of
everything, because life is full of contrasts. There is love and
hate, black and white, night and day, good and evil, and
until these contrasts are balanced, struggle will always
be at the root of human nature, as the supreme fatality.
And it is a good thing that it is so. To-day there may
be war, economic rivalry and conflicting ideas, but the day
in which all struggle will cease will be a day of melancholy,
will mean the end of all things, will mean ruin. Now this
day will not come, because history presents itself as a chang-
ing panorama. An attempt to return to peace and tran-
quillity would mean fighting against the existing dynamic
period. It is necessary to prepare ourselves for other sur-
prises and struggles. “There will not be a period of peace,”
they say, ‘‘ unless the nations indulge in a dream of universal
brotherhood and stretch out their hands beyond the moun-
tains and the oceans.” I, for my part, do not put too much
faith in these ideals, but I do not exclude them, because I
never exclude anything; everything is possible, even the
impossible and absurd. But to-day, being to-day, it would
be fallacious, criminal and dangerous to build our houses
on the quicksands of international Christian-Socialist-
Communism. These ideas are very respectable, but a long
way from the truth. (Applause.)

The Patriotism of Fascismo. What is the position of Fas-
cismo in this difficult post-war period? The foundation-stone'
of Fascismo is patriotism; that is to say, we are proud off
being Italian. Now it is just this which separates us from a
great many other people, who are so ridiculous and small
and hide their patriotism, because eighty per cent. of the

THE FASCISTA II3

Italian population was once illiterate. This does not mean
anything, for narrow, poor, elementary education may be
worse than pure and simple illiteracy. It is an outworn
idea that one who knows how to write must needs be more
intelligent than one who does not know how to.

Now we vindicate the honour of being Italian, because
in our wonderful Peninsula—wonderful, although there are
inhabitants who are not always wonderful—there has been
enacted the most marvellous story of humanity. Do you
think that a man who lives in far Japan or in America or
in any other far-off spot can be counted educated if he does
not know the history of Rome? It is not possible.

Rome. Rome is the name which filled history for twenty
centuries. Rome gave the lead to universal civilisation,
traced the roads and assigned the boundaries; Rome gave
the world the laws of its immutable rights. But if
this was the universal task of Rome in ancient times, we
have now another universal task. Our destiny cannot
become universal unless it is transplanted to the pagan
ground of Rome. By means of Paganism Rome found her
form and found the means of upholding herself in the world.

Note that the task of Rome is not yet completed. No!
Because the story of Italy of the Middle Ages—the most
brilliant story of Venice, which lasted for ten centuries, with
her ships in all seas and her ambassadors and her govern-
ment, the like of which is no longer to be found to-day—
is not closed. The story of the Italian communes is full of
wonders, grandeur and nobility. Go to Venice, Pisa, Amalfi,
Genoa and Florence, and you will find in the palaces and in
the streets the signs and vestiges of this marvellous and
not yet decayed civilisation.

Now, my friends, after this period, in the beginning of
1800, when Italy was divided into seven little States, there

H

II4 THE FASCISTA

arose a generation of poets. Poetry also has its task to
perform in history, in arousing enthusiasm and in kindling
faith, and not for nothing the greatest modern Italian poet
—whether second-rate writers, who do not know how to
express the smallest idea, recognise it or not—Gabriele
d'Annunzio, represents in a magnificent union of thought
and sentiment, the power of action which is characteristic
of the Italian people.

The Dolomites of Italian Thought. We are proud of being
Italians, and not only for reasons of exclusivism. The modern
spirit reaches out towards beauty and truth. One cannot
think of a modern man who has not read Cervantes, Shake-
speare, Goethe and Tolstoy. But all this must not make us
forget that we were great when the others were not yet born,
that while German Klopstock was writing his verbose
Messiade, Dante Alighieri had been a giant for centuries.
And we have also the sculpture of Michelangelo, the
painting of Raffaello, the astronomy of Galileo, and the
medicine of Morgagni, and with these the mysterious
Leonardo da Vinci who excelled in all fields. And then, if
you want to pass to politics and war, there is Napoleon
and, above all, Garibaldi, most Italian of all.

These are the Dolomites of Italian thought and spirit;
but beside these almost inaccessible peaks are lower summits
in great numbers, which show that it is quite impossible to
think of human civilisation without the gigantic contribu-
tion made by Italian thought. And this must be repeated
at our boundaries, where there are tribes chattering incom-
prehensible languages who would pretend, simply on account
of their numbers, to supplant our marvellous civilisation
which has endured two millenniums and is ready for a third.

_ The Sincerity of Fascismo. The second foundation-stone
of Fascismo is represented by anti-demagogism and prag-

THE FASCISTA II5

matism. We have no preconceived notions, no fixed ideas
and, above all, no stupid pride. Those who say, ‘You are
unhappy, here is the receipt for happiness,” make me
think of the advertisement “Do you want health?’ We
do not promise men happiness either here or in the next
world; differing thus from the Socialists, who pretend
that they can set the Russian mask on the face of the
Mediterranean.

Once there were courtiers who burned incense before the
king and the popes; now there is a new breed, which burns
incense, without sincerity, before the proletariat. Only
those who hold Italy in their hands have the right to govern
her, they say, while these do not know even how to control
their own families. We are different. We use another lan-
guage, more serious, unprejudiced and worthy of free men.
We do not exclude the possibility that the proletariat may
be capable of using its present forces to other ends, but
we say that before it tries to govern the nation it must
learn to govern itself, must make itself worthy, technically
and, still more, morally, because government is a tre-
mendously difficult and complicated task. The nation is
composed of millions and millions of individuals whose
interests clash, and there are no superior beings who can
reconcile all these differences and make a union of life
and progress.

Fascismo ts not Conservative. But we are not, on the other
hand, traditionalists, bound hand and foot to the stones
and débris. Everything must be changed in the modern
city. The ancient streets will no longer stand the wear and
tear of the trams and motor traffic, because through them
passes the whole of civilisation. It is possible to destroy in
order to create anew in a form more beautiful and great,
for destruction must never be carried out in the method ofa

116 THE FASCISTA

savage, who breaks open a machine in order to see what
is inside. We do not refuse to make changes in our spiritual
life just because the spirit is a delicate matter. No social
transformation which is necessary, is repugnant to me.
In this way I accept the famous control of the factories and
also their co-operative management by companies; I only
ask that there shall be a clear conscience and technical
capacity, and that there shall be increased production. If
this is guaranteed by the workmen’s unions, instead of
by the employers, I have no hesitation in saying that
the former have the right to substitute the latter.

The Bolshevist Mask. That which we Fascisti are opposing
is the Bolshevist element in Italian Socialism. It is strange
that a race which has produced Pisacane and Mazzini
should go in search of gospels first to Germany and then
to Russia. Pisacane and Mazzini ought to he studied,
and then it would be seen that some of the truths which
it is pretended have been revealed in Russia, are only
truths already consecrated in the books of our great
Italian thinkers.

How can Communism be thought possible in the most
individualistic country in the world? It is only possible
where every man is a number, not in Italy where every
man is an individual, and more, has individuality. But
after all, my dear friends, does Bolshevism exist in Russia?
It does not any longer. There are no longer councils of the
factories, but dictators of the factories; no longer eight
hours of work, but twelve; no longer equal salaries, but
thirty-five different categories, not according to need, but
according to merit. There is not in Russia even that liberty
which there is in Italy. Is there a dictatorship of the
proletariat? No! Is there a dictatorship of the Socialists?
No! There is a dictatorship of a few intelligent men, not

HE RASCISTA EL?

workmen, who belong to a section of the Socialist Party,
and their dictatorship is opposed by all the other sections.

This dictatorship of a few men is what is called Bolshevism.
Now we do not want this in Italy. The Socialists themselves,
realising what they have seen in Russia, recognise, when you
question them, that that which has gone badly in Russia cannot
be transplanted into Italy. Only they are wrong in not saying
so openly; they are wrong in playing with equivocations and
deceiving the masses. We repeat, we are not against the
working classes, because they are necessary to the nation,
sacredly necessary. The twenty million Italians who work
with their hands have the right to defend their interests.
What we oppose is the deceitful action of politicians to the
detriment of the working classes; we fight these new priests
who promise, in bad faith, a paradise they do not believe in
themselves. Those who are the most ardent advocates
of Bolshevism here in Trieste take up this attitude in order
to make themselves popular with the Slav masses who live
near. And if I have a profound lack of esteem for the Bol-
shevist leaders in Italy, and despise many of them, it is
because I know them all well and have been in contact
with them. I know perfectly well that when they play the
lion they are rabbits, and that they are like certain monks
in Heinrich Heine who openly preach the drinking of water
and drink wine themselves in secret. We wish to see this
shameful speculation finish, because it is against the interests
of the nation.

Always against Italy. Can you tell me by what curious
chance the Socialists are always against Italy in all
questions? Can you tell me why they always side with those
who are against Italy? With the Albanians, the Croats,
the Germans and others? Can you tell me why they shout
‘«‘ Long live Albania!’ who is fighting for Valona, which is

118 THE FASCISTA

Albanian, and do not shout “Long live Italy!’’ who is fight-
ing for Trento and Trieste, which are Italian? By what cri-
terion are they always against Italy, shouting, ‘“‘Down,
down!” Four Arabs revolt in Libya and they shout, ‘‘Down
with Libya!” Six thousand Albanians attack Valona and
it is, “Down with Valona!’”’ And if to-morrow the Croats
of Dalmatia attack us it will be, ‘‘Down with Dalmatia!”
And if, upon the burning mountain of the Carso, an insur-
rectional movement develops against Trieste, I am afraid
the Italian Socialists would cry, ‘‘Down with Trieste!” But
there are Italians here and elsewhere who would strangle
the fratricidal cry in their throats.

It was the same with their opposition to the war. War
is a horrible thing in itself. Those who have been through it
know. But it is necessary to explain. If they say, ‘War
in itself and for itself, for whatever reason, in whatever
latitude, under whatsoever pretext, must not be made,”
then I respect these humanitarians and Tolstoyans. If they
say, ‘‘I abhor that blood shall be spilled under any pre-
text,” then I respect them and admire them, although I
find this impracticable. But when they cry, “Down
with the war!’’ when Italy makes it, and ‘Long live the
war!” when Russia makes it, it is a different matter. They
had a paper which was very happy when the so-called
Bolshevists were marching towards Warsaw, and employed
the military style: “While we are writing the cannons...”
etc.; we knowit all by heart. Is not this war then the same
thing? Does not the Russian war make widows and orphans?
Is it not made with guns, aeroplanes and all the innumerable
instruments which tear and kill human bodies? Either they
must be contrary to all wars, in which case we can discuss
together, or if they make distinctions between war and war,
between the war which can be made and the war which
cannot—well, we can tell them that their humanitarianism

THE FASCISTA II9g

is simply horrible. -And if they have reason to make
war, we had reason to make it for the destinies of the
country in 1915. (Applause.)

The Epic of D’Annunzio. What, then, is to be the task
of Fascismo? It is this: to bridle Demagogism with cour-
age, energy and impetuosity. Fascismo is called the Fascio
of Fighters, and the word “fighters”? does not leave any
doubts about its aims, which are, to fight with peaceful
arms, but also with the arms of warriors. And this is normal
in Italy, because all the world is arming itself, and so it is
absolutely necessary that we Italians arm ourselves in our turn.

But the task of Fascismo here is more delicate, more
difficult, and more necessary. Fascismo here has a reason for
existence, and finds a natural field for development. I have
unlimited faith in the future of the Italian nation. Crises
will succeed crises, there will be pauses and parentheses, but
we shall arrive at a settlement, and the history of to-morrow
cannot be thought of without the participation of Italy.

There have been many orders of the day, many articles
in the papers, much more or less senseless talk, but the only
man who has achieved a real revolutionary stroke, the only
man who for twelve or thirteen months has held in check
all the forces ranged against him is Gabriele d’Annunzio
with his legionaries. Against this man, of pure Italian
blood, are leagued all the cowards, and it is for this reason
that we are proud to be with him, even if all this tribe
turn against us too. This man also represents the possibility
of victory and resurrection. And this possibility exists be-
cause we have made war and won. It is ridiculous that
those who most profited by it in wages, votes and honours
are those who, to-day, turn round and revileit. In any case
I think, as indeed this meeting of yours bears witness, that
the hour of the vindication of our national efficiency has
struck. While on the one hand there is a vast world of

I20 THE FASCISTS

wretched, poor creatures, there is also a world which does
not forget and does not ignore our victory. (Applause.)

The Re-birth of Ideals. Just as I was leaving Milan, I
received from the mayor of Cupra Marittima, a little town
of Central Italy, an invitation to be present at their com-
memoration of the fallen. I did not accept, because I do not
like making speeches. But this episode, like the pilgrimage
of the Ortigara, the pilgrimage to the Grappa, the pilgrim-
age of the 24th October to the rocky Carso, tells you that
all ideals are not lost, but are, on the contrary, being re-born.
We wish to assist this spiritual re-birth in every way possible.

Yesterday, I experienced a moment of great emotion when
passing over the Isonzo. Every time that I have passed
that river with my pack on my back, I have stooped to drink
of its crystal waters. If we had not reached the other side
of that river, the tricolour would not to-day be flying from
San Giusto.

This is the real and true meaning of the war. If the
tricolour flies from San Giusto, it is because twenty years
ago a man of Trieste was the forerunner; it is there be-
cause in 1915 Italian soldiers threw themselves upon the
Austrian defences, and all Italy took part in that act, from
the Alpine detachments of the mountains of Piedmont,
Lombardy and Friuli to the magnificent infantry of the
Abruzzi, Puglie and Sicily and the soldiers of the generous
island of Sardinia, too much neglected by the Government!
And these generous sons have not yet risen up to take
reprisals against the demagogues of Italy, because they are
always ready to fulfil their duty.

Men of Trieste! The tricolour of San Giusto is sacred, the
tricolour on the Nevoso is sacred, and still more so is that
on the Dinaric Alps. The tricolour will be protected by
our dead heroes, but let us swear together that it will be
defended also by the living. (Prolonged applause.)

THE FASCISTA 121

FASCISMO AND THE PROBLEMS OF FOREIGN
POLICY

Speech delivered at the Politeama Rossetti, Trieste, 6th February
rg2t.

Just as, a few months before, at the time of Italy’s darkest hour,
when the Bolshevist movement was at its zenith, Mussolini had
addressed to the people of Trieste wise words of faith, so in the
spring of 1921, the spring famous for anti-Socialist reaction, Trieste
was once more the city he chose as the place best suited for the
exposition of his analysis of the problems of foreign policy. On that
occasion the patriotic and liberated town, which gave the first
impulse of assault in the energetic offensive against the local
Austrian Bolshevists, accorded to the leader of the new Italy
hearty manifestations of general assent.

In order to indicate the direction which Italian foreign
policy should take in the immediate future, it is a good thing
to give a glance first at the general situation in the world,
and at the forces and currents which are at work, with a
view to finding out what may be the possible develop-
ments and results.

All the States of the world are in a condition of fatal
interdependence. The period for splendid isolation is passed
for everyone. It can well be said, that with the war the
story of mankind has acquired a world movement. While
Europe, severely weakened, struggles to recover her economic,
political and spiritual balance, already beyond the bound-
aries of the old Continent a formidable clash of interests is
shaping itself. I allude to the conflict between the United
States and Japan, and to the accounts of recent episodes,
from the Affair of the Cable to the Bill against the Yellow
Immigration in California, which have occupied the papers.

122 THE FASCISTA

Japan has a population of 77 millions, and the United
States 110 millions. That it was known that a struggle
between these two States was inevitable is proved by the
very significant fact that the book which had the widest
circulation among all classes in Tokio was called Our
Next War with the United States, a book which outlined the
war between the continents for the dominion of the Pacific.
The centre of world civilisation is tending to alter its
position. Up to about 1500 it was in the Mediterranean;
after the discovery of America, it shifted to the Atlantic;
to-day its passage to the biggest ocean of the planet is in-
dicated. I said, last time I spoke here, that we were
approaching the “Asiatic” century. Japan is destined to
be the fermenting element of all the Yellow world.

As the result of shifting the centre of civilisation from
London to New York (which has already seven million
inhabitants and will soon be the largest agglomeration of
human beings on the earth), and from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, there are those who foresee a gradual economic
and spiritual decay of our old Europe, and of our wonderful
little continent, which has been, hitherto, the guiding light
of all the world. Shall we live to see the eclipse of the
European réle in the history of mankind?

The European Situation. To this disquieting and depress-
ing question we answer, “It is possible.” The life of
Europe, especially that of Central Europe, is at the mercy
of the Americans. Europe presents a troubled political
and economic panorama, a thorny maze of national and
social questions, and it happens that Communism is some-
times the mask of Nationalism and vice versd. European
“unity” does not seem to be any nearer realisation. Egoism
and the interests of nations and classes exist in proud
contrast. Russia is no longer an enigma from the economic

THE FASCISTA 123

point of view. In Russia there is neither Communism nor
Socialism, but an agrarian revolution of the democratic
lower-middle-class kind. She only remains an enigma
from the political point of view. What foreign policy does
Russia follow? Is it a policy of peace or war? The variety
of facts which reach our ears make us continually waver
between one opinion and another. Perhaps under the
emblem of the sickle and the hammer is hidden—or not
hidden—the old Panslavism, which to-day is dominated,
besides, by the immediate necessity of extending the revolu-
tion to the rest of Europe, in order to save the Government
of the Soviet in Russia. If Russia adopts a policy of war, the
fate of the Baltic States (Lithuania, Lettonia and Esthonia)
will be sealed. The fate of Poland would also be uncertain,
and she might find herself driven against the unfriendly
German wall by an eventual breaking loose of the Russian
forces. There are serious conflicting interests between the
different States of those north-east shores. There is a dis-
agreement between Poland, Lithuania and Russia as regards
Wilna and Grodno. The rights on the basis of history and
statistics are with Poland. There are 263,000 Poles in the
district of Wilna as compared with 118,000 Lithuanians,
8000 White Ruthenians and 83,000 Jews. The same figures,
proportionately, are found in Grodno. As for Upper Silesia,
which keeps the Polish and German worlds in a state of
continuous agitation, the German statistics give these
returns: 1,348,000 Poles, 588,000 Germans. Upper Silesia
is, therefore, Polish, but its final destiny will be decided by
the plebiscite summoned for the 15th March.

The Treaties of Peace. The Great War has resulted in six
treaties of peace up to the present: Versailles, St. Germain,
Trianon, Neuilly, Sévres, Rapallo. Not one of these treaties
has wholly satisfied the victors; not one, even the Treaty

124 THE FASCISTA

of Rapallo, which was supposed to be a masterpiece of
friendly and peaceful negotiation, has been accepted by
the vanquished. As far as the Treaty of Versailles, the
greatest of all, is concerned, even at this moment the im-
portant question of the indemnity which Germany ought
to pay is still under discussion. It is a figure which makes
us feel giddy and the last word has not yet been said. All
the settlements, especially those made by diplomats, have
an ironically provisional character.

The Germans, who have formed the ‘‘sacred union”
of non-payment, announce that they will make counter-
proposals by the same representatives who will speak at
London in a few weeks’ time. Our opinion is, that if the
Germans can pay they ought, as far as it is possible, and
the experts must ascertain the truth of this possibility. We
must not forget, before allowing ourselves to pity the Ger-
mans—who had already fixed our indemnity at 500 milliards
of gold, in the case of their victory—that it was the Germans
who began the war, and that the first Irredentism was
directed against Italy, on account of those minorities which
had descended, without right, into the Upper Adige.

German Austria, Macedonia and Smyrna. The present
Austrian Republic was the result of the Treaty of St. Ger-
main. Can it continue to live, formed as it is at present ?
It is generally thought not. There remains the alternative
of a Danube Confederation with its centre at Vienna and
Budapest, but the ‘Little Entente” sees to it that there
shall be no return, under any form, of the old régime.
We think that, by the force of events, an economic Danube
Confederation will be formed sooner or later, in which
case the conditions of Austria, and especially of Vienna,
would improve until she had arrived at the point of lessen-
ing the pro-German annexationist movement. From the

THE FASCISTA I25

standpoint of justice, and whenever there was a clear
manifestation of the will of the people, Austria would
have the right of separating herself from Germany. This
possible eventuality cannot leave us indifferent, because of
the boundaries of the Brenner, which is a question of life
or death for the Paduan valley. A hungry and pauper
Austria cannot organise a dangerous Irredentism against us;
but as the result of union with Germany the question of the
Upper Adige would certainly become more acute.

As for Hungary, she can certainly expect a revision of
the treaty which mutilates her on every side. It must be
added, however, that the chapter of Fiume is definitely
closed in Hungarian history.

Centres of infection for another war exist all over the
Balkan world. Let us quote Montenegro and Albania, for
example. We are in favour of the independence of both
these States, provided that they show themselves capable
of enjoying it. Bulgaria has a right to Macedonia? and also
to a port on the Aigean. And this is of capital importance
for the economic expansion of Italy in Bulgaria. The Treaty
of Sévres crushed Turkey in order to exalt the Greece of
Venizelos and Constantine, which gave the European war
the sacrifice of 787 ‘‘euzoni."* We consider, as far as the
Eastern Mediterranean is concerned, that Italy, on the whole,
should follow a pro-Turkish policy.

The Treaty of Rapallo. Immediately after the signing of
the Treaty of Rapallo, the Central Committee of the Fascio
passed its judgment upon it, finding it ‘acceptable for the
Eastern boundaries, inacceptable and deficient as regards
Fiume, and insufficient and to be rejected as regards Zara
and Dalmatia.’’ At three months’ distance this judgment
does not seem to be contradicted by successive events.
The Treaty of Rapallo is an unhappy compromise, against

1 Population: 1,181,000 Bulgarians, 499,000 Turks, and 228,000 Greeks.

126 THE EASCISTA

which pages of criticism were printed in the Popolo d'Italia,
which it is now useless to repeat.

It must be explained why victorious Italy ever arrived
at the point of signing the Peace of Rapallo. And the
explanations do not need much mental exertion. Rapallo
was the logical consequence of the line of foreign policy
followed by us or imposed upon us before, during and after
the war. It is explained by Wilson and his so-called
experts and the absolute lack of Italian propaganda abroad
and the dead-tiredness of the people. Rapallo is explained
by the meeting of the oppressed nationalities held at Rome
in April 1918, which meeting can be directly connected
with the ill-fated story of Caporetto. Everything is paid for
in this life. On 12th November 1920, we paid at Rapallo
for the breakdown of 24th October 1917. Had there been
no Caporetto, there would have been no Pact of Rome. In
that congress the Yugoslavs threw dust in our eyes because
in reality they did nothing towards breaking up the Dual
Monarchy from within, of which they were the faithful slaves
to the last, with traditional Croat loyalty. Not for no-
thing did the Hapsburg monarchy, upon its decease, try to
present the Jugoslavs with its navy. But it was in the
April of 1918 that the irreparable was committed, with
the consent of all currents of Italian public opinion, in-
cluding ours and the Nationalists—that is to say, our worst
enemies were raised to the rank of effectual and powerful
allies, and naturally, when the victory was obtained, there
was no accepting of the réle of vanquished, but they adopted
that of co-operators with a relative share in the common
booty. After the Pact of Rome it was no longer possible
to place our knee on the chest of Yugoslavia—this is the
truth. And so it happened that the Italian people—tired,
impoverished and unnerved by two long years of useless
negotiations, demoralised by the policy of the Government

THE BASCISTA 127

and the tremendous wave of after-war sabotage (against
which only the Fascisti reacted powerfully)—accepted, or
rather suffered, the Treaty of Rapallo, without manifesta-
tions of grief or joy. And, in order to finish it once and for
all, many people would also have accepted the terrible line
of Montemaggiore. All the parties of all the grades of Left
and Right accepted the treaty as a lesser evil. We, too,
submitted to it, considering it merely as a transitory and
ephemeral act (has there ever been anything definite in
the world, much less upon the moving sands of diplomacy ?),
and with the intention of gathering our forces to be ready
for the revision which, sooner or later, would improve the
treaty and not make it worse, would carry our boundaries
to the Dinaric Alps, but never again allow the boundaries
of Yugoslavia to reach the Isonzo.

The fate meted out to Dalmatia makes us very sad.
But the fault does not lie wholly with the negotiators of
the eleventh hour; the renunciation had already been made
in Parliament, in the papers and in the universities them-
selves, where a professor printed a book, which was naturally
translated at Zagabria, in which he proved, in his own way,
that Dalmatia is not Italian. The Dalmatian tragedy lies
in this ignorance, bad faith and want of understanding;
faults which we hope to repair with our work by making
Dalmatia known, loved and defended.

The treaty, once signed, could be annulled in one of two
ways: by outside war or internal revolution. Both equally
absurd. You do not make the people throng the squares
in order to change a peace treaty after five years of blood-
shed. Nobody is capable of working such prodigies. It was
possible to cause a revolution in Italy in order to obtain
intervention; but to cause a revolution in November 1920,
in order to annul a peace treaty which, good or bad, had
been accepted by ninety-nine per cent. of the Italian people,

128 THE FASCISTA

could not be considered. I do not mind much about co-
herence, but there are stenographic records which bear
witness to the fact that I steadily refused to go against the
treaty either by promoting outside war or internal revolution.
I considered that it was also dangerous to get mixed up
in an armed resistance to the treaty.

The Tragedy of Fiume. Two months of polemics and daily
articles during November and December bear witness to
my support of the cause of Fiume, and my open and strong
opposition to the Parliament.

It is a pity that oblivion falls so quickly on the words of
a daily paper; and I have not the melancholy habit of un-
earthing what I publish. But the undeniable truth is this:
that day after day I fought so that the Government at Rome
should recognise the Government at Fiume; so that the
representatives of the Regency should be invited to Rapallo;
and so that the Government at Rome should avoid any
armed attack on Fiume. At the outset I called the attack of
Christmas Eve an enormous crime, and I always upheld the
spirit of justice, liberty and free-will which were the inspira-
tion of the legions of Ronchi.

The Audience in the Gallery. It sometimes happens in
history as in the theatre, that there is an audience in the
gallery, which, having paid for its tickets, demands that

the performance shall run to a close at all costs. Thus in
Italy to-day there are two types of individuals: those who
blame D’Annunzio for having lived to see the end of the
Fiume tragedy, and those who blame Mussolini for not
having brought about that easy, pretty little thing which
is called a revolution! I have always disdained the cowardly
method by which, in Italy, impotence, anger and misery
are laid upon the heads of real or imaginary scapegoats.
The Fasci had never promised to bring about revolution

THE FASCISTA 129

in the event of an attack on Fiume, nor have I ever written
or made known to D’Annunzio that revolution depended
upon my caprice. Revolution is not a Jack-in-the-box
which can be worked at will. I do not carry it in my
pocket, any more than those who fill their noisy mouths
with its name and in practice do not get beyond disorders
in the squares after unimportant demonstrations accom-
panied by a providential arrest to avoid any more serious
complications. I know the breed. I have been in politics
for twenty years. In the war between Caviglia and Fiume,
either great things should have been accomplished, or else,
for reasons of self-respect, excessive shouting and raising of
smoke, which vanished at once without trace and without
bloodshed, should have been avoided.

With Whom and Where? History learned from far-off
events teaches men little; but that which we see written
daily under our eyes ought to be more successful. Now these
chronicles of every day tell us that revolution is made with
an army and not against an army; with arms, not without
arms; with movements of trained squadrons, not with the
untrained masses called to meetings in the squares. They
succeed when they are made in an atmosphere of sympathy
on the part of the majority; if this is lacking they die down
and fail. Now in Fiume the army and navy did not fail.
A certain revolutionary spirit of the eleventh hour did not
take definite shape; it was the work sometimes of anarchists
and sometimes of Nationalists. According to some emis-
saries it was possible to put the devil and holy water
together, the nation and that which was against the nation:
Misiano and Del Croix. Now I reject all forms of Bolshevism,
but if I were obliged to choose one, I should choose that of
Moscow and Lenin, if for no other reason because at least
it has gigantic, barbaric and universal proportions. What

I

I30 THE FASCISTA

revolution was it to be, then? National or Bolshevist?
A great uncertainty, complicated by a great many minor
considerations, confused men’s minds, while the nation,
in a mood of revolt against that which had happened round
Fiume, abandoned itself to an attitude of grief, in which
the only bright spot was the hope that the episode
would retain its local character and come quickly to a
peaceful conclusion.

Hypotheses and Certainites. If there had been an insurrec-
tion on our part—and this was not possible owing to the
armed forces which the Government had at its disposal—
there must have been one of two results: defeat or victory.
In the first case, everything would have been irretrievably
lost in the abyss of civil war. Let us, for the sake of argu-
ment, presuppose the second hypothesis: that of victory
with the fall of the Government and of the régime. After
the more or less easy period of demolition, what form
would the revolution take? Social, as some Bolshevists
wish—those with the motto ‘‘Always further Left,” the
equivalent of the grotesque “‘Go to the reddest”—or
national, Dalmatian and reactionary, as others desire?

There is no possibility of reconciliation between the two
currents. In a revolution of the social order, what im-
portance would the territorial questions, and more precisely
that of Dalmatia, have had? In the other event of a national
revolution against the Treaty of Rapallo, everything would
have been limited to a formal annulment of the treaty
and to a substitution of men; to be followed later by
another treaty in another Rapallo, in order that one day
or another the nation might have her peace. An episode
of civil war was not remedied by letting loose a bigger war
in times like these through which we are passing, and
nobody is capable of prolonging and creating artificially

THE FASCISTA 131

historical situations which are over and done with. Only
the man who knows how to lift himself above common
passions, who knows how to draw conclusions from con-
flicting elements and how to distinguish the pure grain
from the equivocal chaff, is able to understand that Fiume
Christmas, which can be called the tragic crossroads be-
tween the reasons of the State and of the ideal: the
meeting-place of all our deficiencies and all our greatness.

Suspended Problems. The first is that of Fiume. We do
not feel the necessity of reaffirming our sympathy for the
sacrificed city. We have given the most tangible proofs,
recently, of our solidarity with the Fascio of Fiume, in order
to put it in a position to undertake the struggle against
the Croats, who are now beginning to show signs of life.
The action of the Fascisti must tend, for the moment,
towards economic annexation of Fiume to Italy, to arousing
the interest of the Government and private individuals, and
at the same time keeping alive, by every means, the torch
of Italy, so that in due time economic will be followed
by political annexation. We shall achieve this in spite of
everything. All the Fascista force, national and parlia-
mentary, must be concentrated on Zara, so that the little
city shall be able to accomplish her important and delicate
mission in history. There must be efficacious education
for the Italians who have remained in the principal cities
of Dalmatia, and no separate constituencies for the Slavs in
Istria and the Germans in the Upper Adige. It is not pos-
sible to establish such a precedent, as it would carry us far.
The French of the Val d’Aosta, who are in reality excellent
Italians, have no special constituencies and privileges of that
sort. These duplicate constituencies would be a grave
mistake. It is up to the Fascisti of Trento and Trieste to
prevent this happening at any cost.

132 THE FASCISTA

Old and New Directions. The lines of the programme
laid down at the meeting at Milan in May last year have
not become out of date or in need of revision. Fascismo
has the name of being “‘imperialist.’”” This accusation goes
together with that of being reactionary. Fascismo is against
renunciations when they mean humiliation and diminution.

Given these general premises—/fivst, that Fascismo does
not believe in the principles of the so-called League of
Nations nor in its vitality; secondly, that Fascismo does not
believe in the Red Internationals, which die, reproduce
themselves, multiply and die again: for they are small,
artificial organisations, small minorities compared to the
masses of the population, which, living, dying, progressing
or retrogressing, finishes by deciding those changes of
interests before which the international organisations of
the first, second and third order crumble to pieces; thirdly,
that Fascismo does not believe in the immediate possi-
bility of general disarmament, and /fourthly, considers that
Italy, in the present historical period, should follow a
policy of European equilibrium and conciliation—it follows
that the Italian Fascio of Fighters demands:—

1. That the treaties of peace shall be revised and modified
in those parts which have proved inapplicable, or which
might prove in application the cause of formidable hatred
and new wars.

2. The economic annexation of Fiume to Italy, or the
care of the Italians resident in Dalmatia.

3. The gradual economic emancipation of Italy from abroad
by the development of her productive forces. —

4. The renewal of relations with the enemy countries—
Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary—but
with dignity and holding fast to the supreme necessity of
maintaining our northern and eastern boundaries.

5. The creation and intensification of friendly relations

THE FASCISTA 133

with the peoples of the East, not excluding those governed
by the Soviet and South-eastern Europe.

6. The vindication of the rights and interests of the nation
as regards the colonies.

7. The abandonment of the old systems and the replace-
ment of all our diplomatic representatives with others from
the special university faculties.

8. The furtherance of the Italian colonies in the Mediter-
ranean and beyond the Atlantic by economic and educational
means and by rapid communications.

Towards a New Italy. I have enormous faith in the future
greatness of the Italian people. Ours is the most numerous
and homogeneous of the peoples of Europe.

The war has enormously increased the prestige of Italy.
“Long live Italy! ”* is now cried in far-off Lettonia and still
more distant Georgia.

Italy is the tricolour wing of Ferrarin, the magnetic wave of
Marconi, the baton of Toscanini, the revival of Dante, in
the sixth centenary of his departure. Let us prepare our-
selves by energetic everyday work for the Italy of to-morrow
of which we dream; an Italy free and rich, resounding
with song, with her skies and seas populated with her
fleets, and her earth fruitful beneath her ploughs. And
may the coming citizens be able to say what Virgil said
of ancient Rome: ‘Imperium oceano, famam terminavit
astris”” (The Empire ended with the ocean, but her fame
reached the wars).

134 THE FASCISTA

HOW FASCISMO WAS CREATED
ITS EVOLUTION AND ESSENCE

Speech delivered at the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, 3rd April
1921.

Bologna, the capital of the so-called red region of Emilia, a region
thought to be lost to the Italian State as far as laws and authority
were concerned, from the 2nd to the 4th of April passed through
truly memorable days.

The learned and noble city, with its fine patriotic traditions,
whose very walls recall the popular and patrician insurrection
against the Austrians, welcomed Benito Mussolini with manifesta-
tions of solidarity and veneration such as were accorded to Giuseppe
Garibaldi. For if the latter was a liberator from foreign tyranny, the
former had been no less a liberator from an equal tyranny, arising
from similar causes, although materialised through different means
and by different agents living in our midst.

All who witnessed those enthusiastic manifestations instantly
perceived that the problem of Italian internal politics was now
solved by the definite defeat of that parasitic, anti-National Social-
ism, the enemy of liberty, which had chosen the Valle Padana as
the most suitable experimental field for the fecundation of the
microbes of Collectivist Utopia, and incidentally for the exploitation
of the masses of the proletariat.

Fascisti of Emilia and Romagna—Citizens of Bologna! I
feel that I might be carried out of that sphere of eloquence
which is mine by all the circumstances of this meeting,
beginning with the welcomes of yesterday evening and the
songs of last night, and ending with this magnificent sea
of heads and the greeting which I received with the
greatest veneration from the widow of our unforgettable
Giulio Giordani, and the presence of two heroic women,
the widows of the two heroes, Battisti and Venezian.
(Applause.) But as I hope, and am almost certain, that
you do not expect eloquence from me, but a short abrupt

THE FASCISTA 135

speech as is my habit, I will proceed to speak clearly in
the Fascista manner.

How Fascismo was born. I thank my friend Grandi for
having presented me to you and with such flattering words.
I do not think, however, that I am guilty of the sin of pride
if I accept them. I think I may say, in accordance with
Socrates, that I know myself. (Applause.)

How then was this Fascismo born; amid what conflicting
passions, sympathy, hatred, and lack of comprehension ?
It was not only born in my mind and heart, in that meeting
held in March rorg in the little hall at Milan, it was born of
the profound and perennial need of this our Mediterranean
and Aryan race, which felt the essential foundations of its
existence threatened by a tragic folly which will crumble
to pieces, to-day, upon the ground on which it was raised.

We felt then—we, who were not penitent Magdalens;
we, who had always had the courage to uphold intervention
and reason in those days of 1915; we, who were not ashamed
of having barred the way to Austria on the Piave and having
crushed her at Vittorio Veneto; we, who wished for a victor-
ious peace, felt at once, almost before the exultation of vic-
tory had passed, that our task was not ended, and I, myself,
felt that my work was not done. As a matter of fact, at
every turn of events it was said that my task and the task
of the forces I lead was accomplished. In May 1915, when
the Fascismo of Revolutionary Action had swept away all
neutralists from the streets and squares of Italy, even in
the smallest villages, it was said: ‘‘ Mussolini has no more to
say to the nation.’”’ But when the tragic days of Caporetto
came and Milan was grey and ghastly for those who felt
that if the Austrians passed and came to the city of the
Cinque Giornate it would be the end of Italy, then we felt
that we still had a word to say. And again, after victory,

136 THE FASCISTA

when there arose the more or less democratic school of
renunciation which was intent upon mutilating the victory,
we Fascisti had the supreme and unprejudiced courage to
proclaim ourselves Imperialists and against all renunciation.

That was the first battle, fought in the theatre of the
Scala in January 1919. But how did it happen? We had
won; we had sacrificed the flower of our youth, and they
came to us with bills of usury and extortion! They disputed
with us the sacred boundaries of the country, and there were
Democrats in Italy, whose democracy consisted in Im-
perialism for others and no Imperialism for us, who threw
this ridiculous accusation at us, because we intended that
Italy should be bounded on the north by the Brenner, as
she shall be while there is Italian blood in Italy! We in-
tended that the eastern boundaries should be at the Nevoso,
because that is the just and natural confine of our country;
and they accused us because we did not turn deaf ears to
the appeal of Fiume, because we feel in our hearts the
sufferings of our brothers in Dalmatia, because, in fact, we
feel those bonds of race to be alive and vital which bind us,
not only to the Italians of Zara, Ragusa and Cattaro, but also
to those of the Canton Ticino and Corsica, to those beyond
the oceans, to all that great family of fifty million men whom
we wish to unite in the same pride of race. (Applause.)

Already we have noticed the first signs of the Socialist
offensive. On 16th February, Milan was the witness—to
the fear and terror of the trembling middle classes—of a
procession of 20,000 Bolshevists, who, after having hymned
Lenin from the top of the castle towers, proclaimed that the
Bolshevist revolution was imminent.

The Pride of Victory. On the morrow of that day I issued
an article,| which made an impression also among some
friends, and which was entitled, ‘“‘The Return of the Trium-

1 Popolo d’Italia, 17th Feb. 1919.

THE FASCISTA 137

phant Beast.” In it was said: ‘We are ready to dig
trenches in the squares of Italy and set up barbed wire, in
order to win and fight to the last against the enemy.’’ And
the sabotage, begun with that parade, lasted all the summer.

Also, in those days, we Fascisti had the courage to defend
certain actions which, measured by the standard of current
morals, perhaps were indefensible. But, gentlemen, war
is like revolution, it must be taken as a whole; detail cannot
and must not be gone into. But, meanwhile, the cam-
paign had its results upon the elections. One million eight
hundred and fifty thousand electors registered their vote
with the symbol of the sickle and the hammer. One hundred
and fifty-six deputies were returned to the Chamber. The
catastrophe seemed imminent. Then I was fished out, a
suicide (!) of the waters—not by any means too limpid—of
the old Naviglio!

But one thing had been forgotten—our tenacious spirit
and sometimes indomitable will. I, proud of my four
thousand votes—and those who saw me in those days know
how immovably I accepted that electoral response—said,
“The battle goes on!” Because I firmly believed that
the day would come in which the Italians would be ashamed
of the elections of 16th November, that the day would
come in which the Italians would no longer elect in two
cities that ignoble deserter whom I do not wish to name.
And it has proved true, because this man to-day, not being
able to maintain his part in the drama, has descended from
the stage and, having despised the Guardie Regie, now asks
them for protection.

But has the growth of this movement of Fascismo, this
young ardent and heroic movement, finished yet? I, who
vindicate the paternity of this, my creature so overflowing
with life, feel sometimes that it has already overstepped
the modest boundaries I laid down for it. Now we Fascisti

138 THE FASCISTA

have a clear programme; we must move on led by a
pillar of fire, because we are slandered and not understood.
And, however much violence may be deplored, it is evident
that we, in order to make our ideas understood, must beat
refractory skulls with resounding blows.

Necessary Violence. But we do not make a school, a
system or, worse still, an esthetic of violence. We are
violent when it is necessary to be so. But I tell you at once
that this necessary violence on the part of the Fascisti must
have a character and style of its own, definitely aristocratic,
or, if you prefer, surgical.

Our punitive expeditions, all those acts of violence which
figure in the papers, must always have the character of a
just retort and legitimate reprisal; because we are the
first to recognise that it is sad, after having fought the
external enemy, to have to fight the enemy within, who,
whether they like it or not, are Italians. But it is necessary,
and as long as it is necessary, we shall continue to carry
out this hard and thankless task.

Now the Democrats, the Republicans and the Socialists
accuse us of various things. The Socialists, hitherto, have
said that we were sold to the profiteers and the agrarians.
Now there are not enough profiteers in the whole of Italy
to support a movement like ours, and in any case I must
say that they would be rather stupid profiteers, because
from the March of 1919 we, in our Fascista programmes,
have laid down fiscal provisions which are pretty heavy
and-in any case anti-profiteer. The accusations of the
Democrats are equally ridiculous, and also those of the
Republicans. I cannot explain to myself why the Re-
publicans are against a movement which has republican ten-
dencies like ours. I could understand them being against us
if we were in favour of the monarchy. They say tous: “ You

THE FASCISTA 139

have no preconceptions.’ We have not, and we are proud of
it. But you must explain the phenomenon of the anger and
the incomprehension of the Socialists. The Socialists had
formed a State within a State. If this new State had been
more liberal, more modern, nearer the old type, there would
have been nothing against it. But this State, and you know
it by direct experience, is more tyrannical, illiberal and
overbearing than the old one; and for this reason that
which we are causing to-day is a revolution to break up the
Bolshevist State, while waiting to settle our accounts with
the Liberal State which remains. (Applause.)

The Socialist Crisis and the Fascista Altitude to the
Elections. There are those who think that the Socialist
crisis is only a crisis limited to a few men; but it goes deeper,
my dear friends, and it represents a general upheaval.

Among other absurd things, there has been that of
baptising Socialism as scientific. Now there is nothing
scientific in the world. Science explains the “how” of things,
but does not explain the “why.” If, then, there is nothing
scientific in what are called the exact sciences, what is more
absurd than to try and pass off as scientific a vast, un-
certain, underground and dark movement such as Socialism
has been, even though it may have had a useful function
at first, when it directed the oppressed peoples towards new
ways of life, because you will agree with me that there is
no turning back? Foolish reactionary and Conservative
contraband practices must not be carried on under the
Fascista flag. To wrench from the masses the conquests
they have obtained through sacrifice would be impossible.
We are the first to recognise that a State law should grant
the eight-hour day, and that there should be a social legisla-
tion corresponding to the exigencies of the new times. And
this is not because we recognise the importance of the

I40 THE FASCISTA

proletariat. We look at the question from another point of
view. We realise that there cannot be a great nation,
capable of doing great things, if the working masses are con-
strained to live under brutalising conditions. It is necessary,
then, that by preaching and practising the reconciliation of
right and duty, which I call Mazzinian, this enormous mass
of tens of millions of people who work shall be raised to
an ever higher level of life.

Brothers, not Enemies! It is absurd to depict us as the
enemies of the working classes. We feel ourselves to be
brothers in spirit of all those who work; but we do not
make distinctions, we do not put work-worn hands into the
first rank. We do not place the new divinity, manual labour,
upon the altar. For us all work—the astronomer who
in his observatory consults the trajectory of the stars,
the lawyer, the archzologist, the student of religion and the
artist, if they are increasing by their work the sum total
of spiritual wealth which is at the disposal of mankind.
We wish to see the realisation of a communion between
spirit and matter, between the arm and the brain, the
realisation of the solidarity of the race.

Fascismo is then the blast of heresy which beats at the
doors of all the churches and says to the old and more or
less tearful priest ; ‘‘Get out of the way of these times which
threaten ruin to you, for our triumphant heresy is destined
to bring light to all brains and all souls!’’ And we say to
all men, great and small, upon the national political scene:
“Make way for the youth of Italy which wishes to affirm
its faith and passion. And if you do not make way spon-
taneously, you will be overwhelmed in our universal punitive
expedition, which is to collect all the free spirits of Italy
and bind them together in a Fascio.” (Applause.)

We are now face to face with a fact, which is that of the

THE FASCISTA I4I

elections. The Chamber being old, and more than old,
worn out, the protagonists of this semi-tragedy being tired
and misled, it is time to make that new appeal to the electors
which is imperative. Do you not feel that, if the elections
of 1919 had the character of sabotage, the elections of 1921
will be definitely Fascista? Do you not feel that the helm
of State will never return to the old men of the old Italy?

I received a message to-day on the strength of which
I feel I can state that the difference, more or less artificially
created, which existed between the defenders of Fiume—
to whom we pay the homage of our gratitude—and us,
her defenders at home, has no more raison d’étre. And this
difference, which, rather than by the legionaries, was created
by certain politicians who were not even at Fiume when it
was attacked seriously, will be put an end to by Gabriele
d’Annunzio.

The Day consecrated to Fascismo. Another characteristic
of Fascismo is pride of nationality. And, in connection
with this, I am pleased to tell you that we have already
decided the Fascista day. If the Socialists have May Day,
if the Popular Party have 15th May, and other parties other
days, we Fascisti will have one, too, and it shall be the
day of the birth of Rome, 21st April. Upon that day, in
token of the eternity of Rome, in memory of that city
which gave two civilisations to the world and will give
a third, we Fascisti will gather together, and the re-
gional legions will file past in the Fascista order, which
is neither military nor German, but simply Roman. We
have abolished the procession and substituted this ancient
form of manifestation, which imposes individual control
on each participator and order and discipline upon all.
For we wish to introduce strict national discipline, without
which Italy cannot become the Mediterranean and world
nation of which we dream. And those who blame us for

142 THE FASCISTA

marching like the Germans must remember that it is not
we who imitate the Germans, but they who imitate
the Romans, for which reason it is we who go back to
the original, who return to the Roman style, the Latin
and Mediterranean style.

We have no prejudices, because we are not a church, we
are a movement. We are not a party, we are a band of free
men. If anyone is tired of being Fascista, there are twenty
shops, twenty churches at whose doors to knock and ask
for hospitality. We have not institutions either, we con-
sider them superfluous. Ours is an army characterised by
enthusiasm and voluntary discipline, and known, above
all, not in the light of guardian of some party or faction,
but as guardian of the nation. We are known for the love
we bear to Italy, to her history and her civilisation, as well
as to her inhabitants and geographical constitution.

Yesterday, while the train carried me to Bologna, I felt
myself in harmony with all things and all men. I felt
bound to this earth; I felt myself an infinitesimal part of
that great river which flows from the Alps to the Adriatic;
I recognised my brothers in the peasants, those peasants
with the grave attitudes of those who work the soil; I saw
myself in the blue sky, which awakened my inextinguish-
able passion for flight; I recognised myself in all the aspects
of nature and man. Anda profound prayer arose in my heart.
It is the prayer that every Italian should make, when the
sunrise illumines the sky and the twilight descends over the
earth. ‘We, Italians of the twentieth century, who have
witnessed the great tragedy which has brought about the
fulfilment of our nationality; we, who carry in the depths
of our souls the memory of the dead, who are our religion;
we, citizens of Italy, shall make one oath, one single resolu-
tion: that we only shall be the modest but persevering
builders of her present and future fortunes.” (Applause.)

THE FASCISTA 143

THE ITALY WE WANT WITHIN, AND HER
FOREIGN RELATIONS

The four following speeches are undoubtedly the most important
of this collection, because they depict Mussolini as the polemic, the
agitator, the warrior, the leader, travelling to his political maturity.
In reading them one recognises the condottiero who is quite sure of
himself, who is near the end of his march, and is certain of reaching
his final goal.

Except for a gradually accelerated rhythm, proportionate to the
precipitation of events, the tone of the four speeches is almost the
same. There is no pause, no perplexity, nothing which might induce
the reader to think of a change of direction, of a truce, of the
relinquishing of the struggle. But rather one notices the close
march of a compact and well-equipped army, determined to
struggle on and to win at whatever cost.

At UpIneE, that strong old town, the sentinel of the country, dear
to the heart of all Italian soldiers, the leader of Fascismo initiates
the spiritual and physical mobilisation of the “black shirts,’ while
he hurls the first challenge at the old political caste and lays down
the fundamental points of the imminent national revolution.

THE speech which I intend to make to-day is going to be an
exception to the rule which I have imposed upon myself of
limiting my speeches, as far asI can. Oh! if it were only
possible to do as the poets advise and strangle the ver-
bose, inconclusive oratory which has side-tracked us for so
long! I am certain, or at any rate I hope, that you do not
expect anything from me in a speech which is not eminently
Fascista, that is to say straightforward, hard, bare facts.

The Unity of the Country. Do not expect a commemora-
tion of the 20th September. Certainly the subject would be

144 THE FASCISTA

tempting and there would be ample material for reflection
in re-examining by what prodigies of immeasurable force,
and through how many and how great sacrifices, Italy has
been able to achieve her not yet complete unity. I say
not yet complete, because perfect unity cannot be spoken
of until Fiume and Dalmatia and the other territories have
come back to us, thus fulfilling the proud dream which we
carry in our hearts. Instead, I ask you to consider that
throughout the Risorgimento—which began with the first
attempt at rebellion on the part of a small section of a
cavalry regiment at Nola, and ended with the breach of
Porta Pia in ’70—two forces were brought into play: one,
the traditional and conservative force, of necessity rather
stationary and sluggish, the force of the Savoy and
Piedmont tradition; the other, the rebellious and revolu-
tionary force which sprang from the best elements among
the bourgeoisie especially. And it was only as the
result of the reconciliation and balancing of these two
forces that we were able to realise the unity of the Country.
Perhaps something of the sort can be found to-day, and of
this I shall go on to speak later.

Rome! Have you ever asked yourselves why the unity
of the country is summed up in the symbol and the name of
Rome? We Fascisti must forget the more or less ungrateful
welcome we received at Rome in the October of last year,
otherwise we should show ourselves to be mean-spirited,
and we must have the courage to own that part of the
responsibility for what happened belongs to us, on account
of some elements among us which were not on the high level
the situation required.

And Rome must not be confused with the Romans;
with those hundreds of so-called ‘‘fugitives of Fascismo”’
which are to be found at Rome, Milan and other centres

THE FASCISTA I45

in Italy, who effectively arouse harmful anti-Fascista
feeling in the country. But if Mazzini and Garibaldi tried
three times to arrive at Rome, and if Garibaldi gave his
“red shirts” the tragic and inexorable alternative of
“Rome or death,” this means that, to the best men of the
Risorgimento, Rome already had an essential function of
the first importance to perform in the new history of the
Italian nation.

Let us then, with minds pure and free from animosity,
lift up our thoughts towards Rome, which is one of the few
spiritual cities which exist in the world; because at Rome,
among those seven hills so pregnant with history, occurred
one of the greatest spiritual miracles which have ever taken
place—that is, the transformation of an Eastern religion,
not understood by us, into a universal one, and which
has succeeded, under another form, to the Empire that the
Roman legions had carried to the extreme ends of the earth.
And we want to make Rome the city of our ideals, a city
cleaned and purified of all those elements which corrupt
and defile her; we wish to make Rome the throbbing heart,
the living spirit of the Italy of which we dream.

Somebody might object, saying: “Are you worthy of
Rome? Are you capable of inheriting and transmitting the
ideals and glories of an Empire?” And then surly critics
busy themselves with trying to find signs of uncertainty
in our young, exuberant organisation!

Fascista Discipline. People speak to us of Fascista
autonomy. I tell the Fascisti and citizens that this
autonomy has no importance whatsoever. It is not an
autonomy of ideas and prejudice. Fascismo has no
prejudices; they are the sad privilege of the old parties,
associations scattered over all countries, whose members,
having nothing better to do or to say, end by imitating

K

146 THE FASCISTA

those sordid priests of the East who discussed all the
questions of the world while the Byzantine Empire perished.
The few and sporadic attempts on the part of Fascisti to
establish autonomy are either frustrated or nearly so, be-
cause they represent only revenge of a personal nature.

We come to another question: discipline. I am in favour
of the most rigid discipline. We must first sternly discipline
ourselves, otherwise we shall not have the right to discipline
the nation. And it is only by the discipline of the nation
that Italy can make herself heard in the councils of the
other countries. Discipline must be accepted. If it is not,
it must be imposed. We put aside the democratic dogma
that one must for ever proceed by sermonising and lecturing
in a more or less liberal manner. At a given moment disci-
pline must show itself under the form of a command or of
an act of force.

I exact discipline, and I do not speak to the men of the
Friulian district, who are—let me say—perfect as regards
sobriety and correctness, austerity and quiet living, but
I speak to the Fascisti of all Italy, who, if they must have
a dogma, must have one which bears the clear name of
discipline. Only by obedience, by the humble and sacred
pride in obedience, can the right to command be conquered.
And only when it is conquered can it be imposed upon
others; otherwise, no! The Fascisti of Italy must take note
of this. They must not interpret discipline as a call to order
of the administrative kind or as the fear of shepherds who
foresee the scattering of their flock. This cannot be, because
we are not shepherds and our forces cannot be called, by
any means, a flock. We are an army, and it is just
because we have this special organisation that we must
make discipline the supreme pivot of our life and action.

Violence! I come now to the question of violence.

THE FASCISTA 147

Violence is not immoral. On the contrary it is sometimes
moral. We dispute the right of our enemies to bewail our
violence, because, compared with that which was com-
mitted in the unlucky years of ’1g and ’20 and with
that of the Bolshevists in Russia—where two million
people have been executed and another two million still
pine in prison—our violence is child’s-play. On the other
hand violence is decisive, because at the end of July and
August, after having made use of it systematically for
forty-eight hours, we got results which we should not have
obtained in forty-eight years of sermons and propaganda.
When, therefore, violence removes a gangrene of this sort,
it is morally sacred and necessary.

But, my Fascista friends, and I speak to the Fascisti
of all Italy, our violence must have certain Fascista char-
acteristics. The violence of ten to one is to be disowned and
condemned. There is a violence that frees and a violence
that binds; there is moral violence and stupid, immoral
violence. Violence must be proportionate to the necessities
of the moment, and not made a school, a doctrine or a sport.
The Fascisti must be careful not to spoil with sporadic,
individual and unjustifiable acts of violence, the brilliant
and splendid victories of August.

This is what our enemies are waiting for. As the
result of certain episodes—let us frankly admit disagree-
able episodes—such as that at Taranto, they have been
led to believe and to hope that violence has become a
sort of second habit, and that when we no longer have
a target upon which to practise, we shall turn against
ourselves and against each other, or the Nationalists. Now
the Nationalists differ from us on certain questions, but
the truth is this, that in all the battles we have fought we
have had them by our side. It may well be that among
them there are leaders who do not see Fascismo as we see

148 THE FASCISTA

it, but it must be recognised and proclaimed that the “ blue
shirts’?! at Genoa, Bologna and Milan, and in another
hundred centres, were with the “black shirts.” In conse-
quence the occurrence at Taranto was most displeasing, and
I hope that the leaders of Fascismo will act in such a way
that it remains an isolated incident to be forgotten in a
local reconciliation and in a national manifestation of
sympathy and solidarity.

Our Syndicalism. Another argument which raises the
hopes of our enemies is the existence of the masses. You
know that I do not worship the new divinity, the masses.
It is a creation of Democracy and Socialism. Just because
they are numerous, they must be right. Not a bit of it,
the opposite has often proved to be true that the masses
are against the right. In any case history proves that it
has always been the minorities, a handful from the first,
that have produced profound changes in human society.
We do not adore the masses, even if they have got work-
worn hands and brains. We shall bring, instead, into our
examination of social life, ideas and elements new at any
rate in Italian circles. We could not turn away the masses;
they came to us. Ought we to have received them with
kicks on the shins? Are they sincere? Do they come to us
as the result of conviction or fear, or because they hope to
get from us what they failed to obtain from the Socialists?
These questions are really superfluous, as no one yet has
found the way to penetrate into their inmost minds.

We have, therefore, had to adopt syndicalism, and we
are doing so. They say: “Your syndicalism will end by
being in every way exactly like that of the Socialists, and
you will have, of necessity, to promote class war.” The
democracy, or a section of them, that section which does

1 The Nationalists.

THE FASCISTA 149

not seem to have any better object than stirring up the mud,
continue from Rome (where they print too many papers,
many of which do not represent anybody or anything)
to work in this direction. But our syndicalism differs from
that of the others, because we do not allow strikes in public
services under any pretext, and we are in favour of co-
operation among the classes, especially in a period like the
present one of acute economic crisis. We try to make this
conception penetrate the brains of our syndicates. But it
must be made equally clear that the industrial workers
and their employers must not blackmail us, because there
is a limit which must not be passed; and these workers
and their masters—the bourgeoisie in a word—must take
into account that the nation also consists of the people,
a mass which labours, and one cannot think of the great-
ness of the nation if this portion is restless and idle. The.
task of Fascismo is to make the people organically one
with the nation, so that they may be ready to-morrow when
the nation has need of them, as the artist takes his raw
material in order to create his masterpiece. Only with the
masses forming an intimate part of the life and history of
the nation can we have a foreign policy.

Foreign Policy. And now I come to the subject which,
at the present moment, is of the greatest positive importance.
It is evident that at the end of the war it was not understood
how to make peace. There were two alternatives: the peace
of the sword, and the peace of approximate justice. But,
under the influence of a pernicious democratic mentality,
the peace of the sword was not made by occupying Berlin,
Vienna and Budapest, and neither has the approximate
peace of justice been accomplished.

Men, many of whom were ignorant of history and geo-
graphy (and it seems that these famous experts who thus

150 THE FASCISTA

disarrange and rearrange the map of Europe at their will
really know as little about it as their masters), have said:
“The moment the Turks give trouble to the English, we
will suppress Turkey; but the moment that Italy, in order
to become a Mediterranean power, ought to have the
Adriatic as her inland gulf, we deny Italy her Adriatic rights.”
What is the result? The result is that this kind of treaty
naturally falls to pieces before the others. But, since every-
thing depends upon the making up of these treaties, since
they are all connected with each other, so the failure of the
Treaty of Sévres may possibly involve the failure of all the
others. Moreover, if the position becomes more involved,
you will see the indestructible Russian Cossack, who changes
his name but not his nature, coming forward again. Who
armed the Turkey of Kemal Pasha? France and Russia.
Who may possibly arm Germany to-morrow? Russia.
Considering what we aim at in our foreign policy, it is
very fortunate that besides our national army, of glorious
tradition, there is the Fascista army.

Our Ministers for foreign affairs ought to know how
to play this card too, with the warning: ‘Be careful;
Italy no longer follows a policy of renunciation and
cowardice, cost what it may!’ So it has come about that
while in other countries men are beginning to realise the
force represented by Italian Fascismo, in the field of foreign
policy our Ministers still remain in a yielding attitude.
We are asked what is our programme. I have already
answered this question, which was meant to be insidious,
at a little meeting held at Levanto in the presence of thirty
or forty Fascisti, and I did not think that a little homely
speech would have such a vast echo.

Our Programme. The Crisis of the Liberal State. Our pro-
gramme is simple: we wish to govern Italy. They ask us

THE FASCISTA | 151

for programmes, but there are already too many. It is not
programmes that are wanting for the salvation of Italy,
but men and will-power.

There is not an Italian who does not think that he pos-
sesses the one sure method by which the most acute problems
of our national life may be solved. But I think you are all
convinced that our political class is deficient. The crisis
of the Liberal State has proved it. We have made a splendid
war from the point of view of collective and individual
acts of heroism. From having been soldiers, the Italians,
in 1918, became warriors. I beg you to note the essential
difference. But our political class carried on the war as if it
had been work of ordinary administration. These men whom
we all know, and whose very features are familiar to every one
of us, now appear men of the past, ruined, tired and beaten.

I do not deny, in my absolute objectivity, that this middle
class, which might, with a world-wide title, be called Gio-
littian, has its merits. It certainly has. But to-day, when
Italy is still under the influence of Vittorio Veneto—to-day,
when Italy is bursting with life, vigour and passion, these
men, who are above all accustomed to Parliamentary mystifi-
cation, do not appear to us to be big enough for the situation.
It is necessary, therefore, to consider how to replace this
political class which has of late consistently surrendered to
that swollen-headed puppet, Italian Socialism.

I think that this replacement has become necessary, and
that the more complete it is the better. Certainly Fascismo,
in taking the entire forty-seven millions of Italians under
its care, will assume a great responsibility. It is to be
foreseen that many will be disappointed, because, in any
case, there is always disappointment sooner or later,
whether things are accomplished or not.

Friends! Like the life of the individual, the life of the
nation brings with it a certain amount of risk. One cannot

152 THE FASCISTA

hope to run for ever on the Decauville track of daily regu-
larity. At a given moment both men and parties must have
the courage to shoulder heavy responsibility and to adopt
a daring policy. They may succeed; they may fail. But
there are also unsuccessful attempts that suffice to ennoble
and uplift for all time the soul of a movement such as
Italian Fascismo.

The Question of Régime. The Monarchy and Fascismo.
I had intended to repeat this speech at Naples, but I think
that I shall have other things to deal with there. Do not
let us delay, therefore, about entering on the delicate subject
of régime.

Many of the controversies which were raised by the
question of the nature of my tendencies are forgotten, and
everybody is convinced that they were not formed suddenly,
but represented a settled idea. It is always like that.
Certain attitudes appear improvised to the general public,
which is neither fitted nor obliged to follow the slow changes
which take place in a restless spirit desirous of making
a profound examination of certain problems. But there
is inward pain and toil, which is sometimes tragic. You
must not think that the heads of Fascismo do not know
what this individual, and above all national, travail is.

The much-talked-of republican tendency had to be a kind
of attempt at separation from the many elements which had
come to us simply because we had won. These elements
do not please us. These people who always side with the
victor, and who are ready to change their flag with a change
of fortune, must be looked upon with suspicion and carefully
watched by the Fascisti. Is it possible—here is the question
—to bring about a profound transformation in our political
régime and to create a new Italy without touching the
monarchic system? What is the general attitude of the

THE FASCISTA 153

Fascisti as regards political institutions? Our attitude does
not commit us in any sense. In truth, perfect régimes
are only to be found in books of philosophy. I think that
it would have been disastrous for the Greek city if the
theories of Plato had been literally applied. A people
content under a republic never dreams of having a king.
A people not accustomed to a republic longs to return
to a monarchy.

It was in vain that the Germans tried to make the
Phrygian cap fit their square heads. The Germans hate a
republic, and the fact that it was imposed by the Entente
and that it has been a kind of ersatz, is another reason for
their hating it. So that, generally speaking, political forms
cannot be approved of or condemned for ever, but must
be examined from the point of view of their direct rela-
tion with the mentality, the economic condition and the
spiritual force of any particular people. (A voice cries:
“Long live Mazzini!’’)

Now, I think that the régime can be largely modified
without interfering with the monarchy. In reality—and
I refer to the cry of my friend—the same Mazzini, re-
publican and advocate of republicanism, did not consider
his doctrines incompatible with the monarchic aspect
of Italian unity. He resigned himself to it and accepted
it. It was not his ideal, but the ideal cannot always
be realised.

We shall, then, leave the monarchic institution outside
our field of action, which will have other great objects,
because we think that a great part of Italy would regard
with suspicion a change in the régime which was carried
thus far. We should have regional separatism, perhaps,
because it is always so. To-day there are many indifferent
to the monarchy who to-morrow would be its supporters,
and who would find highly respectable and sentimental

154 THE FASCISTA

reasons for attacking Fascismo, if it had dared to aim
at this target.

I do not think that the monarchy has really any object
in opposing what must now be called the Fascista revolu-
tion. It is not in its interests, because by doing so it
would immediately make itself an object of attack, in
which case we could not spare it, because it would be a
question of life or death for us.

Those who sympathise with us must not withdraw into
the shade; they must stay in the light. They must have
the courage to remain monarchists. The monarchy would
represent the historical continuity of the nation; a splendid
task and one of incalculable importance.

On the other hand, the Fascista revolution must also
avoid risking everything. Some firm ground must be lett,
so that the people shall not feel that everything is falling
to pieces, that everything must be begun again, because
in that case the first wave of enthusiasm would be followed
by a wave of panic. Now everything is very plain. The
social-democratic superstructure must be destroyed.

The State we want. We must have a State which will
simply say: ‘‘ The State does not represent a party, it repre-
sents the nation as a whole, it includes all, is over all, protects
all, and fights any attempt made against her inviolable
sovereignty.”

This is the State which must arise from the Italy of Vit-
torio Veneto. A State which does not acknowledge that the
strongest power is right; which is not like the Liberal State,
which, after fifty years of life, was unable to install a tem-
porary printing press so as to issue its paper when there
was a general strike of printers; a State which does not fall
under the power of the Socialists; which does not think
that problems can be settled only from the political point
of view, as machine-guns do not suffice if there is not the

THE FASCISTA 158

spirit behind to keep them going. The whole armoury of the
State falls to pieces like the old scenery in an operatic theatre
when it is not inspired by the most deep-rooted sense of
the necessity of the fulfilment of duty—nay, of a mission.

That is why we want to remove from the State all its
economic attributes. We have had enough of the State
railwayman, the State postman and the State insurance
official. We have had enough of the State administration at
the expense of Italian tax-payers, which has done nothing
but aggravate the exhausted financial condition of the
country. It still controls the police, who protect honest
men from the attacks of thieves, the masters responsible
for the education of the rising generations, the army
which must guarantee the inviolability of the country
and our foreign policy.

It must not be said that the State thus shorn will re-
main very small. No! It will remain very great, because
it will still have all the spiritual dominion, having given
up only material power.

Citizens, I have placed my ideas before you as a whole,
it is enough, to my mind, for you to individualise them.

To Friends and Enemies. If this mentality of ours was
not sufficient, there are our methods, there is our daily
activity, which we do not mean to give up, though
watching at the same time that it is not carried to ex-
tremes, that it does not over-reach itself and so harm
Fascismo. But when I say these words, I say them with
intention, because if Fascismo was a movement like all the
rest, the attitude of the individual or of the group would
have a relative importance. But blood has been shed for
our movement, and this must be remembered when there
are attempts at autonomy and lack of discipline. The
recent dead must be thought of before all things. It must

156 THE FASCISTA

be remembered that such autonomy and lack of discipline
serve to arouse the miserable instincts of the Socialists,
who, though subdued, still secretly hatch plots for revenge,
a revenge which we shall prevent by collective action and
the avoidance of bloodshed.

After all, the Romans were really right; if you want peace
you must show yourself prepared for war. Those who are
not prepared for war do not have peace, and are defeated
into the bargain. So we say to all our enemies: “It is not
enough for you to go planting the tricolour all over the
place. We wish to see you put to the proof. You will
have for a little while to undergo a sort of spiritual and
political quarantine. Your leaders, who might again
infect us, must be sent where they can do no harm.”
Only by thus avoiding the lure of the mistaken idea
of quantity shall we succeed in saving the quality and
the spirit of our movement, which is no ephemeral one,
since it has already lasted four years, equal in this tem-
pestuous century to forty. Our movement is still in
its prehistoric period and in process of formation; its real
history begins to-morrow. All that Fascismo has accom-
plished thus far has been negative. Now it must begin
to reconstruct. In this way its force, its spirit and its
nobility will appear.

Friends, I am sure that the Fascisti officers will do their
duty. I am sure, too, that the men will do theirs. Before
proceeding to the great task we must make an inexorable
selection from the rank and file. We cannot carry useless
impedimenta; we are an army of velites, with a rearguard of
solid territorials. We do not wish to have untrustworthy
elements amongst us.

I salute Udine, this dear old Udine to which I am bound
by so many memories. Many generations of Italians who
were the flower of our race have passed by its broad ways.

THE FASCISTA 157

Many of its young men now sleep their last sleep in the
little isolated cemeteries of the Alps or beside the Isonzo,
now once again the sacred river of Italy.

Men of Udine! Fascisti! Italians! Take upon yourselves
the spirit of these our unforgettable dead and make of it
the burning emblem of our immortal country! (Loud
applause.)

158 THE FASCISTA

“THE PIAVE AND VITTORIO VENETO MARK THE
BEGINNING OF NEW ITALY”

Speech delivered at Cremona, 25th September 1922.

Before forty thousand contadini set free from the Social-Clerical
yoke, who march past in military order in closely-following
battalions, the leader’s eloquence is roused and elated, so that one
seems to hear the very sound of joy bells ringing in his speech.

Fascistr and working men of Cremona and the pro-
vinces! As so often happens, reality has surpassed the most
brilliant expectations. Your meeting, Fascisti of Cremona,
is the most impressive that I have yet attended. I have
come among you to tell you how completely I am with
you, from your fine leader Roberto Farinacci to the last
man in your ranks. (Prolonged applause.)

Here in times long past great ideas were conceived.
This was the birthplace of Democracy, which had a period
of glory before it became crippled and enfeebled by the
influence of Socialism. And in spite of the profound differ-
ences of opinion which divided us after the war, I must call
to remembrance another noble figure of your fruitful land—I
speak of Leonida Bissolati. (Frantic applause.)

Those who, as the result of being led into false ideas by
incorrect information, talk about agrarian slavery, ought to
come here and see with their own eyes this crowd of genuine
workers, people with shoulders broad enough and arms
strong enough to bear the weight of the increasing fortunes
of the nation. (Applause.)

Only the rabble could accuse us of being the enemies of
the people, for we are the sons of the people; we have

THE FASCISTA 159

known what manual labour is; we have always lived
among the working classes, who are infinitely superior to
the false prophets who pretend to represent them. (Unani-
mous and prolonged applause.) But just because we are
the sons of the people, we do not wish to deceive them,
we do not wish to mystify them or promise them the
unattainable, although we solemnly and formally pledge
ourselves to protect them and to vindicate their just
rights and their legitimate interests.

As I watched your procession passing—disciplined,
ardent and exulting—as I watched the little Balillas, who
represent the still immature spring of life, followed by the
squadrons in the full flush of youth, and finally the men in
the vigour of manhood and even old men, I said to myself
that the series was complete since all phases of life, from
the first to the last, were represented.

Fascisti! Great tasks await us. That which we have ac-
complished is nothing compared to that which awaits us.
There is already a strong and manifest contrast between
the Italy of the cowardly politicians and the vigorous healthy
Italy which is preparing to give the death-blow to all in-
efficiency and egoism and to clear away the infected strata
of the Italian community. (Loud applause, and cries of
“Rome! Rome!”’)

Our adversaries must not delude themselves. They
thought in the unfortunate year of 1919, when we here in
Cremona and all over Italy were no more than a handful
of men, that Fascismo would only be a passing phenomenon.
Fascismo has now been alive four years, and it has tasks
enough to fill a century. Nor must our enemies deceive
themselves by thinking that they can break up our organisa-
tion, because we intend to make it more compact, more
solid, better equipped against all emergencies; since, my
friends, if a decisive blow is necessary, every man from

160 THE FASCISTA

the first to the last will do his exact duty. In a word, we
want Italy to become Fascista. (Clamorous applause.)

That is simple and clear. We want Italy to become
Fascista, because we are tired of seeing her governed by
men whose principles are continually wavering between
indifference and cowardice. And, above all, we are tired of
seeing her looked upon abroad as a negligible quantity.

What is that feeling which stirs you when you hear the
song of the Piave? It is that the Piave does not mark an
end, it marks a beginning. (Hear, hear!) It is from the
Piave, it is from Vittorio Veneto, it is from our victory—
even if it was mutilated by a mistaken diplomacy—that
our standards move on!

It was on the banks of the Piave that the march was
begun that cannot stop until Rome is reached. (Enthusi-
astic applause.) And there are no obstacles, either of men or
things, that can prevent us from arriving there.

I wish to thank you, Fascisti of Cremona and people of
this city, for your reception. I know and like to think that
it is not to me personally that you pay this honour, but to
the ideal, our cause, which has been sanctified by so much
blood shed by the flower of Italian youth. And embracing
my old friend Farinacci I mean to embrace all the Fascisti
of Cremona, to the cry of Long live Italy! Long live
Fascismo! (Enthusiastic applause.)

LHE FASCISTA 161

THE FASCISTA DAWNING OF NEW ITALY

Speech delivered at Milan at the “Sciesa” on 6th October 1922,

At the seat of the local Fascista group “Antonio Sciesa,”
Mussolini pays his tribute to the memory of her two dead who fell,
as Garibaldi fell, during the days of August, and then devotes
himself to the analysis of a well-matured plan, strategic and tactical,
for the coming battle.

I AGREED to come and speak to the “‘Sciesa” group this
evening for three reasons—first sentimental, second per-
sonal, and third political. For the sentimental reason,
because I wished to pay the tribute of my admiration and
profound devotion to our unforgettable and magnificent
fallen—Melloni, Tonoli and Crespi; the first two of your
squad and the last of the “Sauro.’’ I remember them
perfectly. Then I agreed also because of the way in which
this group has interpreted this meeting. Lastly, in view of
the general attitude of suspense all over Italy at this
moment, I did not wish to let the opportunity slip for
defining certain points, a definition which is necessary in
these difficult times through which we are passing.

You feel, to judge from your silent and austere bearing, that
if the flesh is corruptible, the spirit is immortal. You feel
that here in this little hall this evening the spirits of our fallen
are still with us. We feel their presence, because the soul
cannot die, and they fell in the most heroic action yet
accomplished by Fascismo in the four years of its history.
Many times when the Fascisti have gone forth to destroy with
fire and sword the haunts of the cowardly Social-Communist
delinquents, they have only seen the backs of the flying
enemy, but the members of the ‘“‘Sciesa” squad and the
two fallen, whom we remember, and all the squadrons of
the Milanese Fascio, went to the assault of the offices of the

L

162 THE FASCISTA

Avanti as they would have attacked an Austrian trench.
They had to scale the walls, break through barbed wire,
burst open doors and face the leaden hail which the enemy
poured forth from their weapons. This is heroism. This
is violence. This is the violence of which I approve and
which I uphold, and which Fascismo—and I speak to the
Fascisti of all Italy—ought to make hers. Not little, in-
dividual, sporadic acts of violence, but the great, wonderful,
relentless violence of the decisive hour. It is necessary,
when the moment comes, to strike with the utmost decision
and without pity. You must not think that I wish to hide
the very strong sympathy I have for the Milanese Fascio,
because my love, above all, is for the cause. When a cause
has been sanctified by so much pure young blood, it must
not, at any cost, become defiled in any way. Our friends
have been heroes, their action has been that of warriors,
their violence saintly and moral. We exalt them, we re-
member them, and we will avenge them. We cannot
accept the humanitarian, Tolstoyan moral standard, the
moral standard of slavery. In times of war we adopt the
formula of Socrates: ‘“‘Overcome friends with kindness,
overcome enemies with evil.”

Nation and State. Our line of conduct is perfectly correct.
Those who do good to us will have good; those who do ill,
ill. Our enemies cannot complain, if being such, they are
treated hardly, as enemies must be treated. We are in an
historical period of crisis which every day becomes more
acute. The general strike, which was averted by the
sacrifice of blood of the Fascisti, was an episode in this
crisis. Dissension lies between the State and the nation.
Italy is not a State, she is a nation, because from the Alps
to Sicily there is the fundamental unity of our race, our
customs, our language and our religion. The war fought

THE FASCISTA 163

from 1915 to 1918 consecrates this unity, and if this is enough
to characterise the nation, the Italian nation exists, full of
power and resource and impelled towards a glorious destiny.

But the nation must create for itself the State. And there
isno State. To-day the paper which represents Liberalism
in Italy, the paper with the largest circulation—and which,
for this reason, by upholding absurd arguments has done
a great deal of harm at times—stated that there are two
Governments in Italy, and if there are two, there is one
too many. There is the Liberal Government and the Fas-
cista Government; the State of to-day and the State of
to-morrow. ‘‘Wanted, a Government,” said the Corriere
della Sera. We agree, a Government is wanted.

The Lesson of Two Episodes. Two occurrences during
these last days—one characteristic of our activity in the
cause of humanity, the other of our activity in the cause
of national rights—have proved the superiority of the
Fascista over the Liberal State, and have shown that
Fascismo is capable and worthy to succeed that State.

At San Terenzo of Spezia, if all the dead were buried and
the wounded taken to the hospital, if the country was
cleared of débris, and the furniture and belongings safe-
guarded from the base attempts of human jackals, if the
soldiers had their supplies in good time, it was by the
activity of the Fascista State. And the mayor of Lerici—
who is not a Fascista—telegraphed his great gratitude,
not to the Prime Minister, but to us, as you learnt in the
Popolo d'Italia.

This is a question of mercy, humanity and national
solidarity. Let us transfer our attention to Bolzano. Here
it is a question of our rights and the Italian law. Who
stood up for those rights and imposed the Italian nationality
in a city which ought to be Italian? Fascismo. Who

164 THE FASCISTA

banished Perathoner who for five years held in check five
Italian Ministers? Fascismo. It has been Fascismo that
has given a school and a church to the Italians in the
Upper Adige and inspired them with the sense of their own
dignity. Who placed the bust of the king in the Council
Hall? The Fascisti. The Germans are astonished at seeing
before them all these young Fascisti, splendid physically
and morally. Inhabiting as they do without right our
Italian soil, they seem to wonder: “What Italy is this?”
And we answer: ‘By the action of the defeatist ministers
and as a result of the unfortunate peace, you Germans are
accustomed to the Italy of Abba Garima; now you must
accustom yourselves to the Italy of Vittorio Veneto, which
has force and energy, and which says: ‘We are at the
Brenner, and there we mean to stay! We do not wish to
go to Innsbruck, but do not imagine that Germany and
Austria can ever return to Bolzano! ’”

This is the Fascista State which reveals itself to Italian
eyes in two typical moments of everyday history, the
disaster of San Terenzo and the occupation of Bolzano.

For the Italy of To-morrow. The citizens wonder which
State will end by dictating its law upon the nation.
We have no hesitation in answering that it will be the
Fascista State. The Corriere della Sera says that something
must be done quickly, and we agree. A nation cannot live
nursing in its bosom two States, two Governments, one in
action and the other in power. But what is the way to give
the nation a Government? I say Government, because
when we say State we mean something more. We mean
the spirit and not merely the inert and transitory form.
There are two ways, gentlemen. If the whole of Rome was
not suffering from softening of the brain, they would sum-
mon Parliament at the beginning of November, and having

THE FASCISTA 165

passed the Bill for Electoral Reform, make an appeal to the
electors in December. Because the crisis for which the
Corriere asks could not alter the situation. Thirty crises in
the Italian Parliament as it is to-day would mean thirty
reincarnations of Signor Facta. If the Government does
not follow this path, gentlemen, we shall be obliged to take
the other. You see our tactics are now clear. When it is
a question of assaulting the State it is no longer possible
to have recourse to little plots, of which the “to be or
not to be” remains a secret to the last. We must give
orders to hundreds and thousands of men, and it would
be merely absurd to try to keep it secret. We play an open
game. We leave our cards on the table until it is necessary
to lift them; and we say: “There is an Italy which you
Liberal leaders no longer understand. You do not under-
stand it because your mind works on old-fashioned lines,
you do not understand it because Parliamentary policy
has killed your spirit. The Italy which has come from
the trenches is strong, and full of life.’’

Fascismo, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. It is an
Italy which deserves to begin a new period of history.
There exists, therefore, a dramatic contrast between the
Italy of yesterday and our Italy. The conflict appears
inevitable. It is a question now of developing our forces,
summoning all our energies and strength, so that the conflict
shall end in victory for us—and, as a matter of fact, upon
that score there can be no doubt.

Now the Liberal State is a mask behind which there is
no face, it is a scaffolding behind which there is no building.
There is force but there is no spirit behind them. All those
who ought to uphold it feel that it is approaching the extreme
limits of incompetence, impotence and absurdity.

On the other hand, as I said at Udine, we do not wish to

166 THE FASCISTA

stake everything on the game, because we do not present
ourselves as the saviours of humanity, nor do we promise
anything special to the people. We may even impose
greater discipline and more sacrifices upon them. And we
shall make no difference between the proletariat and the
bourgeoisie, because there is an infected proletariat just
as there is a bourgeoisie still more infected. There is a
part of the proletariat that must be chastised in order that
it may be redeemed afterwards, and there is a part of the
middle class which detests us and tries to throw our lines
into confusion, which finances anti-Fascista slander, which
has hitherto ignobly courted the anti-national forces, and
for which I do not feel one ounce of pity. We are sur-
rounded by enemies, and those who are our open foes, and
who belong to the Bolshevist parties, have now perfected
themselves in the art of ambush and assassination.

A Warning! But there are other insidious enemies who
try to harm Fascismo under cover of the tricolour and other
similar emblems, who try to insinuate themselves into our
movement and to create simulacra of organisations in
order to weaken us just at the time when it is most neces-
sary for us to remain united. Now I must say that if we do
not have mercy upon those who attack us from behind
hedges, neither shall we have mercy upon those who attack
us thus insidiously. When the clock of history strikes the
hours, we must speak as the peasants do, simply, sincerely
and loyally.

We have no great obstacles to overcome, as the nation
is waiting for us, the nation hopes in us and feels itself
represented in us. Certainly we cannot promise to plant
the tree of liberty in the squares. We cannot give liberty
to those who would profit by it to assassinate us. The
shortsightedness of the Free State lies in this, that it gives

THE FASCISTA 167

freedom to all, including those who use this freedom to over-
throw it. We shall not give this universal liberty, not even
if it assumes the garb of immortal principles. Finally, it
is not electoral subterfuges which divide us from Democracy.
If people wish to vote, let them vote. Let us all vote until we
are sick of it! Nobody wants to suppress universal suffrage.

Policy needed. But we shall carry out a severe and re-
actionary policy; we are not afraid of doing so. If the re-
presentative organs of Democracy say that we are reactionary
it does not offend us, because what distinguishes us from the
Democrats is mentality and spirit. History does not follow
a given itinerary; it is made up of contrasts and all kinds
of vicissitudes, there are no centuries which are all light
and no centuries which are all darkness. It is not possible
to transport Fascismo out of Italy, as Bolshevism has been
transported out of Russia.

The Italians can be divided into three categories: the
indifferent, who will stay at home; the sympathetic, who will
have freedom of movement; and the antagonistic, who will
have their freedom restricted. We shall make no promises.
We shall not give ourselves out as missionaries who bring
the revealed truth. ;

But I do not think that our enemies will place serious
obstacles in our way. Bolshevism is defeated. Look at the
Congress of Rome. What a pitiful sight! When the leader
of a congress behaves like the lawyer of Busto, then you
understand that we are upon the bottom rung of the ladder.
There was one Socialism, to-day there are four, and there
is a tendency towards further divisions. And not only this,
but each of these divisions claims to represent the authentic
party. It is no wonder that the proletariat scatters, dis-
couraged and disgusted by the attitude of Socialism. As
I have already said, the day of Socialism is not only past

168 THE FASCISTA

as a party, its philosophies and doctrines no longer stand.
The Italians and the Western peoples in general must burst
with logical criticism the grotesque bubble of international
Socialism. Perhaps, looking at things from an historical
point of view, it is a struggle between the East and the West,
between the chaotic, fatalistic East (look at Russia) and us,
we people of the West, who cannot be carried away by
flights of metaphysics and require hard concrete realities.
Let us flee from Imitations. Italians cannot be mystified
for long by Asiatic doctrines, which are absurd and criminal
in their practical application. This is the essence of Italian
Fascismo, which represents a reaction against the Democrats
who would have made everything mediocre and uniform and
tried every way to conceal and to render transitory the
authority of the State, from the supreme head to the last
usher in the law courts; consequently everybody from the
King to the lowest official has suffered from this false con-
ception of life. Democracy thought to make itself indis-
pensable to the masses, and did not understand that the
masses despise those who have not the courage to be what
they ought to be. Democracy has taken ‘‘ elegance ” from
the lives of the people, but Fascismo brings it back;
that is to say, it brings back colour, force, picturesqueness,
the unexpected, mysticism, and in fact all that counts in
the souls of the multitude. We play upon every cord of the
lyre, from violence to religion, from art to politics. We are
politicians and we are warriors. We are syndicalists and we
also fight battles in the streets and the squares. That is
Fascismo as it was conceived at Milan, and as it was and is
realised. And, my friends, we must maintain this privilege,
and Fascismo must be kept up to this level of strength and
wisdom. We must not abandon ourselves to imitations,
because that which is possible in a particular agricultural
region in a given time and place is not possible here in Milan.

THE \FASCISTA 169

Here the situation has been dominated more by the spon-
taneous maturing of events than by men’s violence or by
circumstances. Here our domination becomes more and
more decided.

But, my friends, we must prepare ourselves with hearts
free from preoccupation for the tasks which await us. To-
morrow it is probable, almost certain, that the formidable
burden of the direction of a modern State will be on our
shoulders. And it will be on the shoulders not only of a few
men, it will be on the shoulders of the whole of Fascismo.

Towards a more Glorious Destiny. And millions of eyes,
many of them malicious, and millions of men, many of them
beyond our frontiers, will be looking at us. They will want
to see how we are organised, how justice is administered
in the Fascista State, how honest people are protected, how
we deal with the problems of the school and the army.
And the wrong-doing of any man, his error and his shame
will react upon the whole organisation of the State and of
necessity upon Fascismo. Have you, my friends, realised
how formidable is the task which awaits you? Are you
spiritually prepared for it? Do you think that enthusiasm
alone is enough ?>—because it is not enough. It is necessary,
because it is a primitive and fundamental force in human
nature, it is impossible to do anything not inspired by
intense passion or religious mysticism; but that is not
enough. Together with these must work the reasoning forces
of the brain. I think that in the case of a general crisis
Fascismo would have all that was necessary to impose
itself and to govern, not according to the ideas of dema-
gogism, but according to the ideas of justice. And then,
by ruling the nation well, by leading her towards a more
glorious destiny, by conciliating the interests of all classes
without increasing the hatred of one and the selfishness

170 THE FASCISTA

of another, by uniting the Italian people to face the world-
task, by fulfilling with patience this hard and cyclopean task,
we shall inaugurate, thus, a really great period in Italian his-
tory. Thus will our dead be made immortal and their names
written in the gold book of the Fascista aristocracy. We
shall point them out to the rising generation, to the children
who are growing up and who represent the eternal spring
of life. We shall say: ‘Great was the effort and hard the
sacrifice, and pure was the blood that was shed; and it
was not shed to safeguard the interests of individuals,
class or caste, it was not shed in the name of materialism,
it was shed in the name of an ideal, of all that is most noble,
beautiful and generous in the human soul.’”” With the
example of our dead before you, I ask you to remember
to be worthy of their sacrifice and to examine daily
your own activity. Friends, I have faith in you. You
have faith in me. In this mutual trust is the guarantee
and certainty of our victory. Long live Italy! Long
live Fascismo! Honour and glory to the martyrs of our
cause! (Loud applause.) :

THE FASCISTA 171

“THE MOMENT HAS ARRIVED WHEN THE ARROW
MUST LEAVE THE BOW OR THE CORD WILL
BREAK! ”

Speech delivered at Naples, 26th October 1922.

At this, the final stage of the pilgrimage of the ever-swelling
ranks of Italian youth, where the first trench is dug in preparation
for the imminent assault of the “black shirts,’’? Mussolini in the
morning, as politician, hurls his vehement reproach against “the
three black souls,’’ the ministerial exponents of anti-Fascista reaction.
In the afternoon he shows himself in the guise of a warrior, and,
wearing the colours of Rome on his breast, contemplates thought-
fully his fifty thousand faithful crusaders in Piazza Plebiscito, who
shout with one insistent voice, “To Rome! To Rome!”

FAscisTI and citizens! It may be, or rather it is almost
certain, that my eloquence will disappoint you, accus-
tomed as you are to the impetuosity and rich imagery of
your own orators. But since I realise my incapacity for
rhetoric, I have decided to limit myself, when speaking,
to plain necessity.

We have gathered together here at Naples from every part
of Italy to perform an act of brotherhood and love. We
have with us our brothers from the borderland of betrayed
Dalmatia, men who do not mean to yield. (Applause, and
cries of “Long live Italian Dalmatia!”’) There are also
the Fascisti from Trieste, Istria and Venezia Tridentina,
Fascisti from all parts of Northern Italy, even from the
islands, from Sicily and Sardinia, all come together to affirm
quietly and positively the indestructibility of our united
faith, which means to oppose strongly every more or less
masked attempt at autonomy or separatism.

Four years ago the Italian infantry, made great through
twenty years of work and hardship, the Italian infantry in

172 THE FASCISTA

which the sons of your country were so largely represented,
burst from the Piave and, having defeated the Austrians,
surged on towards the Isonzo, and only the foolish demo-
cratic conception of the war prevented our victorious
battalions from marching through the streets of Vienna and
the highways of Budapest. (Applause.)

From Rome to Naples. A year ago at Rome, at one time,
we found ourselves surrounded by a secret hostility, which
had its origin in the misunderstandings and infamies char-
acteristic of the uncertain political world of the capital.
(Hear, hear!) We have not forgotten all this.

To-day we are happy that all Naples—this city which I
call the big safety-reserve of the nation—(Applause.)—
welcomes us with a sincere and frank enthusiasm, which
does our hearts good, both as men and Italians. For this
reason I request that not the smallest incident of any kind
shall disturb this meeting, for that would be a mistake,
and a foolish one. J demand also, as soon as the meeting
is over, that every Fascista not belonging to Naples shall
leave the town immediately.

All Italy is watching this meeting, because—and let me
say this without false modesty—there is not a post-war
phenomenon of greater interest and originality in Europe
or the world than Italian Fascismo.

You certainly cannot expect from me what is usually
called a big speech. I made one at Udine, another at
Cremona, a third at Milan, and I am almost ashamed to
speak again. But in view of the extremely grave situation
in which we find ourselves to-day, I consider this an appro-
priate opportunity to establish the different points of the
problem in order that individual responsibilities may be
settled. The moment has arrived, in fact, when the arrow
must leave the bow, or the cord, too far stretched, will
break. (Applause.)

THE FASCISTA 173

The Solving of the Problem. You remember that my friend
Lupi and I placed before the Chamber the alternatives of
this dilemma, which is not only Fascista but also national;
that is to say, legality or illegality; Parliamentary con-
quest or revolution. By which means is Fascismo to become
the State? For we wish to become the State! Well! By
3rd October I had already settled the question.

When I ask for the elections, when I ask that they shall
take place soon, and be regulated by a reformed electoral
law, it is clear to everyone that I have chosen my
path. The very urgency of my request shows that the
tension of my spirit has arrived at breaking point. To
have, or not to have, understood this means to hold, or
not to hold, the key to the solution of the whole Italian
political crisis.

The request came from me; but it also came from a party
consisting of a formidably organised mass, which includes
the rising generations in Italy and all the best, physically
and morally, of the youth of the country; and from a party,
too, which had a tremendous following among the vague
and unstable public.

But, gentlemen, there is more. This request was made
upon the morrow of the incidents of Bolzano and Trento,
which had made plain to all eyes the complete paralysis of
the Italian State, and revealed, at the same time, the no less
complete efficiency of the Fascista State.

Well! In spite of all this, the inadequate Government
at Rome puts the question on the footing of public safety
and public order!

What we have asked the Government. The whole question
has been approached in a fatally mistaken manner. Polli-
ticians ask what we want. We are not people who beat about
the bush. We speak clearly. We do good to those who do

174 THE FASCISTA

good to us, and evil to those who do evil. What do we want,
Fascisti? We have answered quite simply: the dissolution
of the present Chamber, electoral reform, and elections
within a short time from now. We have demanded that the
State shall abandon the ridiculous neutral position that it
occupies between the national and the anti-national forces.
We have asked for severe financial measures and the post-
ponement of the evacuation of the third Dalmatic zone; we
have asked for five portfolios as well as for the Commission
of Aviation. We have, in fact, asked for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the War Office, the Admiralty, the Ministries
of Labour and of Public Works. I am sure none of you will
find our requests excessive. But to complete the picture,
I will add that I shall not take part with the Government
in this legal solution of the problem, and the reason is obvious
when you remember that to keep Fascismo still under my
control I must of necessity have an unrestricted sphere of
action both for journalistic and polemic purposes.

A Ridiculous Answer. And what has been the Govern-
ment’s reply? Nothing! No; worse than that, it has given
a ridiculous answer. In spite of everything, not one of the
politicians has known how to pass the threshold of Monte-
citrio in order to look the problem of the country in the
face. A miserable calculation of our strength has been made;
there has been talk of Ministers without portfolios, as if
this, after the more or less miserable experiences of the war,
was not the culmination of human and political absurdity.
There has been talk of sub-portfolios, too; but that is simply
laughable! We Fascisti do not intend to arrive at govern-
ment by the window; we do not intend to give up this
magnificent spiritual birthright for a miserable mess of
ministerial pottage. (Loud and prolonged applause.) Be-
cause we have what might be called the historical vision

THE FASCISTA 175

of the question as opposed to the merely political and
Parliamentary view.

It is not a question of patching together a Government
with a certain amount of life, but of including in the Liberal
State—which has accomplished a considerable task which
we shall not forget—all the forces of the rising generation
of Italians which issued victorious from the war. This is
essential to the welfare of the State, and not of the State
only, but to the history of the nation. And then.. .?

A Question of Strength. Then, gentlemen, the question,
not being understood within its historical limits, asserts
itself and becomes a question of strength. As a matter of
fact, at turning-points of history force always decides
when it is a question of opposing interests and ideas. This
is why we have gathered, firmly organised and strongly
disciplined our legions, because thus, if the question must
be settled by a recourse to force, we shall win. We are
worthy of it. It is the right and duty of the Italian people
to liberate their political and spiritual life from the parasitic
incrustation of the past, which cannot be prolonged in-
definitely in the present, as it would mean the death of the
future. (Applause.)

It is then quite natural that the Government at Rome
should try to divert and counteract the movement; that it
should try to break up the Fascista organisation, and to
surround us with problems.

These problems have the names of the Monarchy, the
Army and Pacification.

The Acceptance of the Monarchy. I have already said
that the discussion, abstract or concrete, of the good and
evil of the monarchy as an institution is perfectly absurd.
Every people in every epoch of history, given the time,
place and conditions necessary, has had its régime. There
is no doubt that the unity of Italy is soundly based upon the

176 THE FASCISTA

House of Savoy. (Loud applause.) There is equally no
doubt that the Italian Monarchy, both by reason of its
origin, development and history, cannot put itself in
opposition to the new national forces. It did not manifest
any opposition upon the occasion of the concession of the
Charter, nor when the Italian people—who, even if they were
a minority, were a determined and intelligent minority—
asked and obtained their country’s participation in the war.
Would it then have reason to be in opposition to-day,
when Fascismo does not intend to attack the régime, but
rather to free it from all those superstructures that over-
shadow its historical position and limit the expansion of
our national spirit? Our enemies in vain try to keep this
alleged misunderstanding alive.

Fascismo and Democracy. The Parliament, gentlemen,
and all the paraphernalia of Democracy have nothing in
common with the monarchy. Not only this, but neither do
we want to take away the people’s toy—the Parliament.
We say ‘‘toy’”’ because a great part of the people seem to
think of it in this way. Can you tell me else why, out of
eleven millions of voters, six millions do not trouble them-
selves to vote? It might be, however, that if to-morrow
you took their “toy” away from them, they would be
aggrieved. But we will not take it away. After all, it is
our mentality and our methods that distinguish us from
Democracy. Democracy thinks that principles are un-
changeable when they can be applied at any time or in any
place and situation.

We do not believe that history repeats itself, that it
follows a given path; that after Democracy must come
super-Democracy. If Democracy had its uses and served
the nation in the nineteenth century, it may be that some
other political form would be best for the welfare of the

THE FASCISTA 177

nation in the twentieth. (Well said!) So that not even
fear of our anti-Democratic policy can influence the decision
in favour of that continuity of which I spoke just now.

The Army. As regards the other institution in which the
régime is personified—the army—the army knows that
when the Ministry advised the officers to go about in civilian
clothes to escape attack, we, then a mere handful of
bold spirits, forbade it. (Prolonged applause.) We have
created our ideal. It is faith and ardent love. It is not
necessary for it to be brought into the sphere of reality.
It is reality in so far as it is a stimulus for faith, hope and
courage. Our ideal is the nation. Our ideal is the greatness
of the nation, and we subordinate all the rest to this.

For us the nation has a soul and does not consist only in
so much territory. There are nations that have had immense
possessions and have left no traces in the history of
humanity in spite of them. It is not only size that counts,
because, on the other hand, there have been tiny, micro-
scopic States that have left indelible marks in the history
of art and philosophy. The greatness of a nation lies in the
aggregation of all these virtues and all these conditions.
A nation is great when its spiritual force is transferred into
reality. Rome was great when, from her small rural de-
mocracy, little by little, her influence spread over the whole
of Italy. Then she met the warriors of Carthage and fought
them. It was one of the first wars in history. Then, bit by
bit, she extended the dominion of the Eagle to the further-
most boundaries of the known world, but still, as ever, the
Roman Empire is a creation of the spirit, as it was the spirit
which first inspired the Roman legions to fight. (Applause.)

Our Syndicalism. What we want now is the greatness of
the nation, both materially and spiritually. That is why
we have become syndicalist, and not because we think

M

178 THE FASCISTA

that the masses by reason of their number can create in
history something which will last. These myths of the lower
kind of Socialist literature we reject. But the working
people form a part of the nation; and they are a great part
of the nation, necessary to its existence both in peace and
in war. They neither can nor ought to be repulsed. They
can and must be educated and their legitimate interests
protected. (Applause.) We ask them: “Do you wish this
state of civil war to continue to disturb the country?” No!
For we are the first to suffer from the ceaseless Sunday
wrangling with its list of dead and wounded. I was the
first to try to bridge over the gap which exists between
us and what is called the Italian Bolshevist world.

How Peace can be obtained. To prove this, I have just
recently signed an agreement most gladly; in the first
place because it was Gabriele d’Annunzio who asked me
to, and in the second place because it was, as I thought,
another step towards a national peace.

But we are no hysterical women who continually worry
themselves by thinking of what might happen. We have
not the catastrophic, apocalyptic view of history. The
financial problem which is so much talked about is a question
of will-power. Millions and millions would be saved if there
were men in the Government who had the courage to say
“No” to the different requests. But until the financial
question is brought on to a political basis it will not
be solved. We are all for pacification, and we should
like to see all Italians find the common ground upon
which it is possible for them to live together in a civilised
way. But, on the other hand, we cannot give up our
rights and the interests and the future of the nation for
the sake of measures of pacification that we propose with
loyalty but which are not accepted in the same spirit by

THE FASCISTA 179

the other side. We are at peace with those who ask for
peace, but for those who ensnare us and, above all, ensnare
the nation, there can be no peace until after victory.

A Hymn to the Queen of the Mediterranean. And now, .
Fascisti and citizens of Naples, I thank you for the attention
with which you have listened to me.

Naples gives a fine display of strength, discipline and
austerity. It was a happy idea that led to our coming
here from all parts of Italy, that has allowed us to see you
as you are, to see your people who face the struggle for life
like Romans, and who, with the desire to rebuild their
lives and to gain wealth through hard work, carry ever in
their hearts the love of this their wonderful town, which is
destined to a great future, especially if Fascismo does not
deviate from its path.

Nor must the Democrats say that there is no need for
Fascismo here, as there has been no Bolshevism, for here
there are other political movements no less dangerous than
Bolshevism and no less likely to hinder the development
of the public conscience. ;

I already see the Naples of the future endowed with an
even greater splendour as the metropolis of the Mediter-
ranean; and I see it together with Bari (which in 1805 had
sixteen thousand inhabitants and now has one hundred
and fifty thousand) and Palermo forming a powerful tri-
angle. And I see Fascismo concentrating all these energies,
purifying certain circles, and removing certain members
of society, gathering others under its standards.

And now, members of the Fascio of all Italy, lift up your
flags and salute Naples, the capital of Southern Italy and the
Queen of the Mediterranean.

FART V.

MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA MEMBER
OF PARLIAMENT ”

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OF PARLIAMENT”

FASCISMO AND THE NEW PROVINCES

Speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.

Hon. Mussolini. I Am not displeased, gentlemen, to make
my speech from the benches of the Extreme Right, where
formerly no one dared to sit.

I may say at once, with the supreme contempt I have for
all nominalism, that I shall adopt a reactionary line through-
out my speech, which will be, I do not know how Parlia-
mentary in form, but anti-Socialist and anti-Democratic
in substance. (Approval.) In spite of this I am audacious
enough to affirm that I shall be listened to with advantage
by all sections of the Chamber. In the first place by the
Government, which will notice our position with regard to
it. In the second place by the Socialists, who, after seven
years of changing fortunes, see before them, in the proud
attitude of a heretic, the man they excommunicated from
their orthodox church. They will listen to me, too, because,
having held their fortunes in the palm of my hand for two
years, there may still be some secret longings for me in
the depths of their hearts!

I may also be listened to with interest by the Popular
Party and the other groups and sections. In fact, since I
hope to define some political aspects, and I may add some
historical ones, of this extremely powerful and complicated
movement Fascismo, perhaps what I have to say may have
political consequences worthy of note.

I beg you not to interrupt me, because I shall never
interrupt anybody, and I add that from this moment I

183

184 THE FASCISTA

shall make sparing use of my freedom of speech in this
Assembly.
And now to the argument.

Italophobia on the Upper Adige. In the speech from the
throne, the Hon. Giolitti made the Sovereign say that the
barrier of the Alps was entirely in our hands. I dispute
the geographical and political exactness of this statement.
We have not yet, at a few kilometres from Milan, the
barrier of the Alps as the defence of Lombardy and the
valley of the Po.

I am touching on a delicate subject, but it is well known,
both in this Chamber and elsewhere, that in the Canton
Ticino, which is being Germanised and bastardised, there
is springing up a nationalist vanguard whom the Fascisti
look on with favour.

What is the present Government doing to defend the
Alpine barrier of the Brenner and the Nevoso? Its policy,
as regards the Upper Adige, is simply lamentable and,
though its representatives would doubtless be extremely
capable of running a kindergarten, I absolutely deny that
they have the necessary qualifications for governing a
region where several languages are spoken and the rivalry
between the races is very bitter. The Governor of Venezia
Tridentina, for instance, has made a present of the con-
stituency of Gorizia to the Slovaks and of four German
deputies to the Italian Chamber; while the other belongs
to that category of more or less respectable people
who are slaves to one so-called immortal principle,
which consists in maintaining that there is only one
form of good government in the world, and that it is
applicable to all peoples, at all times, and in all quarters
of the globe.

Allow me to put before the Chamber the results of a few

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 185

personal enquiries I have made into the situation on the
Upper Adige.

The political anti-Italian movement on the Upper Adige
is monopolised by the Deutscher Verband, an offspring of
the Andreas Hoferbund, which has its centre at Munich,
and claims that the German frontier is not at the Pass of
Salorno but at the Bern Clause or Chiusa di Verona.

Now the representative of whom I have just spoken
is responsible for this German propaganda, because he has
written the preface to a book which states that the natural
boundaries of Germany are at the foot of the Alps towards
the valley of the Po. In the first days of the military occupa-
tion, immediately after the Armistice, this Italophobia was
not possible; but when, by a great misfortune, this governor
was appointed, the attitude of the people changed immedi-
ately and the submission previously shown was succeeded
by an insolent arrogance, which denied the Austrian
reverses and kept alive the desire for the return of the
Hapsburgs.

At the sample fair organised by the Chamber of Commerce
of Bolzano, a nest of Pangermanism, all Italian firms were
excluded, so much so that the invitations were issued in
German, and a Bavarian band played for the whole duration
of the fair!

I come now to the events of 24th April, when a Fascista
bomb, justly administered by way of reprisal, and for
which I take upon myself the moral responsibility—(Loud
applause and comments.)—marked the limit to which Fas-
cismo intended that the German movement should go.

The demonstration of 24th April in the Tyrol was only
a simultaneous manifestation to the plebiscite which had
been summoned that day beyond the Brenner, because the
Germans in the Upper Adige resort to these subtle tricks
of making the same manifestations under different guises.

186 THE FASCISTA

In this way, when they publicly mourned the loss of the
Upper Adige on this side of the Brenner, on the other they
did the same for the fallen Austrian soldiers. When the
Fascisti presented themselves at Bolzano, they found the
police helmeted and tasselled, and when they were arrested,
the enquiry was entrusted to Count Breitemburg, a notorious
member of the Deutscher Verband.

I will not linger over the cases of Malmeter, because they
are more like the chapters of a novel. But I cannot help
mentioning one most curious episode.

The Commissioner of Merano went to the commune of Maja
Alta and was received, not in the town hall, but in an old
mansion house, where were gathered the mayor and the
councillors. The commissioner read the form of the oath,
and the mayor and the councillors, sitting down immediately,
put on their hats and burst out laughing. The commissioner
had hardly recovered from his surprise when the mayor
rose to his feet and began a storm of abuse against the
King, Italy and the commissioner, who, returning to Merano,
requested the dismissal of this council. But the Deutscher
Verband interceded with the governor, who returned the
commissioner’s report, writing at the same time that it
was not a good thing to practise irredentism. And the
representatives of the commune remained as they were!

Since the period of mismanagement the Upper Adige
is no longer bi-lingual. The mayor himself refused to accept
the evidence he had asked for concerning the events of
24th April, because they were written in Italian. These
are small individual cases, but they serve to give an idea
of the whole situation.

At Megré the Italophobe president of the Young Catho-
lics’ Club turned out two young men because they presented
their demands in Italian, saying that that language would
not do for his office and telling them to keep it for them-

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 184

selves. And among all those competing for the office of
President of the Court of Appeal of redeemed Italian Trento,
the one selected was a man who in 1915 had resigned his
magistracy in order to serve as a “ Kaiser-Jager” volunteer
under the Austrian flag. To-day this man administers
justice in the name of Italy! (Comments.)

If you imagine that the postal and telegraphic services
in the Upper Adige are in Italian hands, you are much
mistaken. The Deutscher Verband has control of all the
communications and disposes of them at its pleasure.
Although 24th April was a holiday, the Pangermans and
the heads of the movement at Innsbruck were kept in-
formed all along of the development of events at Bolzano,
while all communications with the civil and military
authorities were cut and the town completely isolated
from Trento and the rest of Italy for twenty-four hours.
This is the situation.

What the Fascisti ask as regards the Upper Adige. Gentle-
men of the Government, as regards the Upper Adige, we ask
you for these immediate measures:

I. The abolition of everything which reminds us of the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, even in outward form. Be-
cause I wish to say to the House that it is useless to make
compacts to prevent the return of the Hapsburgs with
the Austrian heirs, who are more Austrian than Austria,
when we leave a great part of Austria intact within our
own boundaries.

2. The dissolution of the Deutscher Verband.

3. The immediate dismissal of the two Italian governors.

4. The formation of a united province of Trento with
the administration at Trento, and the strictest observ-
ance of the use of the two languages in every act of
public administration.

188 THE FASCISTA

I do not know what measures will be adopted by the
Government in these cases, but I hereby declare, and I do
so before the four German deputies that they may repeat
it and make it known beyond the Brenner, that there we are
and there we mean to stay at all costs. (Applause.)

Giolitti (Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior).
Upon this we are all agreed. (Applause.)

Mussolini. I note with pleasure the explicit declaration
the Prime Minister has just made.

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 189

THE QUESTION OF MONTENEGRO’S
INDEPENDENCE

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.

Hon. Mussolini. What is going to be our line of policy
in view of the vast field for disagreement which has
been left by the peace treaty, or rather peace treaties, all
over the world?

I shall not touch upon the quarrel between Greece and
Turkey, although inconceivable complications may result
if it is true, as is said, that Lenin is an ally of Kemal Pasha
and has already despatched the advance guard of the Red
army to Asia Minor. Neither shall I speak of Upper Silesia,
as I have not yet succeeded in defining the attitude of the
Government on this question. Egypt, again, I shall leave
untouched. But I cannot hold my peace about the fate
prepared for Montenegro.

How is it that Montenegro has lost her independence?
In theory she has not lost it, but actually she lost it in
October 1918. And yet Count Sforza said that the inde-
pendence of Montenegro was completely guaranteed, first
by the Treaty of London of 1915, which presupposed her
agegrandisement at the expense of Austria and the restitu-
tion of Scutari; secondly, by the conditions laid down by
Wilson for the Allies, which safeguarded her existence with
that of Belgium and Serbia; and thirdly, by the decision
of the Supreme Council of the Conference of January 1919,
in which the right of Montenegro to be represented by a
Delegate at the Paris Peace Conference was recognised.
Not only this, but when Franchet d’Esperey entered
Montenegro with Serb and French elements, he gave out
that he was governing in the name of King Nicholas.

Igo THE FASCISTA

When, however, King Nicholas, the Court and the
Government wished to return to Cettinge, France, in whose
interest it was to create a powerful Yugoslavia to counter-
balance Italy in the Adriatic, informed the Montenegrin
Government that she would have broken off all diplomatic
relations had they done so.

What attitude did Italy adopt in this difficult situation ?
The Hon. Federzoni spoke yesterday of a Convention that
became a scrap of paper; and it was this Convention of
30th April 1919. In it the relations between Italy and
Montenegro are clearly established. And this is what it
says: ‘‘Following upon the agreement made between the
Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Government
of Montenegro” (so there was a Government still in 1919),
“represented by their Consul General at Rome, Commander
Ramanadovich, the Montenegrin Government will form a
nucleus of officers and troops, drawn from the Montenegrin
refugees, and will receive from the Italian Government the
necessary funds in money for the payment of the allowances
of the officers and men."* Other conditions follow, the last
being: ‘‘The present Convention cannot be altered without
the common consent of both the Italian and Montenegrin
Governments.”

Now this Convention was destroyed after the death of
King Nicholas. Signs of disaffection were noticed among the
Montenegrin troops, and the commander asked for military
aid from our Government, in order to proceed to the work
of elimination. A Commission was appointed, presided
over by Colonel Vigevano. This commission, which was
to save the Montenegrin army, was the chief cause of its
disbandment. And not only this—on 27th May the Italian
Minister for Foreign Affairs told the Montenegrin Government
that the troops must be disbanded or no more funds would
be forthcoming from Italy. And in this way the Convention

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT IgI

of 30th April 1919 was violated, because in it it had been
said that no alteration was to be made without the common
consent of the two Governments, and this decision had
never been accepted by the consul general at Rome, who
represented the Montenegrin Government. The fact is that
the Italian Minister had made use of the presence of the
Montenegrin army in Italy for political purposes, thinking
thereby to obtain better terms with Yugoslavia. This
expectation not being realised, the Montenegrin army, at
a given moment, was cast aside like a worn-out coat. The
fact of the election of the Constituent does not justify the
tragic state of abandonment in which Italy left Montenegro,
because only twenty per cent. of the electors voted, and of
those only nine per cent. in favour of annexation by Serbia.
The Serbian authorities have introduced a real reign of
terror in Montenegro and have prevented the presentation
of lists which might contain the names of candidates favour-
able to the independence of the country.

But I hope Count Sforza will not think that the question
of Montenegro is a thing of the past. First, as he knows,
the Montenegrin people are still in arms against the Serbs,
and secondly, the Italian people are unanimous as regards
this question. Even the Socialists, and I say it to their
honour, have several times declared in their papers that the
independence of Montenegro is sacred. The Universities of
Padua and Bologna have pronounced in favour of her
independence, while the Fascisti have presented a motion
to this effect.

The shameful page which signs the death warrant of the
Montenegrin people must be redeemed by the adoption of
our motion, because if you bring the question once more
before the Great Powers, so that another plebiscite be
summoned, I am certain that, under conditions of liberty,
anti-Serbian results will be returned.

192 THE FASCISTA

D’ANNUNZIO AND FIUME
Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.

Hon. Mussolini. In the speech from the throne, the Alps
which go down to the Brenner were spoken of. Now we
wish to know if these Alps include Fiume or not. I deplore
the fact that in this speech no notice was given to the action
of Gabriele d’Annunzio and his legionaries—(Applause.)—
without whom our boundaries to-day would be at Monte
Maggiore instead of at the Nevoso. Such a reference would
have been generous, as well as politically opportune.

I do not intend to enlarge upon the sacrifice of Dalmatia.
My honourable friend Federzoni spoke very eloquently on
the subject yesterday. But I was surprised when in that
same speech from the throne it was affirmed that Zara
must be the advance guard of Italy on the opposite shores,
because Zara is crushed between the Slav sea and the
Slav hinterland.

While upon the subject of the Adriatic, gentlemen, we
Fascisti cannot forget, we who speak for the first time in
this hall, the attitude that you adopted in the affair of
Fiume. We cannot forget that you attacked Fiume; and
that when on 28th December General Ferrario said that he
could not suspend the order for the bombardment that
would have levelled that town to the ground, that general
and the Government that gave him the order com-
promised our national dignity more than a little. (Approval
on the Right.)

You put a knife to the throat of Fiume, but you did not
solve the problem. You sent a commander there with an
amazing scheme for the formation of a Government, which

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 193

was to accept the conditions agreed upon at Belgrade—accept,
that is to say, the Consortium, which means the near, if not
immediate, destruction of the port of Fiume. Because you
are well aware that after the lapse of twelve years Porto
Barro and the Delta ought to go to Yugoslavia, and you have
already handed them over, because, if you had not done so,
you would have been obliged to make statements which
have not been made.

194 THE FASCISTA

ITALY, SIONISM, AND THE ENGLISH MANDATE
IN PALESTINE

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.

Hon. Mussolini. I come now to another very delicate
question that must be faced, because it is historically neces-
sary and because, in view of the recent Pontifical Allocution
before the Secret Consistory, it can no longer be put off.

We must choose: the Government must decide what line
it is going to take up. Either it must adopt the English
attitude in favour of the Sionists, or that of Benedict XV.
I do not think that I shall be boring the Chamber if I run
over the antecedents of this question.

On 2nd November 1917, the English Government declared
itself in favour of the creation in Palestine of a national
centre for the Jewish race, it being clearly understood that
nothing would be done to offend the rights, civil or religious,
of the non-Jewish communities already existing in Palestine
or of the Jews in the rest of the world Later the Allied
Powers agreed to this, and finally, in Article No. 222 of the
Peace Treaty, confirmed on 20th August at Sévres, Turkey
renounced all her rights in Palestine, and the Allied Powers
chose England as mandatory.

Now it has come about, that while the civilised nations
of the West have not altered the common régime of liberty
for the different religions, in Palestine just the reverse has
happened, and this in particular because the administra-
tion of the State in embryo has been entrusted to the political
organisation of the Sionists.

But there have been Arabs in Palestine for ten centuries.
There are 600,000 now, and 70,000 Christians, while the
Jews only number 50,000. In this way an extraordinarily
interesting situation has been created.

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 195

The native Jews, who have lived for years under the
shadow of the mosque of Jerusalem, cordially dislike those
immigrant elements which come from Poland, Ukraine
and Russia, on account of their extremely emancipated
ideas. They have already divided into three sections, one
of which, commonly known by its abbreviated name
“Mopsy,” being already inscribed in the Third Inter-
national at Moscow as Communist Section.

I wish to say, however, that no anti-Semitism, which
would be new in this hall, must be read into my words.

I recognise the fact that the sacrifices made by the Italian
Jews during the war were considerable and generous, but
now it is a question of examining certain political posi-
tions and of indicating what line the Government might
eventually adopt.

An alliance between the Arabs and the Christians has
now been established in Palestine, and a party formed at
the Conference of Jaffa, which opposes by civil war all
Jewish immigration. On the rst and 14th of May, serious
disturbances occurred which resulted in some hundreds
of wounded and several deaths, including a writer of note.

Now, according to the Bulletin du Comité des Délégations
jJuives, page 19, it appears that the text of the English
Mandate for Palestine must be submitted to the Council
of the Society of the League of Nations in the next meeting
at Geneva. I should wish the Government, in this delicate
situation, to accept the point of view of the Vatican.

This is in the interest of the Jews, who, having fled from
the pogroms of Ukraine and Poland, must not meet Arab
pogroms in Palestine; moreover, it is advisable that the
Western nations should refrain from creating a painful
legal position for the Jews, since to-morrow those same
Jews, becoming citizen-subjects of those States, might
immediately form foreign colonies within them.

196 THE FASCISTA

THE ATTITUDE OF FASCISMO TOWARDS COM-
MUNISM AND SOCIALISM

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.

Hon. Mussolini. 1 do not wish to enlarge upon the question
of foreign policy, as I should then find myself out in the
open, and I might ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what
Italy’s position exactly is in the face of the formidable
conflicts which loom upon the horizon of international
politics. While Count Sforza is at the head of Foreign
Affairs in Giolitti’s Cabinet, we Fascisti cannot but find
ourselves among the opposition. (Comments.)

I shall pass now to an examination of the position of
Fascismo with regard to the various parties—(Signs of atten-
tion.)—-and I shall begin with the Communists.

Communism, the Hon. Graziadei teaches me, springs
up in times of misery and despair. When the total sum of
the wealth of the world is much reduced, the first idea that
enters men’s minds is to put it all together so that everyone
may have a little. But this is only the first phase of Com-
munism, the phase of consumption. Afterwards comes the
phase of production, which is very much more difficult;
so difficult, indeed, that that great and formidable man
(not yet legislator) who answers to the name of Wladimiro
Ulianoff Lenin, when he came to shaping human material,
became aware that it was a good deal harder than bronze
or marble. (Approval and comments.)

I know the Communists. I know them, because a great
many of them are my sons—I mean, of course, spiritually—
(Laughter.)—and I recognise with a sincerity that might
appear cynical, that it was I who first inoculated these

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 197

people, when I put into circulation among the Italian
Socialists a little Bergson mingled with much Blanqui.

There is a philosopher! sitting among the Ministers who
certainly teaches me that the neo-spiritualistic philosophies
continually oscillating between the metaphysical and the
lyrical are very dangerous for small minds. (Laughter.)
The neo-spiritualistic philosophies are like oysters—they
are palatable, but they have to be digested. (Laughter.)

These, my friends or enemies. . .

(Voices from the Extreme Left: ‘‘ Enemies, enemies!”’)

Mussolini. Very well, then—enemies, swallowed Bergson
when they were twenty-five and have not digested him
at thirty. I am very surprised to see among the Communists
an economist of the standing of Antonio Graziadei, with
whom I had great battles when he was a reformer and had
thrown aside Marx and his doctrines. While the Com-
munists speak of the dictatorship of the proletariat, of
republics more or less united with the Soviet, and other
far-fetched absurdities of that kind, between them and
us there cannot be other than war. (Interruptions from
the Extreme Left. Comments.)

Our position is different as regards the Socialist Party.
In the first place we are careful to make a distinction between
party Socialism and the Socialism of Labour. (Comments
on the Extreme Left.)

I am not here to overrate the importance of the syndicalist
movement. When you think that there are sixteen millions
of working men in Italy and of these hardly three millions
belong to the syndicates, whether the General Conference
of Workmen, the National Italian Syndicate, the Italian
Workmen’s Union, the Confederation of Italian Economic
Syndicates, the White Federation or other organisations
which do not concern us, and that their membership

1 Benedetto Croce, Minister of Public Instruction.

198 THE FASCISTA

increases and diminishes according to the times; when you
think that the really advanced and scrupulous thinkers
are a scanty minority, you will realise at once that we are
right when we do not overrate the historical importance
of this movement of the working classes.

But we recognise the fact that the General Federation
of Workers did not manifest the attitude of hostility at
the time of the war which was shown by a great part of the
Official Socialist Party. We recognise, also, that through
the General Federation of Workers technical forces have
come to the front which, in view of the fact that the
organisers are in direct and daily contact with the complex
economic reality, are reasonable enough. (Interruptions
from the Extreme Left and comments.)

We—and there are witnesses here who can prove the truth
of my words—have never taken up a priori an attitude of
opposition to the General Federation of Workers. I add
also that our attitude might be altered later if the Con-
federation detached itself—and the political directors have
for some time considered the possibility of this being done—
from the political Socialist Party—(Comments.)—which is
only a fraction of political Socialism, and is formed of those
people who, in order to act, have need of the big forces
represented by the working-class organisations.

Listen to what I am going to say. When you present the
Bill for the Eight Hours Day, we will vote in favour of it.
We shall not oppose this or any other measures destined to
perfect our special legislation. We shall not even oppose
experiments of co-operation; but I tell you at once that
we shall resist with all our strength attempts at State
Socialism, Collectivism and the like. We have had enough
of State Socialism, and we shall never cease to fight
your doctrines as a whole, for we deny their truth and
oppose their fatalism.

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 199

We deny the existence of only two classes, because there
are many more. (Comments.) We deny the possibility of
explaining the story of humanity in terms of economics.
We deny your internationalism, because it is a luxury
which only the upper classes can afford; the working people
are hopelessly bound to their native shores.

Not only this, but we affirm, and on the strength of recent
Socialist literature which you ought not to repudiate,
that the real history of capitalism is beginning now, because
capitalism is not only a system of oppression, but a selection
of that which is of most worth, a co-ordination of hier-
archies, a more strongly developed sense of individual
responsibility. (Applause.) So true is this that Lenin, after
having instituted the building councils, abolished them and
put in dictators; so true is it that, after having nationalised
commerce, he reintroduced the régime of liberty; and, as
you who have been in Russia well know, after having
suppressed—even physically—the bourgeoisie, to-day he
summons it back, because without capitalism and its
technical system of production Russia could never rise
again. (Applause from the Right. Comments.)

Let me speak to you frankly and tell you the mistakes
you made after the Armistice, fundamental mistakes which
are destined to influence the history of your politics.

First of all you ignored or underrated the survival of
those forces which had been the cause of intervention in
the war. Your paper went to ridiculous lengths, never -
mentioning my name for months, as if by that you could
eliminate a man from life and history. You showed your-
selves worse knaves than ever by libelling the war and
victory. (Loud approval on the Right.) You wildly pro-
pagated the Russian myth, awakening almost messianic
expectation; and only afterwards, when you realised the
truth, did you change your position by executing a more or

200 THE FASCISTA

less prudent strategic retreat. (Laughter.) Only after two
years did you remember, beside the sickle—a noble tool—and
the hammer—no less noble—to place the book—(Bravo!)—
which represents the rights of the spirit over matter, rights
which cannot be suppressed or denied—(Bravo!)—rights
which you, who consider yourselves the heralds of a new
humanity, ought to be the first to inscribe upon your
banners. (Great applause from the Extreme Right.)

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 201

THE ATTITUDE OF FASCISMO TOWARDS THE
POPULAR PARTY. THE VATICAN AND SOCIAL
DEMOCRACY

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 21st June 1921.

Hon. Mussolim. I come now to the Popular Party; and I
wish to remind it first that in the history of Fascismo there
are no invasions of churches, and not even the assassination
of the monk Angelico Galassi, who was killed by revolver
shots at the foot of the altar. I confess to you that there
have been some chastisements and the sacred burning of the
offices of a newspaper which called the Fascisti a band
of criminals. (Comments; interruptions from the Centre.)

Fascismo neither practises nor preaches anti-Clericalism.
It can also be said that it is not in any way tied to Free-
masonry; this, however, should not be the cause of alarm
which it is to some members of the Popular Party, as to my
mind Freemasonry is an enormous screen behind which there
are generally small things and small men. (Comments and
laughter.) But let us come to concrete problems.

The question of divorce has been touched on here. I am
not, at bottom, in favour of divorce, because I do not believe
that questions of the sentimental order can be settled by
juridical formule; but I ask the Popular Party to consider
if it is just that the rich can obtain divorce by going into
Hungary, while the poor are sometimes obliged to be tied
all their lives.

We are one with the Popular Party as regards the liberty
of schools. We are very near them as regards the agrarian
problem, for we think that where small properties exist it

202 THE FASCISTA

is useless to destroy them; that where it is possible to create
them, they ought to be created; that where they cannot be
created, because they would be unproductive, other methods
must be adopted, not excluding more or less collective
co-operation. We agree about administrative decentralisa-
tion, provided, necessarily, that autonomy and federation
are not spoken of, because regional federation would lead
to provincial federation, and so on till Italy returned to
what she was a century ago.

But there is another problem more important than these
incidental questions to which I wish to draw the atten-
tion of the Popular Party, and that is the historical
problem of the relations between Italy and the Vatican.
(Signs of attention.)

All of us, who from fifteen to twenty-five drank deep at
the fountain of Carduccian literature, learned to hate ‘‘una
vecchia vaticana lupa cruenta” of which Carducci speaks,
I think, in the ode To Ferrara; we heard talk of ‘‘a pontifi-
cate dark with mystery” on the one hand, and on the other
of the sublime truth and the future in the words of the poet-
prophet. Now all this, confined to literature, may be most
brilliant, but to us Fascisti, who are eminently practical,
it seems to-day more than a little out of date.

I maintain that the Imperial and Latin tradition of Rome
is represented to-day by Catholicism. If, as Mommsen said
thirty years ago, one could not stay in Rome without being
impressed by the idea of universality, I both think and
maintain that the only universal idea at Rome to-day is
that which radiates from the Vatican. I am very disturbed
when I see national churches being formed, because I think
of the millions and millions of men who will no longer look
towards Italy and Rome. For this reason I advance this
hypothesis, that if the Vatican should definitely renounce
its temporal ambitions—and I think it is already on

MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 203

that road—Italy ought to furnish it with the necessary
material help for the schools, churches, hospitals, etc.,
that a temporal power has at its disposal. Because the
increase of Catholicism in the world, the addition of four
hundred millions of men who from all quarters of the globe
look towards Rome, is a source of pride and of special
interest to us Italians.

The Popular Party must choose; either it is going to
be our friend, our enemy or neutral. Now that I have
spoken clearly, I hope that some member of the party
will do likewise.

Social Democracy seems to have a very ambiguous posi-
tion. First of all one wonders why it is called Social Demo-
cracy. A democracy is already necessarily social; we think,
however, that this Social Democracy is a kind of Trojan
horse which holds within it an army against whom we
shall always be at war.

PART Vi

MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA PRIME
MINISTER”

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MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA PRIME
MINISTER”

We deem it superfluous to linger over a detailed analysis of the
separate speeches delivered by Benito Mussolini after 1st November
1922, the day on which, by the will of the people, he rose fully
equipped to the dignities and responsibilities of power.

Foreigners are to a great extent ignorant of the origin, the char-
acter and the evolution of the Fascista movement, owing to the
lack of literature on the subject outside Italy. They have, however,
already had the means of appreciating the qualities of strength,
balance of mind, and foresight revealed from the very first by the
Italian Fascista Premier. Although European public opinion may be
logically entitled to an attitude of reserve in the face of the crisis of
evolution and renovation through which Italy is passing, it is certain
that the young President of the Council—of humble birth, and risen
to power by a remarkable combination of circumstances—romantic,
daring, ingenious, tempestuous—stands now the principal figure in
the arena of world politics.

A NEW CROMWELL IN THE PARLIAMENT

Speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922.

Hon. Mussolini. HONOURABLE MEMBERS,—(Signs of great
attention.)—I perform to-day in this hall an act of formal
deference towards you for which I do not expect any
special gratitude.

I have the honour of announcing to the Chamber that
His Majesty the King, by a Decree of: 31st October, has
accepted the resignations of the Hon. Luigi Facta from the
office of President of the Council and of his colleagues,
Minister and Under-Secretaries of State, and has asked me

to form the new Ministry. On the same day His Majesty
207

208 THE FASCISTA

has appointed me President of the Council of Munitions
and Minister of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs, etc.

For many years—for too many years—crises in the Govern-
ment took place and were solved by more or less tortuous
and underhand manceuvres, so much so that a crisis came
to be regarded as a regular scramble for portfolios, and the
Ministry was caricatured in the comic papers.

Now, for the second time in the brief space of seven
years, the Italian people, or rather the best part of it,
has overthrown a Ministry and formed for itself an en-
tirely new Government from outside, regardless of every
Parliamentary designation.

The seven years of which I speak lie between the May of
Ig15 and the October of 1922. I shall leave to the gloomy
partisans of super-Constitutionalism the task of discours-
ing, more or less plaintively, about all this. I maintain that
revolution has its rights; and I may add, so that everyone
may know, that I am here to defend and give the greatest
value to the revolution of the “black shirts,” inserting it
intrinsically in'the history of the nation as an active force
in development, progress and the restoration of equilibrium.
(Loud applause from the Left.) I could have carried our
victory much further, and I refused to do'so. I imposed
limits upon my action and told myself that the truest
wisdom is that which does not forsake one after victory.
With three hundred thousand young men, fully armed, ready
for anything and almost religiously prompt to obey any
command of mine, I could have punished all those who have
slandered the Fascisti and thrown mud at them. (Approval
on the Right.) I could have made a bivouac of this gloomy
grey hall; I could have shut up Parliament and formed a
Government of Fascisti exclusively; I could have done so,
but I did not wish to do so, at any rate at the moment.
Our adversaries remained in their shelters and then quietly

PRIME MINISTER 209

issued forth and obtained their freedom, of which they are
already taking advantage to set traps for us and slander us,
as at Carate, Bergamo, Udine and Muggia.

I have formed a Coalition Government, not with the
intention of obtaining a Parliamentary majority, with
which at the moment I can perfectly well dispense, but in
order to gather together in support of the suffering nation
all those who, over and above questions of party and section,
wish to save her.

From the bottom of my heart I thank all those who have
worked with me, both Ministers and Under-Secretaries;
I thank my colleagues in the Government, who wished to
share with me the heavy responsibilities of this hour; and
I cannot remember without pleasure the attitude of the
Italian working classes, who indirectly encouraged and
strengthened the Fascisti by their solidarity, active or
passive. I believe also that I shall be giving expression to
the thoughts of a large part of this assembly, and certainly
of the majority of the Italian people, if I pay a warm tribute
to our Sovereign, who, by refusing to permit the useless
reactionary attempts made at the eleventh hour to pro-
claim martial law, has avoided civil war and allowed the
fresh and ardent Fascista current, newly arisen out of the
war and exalted by victory, to pour itself into the sluggish
main stream of the State. (Cries of ‘Long live the King!’
The Ministers and a great many deputies rise to their
feet and applaud.)

Before arriving here we were asked on all sides for a
programme. It is not, alas! programmes that are wanting
in Italy, but men to carry them out. All the problems of
Italian life—ai/, I say—have long since been solved on
paper; but the will to put these solutions into practice
has been lacking. The Government to-day represents that
firm and decisive will.

Oo

210 THE FASCISTA

THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE FASCISTA
GOVERNMENT

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922.

Hon. Mussolini. HONOURABLE MEMBERS, — Our foreign
policy is the business which chiefly concerns us at the
present moment. I shall speak of it at once, as I think
that what I am going to say will dispel many appre-
hensions. I shall not touch upon all the questions con-
nected with the subject, because, in this sphere as in all
others, I prefer actions to words.

The fundamental principle upon which our foreign
policy is based is that treaties of peace, once signed and
ratified, must be carried out, no matter whether they are
good or bad. A self-respecting nation cannot follow another
course. Treaties are not eternal or irreparable; they are
chapters and not epilogues in history; to put them into
practice means to try them. If in the course of execu-
tion they are proved to be absurd, that in itself con-
stitutes the possibility of a further examination of the
respective positions.

I shall bring before the consideration of Parliament
both the Treaty of Rapallo and the Agreements of Santa
Margherita, which are derived from it.

Agreed that treaties, when once perfected and ratified,
must be loyally carried out, I go on to establish another
fundamental principle, which is the rejection of all the
famous “reconstructive” ideology. We admit that there
is a kind of economic union or interdependence among
European countries. We admit that this economic life

PRIME MINISTER 211

must be reconstructed, but we refuse to think that the
methods hitherto adopted will succeed in doing so. Com-
mercial treaties concluded between two Powers—the basis
of the closest economic relations between nations—are of
more value in the reconstruction of the European economic
world than all the complicated and confused general plenary
conferences, whose lamentable history everybody knows.

As far as Italy is concerned, we intend to follow a policy
which will be dignified and at the same time compatible
with our national interests. (Loud applause.) We cannot
allow ourselves the luxury of a policy of foolish altruism,
or of complete surrender to the desires of others. Do ut des.
For Italy to-day has a new importance which must be
reckoned with adequately, and this fact is beginning to be
recognised beyond her boundaries. We have not the bad
taste to exaggerate our powers, but neither do we wish to
belittle them with excessive and useless modesty.

My formula is simple: “Nothing for nothing.” Those
who wish to have concrete proofs of friendship from us
must give us the same. Fascista Italy, just as she does
not intend to repudiate treaties for many reasons, political,
moral and economic, does not intend, either, to abandon
the Allies—Rome is in line with London and Paris; but
Italy must assert herself and impose upon the Allies that
strict and courageous examination of conscience which has
not been faced by them from the time of the Armistice
up to the present day. .

Does an Entente still exist in the full sense of the word?
What is the position of the Entente with regard to Germany
and Russia? with regard to an alliance between these two
countries? What is the position of Italy in the Entente,
of the Italy who, not solely by reason of the weakness
of her governors, lost strong positions in the Adriatic and
the Mediterranean, who did not obtain any colonies or raw

212 THE FASCISTA

materials, who is literally crushed under the load of debts
incurred in order to obtain victory, and whose most sacred
rights, even, were held in question? In the conversations
I intend to have with the Prime Ministers of England
and France, I mean to face clearly and in its entirety the
question of the Entente and Italy’s position within it.

As a result of this, alternatives will arise; either the
Entente, finding a way of settling her inward perplexities
and contradictions, will become a really solid homogeneous
body, with evenly distributed forces, with equal rights
and equal duties, or her hour will have struck, and Italy,
regaining her freedom of action, will turn loyally with a
new policy to the work of safeguarding her interests.

I hope that the first eventuality will be realised, particu-
larly in view of the new uprising in the East and the growing
intimacy between Russia, Turkey and Germany. But,
however it may be, we must get beyond conventional
phrases. It is time, in fact, to abandon diplomatic expedi-
ents, which are renewed and repeated at every conference,
in order to deal directly with historical fact, by which alone
it is possible to decide one way or another the trend of events.
Our foreign policy, which aims at protection of our interests,
respect of treaties and the settling of our position in the
Entente, cannot be described as adventurous and im-
perialist, in the vulgar sense of the word. We want to follow
a policy of peace that will not, however, be at the same
time suicidal.

In order to refute the pessimists who expected cata-
strophic results to follow upon the advent of the Fascisti
to power, it is enough to remind them that our relations
with the Swiss are perfectly friendly, and that a commercial
treaty, already in the process of formation, will further
contribute towards strengthening them when it is com-
pleted; that they are perfectly correct as regards Yugo-

PRIME MINISTER 213

slavia and Greece; we are on good terms with Spain,
Czechoslovakia, Poland and Roumania, and the other
Baltic States, where of late Italy has gained a great deal
of sympathy, and where we are trying to make commer-
cial agreements; and on equally good terms with the
other States.

As far as Austria is concerned, Italy will keep faith as
regards her promises, and will not neglect to enter into
economic relations with her as well as with Hungary
and Bulgaria.

We maintain, as regards Turkey, that what is now an
accomplished fact ought to be recognised as such at Lau-
sanne, with the necessary guarantees as to trade in the
Straits, European interests and the interests of the small
Christian communities. The situation which has arisen in
Islam is going to be carefully watched. When Turkey has
got what belongs to her she must not try to obtain more.
There will come a day when it will be necessary to say,
“Thus far and no further!” The danger of complications
in the Balkans, and in consequence in Europe in general,
can be avoided by firmness, which will have an increased
effect in proportion to the loyalty of the Allies’ conduct.
We do not forget that there are 44,000 Mohammedans in
Roumania, 600,000 in Bulgaria, 400,000 in Albania, and
I,500,000 in Yugoslavia; a world which the recent victory
of the Crescent has exalted, at any rate secretly.

As far as Russia is concerned, Italy believes that the
moment has come to face the question of her relations with
that country in their actual reality; but this apart from
internal conditions in that country, with which we, as a
Government, do not wish to interfere, since in our turn we
shall admit of no interference in our home affairs. In
consequence we are disposed to consider the possibility of
a definite solution of the situation. As regards the presence

214 THE FASCISTA

of Russia at Lausanne, Italy has supported the most liberal
point of view and does not despair of its eventual triumph,
although thus far she has only been invited to discuss the
single question of the Dardanelles.

Our relations with the United States are very good, and
I shall make it my care to see that they are improved,
especially as regards a close economic co-operation. A
commercial treaty with Canada is on the point of being
signed. We are on cordial terms with the republics of Central
and South America, and especially with Brazil and the
Argentine, where millions of Italians live. They must not
be denied the possibility of taking part in the local political
life around them, which will not estrange them from, but
rather bind them all the closer to their Mother Country.

As for economic and financial problems, Italy will main-
tain in the approaching conference at Brussels that debts
and reparations form an indivisible binomial.

In order to carry out this policy of dignity and regard
for our national interests, we need to have at the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs a central staff competent to deal with
the new necessities of the national life and of the increased
prestige of Italy in the world. (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 215

THE POLICY OF FASCISMO FOR ITALY: ECONOMY,
WORK AND DISCIPLINE

Same speech delivered in the Chamber, 16th November 1922.

Hon. Mussolini. HONOURABLE MEMBERS,—The policy we
shall follow as regards the country itself can be summed
up in three words: economy, work and discipline. The
financial problem is a fundamental one, the balancing of
the State Budget must be accomplished as soon as
possible by a régime of careful administration, intelli-
gence in the use of money, the utilisation of all the
productive forces of the nation and the removal of the
trappings of war. (Loud applause.) For further infor-
mation as regards the financial question, which, though
serious, is open to rapid improvement, I refer you to my
colleague Tangorra,! who will give you information when
the financial measures are discussed.

He who talks of work, talks of the productive middle
classes in the towns and in the country. It is not a question
of privileges for the first or for privileges for the second,
but of the safeguarding of all the interests which are in
accordance with national production. The proletariat
which works, and whose well-being concerns us, though not
from weak demagogic motives, has nothing to fear, nothing
to lose and everything to gain from a financial policy which
preserves the balance of the State and prevents bankruptcy,
which would have a disastrous effect, especially among the
humbler classes.

Our policy as regards emigration must free itself of an,
excessive ‘‘ paternalism,” while, at the same time, an Italian

1 Late Minister of Finance.

216 THE FPASUISI es

who emigrates must know that his interests will be securely
guarded by the representatives of his country abroad.
The growth of the prestige of a nation in the world is in
proportion to the discipline it shows at home. There is
no doubt that the internal condition of the country has
improved, but it is not yet as I should like to see it. I do
not intend to indulge myself in easy optimism. I am no
lover of Pangloss. In the big cities, and in all the towns in
general, there is peace; instances of violence are sporadic
and peripheral; but, at the same time, these also must
cease. The citizens, no matter to what party they belong,
shall have freedom of movement; all religions shall be
respected, with particular regard to the dominant faith,
Catholicism; statutory liberty shall not be infringed and
the law shall be made to be respected at all costs!

The State is strong and will prove its power equally
where all classes of citizens are concerned, including illegal.
Fascismo, because it would now be irresponsible illegality
and without any justification. I must add, however, that
almost all the Fascisti have submitted to the new order of
things. The State does not mean to abdicate for anyone,
and whoever opposes it must be punished. This explicit
statement is a warning to all citizens, and I know will be
particularly pleasing to the Fascisti, who have fought and
won in order to have a State which would make itself felt
in every direction with inexhaustible energy. It must not
be forgotten that, besides the minority that represent
actual militant politics, there are forty millions of excellent
Italians who work, by their splendid birth-rate perpetuate
our race, and who ask, and have the right to obtain,
freedom from the chronic state of disorder which is the
sure prelude to general ruin. Since sermons, evidently,
are not enough, the State will put the army it has at its
disposal in order by a process of selection and improvement.

PRIME MINISTER | 217

The Fascista State will form a perfectly organised and united
police force, of great mobility and with a high moral standard ;
while the army and navy—glorious and dear to every Italian
heart—withdrawn from the vicissitudes of Parliamentary
politics, reorganised and strengthened, will represent the
last reserve of the nation both at home and abroad.
Gentlemen, from the last communication issued you will
learn what the Fascista programme is in detail with
regard to each individual Ministry. I do not wish, as long
as it is possible to avoid it, to govern against the wishes of
the Chamber; but the Chamber must understand the pecu-
liar position it holds, which makes it liable to dismissal
in two days or in two years. (Laughter.) We ask for full
powers, because we wish to take full responsibility. Without
full powers you know perfectly well that not a penny—a
penny I say—would be saved. By this we do not intend to
exclude the possibility of voluntary co-operation, which we
shall cordially accept, whether it be from deputies, senators
or single competent citizens. We have, every one of us,
a religious sense of the difficulty of our task. The country
encourages us and waits. We shall not give you further
words but facts. Let us solemnly and formally pledge our-
selves to balance the Budget, and we shall do it. We wish
to have a foreign policy of peace, but, at the same time,
it must be dignified and firm; and we shall have it. None
of our enemies, past or present, need deceive themselves
about the rapidity of our advent to power. (Laughter;
comments.) Our Government has a formidable hold upon
the hearts of the people and is supported by the best
elements in the country. There is no doubt that in these
last days an enormous step has been taken towards spiritual
unity. The Italian nation has found herself again, from the
north to the south, from the Continent to those generous
islands which shall no more be forgotten—(Applause.)—

218 THE (PASCISTS.

from Rome to the industrious colonies of the Mediterranean
and the Atlantic. Gentlemen, do not throw useless words
at the nation; fifty-two requests to speak on my lists
is too much. Let us work, rather, with pure hearts and
ready brains to assure the prosperity and the greatness
of the country.

And may God help me to carry my arduous task to a
victorious end. (Loud applause. Many deputies come
down to congratulate the President.)

PRIME MINISTER 219

“CONSCIENTIOUS GENERAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE
CONDITIONS OF THE COUNTRY AND ITS
FOREIGN POLICY”

Sitting of 27th November 1922, Senate.

Hon. Mussolini. HONOURABLE SENATORS,—I have listened
with deep interest and attention to all the speeches touching
upon various subjects which have been delivered in this hall.
The Ministers directly concerned can answer to the different
individual questions. I shall limit myself to confuting some
of the statements which can be said to be of a general order.
Of course if the vote of the Senate be unanimous, it will
please me—(Laughter.)—but you must not believe that unani-
mity flatters me excessively. I entertain a thorough contempt
for those who have more or less clamorously sided with me
in these last days. They are so often the kind of people
who follow the fair wind and are ready to tumble headlong
over to the other side when the wind changes direction.
(Laughter.) I prefer sincere enemies to doubtful friends.

Of the speeches delivered in this hall some have a par-
ticular importance, as for instance that, generally optimistic,
of Senator Conti, which reminded me of the analogous
speech, also optimistic, delivered in the Chamber by the
Hon. Buozzi. This favourable view of economic conditions
in Italy, coming thus from a head of the proletariat and a
head of the great Italian industries, is a curious coincidence
and certainly of good omen.

A Neat Surgical Operation. I owe a special answer to
Senator Albertini. I admire his firm faith in pure Liberalism,
but I take the liberty to remind him that Constitutionalism

220 THE FASCISTA

in England, Liberalism in France, in fact all the ideas and
doctrines which have in common the name of Liberalism,
spring out of a fierce revolutionary travail without which,
to-day, Signor Albertini would not, very probably, have been
able to pay these tributes to pure Liberalism.

How was it possible to find a way out of this internal
crisis, which every day was becoming more alarming and
distressing? A temporary and transitional Ministry was
no longer possible. It did not solve the problem, it hardly
delayed it. Consequently in two, three or six months’
time at. the most, with that mobility of opinions and desires
that characterised certain Parliamentary circles, we should
have found ourselves where we were at the beginning, with
nothing gained but the failure which would have aggravated
the crisis. (Hear, hear!)

After having thought over the matter deeply, therefore,
and having clearly realised the ironic paradox, becoming
every day more manifest, of the existence of two States—one
the actual State itself and the other which nobody succeeded
in defining—I said to myself at a certain moment that only
a neat surgical operation could make one compact State
of the two and save the fortunes of the nation.

Senator Albertini must not think that this decision was
other than the result of long meditation; he must not
think that I had not well considered all the dangers and
risks of this illegal action. I willed it deliberately. I dare
to say more than this—I forced it on. To my mind there was
no other way except by revolution to revive a political
class grown enormously tired and discouraged in all its
sections; and since experience teaches something, or ought
to teach something, to intelligent men, I at once set limits
and established rules for my action. I have not gone beyond
a certain point, I did not in the least become intoxicated
by victory, nor did I take advantage of it. Who could have

PRIME MINISTER 221

prevented me from closing Parliament? Who could have pre-
vented me from proclaiming a Dictatorship with two or three
men? Who could withstand me? Who could have withstood
a movement which consisted not only in 300,000 member-
ship cards but in 300,000 rifles? Nobody. It was I who,
for love of our country, said that it was necessary to subor-
dinate impulse, sentiment and personal ambition to the
supreme interests of the nation; and it was I who put the
movement at once on constitutional lines.

I have formed a Ministry with men from all parties in the
House. I did not hesitate to include a member of the old
Cabinet. I gave importance to technical efficiency and paid
no attention to political labels. I formed a Coalition Ministry
and I presented it to the Chamber. I asked for its judgment
and its vote and I found that Chamber a little changed.
But when I found out that not less than thirty-three orators
had presented thirty-six orders of the day, I said to myself
that perhaps it was not necessary to abolish Parliament,
but that the country would be glad to see it enjoying a
holiday for a certain period. (Laughter.) I have, therefore,
no intention of dismissing the Chamber, of destroying all
the fruits of the Liberal revolution. I can boast of all this
philosophically from a point of view which might almost
be called negative. But philosophy must be silent in the
face of political necessity. Let us speak frankly! What is
this Liberalism, this Liberalism put into practice? Because
if there is anyone who believes that, to be a true Liberal,
it is necessary to give some hundreds of irresponsible people,
fanatics and scoundrels, the power of ruining forty millions
of Italians, I refuse absolutely to give them this power.
(Applause.) Gentlemen, I have no fetishes, and where the
interests of the country are concerned the Government has
the right to intervene. If it did not do so, it would be
inadequate the first time and the next time suicidal.

222 THE FASCISTA

Respect for the Constitution. I do not intend to deviate
from the Constitution or to improvise. The example of other
revolutions has shown me that there are some fundamental
principles in the life of the people that must be respected.
(Hear, hear!) I do not intend that national discipline shall
be any longer merely a word. I do not intend that the law
shall be any longer a blunt weapon. (Hear, hear!) I do not
intend that liberty shall degenerate into licence. I do not
intend, either, to remain above the fray among those who
love, who work for, and who are ready to sacrifice themselves
for the nation, or, on the other hand, among those who are
ready to do the reverse.

It was for just such a foolish “Rolandism” that this
last Government failed. One cannot remain. above the
fray when the moral forces which are the foundation of
the national community are at stake; and nobody can say
that a national policy, understood thus, is reactionary.
For me all these names of Left and Right, of Conservative,
Aristocracy and Democracy are so many empty academic
terms. They serve occasionally to distinguish, but more
often to confuse.

I shall not follow an anti-proletariat policy, for reasons
national, and other than national. We do not want to oppress
the proletariat; we do not want to drive it back into
humiliating conditions of life. On the contrary we want to
elevate it materially and spiritually; but not because we
think that the masses, the populace, could create a special
type of civilisation in the future. Let us leave this kind of
ideology to those who profess themselves to be ministers
of this mysterious religion. The reasons for which we wish
to follow a policy of proletarian welfare are quite different. _
They lie in the interests of the nation ; they are dictated
by the reality of facts, by the conviction that no nation
can be united and at peace if twenty millions of workmen

PRIME MINISTER 223

are condemned to live in humiliating and inadequate
conditions of life. And it may be, nay, it is certain, that
our labour policy—or rather anti-demagogic policy, because
we cannot promise the paradise we do not possess—will
ultimately prove to be much more useful to those same
working classes than the other policy which, like an oriental
mirage, has hypnotised and mystified them into a vain
attitude of waiting. (Approval.)

The Military Organisation of Fascismo. ‘‘What will you
do with the military organisation of Fascismo?” I have
been asked. This military organisation gave Rome an im-
posing spectacle. There were 52,000 “black shirts,” and
they left Rome within the twenty-four hours prescribed
by me. They obey. I dare even to go further and to say
that they have the mysticism of obedience! I do not
intend to disperse these exuberant forces, not only for the
sake of Fascismo itself, but in the interests of the nation.
What I shall impose upon Fascismo is the discontinuance
of all the acts for which there is now no necessity—(Hear,
hear !)—those small, individual and collective acts of violence
which are rather humiliating to everyone, which are often
the result of local situations and could with difficulty be
associated with the big problems of the different Italian
parties. I am sure that what might be called “illegal Fas-
cismo,” now happily on the decline, will soon end alto-
gether. This is one of the conditions of that pacification
to which my friend Senator Bellini alluded; but in order
that this pacification may succeed, the other side must also
cease their ambushes and acts of violence.

Foreign Policy. 1 thank the Senate for not having dwelt
too much on foreign policy. I am particularly glad that
Fascismo has universally accepted with enthusiasm my
firm decision as regards the application of treaties, because

224 THE. FPASCISTA

if I do not allow illegality in internal policy, still less shall I
allow it in foreign affairs. (Hear, hear!) So let it be clear to
all inside this hall and out. Foreign policy will be in the
hands of one man alone, of the man who has the honour
of representing and directing it; because there cannot be
an unlimited division and diffusion of responsibility, and
foreign policy is too difficult and delicate a matter to be
thrown as occupation to those who have nothing better
to do. (Laughter.)

I can then tell the Hon. Barzilai that I shall keep the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs for myself. At bottom the
Ministry of the Interior is a Ministry of Police, and I am glad
to be the head of the police. I am not in the least ashamed
of it. On the contrary, I hope that all Italian citizens,
forgetting certain atavisms, will recognise in the police
one of the most necessary forces for the welfare of our social
existence. But, above all, I intend to follow a line of foreign
policy which will not be adventurous, while, at the same
time, it will not be characterised by self-sacrifice. (Strong
approval.) Certainly miracles are not to be expected in
this field, as it is impossible to cancel in a conversation,
even in a dramatic one of half an hour, a policy which
has been the result of other conditions and of another
period of time.

I think that foreign policy should have as its supreme
aim the maintenance of peace. This is a fine ideal, especi-
ally after a war that has lasted four years. Our policy,
therefore, will not be that of the Imperialists who seek the
impossible, while, at the same time, it will not necessarily
rest upon the negative formula according to which one
should never have recourse to force. It is well to keep the
possibility of war in sight; it cannot be discarded a priori,
because in that case we should find ourselves disarmed
with the other nations in arms. (Great applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 225

But I have no illusions, for, in accordance with my tem-
perament, I disdain all easy optimism. People who see
things through rose-coloured spectacles make me laugh;
I often pity them. I think, however, I have already suc-
ceeded in something, and in no small thing either, which
will have no small results. That is to say, I think I have
succeeded in making the Allies and other peoples of Europe,
who had not yet attained a true vision of Italy, see her as
she really is. Not as something vaguely prehistoric, not
the Italy of monuments and libraries—all most respectable
things—but Italy as I see her born under my eyes, the Italy
of to-day, overflowing with vitality, prepared to give her-
self a new lease of life, pregnant with serenity and beauty;
an Italy which does not live like a parasite on the past,
but is prepared to build up her own future with her own
forces and through her own work and martyrdom.

This is the Italy which has now flashed, be it ever so
vaguely, before the eyes of the representatives of other
nations, who henceforward must be convinced, whether
they wish it or not, that Italy does not intend to follow in
the wake of others, but intends to vindicate her rights
with dignity, and with no less dignity to protect her
interests. (Approval.)

God and the People. I have been admonished in turn by
all those who have spoken in this hall. They have said to
me: “The responsibility which you take is enormously
heavy.’ Yes! I know it and I feelit. Sometimes, intensified
by a deep and vibrating expectancy, it almost crushes me.
At these times I have to gather all my force, to arm myself
with all my determination, in order to keep before me the
interests and the future of our country. Well I know that
it is not my interests that are at stake. Certainly, if I do
not succeed I am a broken man. These are not experiments

P

226 THE) MASCOT x

that can be tried twice in a lifetime. But my person is of
little value. Not to succeed would not mean much to me
personally, but it would be infinitely serious for the nation.
(Hear, hear!) I intend to take the helm of the ship, and I
do not intend to yield it to anybody. But I shall not refuse
to take on board all those who wish to form my crew, all
those who wish to work with me, who will give me advice
and suggestions, who will, in a word, give me their invaluable
and indispensable co-operation.

In the other Chamber I invoked the help of God. In this
—and I hope my words will not be taken as mere rhetoric—
I shall invoke the Italian people. In doing this I might
feel that I was walking in the steps of Mazzini, who made a
union between God and the people. But if, as I hope and
earnestly desire, the people will be disciplined, laborious,
and proud of this their glorious country, I feel I shall not
fail to arrive at my goal! (Ovation; the Ministers and many
Senators advance to congratulate the orator.)

PRIME MINISTER 227

“T REMAIN THE HEAD OF FASCISMO, ALTHOUGH
THE HEAD OF THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT”

Speech delivered in London, 12th December 1922, before the Fascisti.

Fascist1! You must feel that in this last month the Italian
people have raised themselves considerably in the eyes of
all the other nations. Everybody knows now that a new
and vigorous Italy was born in those historic days of
October. Remember that the revolution was great, but
that it is not over, indeed that it has hardly begun. Hard
tasks and heavy responsibilities await us. I remain the head
of Fascismo, although the head of the Government. Beneath
these official clothes, which I wear as a duty, I shall keep
the Fascista uniform, just as I wore it before His Majesty
when he summoned me to form a new Cabinet.

Fascista Italy, I assure you, is in very strong hands. All
our enemies know that every attempt at revolt will be inex-
orably crushed. The old Italy is dead and will not come to
life again. The men who gave their lives in the war will
prevent it; those who fell in the Fascista war, no less
sacred and necessary, will prevent it; the living will prevent
it. We, here and everywhere, are ready for any battle so
that we may uphold the foundations of our race and of
our history. The time has come to face serenely the sons
of other nations. The era of renunciations and obligations
is past; the head of the Government tells you this. You
asked me to come here upon this occasion of the inaugura-
tion of the London section of the Fascista Party. I present
you with your banner; keep it as you keep alive the flame
of that faith for which so many fine young men have died,
keep it for the fortunes of Italy and Fascismo.

228 THE FASCISTA

“OUR TASK IN HISTORY IS TO MAKE A UNITED
STATE OF THE ITALIAN NATION”

Speech delivered 2nd January 1923, upon the occasion of the Ministerial
Reception in Palazzo Chigi at Rome, in answer to the Hon. Teofilo
Rossi, Minister of Industry and Commerce, who had concluded his
address to the President by saying: “‘The victorious Greeks return-
ing from Troy through the storm cried: ‘Nil desperandum Teucro
duce et auspice Teucro.’ We in our turn will say: ‘Nil desperandum
while at the helm of the State there is a man like Benito Mussolini.’”

DEAR COLLEAGUES,—Let me first of all say how happy Iam
that we should have met in these magnificent rooms which
furnish evidence of the strength and beauty of our race,
and are also a testimony of our victory, as, if I am not mis-
taken, these were the apartments of an enemy’s Embassy.

I was very much touched by the words spoken just now
by our colleague Rossi. The nation as a whole is not de-
ceived, and follows with brotherly sympathy the work of
our Government. It is aware of the difficulties we have to
overcome: difficulties which arise from the double work of
demolition and reconstruction which we have undertaken
simultaneously. The nation, little by little, is being restored
to order. There are more than ten thousand communes
in Italy, and there is no reason to fear a catastrophe because
there is a quarrel, without any particular positive import-
ance, in one of them during the critical days of Saturday
and Sunday.

All this does preoccupy me, however, and I intend by
every means possible to get the nation back into a state
of general discipline that will be above all sects, factions
and parties.

There was an Italian people who had not yet become a

* Palazzo Chigi, at present Ministry for Foreign Affairs, formerly was the
seat of the Austrian Embassy to the Quirinal.

PRIME MINISTER 229

nation; the travail of fifty years of history and, above all,
the last war has made them a nation. The task in history
which awaits us is this: to make a State of this nation,
that is to say, a moral idea which is personified and expressed
in a system of individual, responsible hierarchies composed
of men who, from the first to the last, feel it a pride and a
privilege to fulfil their duty.

This work, seen from the standpoint of historical develop-
ment, cannot be completed in two months and probably
not even in two years. But this is the direction in which
our Government is working, and every decision we make
and every act we achieve is guided by the necessity of
establishing one united State, which will be the only de-
positary of our history and of the future and the strength
of the Italian nation.

It is a difficult and arduous undertaking. But life would
not be worth living if we did not face these tasks, and if
we had not the satisfaction of having met them all the more
serenely for their difficulty.

No! I am certain that we shall not frustrate the legiti-
mate hopes of the Italian people. We can and we will
adopt a policy of wisdom and severity towards the people
and towards ourselves. We must foster the ideals of the
nation, and deal relentlessly with the slightest manifestation
of lack of discipline.

I, too, should like to quote from the tales of ancient
Greece. When the Spartan mothers presented their de-
parting sons with their shields, it was with these words:
“Either with this or on it. Now I should like our programme
to be inspired by this idea, for with this programme, and
with this only, shall we win.

Through our efforts, our work and our suffering will rise
that powerful, prosperous and peaceful Italy of which we
dream, which we long for and desire to see! Long live Italy!

230 THE FASCISTA

THE ADVANCE IN THE RUHR DISTRICT

Speech delivered at Rome, 15th January 1923, before the members of
the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister. HONOURABLE COLLEAGUES, — The
most important event of these last few days in the
international world has been the French advance on the
Ruhr. It is well to establish clearly the attitude of Italy
with regard to this advance, since, for political reasons
and also for reasons connected with the Stock Exchange,
it has purposely not been properly estimated.

It is necessary to go back to the Conference of Paris,
and the rejection of Bonar Law’s proposals on the part of
Italy, France and Belgium, in order to understand the line
of conduct adopted by the Italian Government. It is a fact
that each one of the Powers in the Entente has taken up an
attitude of its own, due to its own particular conditions.
Without taking into consideration the Americans, who have
withdrawn their troops from the Rhine, this is the position
of the Powers.

England has not joined with France, but has not decided,
at any rate up to the present, to recall her troops from
German soil, nor has she changed in her friendly attitude
towards France, as was set forth by the most recent com-
munications from the Foreign Office.

France, interested in the problem of reparations, has,
upon the basis of the deliberations of the Commission
appointed to enquire into this question, sent into the Ruhr
a Board of Control for the production of coal and, later,
troops for the purpose of protection.

PRIME MINISTER 231

Belgium has afforded France some military co-operation
and undivided political support.

Italy has only given political and technical support,
sending her engineers to the Ruhr. Our country could not
isolate herself without committing a very grave mistake.
She could not exclude herself entirely from any opera-
tion of control taking place in a region of coalfields, and,
therefore, of fundamental importance in European and
Italian economics.

As regards the project for a continental alliance directed
against England, such an idea simply does not exist. The
Italian Government never suggested such a thing, and,
in any case, would never have been able to consider the
possibility of a continental union against England, both
on account of her importance in the economic life of the
Continent and of existing relations between Italy and
that country.

It is true, on the contrary, that the Italian Government
had advised France to limit, as far as possible, the military
character of the advance in the Ruhr district, and not to
reject all possibilities of agreement in this burning question.
But if this understanding, which would give peace to
Europe, were to be realised, it is the opinion of Italy that
it could not come about without the co-operation of England.
Italy, which has no coal, cannot afford the luxury of re-
nunciations and isolation, but it is as well to make it clear—
because it is the truth—that Italian policy upon this occa-
sion, as upon all others, is inspired by considerations of a
general nature, as decided in the Memorandum of London,
for the protection of Italian interests and of European
economics generally. The Italian Government thinks that
if there is a possibility of agreement—and it works in this
direction—it would be a grave mistake on the part of
Germany to refuse it.

232 THE FASCISTA

It seems as if a défente between the French command
and some of the industrial magnates of the Ruhr district
has already taken place. As for the mass of the workmen,
it appears as if they do not intend to put insuperable
difficulties in the way of the work of control.

The payment of the quota for the 15th January is post-
poned until the end of the month. There are, therefore,
fifteen days of useful time, sufficient to mend the situation.
It does not seem improbable that the French will support
the Italian project presented at London upon the subject
of reparations.

As for the attitude of the Soviet Government, it appears
to be very circumspect, and has not changed from that
previously manifested, though only in words, towards the
German proletariat.

From Lausanne comes satisfactory news. I have the
pleasure of announcing that, in some of the very delicate
questions which seemed to be leading to a rupture, such
as that of minorities, if an agreement has been reached,
it has been due to the wise and level-headed work of the
Italian Delegation.

(Without discussion, the declarations of the Prime
Minister are unanimously approved.)

The Great Fascista Council. My colleagues in the Cabinet
will certainly have read with attention the deliberations of
the Great National Council of the Fascisti, and have noticed
the importance of their character.

It is an essentially political organisation, which, however,
does not encroach in any way upon the sphere of action
of the Government, represented by the Cabinet. In fact none
of the legislative measures passed or to be passed by the
Cabinet were made the subject of discussion by the Fascista
Council. All its decisions are of a purely political nature.

PRIME MINISTER 233

Thus they have definitely settled the character of the national
militia. They have constituted the organisation which is
to establish relations between Fascisti and Nationalists,
as well as those between Fascismo and the other parties
which loyally co-operate with the Government and the
organisations of employers already in existence before the
formation of the analogous Fascista groups.

Important also is the vote by which the associations of
ex-soldiers (including the disabled) who have entered the
sphere of the State have been asked to give men for the
purposes of administration. The declaration of loyal devo-
tion to the Monarchy is both magnificent and solemn, and
dispels every little misunderstanding of interested dabblers
in politics on that score, for whom the warning that closed
the proceedings of the Great Council came opportunely—
the warning, that is to say, that the Government—note,
the Government—will inexorably crush every attempt at
direct or indirect opposition to its authority.

The Great Fascista Council has also sent messages to the
working people of Italy, who are in the process of re-
establishing active discipline amongst themselves, and who
accept the provisions of the Government, even the hardest,
because they are sure that they are inspired by purely
national necessity.

Thus the essentially historic function of the Great
Fascista Council at this moment is clearly outlined. The
Council will support and safeguard the action of the Govern-
ment, and perform in the party and in the nation the work
of general political orientation which must serve as a base
for the work of the Government itself. (The Council of
Ministers approves the declarations of the Prime Minister.)

234 THE FASCISTA

THE GOVERNMENT OF SPEED

Speech delivered at Rome, 19th January 1923, at the headquarters of
the Motor Transport Company.

Hon. Mussolini. I wArMiy thank Commendatore De Cupis
and all the workmen—I was going to say my colleagues—
for the warm welcome I have received. If my minutes
were not numbered, I should like, here in the presence
of the “‘controllers of the steering wheel,” to sing
the praises of speed, in this the epoch of speed. The
times in which we live no longer allow of a sedentary
egoistical life; everything must be on the go, every-
body must raise the standard of his activity, both in
the offices and in the factories where the work is done—
(Applause.)—and the Government, which I have the honour
to represent, is the Government of speed, that is to say,
we get rid of all that is stagnant in our national life.

Formerly the bureaucracy dozed over deferred decisions,
to-day it must proceed with the maximum of rapidity.
(Applause.) If we all go ahead with this energy, good-will
and cheerfulness we shall surmount the crisis, which for
that matter is already partly overcome.

I am pleased to see that Rome also is waking up and can
offer us sights such as these works. I maintain that Rome
can become an industrial centre. The Romans must be the
first to disdain to live solely upon their memories. The
Coliseum and the Forum are glories of the past, but we
must build up the glories of to-day and of to-morrow.
We belong to the generation of builders who, by work and
discipline, with hands and brains, desire to reach the ulti-
mate and longed-for goal, the greatness of the future nation,
which will be a nation of producers and not of parasites.

PRIME MINISTER 235

THE MARCH OF EVENTS ON THE RUHR
THE POSITION OF ITALY

Speech delivered at Rome, 23rd January 1923, before the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister. HONOURABLE COLLEAGUES,—Since
the last meeting of the Cabinet, the situation on the Ruhr
has become more complicated, and this also from the social
point of view, as the result of the closing down of the
factories and the outbreak of strikes in the mines and
public services of the occupied zones.

In order to understand the attitudes of the different
Powers and the fact that these attitudes have not under-
gone any changes worthy of note, it is necessary to sum-
marise briefly the events of these last few days of high
tension, political and economic.

The period of time granted for the Moratorium having
elapsed on 15th January, France and Belgium have caused
a Mission of Control to be sent to the mines in the Ruhr
district, escorted by protecting troops, and have extended
the area of territory occupied in the Ruhr district as far as
Dortmund. On 16th January the French Government gave
notice that the industrial magnates on the Ruhr had de-
clared that they had received orders from the German
Government not to hand over any more coal. The German
Minister for Foreign Affairs himself communicated these
instructions to our Ambassador at Berlin.

France and Belgium were not, therefore, receiving any
more coal, even when payment was made in advance. In
the face of the German resistance, the French and Belgian

236 THE FASCISTA

troops have proceeded to requisition the coal deposits at
the pitheads, the factories and the railway stations, and have
also taken other serious steps of a political and military
order. Italian experts, sent only to take part in economic
operations of control, received orders to limit their co-
operation to that which concerned coercive measures of
a political nature.

Such an attitude was clearly faced and decided in Paris.
On the strength of the decision made on 26th December
by the Commission of Reparations, which reported the
failure of Germany, as regards Italy also, to supply wood,
France and Belgium decided to proceed to the exploitation
of the Crown and Communal forests in the Rhine territory.
Germany had, besides, made it known that coal supplies
and cattle would be refused to France and Belgium, by way
both of reparation and restitution.

The Commission of Reparations in its decision of 16th
January verified this intentional failure on the part of
Germany from the 12th January, and notified it to the
Government. As a result of this, France and Belgium
decided to take possession of the west customs frontier of
Germany in the occupied zone. The Italian Government
took over control of the customs and also of the forests,
this being included among the measures which the Italian
Memorandum had reserved as a security in the case of the
concession of the Moratorium; but it asked the French
Government what was going to be the extent to which the
action was to be carried. The French Government replied
that the occupation of the Ruhr was not of a military
character, but was for the protection of French technical
bodies, which were very numerous in the occupied area.
The Italian Delegate, who was already on the High Com-
mission of the Rhine, which directs the exploitation and
also the control of the mines, has received orders to

PRIME MINISTER 237

take part in those deliberations which have an economic
and financial character, and to abstain from attending
those which are political.

As I said before, the attitudes of the Great Powers have
not altered to any great extent. England seems officially
uninterested in what happens on the Ruhr, but this has
not prevented the English Representative on the Rhine
High Commission from declaring in the name of his Govern-
ment that he will be present at the deliberations, abstaining
from recording his vote when he thinks it best; but he
adds, also, that his Government will not oppose the carry-
ing out of the provisions in the zone occupied by the English
troops which still remain on the Rhine. As you see, it is
not England’s intention to accentuate the difference between
her policy and that which is, at present, adopted by France.

Mediation on the part of Italy was spoken of, which
might have led later to a direct Anglo-Italian intervention,
both at Berlin and Paris. An offer of real mediation does
not exist, and could not be made without the certainty
that it would be accepted with a certain favour. It would
be a grave mistake to expose Italian policy to a failure of
this sort. It is a fact that the Italian Government did warn
the Germans of the danger of the blind-alley situation in
which she has voluntarily placed herself, and in which she
seems determined to stay. She also called the attention of
France, in a friendly manner, to the complications, not
only economic but also political and social, which might
arise from the occupation of the Ruhr.

The Work of the Italian Government. Matters standing thus,
the Italian Government cannot at present change its
attitude, because no step it took now would alter the general
situation or exercise a preponderating influence in the de-
cisions of the Governments most involved. The opinion

238 THE FASCISTA

of the Italian Government is that the situation on the
Ruhr has not yet reached the stage at which a solution
must necessarily be found, and only when that moment
arrives will it be able, perhaps, to have an influence on the
situation itself.

As for the Moratorium which President Poincaré has
decided to propose to the Germans, in view of the fast
approaching date of payment, 31st January, it is worthy
of note that it will include some of the points made in the
Italian Memorandum of London, namely the two years’
Moratorium and the German internal loan.

As far as America is concerned, having once withdrawn
her troops from the Rhine, she has not altered her policy
of neutral inactivity.

One understands that the events in the Ruhr district
have caused a general uneasiness over the whole of Europe,
especially in the countries which form the Little Entente.
Rumours which spoke of mobilisation and the concentration
of troops upon some of the frontiers have proved un-
founded and exaggerated. As regards Russia, beyond
reports of certain political activities on the part of the
Third International, carried on with a view to taking advan-
tage socially of the events on the Ruhr, there is no definite
news of serious preparations for military intervention on
a large scale. At Lausanne, the reaction of the situation
on the Ruhr is being felt, and is arousing an increased
intransigence on the part of Turkey.

To sum up: The policy of Italy must be inspired first of
all by the defence of her own interests, though, at the same
time, due note must be taken of considerations and needs
of a general order. It is a question whether, by a more
exact valuation of the conditions put forward in the Italian
Memorandum of London, the grave complications which
exist to-day would not have been avoided. At any rate

PRIME MINISTER 239
the Italian Government will take careful and speedy
measures to avoid any further difficulties and re-establish
as soon as possible a release of tension throughout Europe,
which might make it possible to face the problem of repar-
ations and debts under other conditions.

(The Cabinet at the end express entire approval of the line
of foreign policy adopted by the Prime Minister.)

240 THE FASCISTA

THE RUHR, THE CONFERENCE OF LAUSANNE
AND THE PORT OF MEMEL

Speech delivered at Rome, 1st February 1923, before the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister. WitH reference to foreign affairs, the
situation, as far as Italy is concerned, cannot be said to
have altered much in the interval which has elapsed between
the last Cabinet meeting and to-day.

The German resistance on economic grounds has provoked
aggravation of the measures—both military and political—
which are being taken by France and Belgium, but from
which Italy, following her previous line of conduct, has
kept apart.

The complications which were—or could have been—
feared, so far have not occurred. Fresh factors have not
entered into the close duel which is being fought on the
Ruhr. Russia has not altered her attitude as a State,
although the dominating party continues to give clamor-
ous verbal demonstrations of solidarity with the German
proletariat.

The serious disquietude which had been manifested by
the Powers of the Little Entente is diminishing. There
had been rumours—more or less without foundation and
spread, perhaps, with the object of producing complica-
tions—of plans for repeating in Hungary what France had
done on the Ruhr, which were attributed to one State or
another. These have given Italy the opportunity of con-
firming and clearly establishing her attitude of opposition
to any movement which could extend the conflict to other
zones or give the opportunity of attacking the validity of
the treaties of peace already. concluded.

PRIME MINISTER 241°

The Italian Government has been and is following atten-
tively the coal situation on the Ruhr, above all as regards
its reaction on other events. I can say that all internal
measures, reduction of the train services, including those
from abroad, and contracts for fresh supplies, have been
quickly and diligently carried through, because, whatever
may happen, no paralysis of our industrial activity or of
our communications must result. In connection with the
supplies of raw materials, I have the pleasure to announce
to the Cabinet that the Italian Government has succeeded
in concluding a favourable agreement with the Polish
Government for oil.

As I said last time, the events on the Ruhr have had the
most serious consequences in the developments at the
Conference of Lausanne, which has now arrived at its
last stage. The Italian Delegation has carried out successful
work there with the object of obtaining peace in the East.

The Italian Government has not been among the last
to recognise the legitimate rights of Turkey, and thinks
to-day that it would not be in her interests to entrench
herself in a position of absolute intransigence. It may be
that Turkey has not realised the extensive programme
that was laid down by the Grand National Assembly of
Angora, but it cannot be denied that a great part of that
programme has been put into execution, since the Turks
from Angora have returned not only to Smyrna but to Con-
stantinople and Adrianople, and have got their way, it can
be said, in questions of the highest importance, such as that
of the domination of the Straits and that of Capitulations.

Taken as a whole, although the general situation continues
to be very critical, there seems to be a small ray of light
upon the horizon. The action of the Italian Government is
directed decidedly towards a policy of general peace.

_ As regards the question of Memel, the Italian Government

Q

242 THE ‘FASGISTA

has pursued a temperate policy, inspired by principles of
equity and justice. It is not possible to do less than
recognise the rights of Lithuania over that port, but the
Lithuanian Government cannot be allowed to substitute
itself for the Allied Powers in deciding its fate.

We, then, have remained in an attitude of solidarity with
the Allies in the measures taken for facing the situation
there. But we have, on the other hand, tried effectively
to reduce those measures to the necessary minimum, avoiding
those of such a nature as to provoke further complications.

PRIME MINISTER 243

RATIFICATION OF THE WASHINGTON TREATY OF
NAVAL DISARMAMENT

Chamber of Deputies. Sitting of 6th February 1923.

The Prime Ministery. HONOURABLE MEMBERS,—I do not
think that it is worth while losing time in a general
discussion upon the qualities of men, good and bad, and
upon the question as to whether the war of 1914 will be the
last or the one before the last. That would be perfectly
idle and would only lead to academic discussions. Let us,
instead, turn our attention more practically to the Project
of Law which I have presented.

The Convention of Washington was closed a year ago.
Now the delay in the ratification of the treaty on the part
of Italy has already had ambiguous and, I should almost
say, unfavourable consequences in the international world.
It will be a good thing, then, to proceed at once to com-
plete this act.

The Conference at Washington shared the fate of all the
conferences. It opened with great hopes, flashing before
our eyes the possibility of eternal peace. Then the concrete
results frustrated these hopes. I confess that I do not
believe in perpetual and universal peace. In the life of
the peoples, notwithstanding ideals—noble and worthy of
respect—there exist the permanent factors of race, and
the greatness and decadence of nations, which lead to
differences often only settled by a recourse to arms. Now
it is not a case of weighing these conventions with a view
to peace; they represent a breath, a pause, and it is useless
to enquire if they have been laid down for idealistic or for

244 THE FASCISTA

business reasons. In any case I declare that Italy did well
to adhere to this Convention. If she had not done so, we
should have appeared in the eyes of the world as Imperialists
and jingoists, which is far from what we have in our hearts
and minds. The fact that the Government asks the
Chamber for this ratification gives an idea of the general
trend of the Fascista foreign policy. (Applause.)

(The ratification of the Treaty is approved of without
discussion, only the Communists being against it.)

PRIME MINISTER 245

MESSAGE FROM THE HON. MUSSOLINI TO THE
ITALIANS IN AMERICA UPON THE OCCASION
OF THE SIGNING OF THE CONVENTION FOR
THE LAYING OF CABLES BETWEEN ITALY
AND THE AMERICAN CONTINENT

THE National Government, which has worked indefatig-
ably for three months to set the country going upon the
path to better fortunes, has in these days signed the
Convention for the laying of cables which are to put
our country into communication with you, who represent
it in the numerous, rich and patriotic colonies beyond
the Atlantic.

The enthusiasm for this work, so necessary to our life
as a great nation, seemed at one time to have died down,
but to-day with the rise of youth upon the scenes of Italian
politics, that which it seemed would be relegated to some
remote future has been transformed into a concrete and
almost immediate reality. It is not you, who suffer almost
more than any the pangs of homesickness for our adored
country, who need to be shown the usefulness and necessity
of this undertaking, which will be carried through in the
shortest space of time possible. It will render frequent,
daily and, above all, free the communications between the
forty million Italians who live in our beautiful peninsula
and the six millions who live beyond the ocean. All the
Italians who can give financial and moral support must
co-operate so that the undertaking may succeed. The
Italian Government does not appeal in vain to its emigrant

246 THE FASCISTA

citizens, because it knows that distance makes the love of
their country stronger and more intense.

The cables, which in two or three years will bind together
Italy and the Americas across the boundless ocean, are like
a gigantic arm which the country stretches out to her
distant sons to draw them to her and to make them share
more intimately her griefs and her joys, her work, her
greatness and her glory.

MUSSOLINI.
Rome, 6th February 1923.

PRIME MINISTER 247

FOR THE CARRYING OUT OF THE TREATY OF
RAPALLO

Prefatory remarks to the Deputies, 8th February 1923, accompanying
the Project of Law presented by the Hon. Mussolini, Minister for
Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister. HoNouRABLE MEMBERS, — Last
November I began my statement to Parliament of the
programme of the National Government as regards foreign
policy with the following words:

“The fundamental principle upon which our foreign
policy is based is that treaties of peace, once signed and
ratified, must be carried out whether they are good or bad.
A self-respecting nation cannot follow another course.
Treaties are not eternal or irreparable; they are chapters
and not epilogues in history; to put them into practice
means to try them. If in the course of execution they are
proved to be absurd, this in itself may constitute the new
element which may open the possibility of a further examina-
tion of the respective positions.”

The preceding Government had undertaken to present
to Parliament the Agreements concluded at Santa Mar-
gherita, and signed at Rome on the 23rd October last. This
undertaking I now fulfil.

These Agreements, contrary to what has been stated by
someone, do not contain any new political pledges on the
part of Italy, but regulate the relations between the Com-
mune of Zara and the surrounding territory of Dalmatia,
make clear some recognised rights on the part of citizens
who are Italian by option, and endeavour, by means of

/

248 THE PRASCIS£ES

friendly agreements, to find a possibility of giving and
assuring a peaceful and industrious life to the troubled
city of Fiume.

Owing to the way in which it is drawn up—whether on
account of its diffuseness in those clauses which touch
upon territorial questions, and its brevity in others, or
whether on account of the seeming precedence given to
the task of the commissions which ought, according to the
letter of the treaty itself, to proceed exclusively to the
settlement of territorial questions, while for the commis-
sions to which were entrusted the settlement of other
questions, limits were established, a priori, of a certain
amplitude (Art. VI.)—the Treaty of Rapallo has given
Yugoslavia the opportunity of maintaining that it was
necessary first to effect the evacuation of the territories
over which the sovereignty of the Serbo-Croat-Slovak
Kingdom had been recognised, and then of proceeding to
the stipulations of the agreements for the regulation of the
new relations between the two countries.

They tried to justify this with arguments of a political
nature. That is to say, they saw, in the first place, that the
opposition met with in various Italian political spheres to
the transactions concluded at Rapallo had stirred up the
discontent and opposition of the Yugoslavs to the treaty;
secondly, that the suspended execution of the Territorial
Clauses, evidently attributed to some Italian parties, had
given the impression to the Yugoslavs that Italy did not
want to proceed to the carrying out of the treaty; thirdly,
that, in consequence, the parliamentary opposition to a
policy of friendliness towards Italy had become very marked,
and rendered extremely difficult the adoption of direct
provisions for the favourable regulation of these relations;
and lastly, that if, instead, the prearranged course had been
followed—that of proceeding, say, first to the evacuation

PRIME MINISTER 249

of the territories—a radical change of position would have
been realised, which would have allowed of the conclusion
of more favourable agreements.

In Italy, on the other hand, the discontent was increased
by an idea, entertained by many, that the new State,
which had also arisen as the result of Italy’s victorious war,
ought to give to the citizens, and in Italian interests, privileges
no less great than those granted by the Austro-Hungarian
Monarchy, not taking into account that a national State,
newly formed, may have particular exigencies and sus-
ceptibilities. The contrast of such opposite tendencies ended
by creating in the relations between the two countries an
atmosphere of uneasiness, which has at times reached an
acute stage. And in Italy, the intransigence of some circles
found justification, above all, in the weakness of the Govern-
ments, inasmuch as they had ground for fearing that all
our rights would be trodden underfoot the moment we no
longer had tangible securities in our hands. By the Agree-
ments which are now handed to us, the Government of
Belgrade has recognised the necessity of determining the
régime which will have to regulate the reciprocal relations
of the new boundaries before passing to the definite execution
of the Territorial Clauses.

As for the substance of the Agreements, it is my convic-
tion that their greater or less efficacy will depend upon the
spirit in which they are carried out, because never, perhaps,
has it been so true, as in this case, that the most perfect
pacts become empty formulas if a doubtful or hostile spirit
is brought to their execution.

I observe, in conclusion, that the uncertainty which has
been manifested in the foreign policy of Italy as regards
the Treaty of Rapallo has created a situation unfavourable
to her, often preventing her from taking a decided attitude,
which would have been in her interest, in most essential

250 THE FASCISTA

questions of a general nature, and making her appear in a
light contradictory to her position as a Great Power.

My intense, though brief, experience of Government
has shown me that it is not possible to carry out a strong
foreign policy without having decisive and clearly defined
attitudes as regards the other States.

Italy must get away from this weak situation, must re-
gain her full liberty and efficiency of action also in this
sphere. We shall, therefore, carry out the treaty resolutely
and loyally, exacting its scrupulous observance. We shall
watch over this as is our right and duty. And we wait for
time to pass definite judgment upon the soundness and the
fate of to-day’s Conventions.

With this understanding, I ask you, Honourable Members,
to approve of the following Project of Law:

“Full and entire execution is given to the Agreements and
Conventions signed at Rome on 23rd October 1921, between
the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, the
Croats and the Slovenes for the execution of the Treaty of
Rapallo of r2th November 1920.”

PRIME MINISTER 251

THE AGREEMENTS OF SANTA MARGHERITA
ITALY AND YUGOSLAVIA

Chamber of Deputies. Sitting of roth February 1923.

The Prime Minister. HONOURABLE MEMBERS, — With the
approval of the Agreements of Santa Margherita, there
came to an end what might be called “the Foreign
Policy week” of the Italian Government; a week that
might also be called pacific, since it began with the ratifica-
tion of the Convention of Washington, which represents
a pause in the great naval armament, and ends with the
approval of the Agreements of Santa Margherita, which are
the consequence of the Treaty of Rapallo already ratified
and partly carried out.

In closing this week of the life of Parliament, I realise that
the Chamber has done good work, and that it has during
this session undoubtedly raised, in some ways, its prestige
in the country. (Comments.) The questions with which the
Chamber has dealt are large; they are not concerned with
treaties and bills of minor importance, as some have said.

I refuse to embark, as was attempted on the Left, upon
the usual discussions of a general character which do not
conclude anything. While T am on this bench, the Chamber
will not be changed into an electoral meeting.

No Discussion. There is nothing to discuss as regards
home policy; that which happens, happens because it is
my direct and clear desire and in accordance with my pre-
cise orders, and for which I naturally assume full personal
responsibility. (Comments.)

252 THE FASCISTA

It is useless, therefore, to go to the police officials, because
the orders are mine. It does not affect me to know of the
existence of a plot, in the sense usually attributed to that
word; this will be settled by competent authorities. But
there are those who thought that they would fight with
impunity against the State and Fascismo. By now they
must be disillusioned; and they will be more so in the future.
The difference between the Liberal and Fascista States
consists precisely in this: that the Fascista State does not
defend itself only, but attacks, and those who intend to
slander it abroad and to undermine its authority at home
must be warned that their manceuvres bring with them un-
foreseen consequences. The enemies of the Fascisti must
not be surprised if I treat them severely as enemies.

As regards the speech of Filippo Turati, my old fighting
scent did not deceive me when a few days ago I refused
the advances which came to me from that quarter
through Gregorio Nofri, who, having been in Russia,
felt the overpowering necessity of becoming anti-Bol-
shevist. Strayed sheep do not enter my fold. I am still
faithful to my old tactics. I do not seek anybody. I do not
refuse anybody. I put faith above all in my own forces.
This is why, lately—after the meeting of the Great Fas-
cista Council—I desired that there should be a closer union
with those parties with which, fighting on national ground,
friendly relations can be established for common work.
But all this, let it be said at once, has not been done for
parliamentary purposes, but for the sake of cohesion, unity
and the pacification of the country.

I agree wholly with that which the Hon. Cavazzoni said
yesterday with regard to the eight-hour day. I declared,
before a meeting of eight hundred printers, that the eight-
hour day represents an inviolable conquest on the part of
the working classes. To-day there are those who dream of

PRIME MINISTER 253

setting on foot a long discussion because opposing ideas are
attributed to this and that member of the Cabinet. I give
definite notice that the Government, in one of its forth-
coming meetings, will decide once and for all the question
of the eight-hour day. This having been said, and I hope
that everybody will understand also the sense of all I have
not said, I pass on to the subject of foreign policy.

A Circumspect Policy of Activity. In the meantime, I
cannot accept the statement of the Hon. Lucci, who makes
out that I am original. In the first place, he must give me
time. In the second, there is no originality in foreign affairs,
and I refuse to be original, if this originality would result
in the slightest damage to my country. (Applause.) And 1
cannot accept, either, his too idealistic point of view. I
see the world as it really is, that is to say, a world of un-
bounded egoism. If the world was Arcadia, it would be
pleasant to amuse oneself with nymphs and shepherds;
but I do not see anything of all this, and even when the more
or less respectable standards of great principles are dis-
played, I see behind them interests which seek for a foot-
ing in the world. If all foreign policy were brought into the
region of pure idealism, it would certainly not be Italy who
would refuse to join in. But it is not so; hence all that the
Hon. Lucci says belongs to the music of the most distant
spheres. (Laughter.)

When I first took up my position on this bench, there was
a moment of trepidation in certain sections of international
politics. It was thought that the advent to power of Fas-
cismo would mean, at the very least, war with Yugoslavia.
After a few months, international opinion is fully reassured.
The foreign policy of Fascismo cannot be, especially in
these historic times, other than extremely circumspect,
though at the same time very active.

254 THE FASCISTA

The nation, having issued from the splendid and blood-
stained travail of the war, is now fully intent on the work
of building up its. political, economic, financial and moral
life. To compel it to make an effort which was not abso-
lutely necessary, would be to follow an anti-national
and suicidal policy. At London, as at Lausanne, Italian
foreign policy has pursued this direction; at Lausanne,
above all, the work of the Italian Delegation has been highly
appreciated. If peace was not concluded there, it was not
the fault, in any way, of Italy.

On the other hand, it is not good to speak too pessi-
mistically of the development of affairs in the Eastern
Mediterranean. It must not be thought that a certain
harmless showing of teeth, sometimes the result of reciprocal
restlessness, means the beginning of a war. I think that if
Greece is prudent and the Entente remains firmly united—
as in the case of their ships in the port of Smyrna—that
Turkey too, since she has realised a large part of the pro-
gramme laid down at Angora, will become reasonable.
There is no reason, therefore, to fear military complica-
tions in Europe. Still Italy will keep a careful look-out that
the disturbances resulting upon the events in the Ruhr
district shall not have serious consequences among the
countries of the Danube basin.

The situation on the Ruhr is stationary. I declare once
again that Italy could not have followed a different line of
policy. The time for fine gestures is past, as they are useless.
The attitude which was advocated by certain elements on
the Left would have been equally useless. We could not have
prevented the French from marching on the Ruhr, and we
might have encouraged the German resistance. Also the
other plan of our mediation could not have been carried
out, because no mediation of any kind is possible if it is
not asked for and welcomed. (Applause.) Besides, England

PRIME MINISTER 255

has limited herself to non-technical participation in the
operations on the Ruhr, but has not pushed her difference
of opinion with France to the point of withdrawing her troops
from the Rhine. It is opportune to add that France has
not asked us, up to now, for formal and concrete assistance.
Should this happen, it is evident that Italy should reserve
to herself the right of exposing all the complex system of
the relations between the two countries. (Loud applause.)

The Last Phase of the Adriatic Drama. As to the Agree-
ments of Santa Margherita, of which the Chamber is asked to
approve, they represent the last phase of our sad and lament-
able Adriatic drama. I could here reply in detail, I could
show the Hon. Chiesa, for example, how only yesterday,
gth February, I received a telegram from Belgrade to this
effect: ‘‘The Ministry of Yugoslavia communicates that
orders have been sent to the authorities of Spalato that
the premises of the school shall be evacuated and put at the
disposal of the school itself, and that the house which adjoins
the Church of Santo Spirito shall be emptied and handed
over.” I could correct other inaccuracies, but it is not my
business, it is not worth while to descend to the discussion
of detail. I am always of the opinion that this Convention
must be carried out in order to test it. At the same time, 1
do not feel like defending, at too great a length, a treaty of
which I did not approve when it was concluded, and which
I still hold to be, as regards a great many of its clauses,
absurd and harmful to Italian interests. But matters,
to-day, stand thus: either the treaty must be definitely en-
forced or denounced. Since, in present conditions, it cannot
be denounced, for that would mean the reopening of all diffi-
culties, there remains nothing but its loyal and scrupulous
application on our part, as loyal and scrupulous as the appli-
cation on the part of Belgrade will have to be. (Applause.)

256 THE FASCISTA

To wait indefinitely for events which may occur is the,
worst of systems at this moment. It is necessary to put
an end to a situation which has become unbearable and
which gave us all the disadvantages without assuring us
of what might be the advantages of clearly defined relations.
Moreover it is difficult to understand why the Treaty of
Rapallo, of all the treaties which have been made from the
beginning of history, should be the only one irreparable and
perpetual. No treaty has ever withstood new conditions
of affairs developed by the progress of time. The essential
thing, to my mind, is to place ourselves in such a position
that an eventual revision will enable us to vindicate our
eternal rights with dignity and power. (Applause.)

The Government in favour of Fiume and Zara. By the
application of the Agreements of Santa Margherita the
Fascista Government gives a solemn proof of its probity,
its spirit of decision and of absolute loyalty. Belgrade
must do the same. Yugoslavia must take into account
the intrinsic value of this act, and follow, where the Italians
who remain in Dalmatia are concerned, a policy of freedom
and judicious action; as a policy which would tend to sup-
press the Italian element in Dalmatia would not be tolerated
by the Fascista Government. (Applause.) By the ratification
of these Agreements the Government offers Yugoslavia the
opportunity of furthering the economic relations between
the two countries.

The Government, which has already done all it can,
within the limits of its possibilities, for Fiume and Zara,
will continue to work with the utmost energy and diligence
for these two cities. The evacuation of Susak having been
carried out—and of Susak only, because the Delta and
Porto Baros will still be occupied by our troops until Fiume
has become juridically a perfect State—Italy will continue

PRIME MINISTER 257

to interest herself in the fate of Fiume, so that she may be
restored in a short time to her ancient splendour.

As for Zara, her destiny is serious and difficult, and I,
for one, understand the tragedy of that city and the suffering
of all the Italians scattered in Dalmatia up as far as Cattaro.
But Zara, the sentinel of Dalmatia, is ready to bear, with
the spirit of absolute national discipline, the completion
of the last act of the Adriatic drama.

The Government will meet its needs immediately, because
Zara must live, because Zara beyond the Adriatic repre-
sents one of the most vital portions of the Italian people.
And the people of Zara and Dalmatia may be sure that the
Government will watch over their fate with the most loving
care. These are not merely words spoken to help them
through this difficult time; deeds will follow them.

As for public, national opinion, it is unanimous in
feeling that these Agreements had to be applied in
order that Italy might be free in the ever closer
international competition, free to carry out a policy of
defence of her interests and free to influence with increasing
activity the course of events. I think that the best part
of the Italian people agree in this line of home and foreign
policy. (Applause.)

258 THE FASCISTA

QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE
SENATE. THE RUHR; FIUME; ZARA AND
DALMATIA

Sitting of the Senate, 16th February 1923.

The Prime Minister. HONOURABLE SENATORS,—After hav-
ing written the prefaces and the introductions to the Bills,
and after the speech made in the other branch of Parlia-
ment, I do not think that there remains much to say.

The very rapidity of the discussion itself bears witness
to the fact that all these treaties and agreements are
already, in a certain sense, superseded. By this I do not
wish to deny their importance, but it is a question of treaties
and conventions of some time back, and life to-day moves
at a very great rate. I do not disguise the fact that in
continuing the eternal theory of conferences, people have
reason to show a certain scepticism about the likelihood
of results. (Laughter.)

Why Italy intervenes. Senator Crespi tried to carry the
discussion on to general ground—the burning ground of
debts and reparations. He demands new pacts; but there
are none. Perhaps there cannot be any. With reference
to a recent appeal for Italy’s intervention in this matter, if
responsible members of Governments, and especially those
engaged or interested in the conflict, turned to Italy, the
only nation in the world which, at this moment, is follow-
ing a policy of peace—(Applause.)—I should not hesitate
one moment in answering the appeal.

There is a new factor, Senator Crespi, which it would be
a good thing to take into consideration, though it is one
which tends to stifle rather than arouse enthusiasm. It is
that England and the United States have come to an agree-

PRIME MINISTER 259

ment. England has undertaken to pay her debts to America.
It is no good, therefore, for us to entertain too many illu-
sions about the likelihood of a cancellation of our debts.
It would be perfectly just, I think, from the strictly moral
point of view; but the criteria and principles of abso-
lute morality do not as yet guide the relations of the
peoples. (Approval.)

It was said in a foreign Parliament that Italy had
attempted to mediate between France and Germany. No
such attempt was ever made. My duty was to make investi-
gations in the European capitals, and I have done so. But
having gathered that there was no possibility of proceeding
in that direction, I drew back, as to continue would have
been a great mistake. I think, however, that the crisis has
reached its culminating point. It is a question now of
knowing whether the Entente still exists and still will
exist. (Comments.)

I do not think that I shall be revealing secrets if I say here
what meets the eye of anyone who reads the daily news
in the papers. Not a single event has occurred, not a single
question arisen, without the problem of the unity of action
of the Entente having been brought forward. Of necessity
in this political situation there can be no improvised action
and still less originality. All foreign policies, not excluding
that of Russia, which is simply terrifying in form and
method, are of a cautious and circumspect nature at this
moment. There is no reason why Italy should follow a
different course. When it is a question of the interests of
our nation and of forty million inhabitants who have the
right to live, it is necessary to be careful about improvisa-
tions, and it is necessary to take into account that, besides
our wishes, there are also the wishes of others.

If we had coalfields; if we had in some way solved the
problem of raw materials; if we could dispose of large

260 THE FASCISTA

reserves of gold in order to keep up the value of our money,
we could follow a given policy, even one of generosity
towards Germany. But we cannot afford the luxury of
prodigality and generosity when we have to toil to carry
on life, when we have to summon all our energies to avoid
falling into the abyss.

And so you will agree with me, Honourable Members,
that Italy could not keep aloof from that which is taking
place on the Ruhr, could not deprive herself of participation
in an economical and technical capacity. It is always
better, in my opinion, to be present, because sometimes
complicated problems find unexpected solutions. It was
not possible to run the risk capriciously of not being pre-
sent, in the event—not at all improbable—of an economic
agreement, as regards iron and coal, between Germany
and France. (Applause.)

Zara and Dalmatia. Coming to the Agreements of Santa
Margherita, I understand perfectly the grief and anguish
expressed in the words of Senators Tamassia and Tivaroni.
Undoubtedly sentiment is a great spiritual force, both in
the lives of individuals and of peoples, but it cannot be
the one dominating influence of foreign policy.

It is necessary to have the courage to say that Italy
cannot remain for ever penned up in one sea, even if it is
the Adriatic. Beyond the Adriatic there is the Mediter-
ranean and other seas which can interest us. The Treaty
of Rapallo was, in my opinion, a lamentable transaction,
which was the result of a difficult internal situation and of
a foreign policy which was not marked by its excessive
autonomy. And here allow me to repeat that a strong and
dignified foreign policy cannot be carried out if the nation
does not present a daily example of iron discipline.
(Approval.) I do not think that these Agreements of

PRIME MINISTER 261

Santa Margherita sign the death warrant of Zara and
Dalmatia. With the last concessions we have saved the
use of the Italian language for our brothers there. Now
I think it was Gioberti who said that where the language
is spoken there is the nation. For this reason, if these
brothers of ours can speak, write and learn in their mother
tongue, I think that already one of the foundations of -
their Italian nationality is saved.

For a decade the Italians of Zara and Dalmatia have re-
sisted the furious attempts at denationalisation made by
the Hapsburg Monarchy. In those days Italy could not give
active assistance to those brothers; now you see that she
has another realisation of herself. Those brothers of ours,
who might have felt themselves forgotten if the Agreements
of Santa Margherita were applied by another nation,
cannot feel the same when the definite and necessary appli-
cation of the Treaty of Rapallo is carried out by the Govern-
ment over which I have the honour of presiding and of
which the members are those who won the victory.
(Applause.) We firmly believe that the strict and scrupulous
application of the Agreements of Santa Margherita on our
part, as well as on the part of Yugoslavia, will save the
Italian character of Zara and Dalmatia. There is no need
for me to repeat that treaties are transactions, and are
like the steps of an equilibrist. No treaty is eternal and
perpetual; all that is happening to-day under our eyes
gives us clear warning.

The Question of Fiwme. We shall then carry out these
Agreements immediately and loyally. It must not be thought
that the Third Zone is a kind of vast continent, and that
in it we have immense forces. It is a question of the territory
round Zara and a group of islands; all told, we have only
120 policemen, 18 custom-house guards, and 20 soldiers.

262 THE FASCISTA

At Susak we have a battalion of infantry. It will be a case
of turning them back to the line of Eneo, because until it
is known what is to become of Fiume, Porto Baros and the
Delta, they will remain under the control of Italian troops.
(Applause.) What is this Arbitration Commission? It repre-
sents an attempt to bring about the existence of that more
or less vital creature, first conceived at Rapallo, known as
the Independent State of Fiume. (Laughter.) One thing is
certain, at any rate, and that is that there are three Italians
on the Commission. And another thing is certain, and
that is that it is not absolutely necessary for Fiume to
become a new province of the realm. That there should
actually be a prefect at Fiume is to me a secondary
matter; the important thing is that Fiume shall keep her
spirit sound and intact, that she shall remain Italian, and
that such means shall be found that shall make her a city
which lives in itself and for itself and not only through the
largess of the Italian State. (Loud applause.)

The Government, which sometimes makes deeds precede
words, has already taken steps for the provision of
Zara, economically, politically and spiritually. The same
has been done for Dalmatia. It is necessary to admit
frankly that since the coming of the Fascista Government
the Yugoslavs have been less intransigent with regard to
us. There is no doubt that the definite carrying out of the
Treaty of Rapallo is the cause of great grief to the citizens of
Fiume and Zara, of Dalmatia and many in the old kingdom.

(Cries of “It is true.’’)

Mussolini, At other times there might perhaps have been
difficulties. But the Government over which I have the
honour of presiding does not hesitate; it faces difficulties,
I was almost going to say seeks them. I intend to regulate
as soon as possible all that more or less successful heritage
of foreign policy left me by my predecessors. It is no good

PRIME MINISTER 263

being alarmed by what happens. I have what I dare to
call a Roman conception of history and life. Things must
never be thought to be irreparable. Rome did not believe
in the irreparable, even after the battle of Cannz, when
she lost the flower of her generation. On the contrary, you
will remember that the Senate went out to meet Terentius
Varro, who, having wished to undertake the battle against
the advice of Paulus Amilius, was certainly one of those
responsible for the defeat. Rome fell, and rose up again;
she marched slowly, but she marched; she had a goal to
reach, and she intended to reach it. Italy, our Italy, the
Italy which we carry in our hearts, and which is our pride,
must be like this; the Italy which accepts her destiny
when it is imposed, by hard necessity, but only while she
prepares her spirit and her forces to overcome it some day.
(Loud and prolonged applause, many Senators advance to
congratulate the Prime Minister. Silence being once more
established, Mussolini continues.)

I propose that the Senate, having concluded the discus-
sion suspended yesterday evening, should be adjourned. I do
not know for how long. The Government must be left free to
work and to prepare work for the Chamber and the Senate.

Meanwhile, I feel the necessity of thanking the President,
who has directed the proceedings with that tact and high
wisdom for which he is known. I am glad that the Senate,
in approving of these political and commercial treaties—
which are two aspects of the same policy—has thus brought
to a conclusion a part of our foreign policy. 1 beg the Presi-
dent to accept the expression of my profound admiration.

Tittoni, President of the Senate, replies, reciprocat-
ing the words of the Prime Minister and praising his spirit
and his patriotic faith. He pays tribute to the way in
which the Hon. Mussolini has assumed, with a firm hand,
the direction of public interests.

264 THE FASCISTA

A REVIEW OF EUROPEAN POLITICS IN THEIR
RELATION WITH ITALY

Speech delivered before the Cabinet, 2nd March 1923.

The Prime Minister. HONOURABLE COLLEAGUES,—The situ-
ation on the Ruhr has remained stationary during these
last weeks. While the two disputants seem to settle
themselves more rigidly in their respective positions of
passive resistance on the part of Germany and active pres-
sure on the part of Belgium and France, England has not
changed her attitude of benign disapproval and Italy has
neither increased nor reduced the number of technical
experts representing her on the Ruhr. So far there has not
arisen the new factor which would lead, in one sense or the
other, to the solution of the crisis. This new factor could
consist either in a direct proposal made by one disputant
to the other, or in a request for mediation, or in the modifi-
cation, on a political basis, of the aims which France says
she has in view—aims of an economic nature, which so far
have not gone beyond the limit of the payment of repara-
tions—or else in an increase of the opposition of England
which would lead to the withdrawal of her troops from
the Rhine.

It seems, however, clear—notwithstanding the solicita-
tions of an element of the advanced democracy—that
England maintains her attitude of circumspect waiting,
without impatience or precipitation. The war, which at
the present moment has for its theatre the basin of the
Ruhr, is one of attrition, and it may yet last for some time,
in spite of the general expectation all over Europe of a

PRIME MINISTER 265

rapid conclusion. As I have already said both in the Senate
and the Chamber, Italy will not refuse her assistance in any
attempt that may be made to render normal the situation
in Central Europe as soon as possible, and of this she has
given tangible proof in the help afforded, before any other
country, to Austria. The solidarity which Italy was bound to
show towards France upon the common ground of repara-
tions, has given rise to projects of greater importance, which
might have been interpreted in certain circles as having
been directed against other Powers or to the exclusion of
some one of them. An official declaration on the part of the
Government has established the truth of the matter. The
campaign in certain papers has not been approved of and
still less authorised. That it is very opportune that friendly
and cordial relations should exist between Italy and France
is the sincere conviction of my Government. It is very
much to be desired that the economic relations between
these two neighbouring countries shall be intensified and
strengthened, and the Government has worked in this
direction in concluding the recent commercial agreement.
But this has nothing to do with a real treaty of alliance,
as has been suggested in certain sections of public opinion.
The Fascista Government intends on the whole to follow
a line of foreign policy as far as possible autonomous,
and it could never adhere to alliances which did not protect
the interests of Italy in the highest degree and which did
not constitute a solid guarantee of peace and prosperity for
Italy in particular and Europe in general.

Fascista Italy cannot and will not adhere to a system of
alliances which does not take into account these funda-
mental premises. For her to pledge herself in any way
definitely while the Entente is still in a state of crisis, and
there are still many obscure points in the general situation
in the world, would be unpardonable.

266 THE FASCISTA

Turkey and Peace. No reliable news has hitherto reached
us as to the intentions of the Government at Angora con-
cerning the acceptance or non-acceptance of the projected
treaty presented by the Allies to the Turkish Delegation at
Lausanne. Information is contradictory, because, whereas
on the one hand it is said that, in spite of the moderating
influence of Mustapha Kemal and Ismet Pasha, the Assembly
of Angora has shown itself adverse to some of the conditions
already accepted by the Turkish Delegation at Lausanne and
intends to re-discuss the projects of the treaty, article by
article; on the other hand, especially from British quarters,
it is continually said that the Turks seem favourably
disposed towards the rapid conclusion of peace.

Whatever may be the decision of the Government at
Angora, it must be remembered that, once the deliberations
of the Assembly are at an end, the Turks will, by means of
the Secretary-General of the Conference, who remains for
the present at Lausanne, give a definite reply to the Allies
concerning eventual requests and proposals.

Between the Governments at Rome, London and Paris
there is in consequence an active diplomatic correspondence
in progress with the object of establishing the common line
of action to be adopted by the Allies in certain important
questions, such as that of Capitulations and those con-
cerning the Economic Clauses, as well as the course to be
adopted in the eventual resumption of the work of the
Conference, if the Turkish proposals are such as to furnish
a serious basis for discussion. The British Government is
showing itself to be very rigid in this respect and seems not to
wish to allow discussion upon other than these three points:

(a) The formula of the Turko-Grecian reparations.

(6) The formula of the judicial guarantees for foreigners.

(c) Economic Clauses.

As regards the first, it is a question of putting in the hands

PRIME MINISTER 267

of an Arbitration Commission the reciprocal claims of the
two countries, since the Turks do not even admit that the
Greeks have any claims to present. For the second, it is
a question of finding a formula which will provide more
efficient guarantees for foreigners where the searching of
private houses and arrests are concerned; and as regards
the third, of resuming the discussion and negotiations upon
all economic questions and of handing them over to
another commission to be dealt with apart from the
treaty of peace.

The Italian Government is fully convinced of the necessity
of bringing about the conclusion of this peace in order that
grave dangers, derived from the actual situation in the East,
may be avoided, and in order that normal conditions, favour-
able to the free exercise of trade and industry, may be
re-established. Although we are resolute in demanding
from Turkey the acceptance of the really moderate con-
ditions proposed by the Allies, we do not think, however,
that every and any request, not connected with the three
points mentioned above, made by Turkey, should be excluded
a priori, but rather that the possibility of examination with-
out preconception should always be considered where some
well-defined and limited proposal is concerned.

As to procedure, the British Government would be
inclined towards the renewal of the discussion at Constanti-
nople, while the Italian Government, realising the dangers
which would menace the success of the negotiations in the
surroundings of the Turkish capital, would prefer that
it should take place at Lausanne with a limited gathering
of technical delegates.

In any case it will not be possible to make a definite
decision about this before knowing the answer of the
Turkish Government, which is to be decided by the vote
of the Grand Assembly.

268 THE FASCISTA

Memel and the Polish Frontier. The question of Memel
has been solved in theory, and it is not probable that in
practice overpowering obstacles will be met with, since in
the solution the rights of both the Lithuanians and the
Poles have been taken into account.

This incident has afforded an opportunity of examining
generally the still uncertain position of Poland with regard
to her boundaries. It seemed to the Italian Government
that such uncertainty was pregnant with dangers, and that
it was of the utmost importance to arrive, as soon as possible,
at the recognition of the frontier, the delimitation of which
is reserved for the Allied Powers by the Treaty of Versailles.
Consequently, at the Conference of Ambassadors at Paris,
the Government proposed that such a delimitation should
be proceeded with at once, a proposal which, not having
appeared at first to meet with the approval of the other
representatives, has recently been presented again by the
French Government, and to which we, for the sake of
consistency, have adhered.

As far as the boundaries between Lithuania and Poland
are concerned, we should have preferred the League of
Nations to have been called upon to pass an opinion, so
that the largest number of States possible should be interested
in guaranteeing the decision. Our Allies, however, having
drawn attention to the fact that the procedure of the League
of Nations is of a length and tediousness which, at the pre-
sent moment, it is better to avoid, we have also adhered
on this point to the French proposal to hand the question
over to the Conference of Ambassadors.

We truly hope that Poland and Lithuania will accept
the decisions which the Conference of Ambassadors thinks
it just to make. And this is one of those typical cases in
which Poland and Lithuania must take into account the
inevitable necessity of sentiment yielding to reason.

PRIME MINISTER 269

The Problems of the Adriatic. Fiume,; Abbazia, Zara.
The Italian Delegation and part of that of Yugoslavia have
already arrived at Abbazia. At present work has not begun,
but will begin as soon as possible. At our request the Govern-
ment at Belgrade has replaced Admiral Priza by Signor
Rybar as her representative. The accusations against
Admiral Priza, as a participator in the legal proceedings
which led to the condemnation and death of Nazario Sauro,
are well known. The Government at Belgrade showed itself
to be appreciative of the eminently moral reasons for our
objection and consented to the substitution—even at the
cost of facing the criticism of the Italophobe opposition
—with a good-will which seems an excellent omen for
the future.

Our Delegation, too, to the Commission for the Evacua-
tion of the Third Zone is already at Zara, and since the Yugo-
slav Delegation has also arrived, work can begin at once.

An incident which occurred the night before last, when
abuse of Zara and Italy was shouted from a passing
Yugoslav steamer within sight of that port, has already
evoked spontaneous and immediate apologies from the
Yugoslav consul to our prefect. But I have urged Belgrade
to prevent such deplorable, although unimportant, incidents
from occurring again.

I must say that, hitherto, the Yugoslav Government has
shown itself to be animated on the whole by excellent feel-
ing, and loyally co-operates in seeking to smooth the way in
this period of important and delicate negotiations which
has just begun.

As for the attitude of the national elements at Zara and
Fiume, they remain inspired by a high sense of discipline
and recognition of the necessity of subordinating private
interests to the general welfare of the nation.

The Conference of the Siidbahn. The work of the Conference

270 THE FASCISTA

of the Siidbahn for the purpose of technical and adminis-
trative reorganisation has made sufficient progress. Both
the States interested and the company have presented their
proposals for amendments, in which they try, without
interfering with the basis of the projects under discussion,
to lessen the financial burden.

The project of the agreement concerning through traffic,
which contains regulations guaranteeing the regularity of the
organisation of the railways, facilities for the customs and
sanitary services, and the setting in order of the international
stations, as well as regulations regarding the railway
rates of the through trains, has already been discussed.
The States have shown themselves to be of one opinion
with regard to the intentions of the project, which tend to
unite in a special convention all the different regulations
which have issued from the treaties of peace and the projects
of the Convention concluded at Barcelona and Portorose.

The project, moreover, is directed particularly towards
reviving the powers of the Convention of Berne in respect
of international traffic. The scheme of agreement for the
technical and administrative reorganisation of the Siid-
bahn admits the possibility of direct control on the part of
the State as well as on the part of the company. It aims also
at the maintenance of that unity of commercial direction
which, without offending the sovereignty of the States with
regard to tariffs, will allow of international traffic and the
direct despatching of goods, and will take into account the
special exigencies of trade which require particular measures
and which, not being prejudicial to the States, will be advan-
tageous as regards the economic relations between them.

The work of the Conference will probably last another
week on account of the complicated and difficult charac-
ter of the various financial, technical and administrative
problems to be solved,

PRIME MINISTER 275

THE ITALO-YUGOSLAV CONFERENCE FOR
THE COMMERCIAL TREATY

Opening address delivered in Rome at the Palazzo Chigi, on 6th March
1923, before the members of the Conference.

GENTLEMEN,—I am particularly glad to open this meeting
and welcome cordially the delegates of the Kingdom of
the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes. I attach great
importance to this meeting and to its results, which I am
confident will be excellent.

You know that at Abbazia the Adriatic question is being
settled, so that at the present time the field may be cleared
of those special problems which up to to-day have not
permitted an understanding with Yugoslavia.

Along with that of Abbazia, this meeting, convened with
the object of linking together more closely commercial
relations between the two countries, attains a great im-
portance. Italian public opinion and the Fascista Govern-
ment consider that, together with political relations, there
must be close and profitable economic ties.

I am certain that the Italian delegates will make every
effort to arrive at this agreement and I do not doubt that the
Yugoslav Delegation will do the same. This will be in the
common interest of the two countries. (Applause.)

272 THE FASCISTA

“ HISTORY TELLS US THAT STRICT FINANCE
HAS BROUGHT NATIONS TO SECURITY ”

Speech delivered at the Ministry of Finance on 7th March 1923, where
Mussolini officially handed over to the Minister, Hon. de Stefani, the
Budgets of Home and Foreign Affairs, to be revised in accordance with a
decision of the Council of Ministers.

HONOURABLE MINISTERS, COLLEAGUES, GENTLEMEN,—It
might be asked, Why such fuss, why so many soldiers for
a ceremony which could be described as purely adminis-
trative, such as the consignment of my two Budgets to
the Finance Minister? We must answer this question thus:
For various motives, some more plausible than others. The
solemnity which accompanies this ceremony serves to
demonstrate the immense importance the Government
attaches to a rapid restoration of financial normality. We
have formally promised to make a start towards balancing
the State Budget, and with this promise we wish to keep
faith at whatever cost. We must be convinced that if the
whole falls, the part falls too; and that if the economic
life of the nation falls in ruin, all that is in the nation—
institutions, men, classes—is destined to suffer the same fate.

And why these soldiers? To show that the Government
has strength. I declare that, if possible, I want to govern
with the consent of the majority of the people, but whilst
waiting for this consent to be formed, to be nourished, to
be strengthened, I collect the maximum available force.
Because it may happen, by chance, that force may aid in
rediscovering consent, and, at any rate, should consent be
lacking, force still remains. In all the measures—even the
most drastic—the Government takes, we shall put before

PRIME MINISTER 273

the people this dilemma: either accept them from a high
spirit of patriotism or submit to them. This is how I
conceive the State, and how I understand the art of
governing the nation.

I am glad to find myself before you—(continued the
President, turning to the officials of the Ministry of Finance
present at the ceremony)—because the Minister has spoken
very favourably to me of the high officials of the Ministry
of Finance. He told me that some of you often work up to
sixteen hours a day. Well done! Those are long hours,
but it is a splendid example. But if they were not suffi-
cient, it would be necessary to work even twenty hours.
Only thus, gentlemen, shall we rise up out of the sea of
our present difficulties and reach the shore.

We must inculcate in our spirit a sense of absolute
discipline. We must consider that the money of the Treasury
is sacred above everything else. It does not rain down from
Heaven, nor can it even be made with a turn of the printing-
press, which, if I could, I would like to smash to pieces. It
is made out of the sweat, it might be said of the blood, of
the Italian people, who work to-day, but who will work
more to-morrow. Every liva, every soldo, every centesimo
of this money must be considered sacred and should not be
spent unless reasons of strict and proved necessity demand
it. The history of peoples tells us that strict finance has
brought nations to security. I feel that each one of you
believes in this truth, which is fully proved by history.

With this conviction I bid you farewell. (Applause.)

274 THE FASCISTA

“IT IS NOT THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF EUROPE
ALONE THAT WE HAVE TO RESTORE TO ITS
FULL EFFICIENCY ”

Speech delivered at the Palazzo dell’ Esposizione in Rome, on 18th

March 1923, before the International Congress of the Chambers ot
Commerce,
GENTLEMEN,—The Government over which I have the
honour to preside and which I represent is glad to welcome
you to Rome and offers you a deferential and cordial greet-
ing, which I extend also to the foreign representatives, who
have wished to honour us by their presence. The fact that
your important Congress is held in the capital of Italy, only
five months after the events which gave the control of public
affairs to the youthful forces of war and of victory is the
best declaration to the world that the Italian nation is
rapidly returning to the full normality of her political and
economical life. In a meeting like this I shall not linger on
the former, but shall briefly dwell on the latter subject.

The economic policy of the new Italian Government is
simple. I consider that the State should renounce its in-
dustrial functions, especially of a monopolistic nature, for
which it is inadequate. I consider that a Government which —
means to relieve rapidly peoples from after-war crises should
allow free play to private enterprise, should renounce any
meddling or restrictive legislation, which may please the
Socialist demagogues, but proves, in the end, as experience
shows, absolutely ruinous.

It is, therefore, time to remove from the shoulders of the
producing forces of every nation the last remains of that
machinery which was called the trappings of war and to
examine economic problems, no longer with a state of mind
veiled by the influence of particular interests, as they had to

PRIME MINISTER 275

be examined during the war. I do not believe that the
aggregate of forces, which in industry, in agriculture, in
commerce, in banking, in transportation may be called by
the world-name of capitalism, is near its downfall, as cer-
tain doctrinarians belonging to the Social-Extremists have
claimed. One of the great historical experiences of which
we have been witnesses proves that all the systems of
associated economics which do away with private initiative
and individual effort fail more or less pitifully in a short time.
But free initiative does not exclude an agreement between
groups, which will be realised all the easier when there is a
loyal protection of each separate interest. Your Chamber
of Commerce follows exactly this programme of enquiry,
and of stabilisation, of co-ordinating and conciliating the
various interests. You are here in Rome to discuss the best
means to revive the great currents of trade which, before
the war, had increased general wealth and brought all
people to a high standard of living. These are weighty and
delicate problems which often cause discussions of a political
and moral nature. To solve them we must be guided by the
conviction that 7 7s not the economic system of Europe
alone that we have to restore to its full efficiency, but that
there are also countries and continents which may offer a
field for a larger economic activity in the near future. It
is not without significance that the powerful Republic of
the United States has sent such a large number of her
representatives to Rome. It means that, if official political
America still keeps an attitude of reserve, economic America
feels that she cannot remain indifferent to what may or
may not be done in Europe.

There is no doubt that Governments—beginning with
mine—will examine with the utmost care and give due
weight to the decisions which are arrived at by this Congress.
(Loud cheers.)

276 THE FASCISTA

“ONLY THOSE WHO PROFITED BY THE WAR
GRUMBLED AND STILL GRUMBLE, CURSED
AND STILL CURSE AT THE WAR”

Speech delivered on 29th March 1923, in Milan, at Villa Mirabello,
before blind ex-soldiers.

My pEAR ComRADES!—When a little time ago one of your
officers told me that you never grumbled at the war, even
when Italy seemed overwhelmed, I was not surprised,
because only those who profited by the war grumbled and
still grumble, cursed and still curse at the war. Those
who have performed their duty do not grumble, do not
curse, but accept their sacrifice with Roman simplicity
and austerity.

When I am amongst the maimed I live again the greatest
days of our war. And I declare to you that a Government
which did not bear you in mind would be unworthy, and
would only be worthy of being overthrown by the fury
of the people.

But the Government which I represent is entirely formed
of men who have fought from the Stelvio to the sea of Trieste,
and such men cannot ignore the sacrifices accomplished.

I express to you here this morning all my brotherly
sympathy and admiration as an ex-soldier, as a man, as an
Italian, and I embrace you all. And by this act I intend to
honour and exalt all those who contributed to the greatness
of the mother country by the deeds accomplished and by
the shedding of their blood. (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 277

“ PATRIOTISM IS NOT FORMED BY
MERE WORDS ”

Speech delivered at Arosio, near Milan, on 30th March 1923, before
ex-soldiers suffering from shell-shock.

FELLOW-SOLDIERS,—I did well to accept your courteous
invitation, in the first place, as it always gives me great
pleasure to offer to my comrades of the trenches the proof
of my fraternal sympathy as a soldier, as a man, as an
Italian, and as the head of the Government.

As I said yesterday to the blind ex-soldiers at Villa
Mirabello, so I say to you. The Government intends to
protect you, intends to satisfy your requests, to defend
your material and moral rights.

Your invitation has given me the opportunity to see
this splendid work, which represents the results and the
harmonious synthesis of faith in your undertakings and of
noble love for our country.

Everything that is done for the maimed and for ex-
soldiers is a small thing in face of the sacrifice of so many
Italians who gave their life on the battlefields or who
shed their blood.

What is done here is not only a manifestation of piety,
it is an expression of national solidarity and of conscientious
patriotism. Because patriotism is not formed by mere
words, it is formed by deeds, by example, by showing one-
self worthy before one’s own conscience of the quality
of being Italian.

The Government intends to exalt all the forces of the
country, all the moral forces arising from our victory;
it means daily and disinterestedly to defend all those
who by their deeds and their blood have prs S to
this glorious victory. (Applause.)

298 THE FASCISTA

QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE THE
CABINET

Speech delivered before the Cabinet on 7th April 1923.

The Abbazia Conference. COLLEAGUES,—The Commission
appointed according to the Agreements of Santa Margherita,
which met, as is known, on Ist March, started its work
by the arrangement for the evacuation of Susak, which
took place on the following day. It is opportune here to
note that the Italian Delegation wished to express to the
world and to the Italian troops its gratitude for the courteous
and chivalrous behaviour during the whole occupation
of Susak.

The Commission decided, at that time, a provisional
settlement for communication and traffic between Fiume
and Susak, which was made effective for two months, in
view of the eventuality of the prorogation of the sittings of
the Commission. The frontier traffic between Castua and
the adjacent territories was also organised.

With reference to the military operations, the Serbo-
Croatian-Slovak Delegation has at once recorded an ob-
jection, on the grounds that with the evacuation of Susak,
it did not consider that that stipulated by the Agreements
of Santa Margherita had been carried out, seeing that the
Delta and Porto Sauro remained occupied by Italian troops.
Against this assertion the Italian Delegation replied that
Italy had carried out to the letter the provisions of the
Agreements of Santa Margherita, which refer purely and
simply to the evacuation of Susak.

Apart from this objection, the Commission has continued
its work and the Italian Delegation has put forward a project

PRIME MINISTER | 279

for a Consortium in the port of Fiume between the three
interested States. Such a project, in a general way, attri-
butes to Fiume the character of an international port,
leaving the possibility of the enjoyment of special privileges
and guarantees to each of the contracting States for a freer
development of the traffic which affects them. With regard
to such a project, the Serbo-Croatian-Slovak Delegation
has put forward its objections, presenting on its own account
a draft of a project, according to which the Sauro Basin
and the Delta would be excluded from the port of Fiume
and assigned exclusively to Yugoslavia.

The Italian Delegation has formally declared that it
could not accede to any pact whatsoever which, destroying
the unity of the port of Fiume, would irremediably damage
the future of the new State, and, in answer to the objections
raised by the Serbo-Croatian-Slovak Delegation to the
Italian project, our Delegation has presented another plan,
in which full consideration was given to the said excep-
tions. But, in the course of the following discussion, the
points of view of the two Delegations could not be
reconciled. The sittings were suspended on 24th March, to
be resumed shortly.

The new Lausanne Conference. Following the counter-
proposals put forward by the Government of Angora, the
British Government has convened in London an Inter-Allied
meeting in order to examine what modifications to the
drafting and the substance of the Peace Treaty presented
to the Turks on the 30th of last January may be possible.
The Allied Representatives at this meeting have decided
to invite the Turks to resume as soon as possible at Lausanne
the discussion with the Allied experts and have at the same
time come to an agreement as to the line of conduct to
follow in such a discussion.

280 THE FASCISTA

In the text of the reply sent to the Government of Angora,
which has been published, the Allies have deemed it oppor-
tune to insert some remarks and objections on certain points
of special importance, as for example that regarding the
removal of the Economic Clauses asked by the Turks, to
which the Allies cannot accede; that concerning some part
of the judiciary declarations and the Turkish demands
relative to substantial modifications of the Territorial
Clauses already agreed upon, such as that of Castelrosso,
whose restoration to Turkey could not be countenanced.

It is to be hoped that the goodwill that both parties have
the intention of displaying in the imminent negotiations of
Lausanne may bring about speedily the conclusion of peace
in the East, which corresponds with the warmest wish and
interest of the Italian Government.

Italo-Polish Relations. Mr. Skrzynski came to Milan to
express to me the gratitude of Poland for the friendly
attitude of Italy in the determination of the Polish frontier,
which took place recently. Expressing a personal view, I
mentioned to him the advisability of a larger extension of
autonomy to the population of Eastern Galicia. I profited
by the occasion to examine with the Minister for Foreign
Affairs some concrete points, which, with regard to oil and
coal, concern more closely our commerce. I recognised with
satisfaction the friendly disposition which animates the
Polish Government and I was struck with the impression
that whenever important Italian enterprises should wish
to develop their activity in Poland, they would find
there the best of welcomes. The representatives of some
Italian firms of standing, moreover, are now already in
negotiation at Warsaw, and the results, I hope, will in
a short time confirm the favourable attitude of the
Polish Foreign Minister.

PRIME MINISTER 281

The Visit of the Austrian Chancellor Seipel. In the con-
versations I had at Milan with the Austrian Chancellor,
both parties expressed the reciprocal desire and interest to
improve further relations between the two countries. The
Chancellor has warmly thanked the Italian Government
for the helpful action on behalf of Austria and has asked
our support for the satisfactory solution of all problems
which might contribute to the economic reconstruction of
the Republic. I gave favourable assurances and, conse-
quently, have accordingly hastened the negotiations already
begun for a commercial agreement and I have had examined
numerous questions which had been dragging on unsolved
for some time.

It is to be hoped that, the last difficulties having been
removed, the Commercial Treaty may be signed within a
few days. The Clauses of the Portorose Conventions, signed
and not ratified by the contracting parties, will be included
in it. The Chancellor has asked that the small Austrian
properties in Italy and the historical Austrian Institute in
Rome should be restored to Austria, as was done for Germany.
While I declared myself favourable to his requests, I have,
for my part, reminded him of the situation of Italian pro-
perty in Austria and have obtained from the Chancellor
satisfactory assurances concerning this and other subjects.
With reference to the Conventions signed at the Conference
of Rome, some of which have notable importance for Italy,
the Chancellor has promised to proceed to their ratification
without further delay.

The Commercial Relations with Austria. The negotiations
with Austria are being conducted with a spirit of the greatest
goodwill on both sides, in order to arrive in a short space
of time at an agreement which should establish regular and
profitable relations between the two countries and also

282 THE FASCISTA

after the first period, during which the economic relations
between the two States are regulated by the Treaty of St.
Germain. If some difficulty still remains, this is due in the
first place to the fact that it is not the case of negotiating
pacts which, with regard to their application and their
consequences, could remain restricted to the exchanges
between the two neighbouring States, but are destined to
have a repercussion also on our relations with the other
States which, for their imports into Italy, enjoy the ‘‘most
favoured nation” clause.

This fact, independently of the specially favourable
conditions by which certain important industries, com-
peting with ours, are working in Austria, compels us to be
very cautious in adhering to the many Austrian requests, and
all the more that, for financial and other reasons, Austria is
herself not in a position to meet our demands to the extent
which is essential to us. The two Delegations have, however,
already arrived at an agreement on most of the questions
which have been the subject of reciprocal demands, and now.
certain controversies remain to be solved which, although
they offer the greatest interests for both sides, it is to be
hoped may be solved with satisfaction to all.

Special attention has been paid by the two Delegations
to the study of the questions relative to the traffic through
the port of Trieste and the regulation of the frontier traffic
for the protection of the interests of the populations of the
zone near the frontier of the two States. On this subject
agreement may be said to be complete.

The Commercial Treaty with Yugoslavia. The negotiations
with Yugoslavia, which should lead to the regulation of all
the economic and financial questions still pending between
the two States, have been conducted so far on the Treaty
of Commerce, which, except for the part concerning the

PRIME MINISTER 283

Italian proposals on the tariffs, may be said to be already
agreed upon by the two Delegations. With reference to the
other subjects under examination, of which only a small
part has been possible to discuss at the same time as the
negotiations for the Commercial Treaty, the Yugoslav
Delegation is now awaiting further instructions from Bel-
grade. Besides the commercial negotiations I have men-
tioned, there are others proceeding for a Commercial Treaty
with Spain. Negotiations will shortly be opened for com-
mercial agreements with Siam, Finland, Esthonia, Lithuania,
Lettonia and Albania.

(After a short discussion, in which several Ministers
participated, the Cabinet approved the declarations of
the Prime Minister.)

284 THE FASCISTA

“MINE IS NOT A GOVERNMENT WHICH DECEIVES
THE? PEOPLE *

Speech delivered at the Palazzo Municipale on 2nd June 1923, to the
contadini of Rovigo.

Fascist1,—How shall I find adequate words to thank you
for this magnificent welcome? A few moments ago your
mayor gave voice to the greeting of the city and the province.
To-day I have passed through your fertile lands, furrowed
by rivers, exploited by your tenacious work. All Italy must
be grateful to this industrious people, who, too, having
realised the beautiful and supreme interests of the nation,
has now all the more the right to be treated with greater
friendship and consideration.

I know that I am speaking to an assembly where workers
are certainly in enormous majority. Well, I say to them
with calm words and with a still calmer conscience that the
Government which I have the honour to represent is not,
cannot, and will never be against the working classes.
(Loud applause.) Six months of Government are still too
few for a programme to be carried through, but, to my mind,
they are sufficient to give an idea of its directives which
to-day are precise and sound. Mine is not a Government
which deceives the people. (Applause.) We cannot, we
shall not, make promises if we are not mathematically sure
of being able to fulfil them. The people have been too long
deceived and mystified for the men of our generation to
continue this low trade.

We have traced a furrow, very clear-cut and deep, between
that which was the Italy of yesterday and that which is the

PRIME MINISTER 285

Italy of to-day. In the latter, all classes must have a sphere
of action for their fruitful co-operation. The struggle be-
tween classes may be an episode in the life of a people, it
cannot be the daily system, as it would mean the destruction
of wealth, and, therefore, universal poverty.. The co-opera-
tion, citizens, between him who labours and him who employs
labour, between him who works with his hands and him who
works with his brains, all these elements of production have
their inevitable and necessary grades and constitutions.
Through this programme you will attain a state of well-
being and the nation prosperity and greatness. If I were
not sure of my words I would not utter them before you
on such a solemn and memorable occasion. (Applause.)

(At this point of the speech an aeroplane piloted by
Ferrarin was executing some daring evolutions just above
the Palazzo Municipale, from where Mussolini was
speaking. The Prime Minister stopped for a few seconds
following Ferrarin’s evolutions, then went on:)

Fascisti! The other day I was passing in one of those
aeroplanes over your town. That flight was profoundly
significant, as it was meant to show that six months of
tenure of office have not yet nailed me down into my Presi-
dential easy chair and that I, as you, as all of you, am still
ready to dare, to fight, if necessary, to die, so that the
fruits of the great Fascista revolution may not be lost!

Long live Fascismo! Long live Italy! (Loud applause.)

286 THE FASCISTA

“IN TIME PAST AS IN TIME PRESENT, WOMAN HAD
ALWAYS A PREPONDERANT INFLUENCE IN
SHAPING THE DESTINIES OF HUMANITY”

Speech delivered at Padua at the first Women’s Fascista Congress, on
2nd June 1923.

LapiEs,—If J am not mistaken, this, which is inaugurated
here to-day, is the first Women’s Fascista Congress of
the ‘‘three Venices.” The title and the field covered by this
first Congress of yours are full of profound significance.
Fifty years ago one could not speak of the ‘‘three Venices”’!
Venice herself, after the magnificent years of heroism of
1848 and 1849, was still held by the shackles of foreign
slavery. In 1866 we liberated Venice, one of the Venices.
Fifty years afterwards we liberated the other two—that
which has as its boundary the devoted and impregnable
Brenner, and the other which has as its boundary the not
less devoted nor less impregnable Nevoso.

Fascisti do not belong to the multitude of fops and
sceptics who mean to belittle the social and political im-
portance of woman. What does the vote matter? You
will have it! But even when women did not vote and did
not wish to vote, in time past as in time present, woman had
always a preponderant influence in shaping the destinies of
humanity. Thus the women of Fascismo, who bravely
wear the glorious “black shirt,” and gather round our
standards, are destined to write a splendid page of history,
to help, with self-sacrifice and deeds, Italian Fascismo.

Do not trust the little stuffed owls, the yelling monkeys
or, indeed, any representative of the lower zoological orders,
who believe they practise politics, but could be called by a

PRIME MINISTER 287
more infamous name. Do not believe those who talk of
crises within the ranks of Fascismo;—these are details,
mere episodes in the great event, and they, after all, concern
men, not masses. When Fascisti have not to strike the
enemy, they can well afford themselves the luxury of in-
ternal quarrels. But if the enemy should begin to raise his
head again and intensify the character of his more or less
stupid opposition, then Fascisti will again become solidly
united. Then “Woe to the vanquished!” (Applause.)
And since the opportunity is propitious, I would like to
tell you, women of Fascismo, and the Fascisti of all Italy,
that the attempt to sever Mussolini from Fascismo or
Fascismo from Mussolini is the most useless and grotesque
attempt that could be conceived. (Applause.) I am not
so proud as to say that I who speak and Fascismo are
one; but four years of history have now clearly shown
that Mussolini and Fascismo are two aspects of the same
thing, are two bodies and one soul or two souls in a single
body. I cannot forsake Fascismo, because I have created
it, I have reared it, I have strengthened and I have chastened
it, and I still hold it in my fist, always! It is, therefore,
quite useless for the old screech-owls of Italian policy to
pay me their foolish court. I am too shrewd to fall into this
ambush of the commercial mediocrities of village fairs. I
can assure you, my dear friends, that all these little vipers,
all these cheap politicians will be bitterly disillusioned.
To think that I could become brutalised in Parliamentary
bureaucracy is to believe an absurdity. Although I come
from the working class, I have a spirit too aristocratic not
to feel disgust for low Parliamentary manceuvres. We shall
continue our march vigorously (added the Hon. Mussolini,
raising his voice), because this has been imposed on us by
destiny. We shall not turn back, nor shall we even mark
time. I have already said that we did not want to push

288 THE FASCISTA

matters to extremes only to see ourselves driven back by
the swing of the pendulum. I prefer, as I wrote in an article,
which aroused some interest—I prefer to march on con-
tinually, day by day, in the Roman way, in the way of
Rome who is never reconciled to defeat; of Rome who
welcomed Terentius Varro coming from Canne, although
she knew that he had given battle against the opinion of
Consul Paulus Emilius and was, in a certain degree, respon-
sible for the defeat; of Rome who after Canne forbade
matrons to sally forth, so that their grief-stricken bearing
should not shake the strength of the citizens; of this Rome
who re-wrote continually the chapters of her history, who
found in every ill-success the incentives to endurance, to
steadfastness, to strengthen her spirits, to harden her nerves,
to light the flame of passion! This is the Rome of whom
we dream; the Rome in whom all hierarchies are respected,
those of strength, beauty, intelligence, and human kindness;
the Rome who struck hard at her enemies, but then raised
them up again and made them share her great destiny; the
Rome who left the utmost liberty to the beliefs of her
subject-peoples, provided only that they obeyed her!

Giuseppe Mazzini used to say that power is but the unity
and perseverance of all efforts put together. Well, Italian
power, Fascista power, the power of all the new generations
which expand in this superb spring of our life and history,
will be the result of the unity of our efforts, of the tenacity
of our work. After all, what do Fascisti ask for? They are
not ambitious or factious. They have the sense of limitation
and of their responsibility. And I am sure of interpreting
your thought, the deep craving of your soul, if I say that
Fascisti, from the first to the last, from the leaders to the led,
ask only one thing: To serve with humility, with devotion,
with steadfastness, our beloved Mother Country, Italy!
(The speech was greeted with enthusiastic applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 289

“SO LONG AS THESE STUDENTS AND THESE
UNIVERSITIES EXIST, THE NATION CANNOT
PERISH AND BECOME A SLAVE, BECAUSE
UNIVERSITIES SMASH FETTERS WITHOUT
ALLOWING THE FORGING OF NEW ONES”

Speech delivered at the University of Padua on 3rd June 1923.

Mr. CHANCELLOR, PROFESSORS, My YOUNG FRIENDS,—It is
not I who honour your University, it is your University which
honours me, and I must confess that, although on account
of my laborious dealings with men I am a little refractory
to emotions, to-day, being among you, I feel deeply touched.

We have known each other for some time, from 1915,
from the days of that May always radiant. I remember
that the students of Padua hung up at the doors of this
University a big paper puppet representing a politician
about whom I do not wish to express any opinion now. But
that act meant that the youth of the University of Padua
did not want to hear about ignoble diplomatic bargains—
(Applause.)—did not want to sell its splendid spiritual birth-
right for a more or less wretched mess of pottage. The
University of Padua, the students, who were not degenerate
descendants of those Tuscan students who went out to die
at Curtatone and Montanara, wished then to be the van-
guard, to take up their post in the fighting line, carrying
with them the reluctant ones, chastening the pusillanimous,
overthrowing the Government and going out to fight, to
sacrifice and death, but also to honour and glory.

From that time I know that among you there are faithful
followers and that this University among all the others is

t

290 THE FASCISTA

truly an active centre of faith and of intense patriotism.
If I look back for a moment to the rolling by of centuries,
I recognise in this University a great fountain at which
thousands of men of all countries, of all generations, of all
races, have quenched their thirst.

The Government which I have the honour to represent
repudiates, at any rate in the person of its chief, the doctrine
of materialism and the doctrines which claim to explain
the very complex history of humanity only from the material
point of view, to explain an episode, not the whole of history,
an incident, not a doctrine. Well, this Government prizes
individual, spiritual and voluntary qualities, holds in high
esteem the Universities, because they represent so many
glorious strong points in the life of the people. In fact I do
not hesitate to state that if Germany has been able to resist
the powerful influence of Bolshevism, it is due, above all,
to the strong University traditions of that people.

A people with an ardent spirit and with genius like ours
is necessarily a well-balanced and harmonious one. The
Government understands the enormous historic importance
of Universities, has a respect for their noble traditions and
wishes to raise them to the heights of modern exigencies.
All this cannot be done at once, as everything cannot be
accomplished in six months. All that we are doing at present
is to clear the ground from all the débris which the rotten
political caste has left us as a said inheritance. (Applause.)
How could a Government composed of former soldiers ever
disparage Universities? It would not only be absurd but
criminal! From the Universities have come out by the
thousands volunteers and by tens of thousands those magni-
ficent warriors who used to assault the enemy’s trenches
with a superb contempt of death. They are our comrades
whose memory we bear engraved in our hearts. You will
write their names on your gates of bronze, but their memory

PRIME MINISTER 291

will be more imperishably engraved in our spirit. We cannot
forget them, as we cannot forget that out of the Universities
came by thousands the “‘black shirts,” those “black shirts”
who, at a given moment, put an end to the inglorious vicis-
situdes of Italian politics, who took by the throat with strong
fingers all the old profiteers who appeared, to the exuberant
impatience of the new Italian generations, always the more
inadequate for their paralysing decrepitude. (Applause.)
Well, so long as there are Universities in Italy—and there
certainly will be for a long time—and so long as there are
young men to attend these Universities and to become
acquainted with the history of yesterday, thus preparing
the history of to-morrow, so long as there are such young
men, the doors of the past are definitely shut. I guarantee
it formally! But I add further that so long as these young
men and these Universities exist, the Nation cannot perish
and it cannot become a slave, because Universities smash
fetters without forging new ones. (Applause.) If to-morrow
it were again necessary, either for causes arising within or
without the frontiers, to sound again the trumpet of war,
I am sure that the Universities would again empty them-
selves to re-populate the trenches. (Loud applause.)

And now that you have rejuvenated me by twenty years,
I would like to sing with you the “‘GaudeamusIgitur.”’ After
all, Lorenzino dei Medici was right when he sang: ‘‘ How
beautiful is youth!” Well, my young friends, there can
never be for us as individuals the certainty of the morrow,
but there is the supreme and magnificent certainty of the
morrow for us as a nation and as a people.

And with the students’ hymn, let us utter in Latin
a simpler word, Laboremus. To work with dignity, with
probity and with cheerfulness, to assault life with earnest-
ness and to meet it as a mission, trying to fulfil the cate-
gorical injunction left us by our dead. They command us

292 THE FASCISTA

to obey and to serve, they command us discipline, sacrifice
and obedience.

We should really be the last of men if we failed to do our
clear duty. But we shall not fail. I who hold the pulse of
the nation and who carefully count its beats, I who some-
times shudder in the face of the heavy responsibilities which
I have assumed, feel in me a hope, nay a vibration, of a
supreme certainty which is this: that, by the will of the
leaders, by the determination of the people, and by the
sacrifice of past, present and future generations, Imperial
Italy, the Italy of our dreams, will be for us the reality
of to-morrow. (Loud applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 293

ITALY’S FOREIGN POLICY REGARDING GERMAN
REPARATIONS, HUNGARY, BULGARIA,
AUSTRIA, YUGOSLAVIA, TURKEY, RUSSIA,
POLAND AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Speech delivered at the Senate on 8th June 1923.

HONOURABLE SENATORS,—The speech that I have the
honour of delivering before your illustrious Assembly may
appear analytical, because in it I propose to touch on
several questions and to speak decisively upon several
problems, especially with regard to internal policy... By
this I do not delude myself to be able to convince those
who are my opponents in malé fide, nor to disperse com-
pletely the small opposition which nourishes itself on detail,
and is the effect of personal temperament.

You will not be surprised if I begin with foreign policy,
even if it happens that this is the field in which serious and
founded opposition does not exist, and it may be legitimately
said that our policy is endorsed unanimously by the nation.

As I have already said on other occasions, the foreign
policy of the present Government is inspired by the neces-
sity for a progressive revaluation of our diplomatic and
political position in Europe and in the world. It is a fact
that, except for territorial acquisitions bounded by the
Brenner and the Nevoso, frontiers wrested by long and
bloody wars, Italy was excluded in the Peace of Versailles
and other successive treaties from all other benefits of an
economic and colonial nature. Solemn pacts signed during

1The speech on Internal Policy here referred to will follow this one
on page 300.

294 THE FASC

the war have lapsed and have not been replaced. The posi-
tion of inferiority assigned to Italy has weighed and still
weighs heavily on the economic life of our people. It is
useless to dwell upon recriminations of the past. We must
rather seek to regain the ground and time lost. There is
no doubt that from October to to-day the situation has
‘notably improved.

The other Powers, whether allied or not, know that
Italy intends to follow an energetic and assiduous policy
for the protection of her natural and vital interests, intends
to be present wherever, directly or indirectly, they are at
stake, because this is her right and her definite duty; but
at the same time she is in favour of that line of conduct in
general policy which tends to bring back as quickly as
possible to a normal state the economic situation of our
continent. Italy, who too is marching rapidly towards her
readjustment, sees this rebirth continually disturbed by
general outside factors. There is, therefore, a definite
Italian interest in hastening the pacific solution of the
European crisis.

The Position of Italy and Reparations. All such crises,
since the Treaty of Versailles onwards, have been dominated
by the one problem: Reparations. In the face of this
. problem the fundamental position of Italy is as follows:

I. Germany can and must pay a sum which now seems
universally fixed and which is very far from the many
hundreds of milliards talked of on the morrow of the
Armistice;

2. Italy could not tolerate territorial changes which
would lead to a political, economic or military hegemony
in Europe;

3. Italy is prepared to bear her quota of sacrifice, if it is
necessary to obtain what is called European reconstruction ;

PRIME MINISTER 295

4. The Italian Government maintains to-day more than
ever, above all after the last German Note, that the problem
of reparations and that of Inter-Allied debts are intimately
connected and are in a certain sense interdependent.

There is no doubt that the occupation of the Ruhr has
contributed to render the crisis of the Ruhr extremely acute,
and therefore to a certain extent hastened a solution.

It will not be inopportune to recall, considering the
rapidity of events, that the French and Belgians went to
the Ruhr on account of the declarations of a series of
failures of the supplies in kind by Germany, admitted
also by England, at any rate as regards that of wood, and
the failure of the Conference of Paris.

It is certainly worth while to fix exactly in their essential
lines the main features of the Italian, English and German
projects, in order to have a picture of the situation as
regards its agreements and divergencies, and to see what
conjectures we can form as to a possible settlement. This
will also serve to explain why Italy was not able to accept
the Bonar Law scheme at Paris, and why she had to reject
the recent Cuno-Rosenberg Memorandum.

The Italian project reduced the German debt to
fifty milliards of gold marks, proposed a moratorium of
two years, during which Germany would continue the
supply of reparations in kind, accepted the distribution of
German payments according to the quotas fixed at Spa,
by which the Italian quota was put at five milliards of gold
marks, fixed the payment of one part of the ‘‘C” bonds
by means of the security given by the other ex-enemy
States, used the remainder of the ““C” bonds to settle the
debt to America, agreed to the taking of economic pledges
as a guarantee of the German payments, and finally,
as regards the payments of the reparations owed by
Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary, asked for a pledge for

296 THE FASCISTA

the acceptance of the proposals which England had
deferred putting forward—proposals, that is, of annulling
those debts.

The Italian quota of reparations, which the Italian
project fixed at five milliards of gold marks, was thus
reduced in the English project to less than half; whilst
cancelling the bonds, it partly abolishes to our detriment
German solidary responsibility for minor ex-enemy debts
and rendered impossible the execution of the agreement of
March 1921, which ensures important advantages to Italy
upon the basis of the “C’’ bonds. The larger percentage
reserved on the seventeen milliards, representing the
interest of the moratorium capitalised to 1923, could not
be used for the payment of American debts, in consideration
of the aleatory nature of these seventeen milliards.

I do not recall all this to reopen discussions, but only to
make clear the main outlines of that which was and remains
a noteworthy attempt to find a solution for this grave
problem; an attempt which contains worthy elements
which can be usefully taken up again in case of a definite
settlement.

The conclusion of an agreement between England and
America on the problem of debts—the work of the then
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Baldwin, to-day Prime
Minister, followed shortly after the presentation of the
English project.

Any idea of this debt being itself cancelled, or even of a
simple compensation through the payment of reparations,
is excluded from this agreement. The obligation to pay,
although facilities may be accorded concerning both the
number of years in which it must take place and the interests
due, is solemnly affirmed and put into execution. In Eng-
land the Speech from the Throne strongly emphasised this
agreement. Even taking into account the diversity of

PRIME MINISTER 297

economic strength and the totality of sacrifices borne, it
could not remain without effect upon the importance of the
whole question for the other European Powers.

Analysis of the German Project. If we compare the English
and Italian projects with the German, the inacceptability
of the latter appears evident. As is known, one of the
fundamental points of the last German project concerns
the consolidation of the actual debt of Germany, especially
in kind, at the figure of twenty milliard gold marks, with
an additional ten milliards, the payment of which depends
upon the decision of an International Commission. De-
ducting the interest, these twenty milliards are reduced to
fifteen, and the sums necessary must be found by inter-
national loans; and in the very probable eventuality that
by 1927 the twenty milliards have not been subscribed, an
annuity will be paid which represents five per cent. interest
plus one per cent. for the redemption of the loan. Finally,
in the German project any provision or regulation for the
guarantees demanded is lacking. The total German debt,
which in the English and the Italian projects is fixed at
the figure of fifty milliards, in the German project is reduced
to less than a third, and it is difficult, if not impossible,
to determine in it the Italian quota and the sacrifice
demanded from Italy.

In view of the representations, especially of England and
Italy, Germany has recognised her proposals as insufficient,
and yesterday the German Ambassador, Neurath, pre-
sented to me the new German Note, on the contents and
nature of which I cannot pronounce an opinion for evident
reasons, as in consequence of this Note diplomatic action
with all the Allies must be taken up. I will only say that
the German Note no longer demands the preliminary
evacuation of the Ruhr as a condition for negotiation.

298 THE FASCISFA

This might make us believe in a renunciation on the part
of Germany of that passive resistance, the utility of which
—even for German aims—appears ever more doubtful, and
whose cessation would help towards a more rapid attainment
of a solution.

Italy and Hungary. But the problem of reparations is
not only Franco-German, it is also Hungarian, Bulgarian
and Austrian.

It is useful to define the stage which has been reached
with regard to these ex-enemy countries. The total of the
Hungarian reparations, which is fixed by the Treaty of
Trianon, has not yet been determined by the Reparations
Commission, and Hungary up to to-day has only furnished
limited supplies in kind. The Hungarian Government,
alleging the disturbed economic and financial conditions
of the country caused by the serious depression of the krone,
has recently put forward the necessity to contract a foreign
loan, which, if it is to succeed, should be guaranteed by the
custom duties, by the tobacco monopoly, and, if needs be,
by other resources. Hence arises the necessity for such
resources to be freed for an adequate period from the claims
of reparations. A Memorandum precisely to this effect
has been recently presented by the Hungarian Minister in
Paris to the Reparations Commission.

The Italian Government, having examined the question
from a technical point of view, has deemed it indispensable
to concede to Hungary the temporary relinquishment of
certain resources, so that she may proceed to her own
economic restoration by means of loans to be contracted
abroad. Italy has, therefore, shown herself favourable to
the above Hungarian request, with the addition of certain
conditions necessary to guarantee her own rights, on which
point she is in agreement with the British Government.

PRIME MINISTER 299

Agreement with Bulgaria for Payment. With reference
to Bulgarian reparations, Italy, Great Britain and
France came to an agreement on 21st March with the
Bulgarian Government to facilitate the payment of her
debt of 2250 million gold francs fixed by the Treaty of
Neuilly, by dividing it in two parts; one of 550 millions
to be paid by instalments beginning in October of this
year, and the other 1700 millions not to be claimed before
thirty years.

Bulgaria has pledged herself by this agreement to reserve
for the regulation of her debt the revenues of her customs
and has already passed a law to this effect. The agreement
has also been approved by the Reparations Commission,
with the reservation of our rights for the reimbursement of
the expenses of the army of occupation. In fact, negotia-
tions are proceeding with the Bulgarian Government for
the regulation of this credit, which enjoys the privilege of
priority over other reparations.

Our Government, animated by favourable dispositions
as regards all that concerns the settlement of obligations
arising from the war, has had no difficulty in accepting
such an agreement.

The Loan to Austria. Fulfilling the pledge taken by its
predecessors in the Protocol of Geneva of 4th October
1922, the Italian Government has co-operated with the
Governments which are signatories of the Protocol, in order
that the loan in favour of Austria should have a large and
ready success. For this purpose the Government has con-
sented to postpone for twenty years, which is the duration
of the War Loan, her credits against Austria for the re-
covery of damages and for bonds of food supply, has given
her own guarantee for twenty-five per cent. of a maximum
loan of 585 million gold kronen, and has authorised Italian

300 THE FASCISTA

banks to contribute directly to the loan up to the maximum
of 200 million lire, including the sixty-eight which Italy
had previously lent to Austria, and which, by the terms of
the Protocol of Geneva, should have been repaid in cash.

Putting off for a further period the exaction of Austrian
reparation, and giving a guarantee and a direct and sub-
- stantial contribution to the loan in favour of Austria, the
Italian Government has wished to offer her co-operation
towards the political independence and territorial integrity
of the Austrian Republic to which the Protocol of Geneva
refers, and to which the United States of America also wish
to contribute, confidently subscribing for the first time to
a European loan.

Relations between Italy and Yugoslavia. Italy’s political
line of conduct towards the States of the Little Entente
and in general towards the States recently created is sub-
stantially inspired by the necessity of exacting the respect
and the scrupulous fulfilment of the treaties, because, given
the present contingencies, only such a policy can produce
quick and pleasing results with regard to an economic
settlement of the Danubian States which would contribute
to the larger one of Central Europe. On several occasions
the friendly and moderate policy of Italy has followed such
a course with satisfactory results.

With reference to such a policy the relations between
Italy and Yugoslavia have a special importance. The clear
attitude taken by the Government with regard to Yugo-
slavia by proceeding to the definite enforcement of the
Treaty of Rapallo has strengthened our legal position, and
we are able to rest any further development of our policy
on a solid basis. The enforcement of the Agreements of
Santa Margherita, which has been necessarily laborious
owing to the large extent of the field covered, can be said,

PRIME MINISTER 301

however, to proceed on the whole satisfactorily. In spite
of the initial difficulties encountered in any exceptional
régime, the economic system of the so-called “special zone
of Zara” is already in force for the evacuation of the remain-
ing Dalmatian territories, and the various organisations for
the regulation of all the intricate questions arising out of
the Agreements have been constituted.

Fiume. But naturally the most important question to
solve is that of Fiume. As is known, it offers the gravest
difficulties, since, in order to ensure the future of the com-
mercial life of the town, there must be solved many com-
plex problems of an economic nature which are often in
opposition to those of a political character. Undoubtedly
the recent long Parliamentary crisis in Yugoslavia, which
for a considerable time forced the Government of Belgrade
to confine its attentions almost exclusively to internal
problems, has heavily weighed against the rapidity of the
solution of such a question.

That Government has repeatedly acquainted us with its
wishes to solve the question in a satisfactory way as regards
the sentiments and the interests of Italy, and hasalso frankly
made known to us the real difficulties with which the
Government is faced in asking the populations interested
to accept a solution in agreement with the Italian point
of view.

Italo-Yugoslav Commission. With a view to ensure an
atmosphere of greater quiet to the Italo-Yugoslav Com-
mission, the Government of Belgrade has, in the meantime,
agreed to transfer the seat of the Commission to Rome.
The Yugoslav Delegation has arrived, and between it and
the Italian Delegation, which is fulfilling its duty with a
high sense of patriotism and political probity, preliminary
meetings are taking place with the object of fixing certain

302 THE FASCISTA

fundamental points before resuming official discussions, so
that the latter may proceed with the necessary speed with-
out lapsing into a deplorable stagnation, which would be
otherwise inevitable in such an arduous task.

The Conference of Lausanne and the definite Cession of
Castelrosso to Italy. The Conference of Lausanne, which
after the well-known suspension of last February resumed
its proceedings on 23rd April, is slowly completing them
through the no small difficulties of various kinds caused
by the delicacy and complexity of the questions under
examination. The course followed by the Italian Delegation
under any circumstance has always been inspired by the
most calm and impartial attitude, and its efficacy has been
recognised and generally appreciated at its just worth.

Italy cannot help considering as her vital interests the
speedy restoration of a normal state of trade in the East,
as well as the economic development and general progress
of all the peoples living on the shore of the Eastern
Mediterranean.

Although all the questions under discussion have not
yet been solved at Lausanne, on some of them, however,
which more directly affect our country, an agreement,
satisfactory on the whole, has been reached. The Govern-
ment of Angora has explicitly withdrawn the objection
regarding the cession of the island of Castelrosso to Italy,
the possession of which on our part could in no way justify
an eventual suspicion of Italian aggressive aims with regard
to Turkey. Our flag, which has already been saluted from
the moment it appeared in the island as a symbol of peaceful
well-being, will in the future continue to protect a popula-
tion which by plebiscite has entrusted itself to us.

The Juridical Protection of Foreigners in Turkey. The
Italian Government has also obtained the cancellation of

PRIME MINISTER 303

those clauses, with regard to our colonies in North Africa,
which the agreements concluded after the Libyan War had
left in existence, and at the same time the interests of
Libyan subjects residing in Turkey, whose rights have
been equal to those of Italian citizens, were opportunely
protected.

From the opening of the Conference the question of the
juridical protection of foreigners has been of the greatest
importance. The Conference has agreed in fixing the
limits of such protection, including it in a formula which
establishes for a period of five years the appointment on
the part of the Turkish Government of foreign judges,
who are authorised to receive complaints of the sentences
and of the proceedings of Turkish magistrates.

At Lausanne there still remain under discussion certain
important questions of general interest, such as those
relative to the management of the Ottoman Public Debt
and others of an economic nature, which I hope may be
quickly solved.

Relations between Italy and Russia. The present relations
with Russia are regulated by the Italo-Russian and Italo-
Ukraine Agreements of 26th December 1921. A few days
ago the projects for the conversion into law of the Royal
Decree of 31st January 1922 were presented to Parliament,
by whom the said agreements had been approved, though
some opposition had been offered to their practical applica-
tion. This opposition gave the Russians a pretext for violating
the agreement. We mean to remove these obstacles in
order to render easier the economic relations between the
two countries and pave the way for an understanding
resting on a wider basis without excessive illusions, but
also without dangerous prejudices.

Relations between the two countries, which possess

304 THE ‘FASCISTA

different economic systems, present enormous difficulties.
They are, however, not unsurmountable if on both sides
there is a good will to overcome them. Italian policy towards
Russia is clear and cannot give rise to misunderstanding.
The presentation before Parliament of these decrees
represents another proof of our intentions and gives us
the right to expect from the Government of Moscow the
scrupulous fulfilment of the pacts, the execution of the
pledge taken to abstain from any act hostile to our Govern-
ment, and from whatsoever direct or indirect propaganda
against the institutions of the kingdom. :

Relations between Italy and the United States. 1 do not
think it is necessary, considering the brevity of this speech,
to enter into further detail. I will only say that the relations
between the United States and Italy are particularly cor-
dial, and I am glad to add that both the Government and
the American people have fully understood the new political
situation in Italy.

Relations with Poland and other Countries. The initiative
of Italy for the definite determination of the Polish frontiers
has cemented even more closely the bonds of cordial friend-
ship which have united the two countries for centuries.
Their collaboration continues to be strengthened on econo-
mic as well as on political grounds. In these last days
the Polish Government has placed important orders with
Italian manufacturers.

The conversations and the personal relations I have had
with the Ministers of Austria, of Roumania, of Hungary,
the recent journey of H.M. the King of England, the
commercial treaties concluded and to be concluded, are
other signs of that progressive revaluation of our diplomatic
position which I referred to at the beginning of this speech.

PRIME MINISTER 305

Improvement of the Diplomatic and Consular Services. The
Fascista Government, always with the object of this revalua-
tion, as soon as it came into power instructed its repre-
sentatives abroad to direct their policy outside the confines
of the country to the renewed life of Italy, and to face
immediately the problem of the means and the men for
that end. In fact, the administration of Foreign Affairs,
in the face of so many difficulties from outside, already
possessed a great difficulty in her own constitution, due to
the scanty number of its elements. The tools of our work,
which is so delicate abroad, had to be renewed, and rendered
suitable, as regards the increase in number of officials and
the new conditions of Italy, for the momentous task which
they are required to perform.

Instructions have, therefore, been given with effect from
the first days of November for the reorganisation of the
competition for the Diplomatic and Consular Services, and
for Interpreters.

In conclusion I wish to repeat that Italian foreign
policy, while it intends to safeguard national interests,
wants at the same time to constitute a factor of equilibrium
and peace in Europe, and by such a policy I think I interpret
the tendencies and the needs of the Italian people. (Applause.)

U

306 THE FASCISTA

“THE INTERNAL POLICY”

Speech delivered at the Senate on 8th June 1923, after the one on
Foreign Policy (see p. 293).

HoNnouRABLE SENATORS,—The problems of public order are
problems of the authority of the State. There is no real
authority in the State if public order is not perfectly normal.
Public order and authority of the State are, therefore, two
aspects of the same problem. I ask you if conditions
have improved or become worse since last October. (“Im-
proved!”) Some of you give an affirmative answer. it
too, say they have improved. Although, naturally, I am
far from being pessimistic and, therefore, from being dis-
contented, I feel that nothing ever goes well enough.
But, Gentlemen, when one speaks of public order, one
must make comparisons. Even if they are disagreeable,
they are necessary. Unrest, uneasiness and sedition are
phenomena to be found not only in Italy. If we glance
beyond our frontiers we have reason to repeat that, if
Messene weeps, Sparta does not laugh! Look at the van-
quished peoples and note what happens in Austria and in
Germany. Look at the victorious peoples and you will
see that only yesterday there was a strike of public officials
in Belgium, which has cost the Treasury hundreds of
millions of francs. If, then, you glance at the neutral coun-
tries, at Spain, you will find there, too, that life is not
excessively bright and easy. All this I say for those who,
at every small revolver shot fired in one of the twenty
thousand villages of Italy, think they have been wounded
by a 17-inch shell!

PRIME MINISTER 307

A Significant Comparison. But, above all, it is worth while
to look at Italy and consider, on one side, her conditions
in the years 1918-20 and in the period following 1920-21.
The dominating events of the former two years are the
occupation of the factories, the permanent strike of the
officials belonging to public organisations, carried out in
rotation, and by a displacement of all the powers of
State authority (Assent.); and, although the incident is
extremely painful, one must recall to mind that in the rank
and file of that same glorious army of ours occurred an
episode at Ancona which proves how deeply sedition had
worked its way into the body of the Italian State.

The dominating event of the following two years is the
punitive Fascista expedition. Fascisti, from sheer necessity,
went out to the assault of the towns in large armed bodies.
To-day all this is over. To-day the officials of public organi-
sations do not and will not strike. (Assent.) When the
Fascista employees of the Post and Telegraph Offices came
to me to protest because my colleague, the Hon. Colonna
di Cesaro, had punished them, I told them that if I had~
been Minister of Post and Telegraphs I should have punished
them twice, and I added that, just because they were
Fascisti, they would have to recognise the necessity for a
strict discipline. (Assent.)

The State renewed. The conditions of public order
reached their zenith of disintegration during the latter part
of the year. In August there was the anti-Fascista strike,
which completely paralysed the State. This had no effect:
the Fascista forces, in its stead, obtained success. And,
from that time, I said that the two must be made one, and
that since that State was destitute of all the attributes of
virility, while there was a State in power which was rising
with great strength and capable of imposing discipline on

308 THE FASCISTA

the nation, it was indispensable for the rising State to
substitute itself, by a revolutionary movement, for the
other State which was declining. The August anti-Fascista
strike was followed by the Fascista occupation of the towns
of Bologna and Bolzano. The authority of the State was a
complete ruin. There are no more reports of labour conflicts
in the papers now.

The Chamber and the Conflicts. I am sufficiently impartial
to say that in these last days there has been a slight
recrudescence of trouble. What is its cause? I tell you
quite frankly: the re-opening of the Chamber. (Laughter.)
The Chamber is the place of questions. By the spectacle
it offers to the nation it sows seeds of conflict and discord
amongst the impulsive and excitable masses.

Further, the attitude of a section of Italian Liberalism
is a very welcome piece of good fortune for the subversive
elements, because they constitute for them unhoped-for,
unexpected allies, who blow enormous bubbles, which I
promise myself to prick with the pin of logic and sincerity
before closing my speech. (Assent.) Then perhaps there
is this, that certain gentlemen, when they found out
that they had not to fear the law of Fascismo or that of
the Government, which is slower because it is bound to
move in accordance with legal procedure, resumed their
bold attitude.

Elimination of the Subversive Elements. The measures
adopted to restore public order are: First of all the elimina-
tion of the so-called subversive elements. There was much
clamour after the hauling in of the nets, but in reality it
was only a very small affair. Of two thousand who were
arrested, those who are still in gaol do not reach the figure
of one hundred and fifty. They are in the hands of the
judges. They were elements of disorder and subversion.

PRIME MINISTER 309

On the morrow of each conflict I gave the categorical order
to confiscate the largest possible number of weapons of
every sort and kind. This confiscation, which continues with
the utmost energy, has given satisfactory results. (Assent.)
I had to repress every illegal act.

The High Grades of the National Militia. There was
another problem with regard to the National Militia:
namely the necessity of filling the superior posts, to
which had to be appointed men coming from the army
with a large personal military experience; this necessity
had to be harmonised with the gratitude due to the small
heads of Fascista “‘squadrismo,” the body which, by leaving
thousands of glorious dead, had crushed the subversive
demagogic elements.

We have solved this problem. All the ranks of superior
officers above those of “‘Seniore’”’ have been assigned to the
officers coming from the regular army; all the inferior grades
and those of sub-officers have been given to military men, to
“squadristi’”’ who had previously seen military life.

Moreover, statistics are always worth more than speeches.
Ninety-seven per cent. of the officers of the Militia having
a rank superior to that of ‘““Seniore” come from the officers
of the regular army. Out of about two hundred and thirty
officers superior to the rank of “Seniore,” six are decorated
with the Military Order of Savoy, two with Gold Medals,
one hundred and thirty with Silver Medals, eighty with
Bronze Medals.

As this is a day of explanations, even at the risk of abusing
your patience, I must read the list of rewards bestowed
on the Chiefs of the National Militia. General Cesare De
Bono, Field Marshal of the regular army: three Silver
Medals, special promotion for war services, ‘‘Croce di
Guerra.” General Gandolfo, Field Marshal of the regular

310 THE FASCISTA

army: two Silver Medals, special promotion for war
services. Hon. Cesare Maria De Vecchi; four Silver Medals,
two Bronze Medals, two ‘“‘Croci di Guerra.” Italo Balbo:
one Silver Medal, one ‘Croce di Guerra.” Gustavo Fara, the
general well known through all Italy: one Gold Medal,
two Silver Medals, special promotions for war services.
- Stringa, Major-General of the regular army: three Silver
Medals, one Bronze Medal, disabled in the war. O2zol
Clemente, Major-General in the regular army: two Silver
Medals, “Croce di Guerra.” Ceccherini, Major-General in
the regular army: three Silver Medals, two Bronze Medals.
Zambon, Major-General of the regular army: Silver Medal
and Bronze Medal. Guglielmotti, Major-General of the
regular army: two Silver Medals.

After these follow:

Giuriati, with two Silver Medals; Acerbo, with three
Silver Medals (voices: “Bravo!” ); Caradonna, with three
Silver Medals; Finzi, with a Silver Medal and two
“Croci di Guerra.”

Not to embarrass the modesty of my friends, I shall not
continue to read the list of these officers of the National
Militia,—(Laughter.)—but this is enough to prove to you
that this is a serious institution. And I add that every
day it becomes more so, because I] mean that it shall be so,
because all its chiefs mean it.

It might be asked of us: ‘‘ Why does the Militia remain?”
I shall tell it to you at once: for a very simple reason, to
defend Fascismo at home and also abroad. The word
“abroad” might alarm you. Well, I tell you that abroad
there is a difficult atmosphere for Italian Fascismo. Difficult
for the parties of the Right, which, being formed of national
elements, cannot feel enthusiasm for a movement that
exalts our national qualities; difficult for the parties of
the Left, because those elements are our adversaries from

PRIME MINISTER 311

the social point of view, knowing that the Fascista move-
ment is clearly anti-Socialist. It is well, therefore, that it
should be known that there is in Italy a mighty army of
volunteers to defend that special form of political organi-
sation called Fascismo.

The Militia, moreover, has the object of enabling the
army to do its own work. The army must fight, must get
ready for war. It must not do police work, especially of a
political nature, except under absolutely exceptional cir-
cumstances, of which now I do not wish to think, even
hypothetically. As an example I can tell you that last night,
upon my personal instructions, a whole section of Leghorn
was blockaded. Well, one hundred carabineers and three
hundred black shirts sufficed, whilst the army, the official
troops, were sleeping peacefully in their barracks, as was
their duty and their right. Moreover, believe me, so long
as in Italy they know that, besides some tens of thousands
of faithful carabineers, there is this enormous force,
attempts at revolt or at sedition will never be dared.

Modifications to the Statute Law. Finally, and this is a
manceuvre of the last few days, have burst forth in Italy
the bold defenders of the Statute, of Liberty and of Parlia-
ment. (Laughter.) It seems, listening to these gentlemen,
who had for a long time forgotten the existence of the
Statute, even as a simple historical document,—(Laughter.)
—that the Statute runs a serious risk and that one cannot
even discuss nor examine it.

Well, I think that none of you can consider Camillo
Cavour as a Bolshevist and a Fascista of 1848. Everybody
knows that the Constitutional movement of Piedmont was
the work of Cavour. Everybody knows how the political
Constitution was granted. At Genoa a tumult arose
against the Jesuits, believed supporters of Absolutism. A

312 THE FASCISTA

Commission of Genoese went to Turin and asked for the
expulsion of the Jesuits and the calling out of the Civic
Guard. But Cavour answered: ‘‘This is too little, the times
are ripe for something more!’’ Cavour wrote in his paper,
Il Risorgimento: ‘The Constitution must be demanded.”
And this was promulgated on the 4th of March. In its
- preamble it says: “The Statute is the fundamental, per-
petual law of the Monarchy.’ Four days afterwards the
first Constitutional Ministry of Coalition was formed with
the Moderate Balbo and the Democratic Pareto.

The phrase “The Statute is the fundamental, perpetual
and irrevocable law of the Monarchy” had wounded the
ears of the Democrats. Cavour hastened to interpret it
in a relative sense. It is worth while to listen attentively
to this paragraph of Cavour. “How is it possible,’’ he said,
“how can it be expected that the legislator would have
wished to pledge himself and the nation not to make the
slightest direct change, to bring the smallest improvement
to a political law? But this would mean the removal from
the community of the power of revising the Constitution;
it would mean the deprival of the indispensable power of
modifying its political form according to new social exigen-
cies; this would be such an absurd idea that no one of those
who co-operated in the making of this fundamental law
could conceive it. A nation cannot renounce the power of
changing by legal means its common law.”

After a short time history had to register a first violation
of the Statute, which assumed or presumed that, in order
to become a member of Parliament, it was necessary to
be an Italian citizen. On the 16th of October there was a
division between the Right, amongst which there were the
Moderates and the Municipals, and the Left, to which
belonged the Democrats, called the “burnt heads,” and the
Republicans. On the following day these two parties were

PRIME MINISTER 313

agreed in unanimously proclaiming above the Statute that
all Italians could belong to the Subalpine Parliament. The
first to benefit by this violation of the Statute was Alessandro
Manzoni; but he declined the mandate by a letter which
represents a fine example of correctness and_ political
probity. (Approval.)

Nobody, Gentlemen, wishes to overthrow or destroy the
Statute, which rests solidly on firm foundations; but the
inhabitants of this building from 1848 up to to-day have
changed. There are other exigencies, other needs. There
is no longer the Piedmontese Italy of 1848! And it is very
strange to notice among the defenders of the Statute those
who have violated it in its fundamental laws, those who
have curtailed the prerogatives of the Crown, those who
wanted the Crown to be entirely outside the politics of the
nation, and to become a dead institution. (Loud applause.)

The Abolition of Parliament ? They say that this Govern-
ment does not like the Chamber of Deputies. (Comments.)
They say that we want to abolish Parliament and deprive
it of all its essential attributes. It is timely to say that
the collapse of Parliament is not desired by me, nor by those
who follow my ideas. Parliamentarism has been severely
affected by two phenomena typical of our days: on one side
Syndicalism, on the other Journalism. Syndicalism gathers
by its various organisations all those who have special
interests to protect, who wish to withdraw them from the
manifest incompetence of the political Assembly. Journ-
alism represents the daily Parliament, the daily platform
where men coming from the Universities, from Science,
Industry, from the experience of life itself, dissect prob-
lems with a competence that is very seldom found on the
Parliamentary benches.

These two phenomena typical of the last period of

314 THE FASCISTA

capitalist civilisation are those which have reduced the enor-
mous importance which was attributed to Parliament. To
sum up, Parliament can no longer contain all the life of the
nations, because modern life is exceptionally complicated
and difficult.

But this does not mean that we wish to abolish Parliament.
_ We wish rather to improve it, to make it more perfect, make
it a serious, if possible a solemn institution. In fact, if I
had wished to abolish Parliament, I would not have intro-
duced an Electoral Reform Bill. This Bill logically pre-
supposes the elections, and through these elections there
will be deputies—(Laughter.)—who will form Parliament.
In 1924, therefore, there will be a Parliament.

But must the Government be towed along by Parliament?
Must it be at the mercy of Parliament? Must it be
without a will, or a head before Parliament? I cannot
admit that.

The Great Fascista Council. They say that Fascismo has
created duplicate institutions. These duplicates do not
exist. The Great Fascista Council is not a duplicate of the
Council of Ministers or above it. It met four times and never
dealt with problems which concerned the Council of Ministers.
With what, then, did the Great Fascista Council deal?
In the February meeting it devoted itself to the National
Militia and Freemasonry; it paid a tribute to the Dalmatians
and to the people of Fiume, and dealt with Fascismo abroad.
In the March meeting it arranged the ceremony for the
anniversary of the foundation of Rome and dealt with
Syndicalism. In its fourth meeting it devoted itself to the
Congress of Turin and again to Syndicalism.

‘All the great problems dealing with State administration,
with the re-organisation of armed forces, with the reform
of our judiciary circuits, with the reform of the schools,

PRIME MINISTER 315

all the measures of a financial nature have been adopted
directly by the responsible body, the Council of Ministers.

And then what is the Great Fascista Council? It is the
organ of co-ordination between the responsible forces of
the Government and those of Fascismo. Among all the
organisations created after the October revolution, the
Great Fascista Council is the most characteristic, the most
useful, the most efficient. I have abolished the High Com-
missioners, because they duplicated the Prefects and also
embarrassed the authority of the latter, who alone have
the right to wield authority. But I could never think of
abolishing the Great Fascista Council, not even if to-
morrow by chance the Council of Ministers were composed
entirely of Fascisti.

Our Magnanimity must not be taken advvantage of! This
Government, which is depicted as hostile to liberty, has been
perhaps too generous. The October revolution has not been
bloodless for us; we have left dozens and dozens of dead.
And who would have prevented us from doing in those days
that which all revolutions have done, from freeing ourselves
once for all from those who, taking advantage of our mag-
nanimity, now render our task difficult? Only the Socialists
of the newspaper La Giustizia, of Milan, have had the courage
to recognise that if they still exist they owe it to us, who
did not wish that, in the first moments of “The March on
Rome,” the “black shirts” should be stained with Italian
blood. But our generosity must not be taken advantage of!

Nobody must hope for a Crisis in Fascismo. The Membership
of Fascismo. But nobody must hope for a crisis in Fascismo,
which is and will remain simply a formidable party. If you
happen to notice that in one of its innumerable sections in
Italy there is dissension, do not thus draw the conclusion
that Fascismo is in a state of crisis, When a party holds

316 THE FASCISTA

the Government in its hands it holds it, if it wishes to hold
it, because it possesses formidable forces to use to con-
solidate its power with increasing strength. Fascismo is a
Syndicalist movement which includes one million and a half
of workmen and contadini, who, I must say in their praise,
are those who give me no trouble. There is, moreover, a
political body which has 550,000 members, and I have asked
to be relieved of at least 150,000 of these gentlemen.
(Laughter.) There is, still, a military section of 300,000
“black shirts,’ who are only waiting to be called. These
bodies are all united by a kind of moral cement, which
might be called mystic and holy, and through which, by
touching certain keys, we would hear to-morrow the sounds
of certain trumpets!

The Associations which are included in Fascismo. They
ask us: ‘‘Will you then camp out in Italy as an army of
enemies which oppress the remainder of the population?”
Here we have the philosophy of force by consent. In the
meanwhile I have the pleasure to announce that imposing
masses of men who deserve all the respect of the nation
have joined Fascismo, such as the Association of the
Maimed and the Disabled, the National Association of Ex-
soldiers. In the wake of Fascismo, moreover, are also in-
cluded the families of the fallen in war. There are a great
many members coming from the people in these three
Associations, whilst there is a great solidarity amongst
these disabled ex-soldiers and families of the fallen in war.
They represent millions of people, and, in the face of this
collaboration, must I go and simply seek all the fragments,
all the relics of the old traditional parties? Must I sell my
spiritual birthright for a mess of pottage which might be
offered to me by those who have followed no one in the
country? (Loud assent.) No! I shall never do this.

PRIME MINISTER 317

The Collaboration I welcome. If there is anybody who
wishes to collaborate with me, I welcome him to my house.
But if this collaborator has the air of a controlling inquisitor,
or of the expectant heir, or of the man who lies in ambush,
with the object of being able at a given moment to record
- my mistakes, then I declare that I do not want to have
anything to do with this collaboration. (Bravo! )

Besides, there is a moral force in all this. What was the
cause after all which affected Italian life in past years?
Italy was passing through a transformation. There were
never definite limits. Nobody had the courage to be what
he should have been.

There was the bourgeois who had Socialistic airs, there
was the Socialist who had become a bourgeois up to his
finger tips. The whole atmosphere was made up of half
tones of uncertainty. Well, Fascismo seizes individuals by
their necks and tells them: ‘You must be what you are.
If you are a bourgeois you must remain such. You must
be proud of your class, because it has given a type to the
activity of the world in the nineteenth century. (Approval.)
If you are a Socialist you must remain such, although
facing the inevitable risk you run in that profession.”
(Laughter.)

Taxation and the Discipline of the Italian Population.
The sight which to-day the nation offers is satisfactory,
because the Government exercises a stern and, if you like
to say so, a cruel policy. It is compelled to dismiss by
thousands its officials, judges, officers, railwaymen, dock-
workers; and each dismissal represents a cause of trouble,
of distress, of unrest to thousands of families. The Govern-
ment has been compelled to levy taxes which unavoidably
hit large sections of the population. The Italian people
are disciplined, silent and calm, they work and know that

318 THE FASCISTA

there is a Government which governs, and know, above all,
that if this Government hits cruelly certain sections of the
Italian people, it does not do so out of caprice; but from
the supreme necessity of national order.

The Government is One. Above this mass of people there
are the restless groups of practising politicians. We must
speak plainly. In Italy there were several Governments
which, before the present one, always trembled before the
journalist, the banker, the grand master of Freemasonry,
before the head of the Popular Party, who remains more
or less in the background,—(Applause.)—and it was enough
for one of these ministers im partibus to knock at the door
of the Government, for the Government to be struck by
sudden paralysis. Well, all this is over! Many men gave
themselves airs with the old Governments; those I have
not received, but have reduced them to tears. (Assent.)
For the Government is one. It knows no other Govern-
ment outside its own and watches attentively, because one
must not sleep when one governs, one must not neglect
facts, one must keep before one’s eyes all the panorama,
notice all the composition and decomposition, the changes
of parties and of men. Sometimes it is necessary, as a
tactical measure, to be circumspect; but political strategy,
at least mine, is intransigent and absolute.

My only Ambition is to make the Italian People Strong,
Prosperous, Great and Free. I should have finished; in fact
I have finished, but I must still add something that concerns
me a little personally. I do not deny to citizens what one
might call the ‘‘ Jus murmurandi’”—the right of grumbling.
(Laughter.) But one must not exaggerate, nor raise
bogies, nor have one’s ears always open to dangers
which do not exist. And, believe me, I do not get drunk
with greatness. I would like, if it were possible, to get

PRIME MINISTER 319

drunk with humility. (Approval.) I am content simply
to be a Minister, nor have I ambitions which surpass the
clearly defined sphere of my duties and of my responsi-
bilities. And yet I, too, have an ambition. The more I
know the Italian people, the more I bow before it. (Assent.)
The more I come into deeper touch with the masses of the
Italian people, the more I feel that they are really worthy
of the respect of all the representatives of the nation.
(Assent.) My ambition, Honourable Senators, is only one.
For this it does not matter if I work fourteen or sixteen
hours a day. And it would not matter if I lost my life, and
I should not consider it a greater sacrifice than is due. My
ambition is this: I wish to make the Italian people strong,
prosperous, great and free! (The end of the speech is hailed
by a frantic and delirious ovation. All the Senators rise, and
the Tribune applauds loudly, whilst the great majority of
the Senators go to congratulate the Hon. Mussolini.)
(The sitting is adjourned.)

320 THE FASCISTA

“AS SARDINIA HAS BEEN GREAT IN WAR, SO
LIKEWISE WILL SHE BE GREAT IN PEACE”

Speech delivered from the Palazzo della Prefettura at Sassari (Sardinia)
on roth June 1923.

CrT1zENs of Sassari! Proud people of Sardinia! The journey
which I have made to-day is not, and should not be inter-
preted as, a Ministerial tour. I intended to make a pilgrimage
of devotion and love to your magnificent land.

I have been told that, since 1870 to to-day, this is the
first time that the head of the Government addresses the
people of Sassari assembled in this vast square. I deplore
the fact that up to this day no Prime Minister, no Minister,
has felt the elementary duty of coming here to get to know
you, your needs, to come and express to you how much
Italy owes you! (Applause.)

For months, for years, during the long years of our bloody
sacrifice and of our sacred glory, the name of Sassari, con-
secrated to history by the bulletins of war, has echoed in
the soul of all Italy. Those who followed the magnificent
effort of our race, those who steeped themselves in the filth
of the trenches, young men of my generation—proud and
disdainful of death—all those who bear in their heart the
faith of their country, all those, O men of the Sassari
Brigade, O citizens of Sassari, pay you tribute of a sign,
of a testimony of infinite love. (Applause.)

What does it matter if some lazy bureaucrat has not yet
taken into account your needs? Sassari has already passed
gloriously into history. I was grieved to-day when I was
told that this town has no water. It is very sad that a city

PRIME MINISTER 321

of heroes has to endure thirst. Well! I promise you that
you will have water; you have the right to have it.
(Applause.) If the National Government grants to you, as
it will grant, the three or four millions necessary for this
purpose, it will only have accomplished its duty, because
while elsewhere young men with broad shoulders worked
at the lathe, the people of Sardinia fought and died in
the trenches.

We intend to raise up again the towns and all the land,
because he who has contributed to the war is more entitled
to receive in peace.

A few days ago, on the anniversary of the war, I went
by aeroplane to the cemeteries of the Carso, There are
many of your brothers who sleep in those cemeteries the
sleep which knows no awakening. I have known them, I
have lived with them, I have suffered with them. They
were magnificent, long-suffering, they did not complain,
they endured, and when the tragic hour came for them to
advance from the trenches they were the first and never
asked why. (Loud applause.)

The National Government which I have the honour to
direct is a Government which counts upon you, and you
can count upon it. It is a Government sprung forth from
a double victory of the people. It cannot, therefore, be
against the working classes. It comes to you so that you
may tell it frankly and loyally what are your needs. You
have been forgotten and neglected for too long! In Rome
they hardly knew of the existence of Sardinia! But since
the war has revealed you to Italy, all Italians must
remember Sardinia, not only in words, but in deeds.
(Loud applause.)

I am delighted, I am deeply moved by the reception
which you have given me. I have looked you well in the
face, I have recognised that you are superb shoots of this

=

322 THE FASCISTA

Italian race which was great when other people were not
born, of this Italian race which three times gave our civilisa-
tion to the barbarian world, of this Italian race which we
wish to mould by all the struggles necessary for discipline,
for work, for faith. (Applause.)

I am sure that, as Sardinia has been great in war, so likewise
will she be great in peace. I salute you, O magnificent sons
of this rugged, ferruginous, and so far forgotten island. I
embrace all of you in spirit. It is not the head of the
Government who speaks to you, it is the brother, the fellow-
soldier of the trenches. Shout then with me: Long live the
King! Long live Italy! Long live Sardinia!

(An enthusiastic ovation greeted the last words of
Mussolini.)

PRIME MINISTER 323

“MEN PASS AWAY, MAYBE GOVERNMENTS TOO,
BUT ITALY LIVES AND WILL NEVER DIE”

Speech delivered at Cagliari (Sardinia) on 12th June 1923, from the
Palazzo della Prefettura.

CitIzENS! Black shirts! Chivalrous people of Cagliari! Of
late I have visited several towns, including those which
belong to the place where I was born. Well! I wish to tell
you, and this is the truth, that no town accorded me the
welcome you gave me to-day. I knew that the town of
Cagliari was peopled by men of strong passions, I knew that
an ardent spirit of regeneration throbbed in your hearts.
The cheers with which you welcomed me, the crowd crammed
into the Roman amphitheatre, all this tells me that here
Fascismo has deep roots. I thank you, therefore, Citizens,
from the depth of my heart.

I have come to Sardinia not only to know your land, as
forty-eight hours would not be enough for that purpose,
and still less would they be enough to examine closely
your needs. I know them; statesmen have known them
for the last fifty years. Those needs are already before
the nation, and if up to to-day they have not yet been
solved, this is due to the fact that Rome was lacking that
iron will for regeneration which is the pivot, the essence
of the Fascista Government’s faith in the future of our
country. (Applause.)

Passing through your land, I have found here a living,
throbbing limb of the mother country. Truly this island
of yours is the western bulwark of the nation; is like
a heart of Rome set in the midst of our sea. Amongst
all the impressions I have received in coming here, one

324 THE FASCISTA

has struck my heart. I was told that Sardinia, for special
local reasons, was refractory to Fascismo. Here, too,
there was another misunderstanding. But from to-day
the cohorts and the legions, the thousands of strong “black .
shirts,” the syndicates, the fasci, the whole youth of this
island is there to show that Fascismo, representing an
irresistible movement for the regeneration of the race, was
bound to carry with it this island where the Italian race is
manifested so superbly. (Applause.)

I salute you, Black shirts! We saw each other in Rome
and the groups coming from Sardinia were cheered in
the capital. You bear in your hearts the faith which at
a given moment drove thousands and thousands of Fas-
cisti from all the cities, from all the villages of Italy,
' to Rome. (Applause.)

Nobody can ever dream of wrenching from us the fruit of
victory that we have paid for by so much blood generously
shed by youths who offered their lives in order to crush
Italian Bolshevism. Thousands and thousands of those
who suffered martyrdom in the trenches, who have resumed
the struggle after the war was over, who have won—all
those have ploughed a furrow between the Italy of yester-
day, of to-day and of to-morrow.

Citizens of Cagliari! You must certainly play a part in
this great drama. You, undoubtedly, wish to live the life
of our great national community, of this our beloved
Italy, of this adorable mother who is our dream, our hope,
our faith, our conviction, because men pass away, maybe
Governments, too, but Italy lives and will never die!
(Loud applause.)

To-day I have visited the marvellous works of the arti-
ficial Lake Tirso. They are not only a glory to Sardinia,
they represent a masterpiece of which the whole nation
may be proud.

PRIME MINISTER 325

I feel, almost by intuition, that Sardinia also, too long
forgotten, perhaps too patient, Sardinia to-day marches
hand in hand with the rest of Italy. Let us then salute
each other, O Citizens!

After this speech of mine, which was meant to be an act
of devotion, a bond of union between us, let us salute each
other by shouting: Long live the King! (Cheers.) Long
live Italy! (Cheers.) Long live Fascismo! (Loud cheers.)

326 THE FASCISTA

“FASCISMO WILL BRING A COMPLETE
REGENERATION TO YOUR LAND”

Speech delivered at Iglesias (Sardinia), at the Palazzo Municipale, on
13th June 1923.

C1TIZENS of Iglesias! Black shirts! Fascisti! Your welcome,
so cordial and so enthusiastic, surpasses any expectation.
Iglesias has really been the cradle of Sardinian Fascismo.
From here sprang the first groups of black shirts; it was,
therefore, my definite duty to come and get into touch
with you.

You deserve that the Government should remember you,
as in this island there is a large reserve of faith and ardent
patriotism: I go back to Rome with my heart overcome
with emotion.

Since Italy has been united this is the first time that the
head of the Government is in direct touch with the people
of Sardinia.

One thing only I regret, and that is that the shortness of
my visit has not given me an opportunity of seeing more of
your beautiful land. But I formally pledge myself to come
again and visit your towns and your villages. As the head
of the Government I am glad to have found myself
amongst industrious, quiet and truly patient people, who
have been too long forgotten, indeed almost considered as
a far-away colony.

It is well it should be known that Sardinia is one of the
first regions of Italy, and it should be known, too, that she
gave the largest contribution of lives to our glorious victory.

As the head of the Government I am glad to find myself

PRIME MINISTER 327

among the heroic black shirts and to have seen the splen-
did flourishing conditions of Fascismo, which will bring a
complete regeneration to your land.

Here (said the Hon. Mussolini, putting his hand on the
standard of Iglesias, which was hoisted near him)—here is
the standard, the symbol of pure faith. I kiss it with
fervour, and with the same fervour I embrace you, O
magnificent people of Sardinia. (Loud applause.)

328 “THE FASCISTS’

“AS WE HAVE REGAINED THE MASTERY OF
THE AIR, WE DO NOT WANT THE SEA TO
IMPRISON US”

Speech delivered at Florence from the balcony of the Palazzo Vecchio,
on 19th June 1923.

Back shirts of Florence and Tuscany! Fascisti! People!
Where shall I find the necessary words to express the
fullness of my feelings at this moment? My words cannot
but be inadequate for the purpose. Your solemn, enthu-
siastic welcome stirs me to the depths of my heart. But it
is certain that it is not only to me that you pay this extra-
ordinary honour, but also, I think, to the idea of which I
have been the inflexible protagonist.

Florence reminds me of the days when we were few.
(Deafening applause.) Here we held the first glorious
meeting of the Italian “Fasci di Combattimento.” You
remember, we had often to interrupt our meeting to go
out and drive away the base rabble. (‘“Bravo!” Frantic
applause.) We were few then! Well, in spite of this huge
crowd here assembled, I say that we are still few, not with
regard to the enemies who have been put to flight for ever,
but with regard to the enormous tasks that le before our
Italy. (Applause.) I said that our enemies have been put
to flight, as we shall no more do the honour of considering
as enemies certain corpses of the Italian political world—
(‘“Bravo!”’)—who delude themselves that they still exist
simply because they abuse our generosity. Tell me, then,
Black shirts of Tuscany and of Florence, were it necessary
to begin again, should we begin again? (Deafening applause
and cries of “Yes! Yes!’’) This loud cry of yours, more
than a promise, is an oath which seals for ever the Italy of
the past, the Italy of the swindlers, of the deceivers, of the

PRIME MINISTER 329

pusillanimous, and opens the way to “our” Italy, the
Italy whom we bear proudly in our hearts, who belongs to
us who represent the new generation who adore strength,
who is inspired by beauty, who is ready for anything when
it is necessary to sacrifice herself to struggle and to die for
the ideal.

I tell you that Italy is going ahead. Two years ago, when
the bestiality of the red demagogy raged, only twenty
aeroplanes entered for the Baracca Cup. Last year they
were thirty-five; this year, up to now, ninety. And as we
have regained the mastery of the air, so we do not want
the sea to imprison us. It must be, instead, the way for
our necessary expansion in the world. (Great applause.)

These, O Fascisti, Citizens, are the stupendous tasks
which lie before us. And we shall not fail in our aim if
each of you will engrave in his own heart the words by
which is summed up the commandment of this ineffable
hour of our history as a people: “Work,” which little by
little must redeem us from foreign dependence; ‘‘Harmony,”
which must make of the Italians one family; “Discipline,”
by which at a given moment all Italians become one and
march hand in hand towards the same goal.

Black shirts! You feel that all the manceuvres of our
adversaries tending to sever me from you are ridiculous
and grotesque. And I hope it will not seem to you too
proud a statement if I say that Fascismo, which I have
guided on the consular roads of Rome, is solidly in our
hand—(“Bravo!”)—and that if anybody should delude
himself in this respect I should only need to make a sign,
to give an order: “A noi!” (Deafening applause.)

Raise up your standards! They have been consecrated
by the sacred blood of our dead. When faith has thus
been consecrated it cannot fail, cannot die, will not die!
(Prolonged applause.)

330 THE FASCISTA

“T PROMISE YOU—AND GOD IS MY WITNESS—
THAT I SHALL CONTINUE NOW AND ALWAYS
TO BE A HUMBLE SERVANT OF OUR ADORED
PLALY

Speech delivered on 19th June 1923, at Florence, in the historical
Salone dei Cinquecento, where the Municipal Council solemnly bestowed
on Mussolini the freedom of the city of Florence.

Mr. Mayor, Councillors, People of Florence, the capital
for many centuries of Italian art,—You will notice that .
—on account of the honour which you pay me—I
feel moved. To be made a citizen of Florence, of this city
which has left such indelible traces on the history of
humanity, represents a memorable and dominating event
in my life. I do not know if I am really worthy of so
much honour. (Cries of “Yes.” “May God preserve you
for the future of our Italy.” Applause.)

What I have done up to now is not much; but oh!
Citizens of Florence, my determination is unshakable.
(“Bravo!”) Human nature, which is always weak, may
fail, but not my spirit, which is dominated by a moral and
material faith—the faith of the country.

From the moment in which Italian Fascismo raised its
standards, lit its torches, cauterised the sores which infected
the body of our divine country, we Italians, who felt proud
to be Italians— (Bravo! Bravo!” Applause.) —are in
spiritual communion through this new faith.

Citizens of Florence! I make you a promise, and be sure
I shall keep it! I promise you—and God is my witness in
this moment of the purity of my faith—I promise you that
I shall continue now and always to be a humble servant of
our adored Italy! (Prolonged applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 331

“THE VICTORY OF THE PIAVE WAS THE DECIDING
FACTOR OF THE WAR”

Speech delivered in Rome on 25th June 1923, from Palazzo Venezia, in
commemoration of the anniversary of the Battle of the Piave.

FELLOw-SoLprers!—After your ranks, so well disciplined
and of such fine bearing, have marched past His Majesty
the King, the intangible symbol of the country, after the
austere ceremony in its silent solemnity before the tomb
of the Unknown Warrior, after this formidable display of
sacred strength, words from me are absolutely superfluous,
and I do not intend to make a speech. The march of
to-day is a manifestation full of significance and warning.
A whole people in arms has met to-day in spirit in the
Eternal City. It is a whole people who, above unavoidable
party differences, finds itself strongly united when the safety
of the common Motherland is at stake.

On the occasion of the Etna eruption, national solidarity
was wonderfully manifested; from every town, every village,
one might say from every hamlet, a fraternal heart-throb
went out to the land stricken by calamity.

To-day tens of thousands of soldiers, thousands of stan-
dards, with men coming to Rome from all parts of Italy
and from the far-away Colonies, from abroad, bear witness
that the unity of the Italian nation is an accomplished
and irrevocable fact.

After seven months of Government, to talk to you, my
comrades of the trenches, is the highest honour which could
fall to my lot. And I do not say this in order to flatter you,
nor to pay you a tribute which might seem formal on an
occasion like this. I have the right to interpret the thoughts
of this meeting, which gathers to listen to my words as

332 THE FASCISTS!

an expression of solidarity with the national Government.
(Cries of assent.) Let us not utter useless and fantastical
words. Nobody attacks the sacred liberty of the Italian
people. But I ask you: Should there be liberty to maim
victory? (Cries of ‘“No! no!”’) Should there be liberty to
strike at the nation? Should there be liberty for those who
- have as their programme the overthrow of our national
institutions? (Cries of “No! no!’’) I repeat what I explicitly
said before. I do not feel myself infallible, I feel myself
a man like you.

I do not repulse, I cannot, I shall not repulse any loyal
and sincere collaboration.

Fellow-soldiers! The task which weighs on my shoulders,
but also on yours, is simply immense, and to it we shall be
pledged for many years. It is, therefore, necessary not to
waste, but to treasure and utilise all the energies which
could be turned to the good of our country. Five years have
passed since the battle of the Piave, from that victory on
which it is impossible to sophisticate either within or beyond
the frontier. It is necessary to proclaim, for you who listen
to me, and also for those who read what I say, that the
victory of the Piave was the deciding factor of the war... .
On the Piave the Austro-Hungarian Empire went to pieces,
from the Piave started its flight on white wings the victory
of the people in arms. The Government means to exalt the
spiritual strength which rises out of the victory of a people
in arms. It does not mean to disperse them, because it
represents the sacred seed of the future. The more distant
we get from those days, from that memorable victory, the
more they seem to us wonderful, the more the victory appears
enveloped in a halo of legend. In such a victory everybody
would wish to have taken part!

We must win the Peace! Too late somebody perceived

PRIME MINISTER Joo

that when the country is in danger the duty of all citizens,
from the highest to the lowest, is only one: to fight, to
suffer and, if needs be, to die!

We have won the war, we have demolished an Empire
which threatened our frontiers, stifled us and held us for
ever under the extortion of armed menace. History has no
end. Comrades! The history of peoples is not measured
by years, but by tens of years, by centuries. This manifes-
tation of yours is an infallible sign of the vitality of the
Italian people.

The phrase “‘ we must win the peace” is not an empty one.
It contains a profound truth. Peace is won by harmony,
by work and by discipline. This is the new gospel which
has been opened before the eyes of the new generations who
have come out of the trenches; a gospel simple and straight-
forward, which takes into account all the elements, which
utilises all the energies, which does not lend itself to tyrannies
of grotesque exclusivism, because it has one sole aim, a
common aim: the greatness and the salvation of the nation!

Fellow-soldiers! You have come to Rome, and it is
natural, I dare to say, fated! Because Rome is always, as
it will be to-morrow and in the centuries to come, the living
heart of our race! It is the imperishable symbol of our
vitality as a people. Who holds Rome, holds the nation!

The * Black Shirts” buried the Past. I assure you, my
fellow-soldiers, that my Government, in spite of the manifest
or hidden difficulties, will keep its pledges. It is the Govern-
ment of Vittorio Veneto. You feel it and you know it. And
if you did not believe it, you would not be here assembled
in this square. Carry back to your towns, to your lands, to
your houses, distant but near to my heart, the vigorous
impression of this meeting.

Keep the flame burning, because that which has not

334 THE FASCIS&®

been, may be, because if victory was maimed once, it does
not follow that it can be maimed a second time! (Loud
cheers, repeated cries of ‘‘We swear it!”’)

I keep in mind your oath. I count upon you as I count
upon all good Italians, but I count, above all, upon you,
because you are of my generation, because you have come
- out from the bloody filth of the trenches, because you have
lived and struggled and suffered in the face of death, because
you have fulfilled your duty and have the right to vindicate
that to which you are entitled, not only from the material
but from the moral point of view. I tell you, I swear to you,
that the time is passed for ever when fighters returning
from the trenches had to be ashamed of themselves, the
time when, owing to the threatening attitudes of Commun-
ists, the officers received the cowardly advice to dress in
plain clothes. (Applause.) All that is buried. You must
not forget, and nobody forgets, that seven months ago
fifty-two thousand armed “black shirts” came to Rome
to bury the past! (Loud cheers.)

Soldiers! Fellow-Soldiers! Let us raise before our great
unknown comrade the cry, which sums up our faith: Long
live the King! Long live Italy, victorious, impregnable,
immortal! (Loud cheers, whilst all the flags are raised and
waved amidst the enthusiasm of the immense crowd in
the square.)

PRIME MINISTER 335

THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND THE
UNITED STATES

Speech by the American Ambassador to Rome.

On the 28th June 1923 the Italo-American Association held
in Rome a banquet in honour of Mr. Richard Washburn Child,
American Ambassador to Italy, and of the Hon. Mussolini, President
of the Italian Council. The two distinguished guests delivered the
following speeches, which have a special importance, both with
regard to Fascismo and to Italo-American relations.

The object of this meeting was clearly explained by the Hon.
Baron Sardi, Italian Under-Secretary of State for Public Works,
in an appropriate address to the illustrious guests (published in
full by the Bulletin of the Library for American Studies in Italy,
No. 5), in which, after having thanked them in the name of Senator
Ruffini, President of the Association, still detained on account of
important duties in Geneva, and also in the name of the other
members, for the honour they conferred on the Society by their
presence, went on to lay stress on the purpose for which the Associa-
tion exists, namely, to promote a better reciprocal understanding
between the American and Italian peoples through the manifold
activities of their respective countries.

The Hon. Sardi announced that during the summer months of this
year courses of preparation will be inaugurated again for American
students who wish to come and visit our country and study our
language, literature and history, while for next October, under
the patronage of the American Ambassador and the Italian Premier,
with the co-operation of American and Italian professors, special
industrial and commercial courses are in preparation. The American
students will be able to benefit by the use of the valuable library
of the Association, which is daily enriched by the competent work
of Commendatore Harry Nelson Gay and his collaborators.

The Hon. Sardi, after referring to the fraternity of arms, which
during the Great War brought together the soldiers of Italy and
America, said that, having returned now to the peaceful spheres
of industry and culture, these forms of effort contribute strongly

‘The two speeches have been courteously given at his request to Baron
Quaranta di San Severino for publication by the American Ambassador,
Richard Washburn Child.

336 THE FASCISi3&

to cement between the two countries that spiritual fraternity
which arises out of a better mutual acquaintance with the
respective virtues and qualities and a clearer realisation of
our aspirations.

The orator concluded by expressing the wish that the Italo-
American Association, by the indissoluble union of cultured minds,
might be able to intensify the bonds already uniting the United
States of America and Italy.

Mr. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN,—It is my privilege to
propose a toast to the King and to the spirit of an Italy now
stronger and more united than ever before.

I wish to express the earnest hope that my country and
yours will continue to stand together in upholding ideals
which make men strong instead of tolerating those which
make men weak.

During the last eight months Italy has made an extra-
ordinary contribution to the whole world by raising ideals
of human courage, discipline, and responsibility. I would
be unfaithful to my beliefs and to those of hosts of Americans
if I failed to acknowledge the part played by your President
of Council, Mussolini, with the people of Italy, in giving to
all mankind an example of courageous national organisa-
tion founded upon the disciplined responsibility of the in-
dividual to the State, upon the abandonment of false hopes
in feeble doctrines, and upon appeal to the full vigorous
strength of the human spirit.

We have heard a great deal in the last few years
about the menace which war brings before the face of the
world. I am confident that my people and your people
are willing to act together to contribute anything possible
to reduce the dangers of war, but I hold the belief, and
I think your Premier holds the belief, that worse menaces
than war now oppose the progress of mankind. Folly and
weakness and decay are worse.

These menaces of weakness are often fostered by men of

PRIME MINISTER 337

good intentions, who talk about the need to rescue mankind
and about the necessity to establish the rights of mankind.

I want to see leaders of men who, instead of teaching
humanity to look outside themselves for help, will teach
humanity that it has power within itself to relieve its own
distress. I want to see leaders who, instead of telling men
of their rights, will lead them to take a full share of their
responsibilities.

I do not doubt that the spirit of benevolence is a precious
possession of mankind, but a more precious possession is
the spirit which raises the strength of humanity so that
benevolence itself becomes less of a necessity. He who makes
himself strong and calls upon others to be strong is even
more kind and loving of the world than he who encourages
men to seek dependence on forces outside themselves or
upon impracticable plans for new social structures. I do
not doubt the good faith of many of those who put forth
theories of new arrangements of social, economic and
international structure, but they may all be sure that more
important than any of these theories is individual respon-
sibility and the growth and spread of self-reliance in the
home and in the nation.

I do not doubt that we, Italians and Americans, have a
full appreciation of the pity which we ought to confer upon
weak or wailing groups or nations or races which clamour
for help or favour; but I trust that, even in the competition
of peace or war, I shall be the last ever to believe that weak
groups or nations or races are superior or are more worthy
of my affection than those who mind their own business
with industry, strength and courage, and stand upon their
own strong legs.

I do not question the motives of many of those who,
feeling affectionate regard for the welfare of their fellow-
men, hope for a structure of society in which international

4

338 THE FASCISTA

bodies shall hand down benefactions to communities, and
communities shall hand down benefactions to individuals.
I merely point out that some nations, such as yours and
mine, are beginning to believe that these ideas come out
of thoughts which, though easily adopted, are the offspring
of a marriage of benevolence with ignorance. In any
structure of society which can command our respect and
our faith the current of responsibility runs the other way.
The doctrine that the world’s strength arises from the
responsibility of the individual is a sterner doctrine. The
leaders of men who insist upon it are those who will be
owed an eternal debt by mankind.

The strength of society must come from the bottom
upward. The world needs now more than anything else the
doctrine that the first place to develop strength is at home,
the first duty is the nearest duty. A strong co-operation
of nations can only be made of nations which are strong
nations, a strong nation can only be made of good and
strong individuals.

When one makes the fasces, the first requirement is to
find the individual rods, straight, strong and wiry, such as
you have found, Mr. President, and so skilfully bound
together in the strength of unity. But if they had been
rotten sticks you could not have made the /fasces. Unity
in action would have been impossible. The rotten sticks
would have fallen to pieces in your fingers.

Mr. President, what the world needs is not better theories’
and dreams, but better men to carry them out. The world
needs a spirit which thinks first of responsibilities before
it thinks of rights. It was this spirit which you have done
so much to awaken into new life in Italy.

Not long ago I heard a speech made by a foreigner in
Italy who is used to dealing with economic statistics. He
was trying to account for the new life in Italy on the basis

PRIME MINISTER 339

of comparative statistics. I told him he could not do it
until he could produce statistics of the human spirit. I
told him he could not account for everything in Italy until
he could reduce to statistics that wonderful record of the
human spirit which in scarcely more than half a century
has created the new Italy. I told him he would have to
account for the number of Italians who in 1848 and 1859,
in the Great War and 1923, had a cause for which they
were willing to die. I told him that I was always a nationalist
before I was an internationalist, and I would go on being a
nationalist, believing in the spirit of strong and upright and
generous nationalism, and believing not in theorising nations
or whining peoples, but in nations and peoples who develop
a national spirit so finely tempered that they offer to the
world an example of organisation, discipline and fair play,
because they themselves are upright and strong men and
can contribute valuably to international co-operation. I
said to him that when he could produce statistics on human
virtues and human spirit he would be nearer to understand-
ing what made progress in the world. I asked him if he had
figures to show the difference between nations which breed
men who are ready to die for their beliefs and nations
which produce no such men. I asked him to put his figures
back in his pocket and go out and talk to the youth of Italy.

Mr. President, the youth of Italy, as in any other country,
are the trustees of the spirit of to-morrow. It is a fact
which goes almost unnoticed, that the training of masses
of youth in the spirit of discipline and fair competition and
of loyalty to a cause is largely to be found in athletic games.
It is a fact which almost always is forgotten, that nations
of history or those of to-day which have engaged in athletic
games are the strong nations, and those which have had
no athletics are the weak nations. It is a fact almost
neglected that nations which can express their spirit of

340 THE FASCISTA

competition in athletics are the nations which have
the least destructive restlessness within and are the most
fair and, indeed, are the most restrained in their dealings
with other nations.

Athletic games teach the lesson that every man who
competes must win by reason of his own virtue. No help can
- come from without. There is no special privilege for anyone.
He who wins does so by merit alone. Athletic games,
whenever they are carried on by teams, teach the lesson
that the individual must put aside his own interests for
the good of his group. There must be a voluntary submis-
sion to discipline and absolute loyalty to a captain in order
to avoid the humiliation of disorganisation and defeat.

Athletic games are not for the weak and complaining,
but for the strong and for the lovers of fair play.

Finally, they furnish oft-repeated lessons of the truth
that when flesh and muscles and material agencies seem
about to fail, human will and human spirit can work
miracles of victory.

Because I believe in these ideals for my own country and
for yours, I offer through you, for the purposes which the
Olympic Committee of Italy will set forth, a small but
friendly token of my deep interest in the youth of Italy.
(Loud applause.)

THE ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER’S REPLY

Mr. AMBASSADOR,—The discourse which your Excellency
has pronounced at this reunion strengthens the bonds of
sympathy and fraternity between Italy and America, and
has profoundly interested me in my capacity as an Italian
and as a Fascista. As an Italian, because you have spoken
frank words of cordial approval of the Government which
I have the honour to direct. I have no need to add that

PRIME MINISTER 341

this cordiality is reciprocated by me and by all Italians.
There is no doubt that the elements for a practical collabo-
ration between the two countries exist. It is only a question
of organising this collaboration. Some things have been
done, but more remain to be done.

I will not surprise your Excellency if I point out, without
going into particulars, a problem which concerns us directly.
I speak of the problem of emigration. I limit myself only to
saying that Italy would greet with satisfaction an opening
in the somewhat rigid meshes of the Immigration Bill, so
that there could be an increase in Italian emigration to
North America, and would greet with similar satisfaction
the employment of American capital in Italian enterprises.
As a Fascista, the words of your Excellency have interested
me because they reveal an exact understanding of the
phenomenon and of our movement, and constitute a sym-
pathetic and powerful vindication of it. This fact is the
more remarkable because the Fascismo movement is so
complex that the mind of a stranger is not always the best
adapted to understand it. You, Mr. Ambassador, con-
stitute the most brilliant exception to this rule. Your
discourse, I say, contains all the philosophy of Fascismo
and of the Fascismo endeavour, interwoven with an exalta-
tion of strength, of beauty, of discipline, of authority, and
of the sense of responsibility. You have been able to show,
Mr. Ambassador, that in spite of the numerous difficulties
of the general situation, Fascismo has kept faith to its
promises given before the ‘‘March on Rome.” The time
intervening since those promises were made has been
short, so that only a stupid person would pretend that the
work is already completed. I limit myself to saying that I
find corroboration by your Excellency that it is well begun.

I am certain, Mr. Ambassador, that all Italians will read
with emotion the words which you have pronounced on

342 THE FASCISTA

this memorable occasion. I ask you especially to believe
this. I have heard, just now, not a discourse in the manner —
and strain of an ordinary conventional speech, but a clear
and inspiring exposition of the conception of life and
history which animates Italian Fascismo. I do not believe
that I exaggerate when I say that this conception finds
‘strong and numerous partisans even on the other side of
the ocean, among the citizens of a people who have not
the thousands of years of history behind them which we
have, but who march to-day in the vanguard of human
progress. In this affinity of conceptions I find the solid
basis for the fraternal understanding between Italy and
America. The announcement that you, Mr. Ambassador,
are giving a wreath of gold to the Italian youth who will
be victor in the next Olympic competition games will
win the hearts of all Italian athletes, and of these there
are, aS you know, innumerable legions.

I thank your Excellency in the name of Italian youth,
almost all of whom have put on the “black shirt,” especially
the young athletes, and, at the same time that I encourage
the Italo-American Society to persevere in the execution
of its splendid programme, I declare that my Government
will do whatever is necessary to develop and strengthen the
economic and political relations between the United States
and Italy.

I raise my glass to the health of President Harding and
the fortunes of the great American people. (Loud applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 343

“THE GREATNESS OF THE COUNTRY WILL BE
ACHIEVED BY THE NEW GENERATIONS ”

Speech delivered 2nd July 1923 in Rome, at the Palazzo Venezia,
before the schoolboys of Trieste, Nicastro, Castelgandolfo, Vetralla
and Perugia and their masters, who were accompanied by repre-
sentatives of the Roman “balillas,’’ and had come to Rome to pay
homage at the tomb of the “ Unknown Warrior,” before which they
laid a wreath of beaten iron and kneeling repeated the oath of love
and loyalty to the King and the Country. The Hon. Mussolini with
the Minister of War, General Diaz; the Under-Secretary of State
for the Presidency, Hon. Acerbo; General De Bono, the Director
General of Police; Signor Lombardo Radice, the Director General
of Primary Schools, and other officials, greeted them. The Hon.
Mussolini thus addressed the meeting:

On this radiant morning you have offered the capital
a magnificent spectacle. Romans, having lived through
many millenniums of history, are rather slow in being
impressed by events and are not easily to be carried away
by excessive enthusiasm. They have certainly however been
filled to-day with admiration at this scene of promising
youth which has been offered them by the schoolboys
here gathered from all parts of Italy and especially from
the ‘‘ Venezia Giulia,” particularly dear to the heart of all
Italians. It was well said that in the dark pre-war days
the schools of the National League and in general the schools
entrusted to Italian masters represented the centre around
which were nursed the hopes and the faith of the Italian
race. I am glad to express to you the feelings of my brotherly
sympathy. I am pleased to add that the National Govern-
ment, the Fascista Government, holds in high esteem the
scholarly characteristics and has deep respect for the
teachers of all grades, of all schools.

344 THE FASCISTA

The Fascista Government feels and knows that the great-
ness of the country, to which all of us must consecrate the best
of our energies, will be achieved by the new generations.

You (continued the Hon. Mussolini, turning especially
to the masters), you must be the artificers—as you show
you are—of this great Italian restoration.

The task falls on you of blending together in increasing
intimacy the intellectual life of the Italians who were
slaves to Austria with that of the Italians who rose and
sacrificed themselves by hundreds of thousands to break
their fetters.

You passed before the Unknown Warrior, and you
certainly gathered his spirit; take it to Trieste near the
other great spirit of him who was the forerunner of your
liberation and of ours: Guglielmo Oberdan! (Loud applause.)

PRIME MINISTER 345

THE SITUATION ON THE RUHR AND OTHER
QUESTIONS OF FOREIGN POLICY

Speech delivered 3rd July 1923, at the Council of Ministers.

HONOURABLE MINISTERS AND COLLEAGUES,—From my
last detailed declarations of Foreign Policy made at the
Senate up to to-day the salient events of international
politics are the following:

The Bulgarian Coup d’éat. The first is the Bulgarian
coup d’éat, following which the opponents of the Fascista
Government fell into certain paradoxical misunderstandings.
The end of Stambuliski and the advent of Zankoff aroused
a certain ferment in some of the countries of the Little
Entente. Italy at once took a moderating action in the
right quarters and the complications feared were averted.

The Treaty of Lausanne. The signing of the Peace Treaty
of Lausanne seems imminent.

The Situation in the Ruhr. In the last few days the situa-
tion in the Ruhr has become aggravated. On one side the
passive resistance continues; on the other, the occupation
is extended and intensified by measures of a nature in-
creasingly political and military. A general repercussion
of this crisis, which seems to have reached its acute stage,
is felt by the European exchanges, which are all falling, not
excluding the English sovereign, as compared with the dollar.

The attempt made by the Pope, so noble in its humani-
tarian and European aims, has not modified the situation.
On the day after the letter to Cardinal Gasparri there was,
on the part of the French, Poincaré’s speech, which had the

346 THE FASCISTA

unanimous approval of the Senate, and, on the same day,
the fearful act of ‘“‘sabotage’’ which cost the lives of
many Belgian soldiers. All this does not represent a détente
but an aggravation of the situation.

In the meanwhile, following the solution of the Belgian
crisis, it has been possible to resume diplomatic action.
- Italy participates directly in it, and as soon as she sees the
problem on its way to complete solution, will signify her
consent to those propositions of the Memorandum of London,
from which none of the projects presented afterwards
has departed, that is to say: connection of the problem of
Reparations with that of Inter-Allied debts; sufficient
moratorium to Germany; the fixing of a definite amount;
rational scheme for payment; solid guarantees of an
economic nature and, hence, renunciation on the part of
France of the territorial occupation of the Ruhr.

As for passive resistance, the Italian Government thinks
that it is not in Germany’s interest to prolong it, because
she cannot hope to weaken France nor can she delude her-
self that she may obtain outside help.

It is certainly necessary urgently to hasten the possi-
bility of an agreement, as the occupation of the Ruhr
has weighed heavily on the economic life of Europe,
delaying its recovery.

Fiume. As to the question of Fiume, representations
have been made to Belgrade so that negotiations might be
conducted more equably, in view of the situation of the
town and of the necessity of putting on a normal footing
the relations between the two countries. (The Council
approves the declarations of the Hon. Mussolini.)

PRIME MINISTER 347

THE ELECTORAL REFORM BILL
Speech delivered at the Chamber of Deputies on 16th July 1923.

HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN,—I should have preferred to
speak to this Assembly on that question of Foreign Policy
which at this moment interests Italy and fills the world
with excitement: I mean the Ruhr.. I should have
proved that the action of Italy is autonomous, and is
inspired by the protection of our interests and also by
the need generally felt to get out of a crisis which impover-
ishes and humiliates our continent. (Assent.) I promise
myself to do so shortly, if the Chamber does not have the
whim to-day of dying before its time. (Laughter and pro-
longed comments.) My speech will be calm and measured,
although fundamentally forceful. It will be composed of
two parts: one that I should like to call “negative,” and
another which I shall call “‘ positive.”’

After all, I am not sorry that the discussion has gone,
little or far, beyond the limits in which it could have been
confined. The discussion on the Electoral Bill has offered
opportunity to the Opposition to reveal itself, to move,
from all its sections, from all its benches, to an attack against
the policy and the political system of my Government. It
will not surprise you, therefore, if, although not entering into
details of all the speeches, I pick out from what has been
said by the principal speakers those arguments and those
propositions which I must definitely refute.

Warning to the Popular Party. As the speech by the Hon.
Petrillo was favourable to the Government, it is not worth
while to busy ourselves with it. (Laughter.)

I shall give my attention to the speech delivered by the

348 THE FASCISTA

Hon. Gronchi,—a speech fine as regards its form, and perhaps
still finer as regards its contents. The Hon. Gronchi has
once again offered the Government a collaboration of
convenience, as in those mariages de convenance which do
not last or which end in ceaseless yawns. (Comment.)

Your collaboration, Gentlemen of the Popular Party,
- largely consists of details omitted. Your party, too, shows
the same weakness. You should set to work and clear
them up.

I do not know for how long these elements who wish
to collaborate legally with the National Government can
still remain united with your party, together with those
who would wish to do so but cannot, because their inmost
feelings do not allow them this step and this collaboration.
You certainly know me well enough to understand that, as
far as political discussion goes, I am intransigent. The
small fry of the two-fifths and of the three-quarters or some
other fraction of this electoral arithmetic does not interest
nor concern me. Politics cannot be compared to a retail
business. (Assent and comment.) To be or not to be! I
am such a poor electoralist that I could even let you have
the thirty or forty deputies who satisfy you; but I do not
give them to you, as this would be immoral, because it
would represent a transaction which must be repugnant
to your conscience, as it is to mine. (Assent and comment.)
In fact, I cannot accept a kind of Malthusian collabora-
tion! (Laughter and approval.)

The Russian and the Italian Revolutions both tend to
overcome all Ideologies. The speech delivered by the
Hon. Labriola was certainly powerful. He said that
Ministerial crises are a substitute for revolution. He
should have said ‘Ersatz,’ because substitutes, since the
war, are of German origin. That is too like the opinion of a

PRIME MINISTER 349

herbalist to be accepted. It may be that the want of Minis-
terial crises leads to revolution, but here you have an example
that shows how excessive Ministerial crises lead also to
revolution. But, above all, it astounded me to hear the
Hon. Labriola still employ the old vocabulary of second-
class Socialist literature, speaking of bourgeoisie and pro-
letariat—two entities clearly defined and perpetually in a
state of antagonism. It is certainly true that there is not
one bourgeoisie, but there are, perhaps, twenty-four or forty-
eight bourgeoisies and under-bourgeoisies. The same can be
said of the proletariat. What relation can there be between
a workman of the “Fiat” factory—specialised, refined,
with tendencies and tastes already bourgeois, who earns
thirty to fifty lire a day—what relation can there be between
this so-called proletarian and the poor peasant of Southern
Italy, who despairingly scrapes his land burnt by the
sun? (Assent and comments.)

The Hon. Labriola has said that only the proletariat can
give itself the luxury of a dictatorship. This is a mistake
which is proved and can be proved. The only example
of dictatorship is offered us by Russia. But the Hon.
Labriola has written dozens of articles to prove that dic-
tatorship does not exist in Russia and that dictatorship is
not “of”’ but “upon” the proletariat. All those who govern
the Russian States are professors, lawyers, economists,
literary men, men of talent; that is to say, men coming from
the professional classes, from the bourgeoisie.

The fault which the Hon. Labriola lays on us, finding an
analogy between the methods and the evolution of the
Russian and of the Italian revolution, does not exist. And
here I make a simple statement of historical order. It isa
fact that both revolutions tend to destroy all the ideologies
and in a certain sense the Liberal and Democratic insti-
tutions which were the outcome of the French Revolution.

350 THE FASCISTA

Italy pulled herself together after Caporetto, because the
necessary Discipline of War was imposed on her. During the
last few days use and abuse of a polemic method have been
made, that of unearthing the writings and opinions of the
past to employ them as a weapon in the present dispute.
This is a very wretched system which I am going to use
against those who have adopted it.

In his speech the Hon. Alessio has stated that the defeat
of the Central Empires was due to the deficiency of their
representative organs. This is a totally one-sided explana-
tion. There has been a war; millions of men have fought
against the Central Empires and defeated them. Another
mistake is to say that after Caporetto Italy pulled herself
together because she had regained her liberty. Nothing
of the kind! The reason is that the necessary war discipline
was imposed upon her. (Loud applause on the Right.) I
am not one of those who think that Caporetto was due
entirely to the disintegration of the country in rear of
the fighting front. It was a military reverse in its
causes and development; but there is no doubt that the
atmosphere of the country, an atmosphere of leniency
and of excessive tolerance, has produced disturbing moral
phenomena which must have contributed to our reverse.

The Dawn of Italian Risorgimento came from the Bourgeoisie
of Naples. The other statement made by the Hon. Alessio,
that the Italian Risorgimento represented the efforts of the
Italian lower classes, is superficial. Alas! it is not so. The
Italian lower classes were absent and often hostile to it.
The first dawn of the Italian Risorgimento came from
Naples, from that bourgeoisie of intelligent and gallant
professional men which in Southern Italy represents a
class historically, politically and morally well defined.
(Applause and assent.) Those who at Nola in 1821 hoisted

PRIME MINISTER 351

the standard of revolution against the Bourbons were two
cavalry officers. All the noble martyrology of the Italian
Risorgimento is formed out of elements of the bourgeoisie.
Nothing is sadder than the useless sacrifice of the Bandiera
brothers. And when you think of the tragedy of Carlo
Pisacane you are thrilled! (Applause.) I should like to
deny that Giuseppe Mazzini himself can be included in
Democracy. His methods were certainly not democratic.
He was very consistent in his aims, but how many times
was he not incoherent and changeable in his means?

The Expedition to the Crimea really prepared the way for
the Unity of Italy. And what about Cavour? I think that
the event which really prepared the way for the unity of the
country was the expedition to the Crimea,—(Comment.)—
which represents one of the most noteworthy in history.
I recall it because it shows how in solemn hours the
decision is left to one man, who must consult only his own
conscience. (Applause and comment.) When General
Dabormida refused to sign the Treaty of Alliance with
France and with England, Cavour, on the same evening
of the 1st of January 1885, signed it without consulting
Parliament or the Council of Ministers, and signed it above
all at his discretion without imposing any condition whatso-
ever. It was a stroke of rashness that you might call sublime.
Cavour himself recognised it, and when writing to Count
Oldofredi, he said: “I have taken a tremendous responsi-
bility on my shoulders. It does not matter. Let happen
what may. My conscience tells me that I have fulfilled
a sacred duty!”

When the soldiers of the small and valiant Piedmont
were on the point of leaving, the discussion in the Sub-
alpine Parliament took place, and Angelo Brofferio, a kind
of Cavallotti of the time,—(Comment.)—accused Cavour of

352 THE FASCISTA

not having a definite political line of conduct. It is really
worth while to read part of this speech, because it closely
recalls the speeches which during the present week have
been made in this hall. ;

‘Our Ministers,’ said Angelo Brofferio, “represent all
ideas and all convictions. At one time they become Con-
servatives and withhold the Jury from the Press; another
time they ape the Democrats and raise cries against usurpa-
tions of Rome; still another time they throw off the mask
and become retrogrades in order to unite with Austria!”

Angelo Brofferio ends with these really singular words:
‘‘Where is in this system respect for convention and for
constitutional morality?” and, referring to the Treaty, he
added: ‘‘May God preserve us from that sinister eventuality!
But if you agree to this Treaty, the prostitution of Pied-
mont and the ruin of Italy will be accomplished facts!”

It is curious, also, that another powerful ideologist,
certainly sacred to the memory of all Italians, Giuseppe
Mazzini, was very much against this Treaty, even to
the extent of calling ‘‘deported” the Piedmontese soldiers
who were leaving for the Crimea and of inciting them to
desert! But Garibaldi, a far more practical leader, had an
intuition of the fundamental importance of the Treaty of
Alliance between Piedmont and Western Powers. “Italy,”
said Garibaldi, ‘should lose no opportunity of unfurling her
flag on the battlefield which might recall to European
nations her political existence.”

To-day you certainly all agree in recognising that his-
tory has shown that Angelo Brofferio was in the wrong
and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, was entirely in the
right. (Assent.)

The Moral Unity of the Italian People. The speech delivered
by the Hon. Amendola is, after that of the Hon. Labriola,

PRIME MINISTER 353

more worthy of being analysed. He said: ‘The Italian
people are affected by a moral and spiritual crisis, which
is certainly connected with our intervention, with the
war, and with the after-war period,’ and he concluded by
suggesting that it is necessary to give to this Italian people
its moral unity. Well, we must be clear. What means
“moral unity of the Italian people”? A minimum common
denominator, a common field for action, in which all the
National Parties meet and understand each other, a general
levelling of all opinions, of all convictions, of all parties?
For me it is sufficient that moral unity should exist in certain
decisive hours of the life of the people. We cannot expect
to have it on all days and on all questions. On the other
hand I firmly believe that this moral, fundamental unity
of the Italian people is already at work. We ourselves
see it realised, perhaps not so much by our political work
as by the war, which has made Italians know one another,
and has thrown them together, making of this small penin-
sula of ours a kind of family.

Many local boundaries which separated provinces and
regions have disappeared. Now we must complete the work.
The Hon. Bentini, speaking of the freedom of the Press,
to which subject we will return later, quoted the episode
of Garibaldi and Dumas. I fully approve the answer given
by Garibaldi. But I ask you—if the newspaper Indipendente
had, by chance, published news concerning the movements
of the Garibaldian troops or discrediting the military action,
do you think that Garibaldi would not have suppressed
that paper? (Assent and comment.)

We have the Power—we shall hold it and defend it against
all! But in the speech by the Hon. Bentini, what is parti-
cularly singular is the confusion between tactics and political
strategy. To-day it is possible to win many battles and the

Z

354 THE FASCISTA

war can be lost or won. What happened? You had brilliant
tactical results, but afterwards you had not the courage
of undertaking what was necessary to reach the final goal.
You conquered a great many outlying communes, pro-
vinces and institutions, and you did not understand
that all this was perfectly useless if, at a given moment,
you had not become masters of the brains, of the heart
of the nation,—(Interruptions on the Extreme Left.)—if,
that is to say, you had not the courage of making use of a
political strategy. To-day your chance is over, and do not
delude yourselves!

History offers certain chances only once. (Assent on the
Extreme Right.) But to understand this law it is necessary,
Honourable Gentlemen, to keep before you two very simple
considerations, and they are these: there has been a war
which has shifted interests, which has modified ideas,
which has exasperated feelings, and there has also been a
revolution. To make a revolution it is not necessary to
play the great drama of the arena. We have left many dead
on the roads to Rome and naturally anybody who deludes
himself is a fool. We have the power and we shall hold it.
We shall defend 1t against anybody !

The revolution lies in this firm determination to hold
power! (Assent and comment.)

The Italian People under the Domination of a Liberticidal
Government, groaning under the Fetters of Slavery? And now
I come to the practical side of the discussion.

They speak of liberty. But what is this liberty? Does
liberty exist? After all, it represents a philosophical and
moral concept. There are various manifestations of liberty.
Liberty never existed. The Socialists have always denied
it. The liberty of work has never been admitted by you.
You have beaten the blackleg when he presented himself

PRIME MINISTER 6 Bos

at the factories when the other workmen were on strike.
(Applause: interruptions by the Extreme Left.)

But then is it really true and proved that the Italian
people are under the domination of a liberticidal Govern-
ment, and groans in the fetters of slavery? Is mine a
liberticidal Government?

In the social field, No! I had the courage to transform
the eight-hours day into a law of the State. (Com-
ments on the Extreme Left.) Do not despise this victory;
do not undervalue it. (Assent.) I have approved all the
social and pacifist Conventions of Washington. What has
this Government done in the political field? It is said that
Democracy lies where suffrage is widened. Well, this Govern-
ment has maintained universal suffrage. And, although
Italian women, who are intelligent enough to exact it, had
not done so, I have given it, be it only as regards the muni-
cipal elections to from six to eight millions of women!
No exceptional laws were passed,—(Comments on the Ex-
treme Left.)—and the regulation of the Press is not an
exceptional law.

You forget a very simple thing, that the revolution has
the right of defending itself. (Approval from the Right:
comments.) Is there in Russia liberty of association for
_ those who are not Bolshevists? No! Is there liberty of
Press for them? No! Is there liberty of meeting, of vote?
No! (Applause: comments on the Extreme Left.) You
who are the defenders of the Russian régime have not the
right to protest against a régime like mine, which cannot,
even distantly, be compared with that of the Bolshevists.
(Approval on the Right: comments on the Left.)

I am not, Gentlemen, a despot who remains locked up
in a castle protected by strong walls. I circulate freely
amongst the people without any concern whatsoever, and
I listen to them. (Loud assent.) Well, the Italian people,

356 THE FASCISTA

up to now, have not asked for liberty. (Assent on the Right:
comments on the Extreme Left.) At Messina the population
which surrounded my carriage said: “Take us out of these
wooden huts.” (Assent.) In Sardinia—(you will notice
that I am speaking of a region where Fascismo has not
tens of thousands of followers as in Lombardy)—in Sardinia,
at Arbatax, men came to me with drawn faces; they sur-
rounded me and, pointing out to me a track with a putrid
river among the marshy reeds, said to me: “Malaria is
killing us!” They did not speak to me of liberty, of the
Statute, of the Constitution. It is the emigrants of the
Fascista revolution who create this idol which the Italian
people, and now, too, foreign public opinion, has largely
dismantled. (Loud applause on the Right.)

Every day I receive dozens of Committees, and hundreds
of applications are flung on my desk, in which one might
say that the urgent needs of each of the eight thousand
communes of Italy are represented.

Well, why should all those not come to me and say:
“We suffer because you oppress us”? But there is a reason,
a fact to which I wish to draw your attention. You say
that the ex-soldiers fought for liberty. How does it happen,
then, that these ex-soldiers are in favour of a liberticidal
Government? (Applause.)

Are force and consent antagonistic elements? Not at
all! In force there is already consent, and consent is force
in itself and for itself.

But tell me, have you found on the face of the earth a
Government, of whatsoever kind, which claimed to make
happy all the people it governed? But this would mean
the squaring of the circle! Whatever Government, be it
even directed by men participating in the Divine wisdom,
whatever measure it takes, will make some people dis-
contented. And how can you check this discontent? By

PRIME MINISTER Shy)

force! What is the State? It is the police. All your codes
of law, the laws themselves, all your doctrines are nothing
if, at a given moment, the police by their physical strength
do not make felt the indestructible weight of the law.
(Comments and assent.)

We do not want to abolish Parliament. They say that we
want to abolish Parliament. No! It is not true. First of
all, we do not know what we could substitute for it. (Com-
ment.) Parliaments, the so-called Technical Councils, are
still in the embryonic stage.

Maybe they represent some principles of life. With such
subjects one can never be dogmatic or explicit; but,
in the face of to-day’s state of affairs, they represent
only attempts. Maybe that in a second stage it may be
possible to allot to these Technical Councils a portion of
the legislative work.

But, Gentlemen, I beg you to consider that Fascismo is
in favour of elections. That is to say, it calls for the elections,
in order to conquer the communes and the provinces. It
has called for them in order to send Deputies to Parliament;
it does not, therefore, seek to abolish Parliament. On the con-
trary, as I said before and I repeat it, the Government wants
to make of Parliament a more serious, if not more solemn
institution: it wants, if possible, to bridge over that hiatus
which undeniably exists between Fascismo and the country.

Fascismo is not a transitory Phenomenon. Do not hope
that its Life will be short! Gentlemen, we must follow Fas-
cismo, I will not say with love, but with intelligence. There
must be no illusions. How many times from those benches
it was said that Fascismo was a transitory phenomenon!
You saw it. It is an imposing phenomenon which gathers
in its followers, one might say, by millions. It is the largest
mass party which has ever existed in Italy. It has in itself

358 THE FASCISTA

some vital, powerful force, and since it is different from all
others, as regards its extent, its organisation, its discipline,
do not hope that its life be short!

To-day Fascismo is going through the travail of a pro-
found transformation. You will ask: “When will Fascismo
grow up?” Oh! I do not wish it to grow up too soon!
(Laughter.) I prefer that it should continue still for some
time as it is to-day till all are resigned to the fait accompli,
and have its fine armour and its virile warlike soul.

There is a fact which is rapidly transforming the essence
of Fascismo. The Fascista Party, on one side, becomes a
Militia, and, on the other, becomes an administration and
a Government. It is incredible what a change the head of
a “squadra” undergoes when he becomes an alderman or
a mayor. He understands that it is not possible to attack
abruptly the Communal Budgets without preparation, but
that it is necessary to study them and devote himself to
the administrative part, which is a hard, dry, and difficult
task. (Applause.) And as the communes conquered by
Fascisti number now several thousands, you will conclude
that the transformation of Fascismo into an organ of
administration is taking place and will be soon an
accomplished fact.

Liberty must not be converted into Licence, and Licence I
shall never grant! You ask: “When will this moral pressure
of Fascismo end?” I understand that you are anxious
about it. It is natural, but it depends on you. You know
that I should be happy to-morrow to have in my Govern-
ment the direct representatives of the organised working
classes. I would like to have them with me; I would like
also to entrust them with a Ministry which requires delicate
handling, so as to convince them that the administration
of the State is a thing of the utmost complexity and diffi-

PRIME MINISTER 359

culty, that there is little to improvise, that tabula rasa
must not be made, as in some revolutions, because
afterwards it is necessary to rebuild. You cannot take a
corporal of the division of Petrograd and make of him a
general, because afterwards you have to call in a Brusiloff!
(Comment.) To sum up, so long as opponents exist who,
instead of resigning themselves to the fait accompli,
contemplate a reactionary movement, we cannot disarm.
But I say further that the last experience after your
attempt at the strike of last year must also have convinced
you by now that that road will lead you to ruin; whilst,
on the other hand, you ought to take into account, once
and for all, if you have in your veins a little Marxist doc-
trine, that there is a new situation, to which (if you are
intelligent and watch over the interests of the classes you
say you represent) you should conform. And, moreover,
Colombino, who is a friend of Ludovico d’Aragona, can
say if I am an enemy of the working classes. I dare him to
deny my statement that six thousand workmen belonging
to the Italian Metallurgic Consortium work to-day because
I helped them and because I did my duty as citizen and
head of the Italian Government. (Comment and assent.)

But liberty, Gentlemen, must not be converted into
licence. What they ask for is licence, and this I shall never
grant! (Loud applause and comment.) You can, if you
wish, organise and march along in processions and I shall
have you escorted. But if you intend to throw stones at
the carabineers or to pass through a street where it is for-
bidden to do so, you will find the State which opposes you,
if necessary by force. (Loud applause on the Right:
comment on the Left.)

Close Analysis of the Electoral Reform Bill. But this
Electoral Law which harasses us so much: is it really a
monster? I declare it to you that, were it a monster, I

360 THE (RASCISi“

should like to hand it over at once to a museum of mon-
strosities. (Laughter.) This law, of which I have traced
the fundamental lines, but which afterwards has been
successively elaborated by my friend the Hon. Acerbo, and
re-elaborated by the Commission, I do not know whether
for better or for worse,—(Much laughter.)—is a creation,
-and, like all creations of this world, has its qualities and
defects. One must not condemn it as a whole; it would
be a great mistake.

You must consider—I say this to you with absolute
frankness—that it is a law for us;—(Comments.)—but it
involves principles which are ultra-democratic—that of
the State election schedule; that of the national con-
stituency, which was the vindication of Socialism, as just
now Constantino Lazzari recalled. You say that the struggle
is impersonal, that the elections will cause unrest. But who
tells you that the elections are near? (Laughter: prolonged
comments.) The working of this law is such that a fourth
part of the seats is guaranteed to the minorities, while I
think that, calling the elections by the present law, the
minorities would, perhaps, be further sacrificed. (Assent and
comment.) At any rate the impersonality of the struggle
withholds from the same struggle that character of harsh-
ness which might preoccupy from the point of view of public
order. As things stand to-day, elections held on the
uninominal constituency or even on the proportional basis
would certainly lead to excesses. (Assent.)

The Government cannot accept Conditions. Either you give
it your Confidence or deny it. I declare that I shall not call
elections until I am sure that they will be held in
independence and order. (Comment and applause.) I
add that while on principle I am, and I must be, in-
transigent, I entrust myself, in a certain sense, as regards
technical discussion, to the competent elements. In this

PRIME MINISTER 361

hall there are very many competent elements. They will
say how this law can be even more abused or improved.
(Comment.) But this is the business of the Chamber, and
the Government declares to you that it does not refuse to
accept those improvements which would render easier the
exercise of the right to vote.

This concerns in a certain sense the Popular Party,
which must decide for itself. I have spoken plainly, but I
must say not as plainly as has been spoken from
those benches. The Government cannot accept conditions.
Either you give it your confidence or you deny it. (Assent
and comment.)

On your Vote will depend in a certain sense your Fate!
I agree with all the speakers who have declared that the coun-
try wishes only to be left alone; to work in peace with
discipline. And my Government makes enormous efforts to
achieve this result and will go on, even if it has to strike its
own followers, because, having wished for a strong State,
it is only just that we should be the first to experience the
consequences of strength. (Loud applause.) I have also
the duty of telling you—and I tell you from a debt of
loyalty—that on your vote depends in a certain sense your
fate! Do not delude yourselves, even in this field, because
nobody gets out of the Constitution—neither I nor the
others—as nobody can suppose that he is not amply
guaranteed according to the spirit and the letter of the Con-
stitution. (Comment.) And then, if things are thus, I tell
you, take into account this necessity. Do not let the country
have once again the impression that Parliament is far from
the soul of the nation and that this Parliament, after having
manceuvred for an entire week in a campaign of opposition,
has achieved sterile results at the end. Because this is the
moment in which Parliament and country can be recon-
ciled. But if this chance is lost, to-morrow will be too late,

362 THE FASCISTA

and you feel it in the air, you feel it in yourselves. And
then, Gentlemen, do not hang on political labels, do not
stiffen yourselves in the formal coherence of the parties,
do not clutch at bits of straw, as do the shipwrecked in
the ocean, hoping vainly to save themselves. But listen to
the secret and solemn warning of your conscience; listen
- also to the incoercible voice of the nation!

(The last words of the speech of the Hon. Mussolini,
which had been listened to all through with the greatest
attention by the Assembly and the Tribunes, are greeted
by frantic, repeated applause by the benches of the Right,
by the Centre and by many Deputies of the Democratic
Left. The ovation lasts for a long time and is intensified
by that paid by all the Tribunes.

When the applause is over, all the members of the Govern-
ment shake hands with the President of the Council, while
from the benches of the Right all the Deputies come down to
congratulate the Hon. Mussolini, amongst them the Hon.
Fera, ex-Minister of Justice, and the ex-Prime Ministers,
the Hon. Giolitti, the Hon. Salandra, the Hon. Orlando,
and the President of the Chamber, the Hon. De Nicola,
who exclaims: “It is the finest speech in the annals of
Parliamentary history.”’)

The sitting is suspended for half an hour. When it is
resumed at 8.10 the Hon. Mussolini agrees to accept the
order of the day proposed by Larussa, viz.:

“The Chamber, re-affirming its confidence in the Government,
approves the principles contained in the Electoral Reform Bill,
and passes to the discussion of the Articles of the project.”

At 11.10, the operation of voting having been completed,
the result is proclaimed, viz.: “The Chamber of Deputies
votes in favour of the Government by a large majority.”

(The sitting is adjourned.)

PRIME MINISTER | 363

THE MASSACRE OF THE ITALIAN DELEGATION
FOR THE DELIMITATION OF THE GRECO-
ALBANIAN FRONTIER

On the 27th of August, General Enrico Tellini, President of the
International Commission for the Delimitation of the Greco-Albanian
Frontier, the medical officer, Major Luigi Corti, and Lieutenant Mario
Bonacini, members of the Mission, were atrociously murdered in
Greece, while motoring from Janina to Santi Quaranta.

In consideration of preceding assassinations, of all the concordant
information from different sources gathered on the scene of the
massacre, and of the persistent campaign of libel and instigation on
the part of the Greek Press against Italy and the Italian Military
Mission, the Royal Government (the Stefani Agency informs us) has
come to the conclusion that the moral as well as implicitly the
material responsibility of the massacre falls on the Greek Govern-
ment. On these grounds the head of the Government, certain of
interpreting the sense of indignation of the whole Italian nation,
has instructed Commendatore Montagna, Minister at Athens, to
present to Greece the following Note containing Italy’s demands.

Hon. Mussolini’s Note to Greece demands on behalf of
Italy:

1. Apologies in the most ample and official form, to be
presented to the Italian Government at the Royal Italian
Legation at Athens through the highest Greek authority ;

2. Solemn funeral ceremony for the victims of the mas-
sacre, to be celebrated in the Catholic Cathedral at Athens,
with the presence of all the members of the Greek
Government;

3. Honours to the Italian flag to be paid by the Hellenic
Fleet in the bay of the Piraeus to one of our naval divisions,
which will proceed there purposely, and this by means of a
salute of twenty-one shots fired by the Hellenic ships,

364 THE FASCISTA PRIME MINISTER

whilst the Greek Fleet flies the Italian flag from the
masthead;

4. A strict inquiry will be held by the Greek authorities
on the scene of the massacre, with the assistance of the
Royal Military Italian Attaché, Colonel Perrone, for whose
personal safety the Hellenic Government holds itself ab-
solutely responsible. Such an inquiry will have to be con-
ducted within five days of the acceptance of these demands;

5. Capital punishment of the guilty;

6. Indemnity of fifty million Italian lire (about
£500,000)—to be paid within five days of the presentation
of this Note;

7. Military honours to the remains of the victims upon
their embarkation at Prevesa on Italian warships.

MUSSOLINI.

RomE, PaLazzo Cuiai, 29th August 1923.

FINIS

INDEX

_ ABBA GARIMA, 164

Rees Conference of, 269, 271, 278-9,
281

Absolutism, 311

Acerbo, Signor, 310, 343; on Electoral
Law, 360

Adige, Upper, I09, 111; effect of
Austro-German union on question
of, 125; Germans in, 109, 131;
Fascismo and, 164; Italophobia on,
184-7

Adler, Fritz, 98

Admiralty, Fascisti demand the, 174

Adrianople, 241

Adriatic, eastern shore of, 59; Sauro
and the, 74; National Vindications
and, 89; Zara and the, 257; Abbazia
Conference, 269

#égean, Bulgaria’s right to a port on
the, 125

Albania, rebels in, 21; as a centre of
unrest, 125; Commercial Agree-
ment with, 283; massacre of Italian
delegation at Janina, 363

Albertini, Senator, 219-20

Alessio, Signor, 350

Alliance, Austro-German, 12; Triple,
22; Republican, 101; Continental,
against England, 231; Cavour and
Treaty of, with France and England,

351

Alps, the, 60; National Vindications
and, 89; Brenner, 107, 192; Julian
Alps, 107; Dinaric Alps, 120, 127

Alsace, 100

Amalfi, 113

Ambassadors, Conference of, 268

Ambris, Alcesto de, 9

Amendola, 352

America, cables to, xviii; intervention
of, in the war, 53. See also United
States

American students, facilities for, in
Italy, 335

Ancona, 307

Andreas Hoferbund, 185

Angell, Norman, I1

Angora, National Assembly of, 241;
Turkish aspirations, 254; Allied
reply to Government of, 280

Arbatax, malaria in, 356

‘*Arditi,” 74; the Association of, 92

Armenia, oil wells of, 96

Army, Italian, and Fascismo, xii

Arosio, speech 30th March 1923 at, 277

Arpigati, Captain Arturo, 42

Association, of Fighters, 87, 92, 993
of Arditi, 92; of Volunteers, 92; of
Garibaldians, 92; of Maimed and
Disabled, 316

Athens, Fascismo and “‘ eterie ”’ of, ix

Austria, 12; Italy and the Austro-
German Alliance, 12; Austro-Ger-
man militarism, 16; preparations in,
against Roumania, 20; demand for
repudiation of Triple Alliance, 22;
Republic of, 124; dual monarchy,
187, 249; Commercial Treaty between
Italy and, 284; reparations, 295;
loan to, 299

Austrian Institute, 281

Austro-Hungarian monarchy, 187, 249

Avanti, xvi, 3, 4, 9, 87, 162

Bainsizza, 28

Balbo, Italo, xiii, 310

Baldwin, Mr. Stanley, 296

Balillas, 159, 343

Balkans: Balkan zones of Austria
Hungary, 9; Roumania, 20; Valona,
21,118; Bulgaria, 125; seeds of war
in,125; Treaty of Rapallo, 125 etseq.;
Montenegro’s independence, 189
seq.; Turkey’s success at Lausanne,
213

Bandiera brothers, 351

Baracca Cup, 329

Barbarossa, 27

Barcelona, 270

Barzilai, 224

Battisti, Cesare, 48, 89, 134

Bazzi, 69

Bebel, 26

Belgium, martyrdom of, 12, 14;
neutrality, 23; undertaking not to
sign separate peace, 19; colonies,
go; ex-President Wilson and, 189

Belgrade, Fiume and the agreement
concluded at, 193

Bellini, Senator, 223

365

366

Benedict XV., Palestine and, 194; on
Ruhr crisis, 345

Bentini, 353

Berchtold, Count, 19, 20

Berne Convention, powers of, respect-
ing international traffic, 270

Bernhardi, von, 26

Bernstein, Edward, and Versailles
Treaty, 99

Bersagliere Regt., 11th, Mussolini joins,
xvi

~ Bessarabia, 20

Bezzi, Ergisto, 18, 88

Bianchi, Michele, xiii

Bismarck, 9

Bissolati, Leonida, 158

Black Shirts, Nationalists and, 148;
revolution of, a force for progress,
208

Bologna: speech of 24th May 1918
at, 37; speech of 3rd April 1921 at,
134; University of, and Montenegrin
independence, 191; Fascista occupa-
tion of, 308

Bolshevism: Mussolini saves Italy from,
xiv; textile workers’ strike, 68;
failure of, in Italy, 73, 167; Musso-
lini’s fight against, 87, ror; Florence
under, 103; Bolshevist element in
Italian Socialism, 116; in Trieste,
I17, 121; of Russia, 129, 147; the
Bolshevist State and the Liberal
State, 139; Fascismo and, 166, 179;
the Italian Bolshevist world, 178;
Germany’s resistance to influence of,
290; Italian losses in crushing, 324;
freedom of the Press and, 355

Bolzano, xiii, 163-4; 173, 185, 187,
308

Bonacini, Lieut. Mario, murder of, 363

Bono, General Cesare de, xii, xiii,
309, 343

Bordiga, General, 105

Bourbons, 75, 351

Bourgeoisie, Fascismo and the, 165;
Risorgimento and, 50

Breitemburg, Count, 186

Brenner, the: Battisti and, 74; Bezzi
and, 88; Italy in possession of, 107;
as bulwark against Germany, 110;
Paduan valley and, 125; as Italy’s
northern boundary, 136; defence of,
184; Mussolini’s declaration to
German deputies respecting, 188;
Versailles Treaty and, 293

Brest-Litowsk, Treaty of, 44

Brofferio, Angelo, 351~2

Brussels Conference, 1923, 214

INDEX

Bucharest, Peace of, 44

Budapest, Danube Confederation and,
124; peace of justice, and occupation
of, 149, 172

Budget, Italian State, 215, 272-3;
Communal, 358
Bulgaria, 10, 125, 213; reparations,

295, 299; coup d'état in, 345
Buozzi, 219
Burian, 20

Cables, conventions relative to, xviii

Cagliari, speech of 12th June 1923 at,
323

Canada, Commercial Treaty’ with, 214

Canne, 288

Capitulations, the, 241, 266

Caporetto, speech after, 30; causes of
disaster of, 32; anti-war demonstra-
tions after, 34; national crisis follow-
ing, 43; German calculations after,
45; Rapallo and, 126; Pact of Rome
and, 126; Fascismo and, 135; disci-
pline of war and, 350

Carabineers, xvii, 359

Caradonna, 310

Carducci, 37

Carli, 99

Carso, 28; Italian sentiment for the,
35; Corridoni’s death, 48; insur-
rection against Trieste on, 118; com-
memoration ceremony, 120

Carthage, 177

Castelrosso, 280, 302

Castua, 278

Catholicism, Mussolini on, xii

Cattaneo, 53

Cavallotti, 351

Cavazzoni, 252

Caviglia, General, 129

Cavour, Camille, 311; Crimean expedi-
tion and, 351

Ceccherini, Maj.-General, xii, 310

Central America, cable to, xviii

Central Empires, 9; war desired by,
27, 72

Cervantes, 114

Cettinge, 190

Chamber of Deputies, Fascista Govern-
ment and the, 313

Chiesa, 255

Child, Mr. Richard Washburn, speech
at Rome by, 335

Chiusa di Verona, 185

Cicerin, Commissioner of Foreign Affairs,
Russia, 44

Ciccotti, Ettore, on Italian Fascismo, ix

Cinque Giornate, 28; speech before the

INDEX

monument of, 58; Austrian threat
to city of, 135

Cipriani, Amilcare, 5

Civil Law Codes, reformation of, xvii

Class struggle, Mussolini on, 285

Clemenceau, 32, 40, 56; on concessions
in Asia Minor, 96

Clemente, Maj.-General Ozol, 310

Coalition Ministry, 221

Coliseum, 234

Colombino, 359

Colonna di Cesaro, 307

Columbus, Christopher, 50

Commerce, Chambers of, International
Congress of, 274 et seq.

Commercial Treaty: with Switzerland,
212; with Canada, 214; with France,
265; with Yugoslavia, 271, 282; with
Austria, 281

Committee of Understanding and
Action, 93

Committee of Wounded and Disabled
Soldiers, 51

Communes, Italian, ix

Communism, x, 116, 334

Comunale, Bologna, speech at the, 37

Constantine, King, 125

Constitution, the, and the Government,
361

Contadint, adherents of Fascimo, 316

Conti, Senator, 219

Continental alliance. See under Alliance

Convention, of Washington, 243, 251;
for Italo-American cables, 245

Corriere della Sera, 163-4

Corridoni Club, 92

Corridoni, Filippo, 48, 59, 71, 88

Corsica, Italians of, 137

Corti, Major Luigi, murder of, 363

Cremona, speech at, 25th Sept. 1922,
158

Crespi, Senator, 161, 258

Crimea, expedition to the, 351

Crispi, Francesco, 108 1.

Cucco, 28

Cuno-Rosenberg Memorandum, 295

Curtatone, 289

Cyrus, 38

Czechoslovakia, Italy’s relations with,
213

Dabormida, General, 351

Dalmatia: Rismondo on, 74; National
Vindications and, 89; Italian minori-
ties of, 96; and the victory of Vittorio
Veneto, 107; Croats of, 118; Treaty
of Rapallo, 125, 262; education of
Italians of, 131; care of Italian

367

residents,132; sufferings of Italians in,
136; Italian unity and, 144; betrayed,
171, 192; Santa Margherita Agree-
ments, 247, 256, 260-1

Dalmine, speech zoth March rg1g at,
63

Dante, 60, 77, 114, 133

D’Annunzio, 77, 114; Mussolini at
Fiume with, 103; proclamation to
the Croats, 104; legionary occupa-
tion of Fiume, 119, 192; the Fiume
tragedy, 128-9, 141

Danube Confederation, 124

Danubian States, economic settlement
of, 300

D’Aragona, Ludovico, 359

Dardanelles, 214, 241

Death duties, xvii

De Bono, Cesare. See Bono, de, General
Cesare

Debt, national, xviii; Italian war, 259

Debt funding agreement, Anglo-
American, 259, 296

Debts, inter-allied, and reparations, 294

Deffenu, 88

Del Croix, Carlo, 129

Delegation, Italian massacre of, at
Janina, 363

Delta, the, 193, 262, 278

Democracy, meaning of, 36; syndicalism
and, 148; Fascismo and, 167-8, 176;
and suffrage, 355

Democrats, 92

De Nicola, President of the Chamber,
362

Deutscher Verband, 185-7

Deutschland téber Alles, 21

Diaz, General, 343

Dictatorship, proletariat and a, 349

Dinaric Alps, 120, 127

Diplomatic and consular services, 305

Dock-workers, Fascisti, 82

“Dolomites of Italian Thought,” the,
II4

Dortmund, 235

Dumas, 353

Dunkirk, attack on, 19

Eastern Mediterranean. See under
Mediterranean

Economic policy, 274

Economy, Ministry of National, xvii

Edvige, xvi

Eight Hours Day Bill, xvii, 198, 354

Electoral Reform, xvii, 101, 165, 314,
347, 359-60, 362 We: ;

Elementary schools, religious instruc-
tion in, xii

368

Emigration, 341

Employers and employed, co-operation
between, 285

Eneo, 262

England, Russian expectation of finan-
cial aid from, 19; Italian confidence
in, 46; D’Annunzio’s coup at Fiume
and, 104; mandate in Palestine, 194-5;
continental alliance against, 231

Entente, the: French and British
soldiers at the Piave battle, 59;
Italy’s position and, 211-12; the
Ruhr advance and, 230; Greco-
Turkish affairs and, 254; continued
existence of, 259

Entente, Little, 124, 238, 240, 300, 345

d’Esperey, Franchet, 189

Esthonia, xviii, 283

Etna, eruption of, 331

Europe, economic system of, 275

Exchanges, European, 345

Ex-soldiers, blind, 277;
Association of, 316

National

Facta, Signor, 165, 267

Fara, Gustavo, General, xii, 310

Farinacci, Roberto, 158

Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, 103,
328

Fascio of Fighters, 92; demands of, 132

Fascio Nazionale dei Combattenti, x

Fascismo: part of general historical
development of nations, ix; rise of,
x; and the Army, xii; ‘‘ March
to Rome,” xii; progress of, xiii;
Mussolini summoned to form cabinet,
xiii; official song of, xiv; symbol,
Xv; syndicalism of, 63, 177; aims
and programme of, 92, 150; tasks of,
108 et seqg.; patriotism of, 112; sin-
cerity of, 114; not conservative, 115;
Communism and, 116, 196; attitude
of, towards Socialism, 116, 196 et
seq.; demagogism and, 119; prob-
lems of foreign policy, 121 et seq., 149
et seg.; attitude towards the peace
treaties, 124; demands of Italian
Fascio of Fighters in matters of for-
eign policy, 132; birth of, 135; im-
perialism of, 136; not essentially
violent, 138, 156; in the Socialist
crisis of 1921, 139; attitude in the
1g2r elections, 139; Fascista Day,
141; and the Monarchy, xi, 152;
the Fascista revolution, 154; attitude
of, towards State economic attri-
butes, 155; and the bourgeoisie, 165;
and the proletariat, 165; and demo-

INDEX

cracy, 176-7; and the New Provinces,
183; demands regarding the Upper
Adige, 187; attitude towards the
Popular Party, 201 et seqg.; and the
Vatican, 201-3; and Social Demo-
crats, 203; military organisation of,
XV, 223; domestic policy, 215;
emigration and, 215; foreign policy,
251; Yugoslavian policy, 253; women
of, 286; attempt to sever Mussolini
from, 287; strength and adherents of,
316; associations included in, 316;
Sardinia and, 324; Parliament and,
357; not a transitory phenomenon,
357; an organ of administration, 358;
liberty, not licence, under, 358; and
the constitution, 361

Fascista Council, Great, xv, 232-3, 314

Fascista Government, work of, xvii;
beginnings of, 163-4, 173; ‘‘ Govern-
ment of speed,’’ 234; policy respect-
ing Fiume and Zara, 256; foreign
policy, 265, 293 et seq.

Fascista Party, National, xiv; military
organisation, xv; numbers and
adherents, 316

Fascista revolt, 76

Fascista State, 169, 173

Federation, of Labour, General, 106,
110; of Seamen, 106

Federzoni, Signor, 190, 192

Fera, Signor, ex-Minister of Justice, 362

Ferrara, speech of 4th April 1921 at, 75

Ferrari, Giuseppe, 78

Ferrarin, 133, 285

Ferrario, General, 192

Fiat factory, 349

Fighters, National Association of, 87,
92, 99; Fascio, 92

Finance, Ministry of, 272-3

Finland, xviii, 283

Finzi, 310

Fiume, 53, 74; National Vindications
and, 89; Tardieu and, 96; Mussolini
visits D’Annunzio at, 103; inter-
national relations and D’Annunzio’s
occupation of, 104; Italian acquisition
of, 111; Hungary and, 125; the
tragedy of, 128; the war between
General] Caviglia and, 129; the Fascio
of, 131; economic annexation of,
demanded by the Fascisti, 132;
sympathy of Fascista for, 136;
Italian unity and, 144; General
Ferrario, 192; the Belgrade Agree-
ment, 193; Agreements of Santa
Margherita and, 248; Arbitration
Commission, 262; Abbazia Con-

INDEX

ference, 278-9; difficulties of Yugo-
slav Government, 301; representa-
tions to Belgrade, 346

Florence, speech goth Oct. rg19 at,
103; speeches 19th June 1923 at,
328-9; of the Middle Ages, 113

Foreign Affairs, Ministry of, Fascisti
demand, 174

Foreign policy, 121, 132,
293, 345

Forli, xvi

Forum, the, 234

France: Italy’s neutrality in 1914,
I2; undertaking not to conclude a
separate peace, 19; heroism of, 45;
attitude of, towards Fiume question,
104

Franche-Comté, 21

Frankfurt, Treaty of, 9

Frankfurter Zeitung, 21

Freedom of the Press, 353, 355

Freemasonry, 201, 314, 318

149, 251, 278,

Galassi, Angelico, 201

Galicia, 20; Eastern, 280

Galileo, 77, 114

Gandolfo, General, 309

Garibaldi, 14, 27, 77, 114, 134; ‘“‘ red
shirts” of, 145; Piedmont and, 352;
and Dumas, 353

Gasparri, Cardinal, 345

Gay, Harry Nelson, 335

Geneva, Protocol of; loan to Ausiria,
299; territorial integrity of Austria,
300

Genoa, 113, 31I

Gentile, Senator, xii

George V., King of England, visit of, 304

Georgia, 133

Germany: Italy’s neutrality between
Triple Entente and Austro-German
Alliance, 12; dependence on Austria,
20; and Belgium, 22; Prussian
militarism, 23, 60; ‘‘ Wilsonites”’
in, 54; imperialist, doomed 60; war
desired by, 72; reparations problem,
124; Upper Adige question and, 125;
resistance in the Ruhr, 240; repara-
tions, 294

Gioberti, 261

Giolitti, revelations of, 12; adherents
of, in upper bureaucracy, 106;
Italian intervention in the war and
the followers of, 107; attitude
towards Upper Adige question, 188;
congratulates Mussolini, 362

Giordani, Giulio, 134

“ Giovinezza’’ (Youth), xiv

2A

369

Giulietti, Captain, 104

Giuriati, 310

Gtustizia, La, 315

Goethe, 114

Gorizia, 48; Italophobia in, 184.

Grappa, 120

Graziadei, Antonio, 196-7

Graziani, General, xii

Greco-Albanian frontier, massacre of the
Italian delegation for delimitation

of the, 363
Greece, 10; Italian relations with,
under Fascista Government, 212;

Italian note to, respecting Janina
massacre, 363-4
Grodno, 123
Gronchi, speech on Electoral Reform
re ea
Guardie Regie, abolition of, xvii
Guesde on Socialist nations, 14
Guglielmotti, Maj.-General, 310

Hapsburg, House of, domination of,
prevented by the war, 89; war let
loose by, 100; attempt of, to present
navy to Roe eyiah 126; Upper Adige
and, 185, 187

Harden on Germany’s desire for war, 26

Harding, President, 279

Heraclea coal mines, 96

Hermada, 48

High Commissioners, 315

Hindenburg, 3

Hohenzollerns, the Germany of the,
26, 36; passing of militarism with
ao 60; domination of, prevented

by the war, 89; Socialists and the,
99; war let loose by the, roo

Holland, colonies of, 90

Hungary: preparations against Rou-
mania, 20; Fiume and, 125; Popular
Party and, 201; economic relations
with, 213; reparations, 295, 298.
See also Austro-Hungarian monarchy

Iglesias, speech 13th June 1923 at, 326
Immigration Bill, 341

Imperial Italy, 292

Indipendente, 354

Inter-allied debts, 294, 346

-| Internal policy, 306 eé seq.

*“ Internationals,’ German, 26

Internationalism, 11

Islam, situation in, 213

Isonzo, fording of the Upper, 31;
Caporetto and the, 32; Italian sacri-
fices beyond the, 48; destruction of
the Hapsburg empire, 107; obliga-
tion of Italy to pass the, 111; Yugo-

370

slav boundaries and the, 127;
Italian army’s advance towards, 172

Ismet Pasha, 266

Istria, Slavs in, 131; Fascisti from, 171

Italian-Croat brotherhood, 104

Italian Proletariat, Assizes of the, 105

Italo-American Association, 336

Italo-American Society, 342

Italo-Russian Agreement, 303

Italo-Ukraine Agreement, 303

. Italo-Yugoslav Commission, 301

Italy: Socialist Party, 3, 23, 93; Triple
Alliance, 22; no ground for remaining
neutral, 23; Battisti, Sauro and Ris-
mondo on destinies of, 74; and the
Brenner, 74; and the Adriatic, 74;
and Dalmatia, 74; Socialist Union,
g2; Liberal leaders out of touch
with, 165; Monarchy of, 176; Con-
vention with Montenegro, 190; agree-
ments with Yugoslavia, 251; uni-
versities of, 291; position of, respect-
ing reparations, 294; War Loan and
credits to Austria, 299; relations
with Russia, 303; relations with
United States, 304; Crimean ex-
pedition and the unity of, 351

Jaffa, Conference of, 195

Janina, 363

Japan, conflict between U.S. and, 121-2

Jerusalem, conquest of, 100; Polish
immigrants, 195

Jews: English mandate in Palestine,
194 etseg.; sacrifices by Italian Jews
in the war, 195

Journalism, Parliamentarism and, 313

Judiciary Circuits, 314

Jugoslavia. See Yugoslavia

Kaiser, the, 66

Kemal, Mustapha, 150, 189, 266
Kerensky, 33

Klopstock, 114

Labour, Asiatic Utopia and, 82
Labour, General Confederation of, 106,
110; Fascisti demand Ministry of,

174

Labriola, 348-9, 352

Lansing, Mr., on Dalmatian question, 96

Larussa, order of the day on Electoral
Reform proposed by, 362

Lausanne Conference, recognition of
Turkey’s successes by, 213; safe-
guarding of European and Christian
interests by, 213; Russian repre-
sentation at, 214; Italian delega-
tion, 232, 241, 254; Ruhr and, 241;

INDEX

Turkey’s legitimate rights, 241;
questions of the Straits and of
capitulation, 241; Angora Govern-
ment and, 266; Turks invited to
new, 279; cession of Castelrosso, 302;
Treaty of Lausanne, 345

Law, Mr. Bonar, proposals of, at Con-
ference of Paris, 230, 295.

Lazzari, Constantino, on Election Law,
360

League of Nations, the: disabled Italian
soldiers and, 52; ex-Pres. Wilson
and, 52-4; no substitute for victory,
54-5; Germany and, 55; Renan’s
prediction falsified, 55-6; Inter-
nationalism, 56; difficulties in estab-
lishing, 56; dream of, founded on
ruins of the old world, 60; Fascismo

and, 132; Palestine mandate and,
195; Polish-Lithuanian boundaries,
268

League, National, 343

Legnano, 27, 45

Lenin, effect of gospel of, on Italy’s
working classes, ix; results in Russia
of gospel of, 44; and Tuscany, 103;
Bolshevism of, preferable to other
forms, 129; Milan and, 136; an ally
of Kemal, 189; production and the
Communism of, 196; reactionary
policy of, 199

Lerici, Mayor of, 163

Lettonia, 133, 283

Levanto, Fascista programme described
at, 150

Liberal State, the: weakness of, 1543
superiority of Fascista State over,
163; devoid of spirit, 165; necessity
for broadening, 175

Liberticidal Government, 354-7

Liberty, 358

Libyan subjects, 303

Lithuania, commercial treaty with,
Xvill, 283; Wilna question and, 123;
rights of, to Memel, 242, 268; Polish-
Lithuanian boundaries, 268

Little Entente. See Entente, Little

Lombardy, iron foundries of,
Fascismo in, 356

Lombroso’s classification of men, 54

London: Treaty of (1915), 189; Mus-
solini’s speech, 12 Dec. 1922 in, 227;
Ruhr advance and Italian memoran-
dum of, 231, 238, 346; Italian
foreign policy at, 254; Inter-allied
meeting at, on draft Peace Treaty
with Turkey, 279

Lorenzino dei Medici, 291

793

INDEX

Lorraine, reconquest of, 100

Lotta dt classe, La, 3

Lucci on Mussolini’s foreign policy, 253
Ludendorff, 36

Lupi, Dario, xii

Macedonia, Bulgaria’s right to, 125

Machiavelli, 38

Maeterlinck, 38-9

Malton, Rosa, xvi

Manzoni, Alexandro, 313

Marconi, 133

Margherita, Santa, Agreements of. See
Santa Margherita

Marx, Karl, 24, 27, 197, 359

Materialism, Mussolini on, 290

Mazzini, 53, 77; Socialism of, 78; the
Risorgimento, 145; advocate of Re-
publicanism, 153; on power, 288;
Democracy and, 351; Crimea ex-
pedition and, 352

Medals, 309

Mediterranean, compensation in, for
loss of Sebenico, 96; Socialists and
the, 115; a centre of world civilisa-
tion, 122; Italian policy in Eastern,
125; Italy as leading power on the,
I4I-2, 150; Italian losses in, 211;
Greco-Turkish affairs in Eastern,
254; Italian interests in Eastern, 302

Melloni, 161

Memel, 241-2, 268

Memorandum of London. See London

Menotti Serrati, Giacinto, 9

Merano, commissioner of, and Upper
Adige, 186

Merrheim, 94

Messina, 356

Metallurgic Consortium, Italian, 359

Metz, 53

Michael, Grand Duke, 33

Michelangelo, 114

Milan, Mussolini’s speeches at: 25th Nov.
1914, 3; 25th Jan. 1915, 18; 8th April
1918, 49; 20th Oct. 1918, 52; 11th Nov.
1918, 58; 23rd March rg19, 87; 22nd
July 1919, 92; 5th Feb. 1920, 67; 24th
May 1920, 71; 6th Oct. 1922, 161;
6th Dec. 1922, 79; 29th March 1923,
276; 30th March 1923, 277

Militarism, Austro-German, 16. See
also under Germany

Militia, National, xvii, 309

Miliukoff, 33

Mincio, the, 111

Ministerial departments, reduction of,
XVii

Minorities and the Electoral Law, 360

371

Mirabello, Villa, blind ex-soldiers at,
276-7

Misiano, 129

Mohammedans, 213

Moltke, 9

Mommsen, 202

Monarchy, the, Statute Law and, 312.
See also undey Fascismo

Montagna, Commendatore,
massacre and, 363

Montanara, 289

Montemaggiore as Italian boundary, 127

Montenegro, independence of, 125,
189, I9r

Monte Nero, 110

Monte Santo, 28

“ Mopsy,’’ 195

Moratorium for reparations, 235-6, 238

Morgagni, 114

Moscow, Third International at, 195

‘“* Most favoured nation ”’ clause, 282

Mussolini, Arnaldo, xvi, 69

Mussolini, Benito: leader of the Fascio
Nazionale dei Combattenti, x; sum-
moned to form cabinet, xiii; saves

Janina

Italy from Bolshevism, xiv; the
“Duce,” Xv; career, XV, Xvi;
family, xvi; foreign policy, xvii;

his legislative and administrative
work, xvii; character, xix; expul-
sion from Socialist Party, 3; editor
of Avanti, xvi, 3; La lotta di classe,
3; against reformism, 3; agitator
for intervention in the war, 9 ef seq.;
editor of Il Popolo a@’Italia, 37; anti-
pacifist, 58; Fascista friend of the

people, 63; the ‘ Fascista,” 87;
sane conception of problems of
foreign policy, 108; against re-

volutionary policy regarding Fiume,
128; triumph, 134; Fascista Mem-

ber of Parliament, 183; Prime
Minister, 207; Note to Greece on
Janina massacre, 363-4. See also

Fascismo.

Naples, speech of 26th Oct. 1922 at, 171;
Risorgimento and the bourgeoisie of,
150

Napoleon, 114

National League. See League, National

National Militia. See Militia, National

National Vindications, the, 89

Naval disarmament, 243

Neues Deutschland, 21

Neue Zurcher Nachrichten, 22

Neuilly, Treaty of, 123, 299

Nevoso, the, 120, 136, 184, 192, 286, 329

372

Nicholas, King of Montenegro, 189, 190

Nitti, Signor, 106

Nofri, Gregorio, 252

Nola, the Risorgimento and, 351

North African colonies, 303

North America, Italian emigration to,
341

Oberdan, Guglielmo, 344
Oldofredi, Count, 351
Olympic Games, 340, 342

* Order, measures to restore, 308
Orlando, Cantiere, of Leghorn, xiii
Orlando, Signor, 362
Ortigara, 110
Ottoman Public Debt, 303

Padua, speeches: 2nd June 1923
(Women’s Congress), 286; 3rd June
1923 (at the University), 289

Palestine, 194-5

Pangermanism, xiii, 21, 44

Pareto, 312

Paris Conference, Montenegrin inde-
pendence and the, 189; failure of, 295

Parliament, Government of Fascisti
and, 208, 221, 313, 357; speech in,
on Treaty of Rapallo and Agreements
of Sta. Margherita, 210; Sub-Alpine,
and Cavour, 351

Parma, speech 13th Dec. 1914 at, 9

Passive resistance, 346

Perathoner, Herr, xili, 164

Petrillo, 347

Petrograd, tyranny at, 33

Piave, the Germans on, 31, 32, 45;
Italian resistance on, 48, 59; the
‘“arditi”? and, 74; Austrian empire
destroyed on, III, 135, 332; a
starting point for the Fascisti in their
march to Rome, 160; deciding factor
of the war, 332

Piedmont, Cavour and the constitu-
tional movement of, 311, 351-2

Pisacane, Carlo, 78, 351

Po, Valley of (Valle Padana), 42, 125;
Socialist exploitation of the masses
in, 134; Upper Adige question and,
184

Poincaré, M., 346

Poland, xviil, 100, 123, 195, 213;
boundaries, 268, 280, 304; Italian
relations with, 304

Pontifical Allocution, Zionism and the,

194

Popolo d'Italia, founded, xvi; German-
Swiss and the, 21; Mussolini and, 37;
Treaty of Rapallo criticised by, 125-6

INDEX

Popular Party, strike of textile workers
belonging to, 68; annual day of, 141;
Fascismo and the, 183, 201-3, 318;
Electoral Reform Bill and, 347, 361

Porta Pia, breach of, 108, 144

Porto Baros, 193, 256, 262

Portorose Conventions, 270, 281

Porto Sauro, 278

Portugal, colonies of, 90

Post and Telegraph Offices, 307

Potsdam, 59

Prefects, 315

Press, the, 313; jury and, 352; freedom
of, 353

Principe, the, 38

Priza, Admiral, 269

Proletariat, Italian, intervention and
the, 16; Assizes of the, 105

Proudhon, 10

Prussia, 9, 36, 50

Public services, industrialisation of, xvii

Public Works, Ministry of, Fascisti
demand, 174

Quadrumvirate meeting, xiii
Quaranta di San Severino, Barone Ber-
nardo, 335

Radice, Signor Lombardo, 343

Raffaello, 114

Railways, 270

Ramanadovich, Commander, 190

Rapallo, Treaty of, 123-4; opinion of
Central Committee of the Fascio on,
125; why Italy signed, 126; Dal-
matia and, 127, 130; mentioned in
Parliament, 210; Agreements of Sta.
Margherita presented to Parliament,
247; evacuation of territories claimed
by Yugoslavia and, 248; Italian
foreign policy regarding, 249; ratifi-
cation, 251; revision of, 256; ap-
plication of, 261; enforcement of, 300

Red Cross, German, 21

Reggio Emilia, Congress of, 3

Regguzoni, 88

Religious instruction in elementary
schools, xii

Renan, 55

Reparations Commission, 236, 298

Reparations: decision of Reparations
Commission, 26th Dec. 1922, 236;
decision 12th Jan. 1923, 236; failure
of Germany to supply wood, 236;
Italian delegate’s mandate, 236-7;
Turko-Grecian, 266; Italy and, 294;
Italian project, 295; owed by
Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary, 295;
Italian quota of, 295-6; German

INDEX

project, 297; German Note on, 297;
Treaty of Trianon, 298; Allies’ agree-
ment with Bulgaria, 299; loan to
Austria, 300. See also Inter-allied
debts

Republican Alliance, electoral reform
and the, ror

Republican Party, intervention and
the, 24; aims of Fascismo and the, 92

Revolution, French, ix, 14, 349;
Fascista, 354

Rhine, German threat to Italy from,
45; American withdrawal, 230;
Ruhr advance, 230; exploitation of
forests, 236

Rismondo on Dalmatia, 74

Risorgimento, Italian, r11, 144-5, 150-1

Risorgimento, Il, 312

Roccatagliata, Ceccardi, 18

Rodzianko, 33

Romanoff, House of, 33

Rome, Pact of, 126

Rome, Government of, and Govern-
ment at Fiume, 128; Bolshevist Con-
gress of, 167; Fascista march on, 171

Rome, speeches of Mussolini at, 24th
Feb. 1918, 30; 21st June 1921, 183;

16th Nov. 1922, 207; 2nd Jan.
1923, 228; 6th Jan. 1923, 82;
15th Jan. 1923, 230; 19th Jan.
1923, 234; 23rd Jan. 1923, 235;

1st Feb. 1923, 240; 6th Feb. 1923,
245; 8th Feb. 1923, 247; toth Feb.
1923, 251; 16th Feb. 1923, 258;
and March 1923, 264; 6th March
1923, 271; 7th March 1923, 272;
18th March 1923, 274; 7th April

1923, 278; 8th June 1923, 293;
8th June 1923, 306; 25th June
1923, 331; speech by American

Ambassador, 28th June 1923, 335;
Mussolini’s reply to American Am-
bassador, 340; 2nd July 1923, 347;
3rd July 1923, 345; 16th July 1923,
347; Internal Congress of Chambers
of Commerce at, 274

Romulus, 38

Ronchi, legions of, 128

Rossoni, Esmondo, xi

Rothermere, Lord,
work, xiv

Roumania, intervention of, 19; Italian
relations with, 213; Mohammedans
in, 213

Rovigo, speech at, 2nd June 1923, 284

Ruffini, Senator, 335

Ruhr, Italian policy in the, 230-1,
238-9, 254; Memorandum of London,

on Mussolini’s

a3

231; German Government’s orders as
to coal deliveries, 235; Reparations
Commission’s report on Germany’s
failure, 236; Moratorium, 236-7;
control of mines, 236; English repre-
sentative on Rhine High Commission,
237; Italian mediation, 237, 259;
America’s neutrality, 238; Little
Entente and, 238, 240; Lausanne
Conference, 238, 241; Russia and,
240; train services and, 241; passive
resistance, 264, 346; French object,
264; English attitude, 264; reasons
for occupation of, 295; extension of
occupation, 345; European ex-
changes, 345

Ruskoie Slovo, admission of Russian
vacillation in, 19

Russia, commercial treaty with, xviii;
undermined by revolution, 12; En-
tente and financial difficulties of, 19;
Leninist policy at Brest-Litowsk, 43;
Agrarian revolution, 123; the Baltic
States, 123; Pan-slavism, 123; dis-
agreement over Wilna and Grodno,
123; fate of Poland, 123; Russian
Jews and Palestine, 195; relations
between Italy and, 303; liberty of
association and, 355; freedom of the
Press in, 355

Rybar, Signor, 269

Sabotino, 28

St. Germain, Treaty of, unsatisfactory
to the victors, 123; Austrian Re-
public and, 124; Austro-Italian
economic relations and, 282

Salandra, Signor, his formula of “‘ sacred
egoism,” 16; congratulates Musso-
lini, 362

Salorno, Pass of, 185

Salute, Fascista, xv

San Terenzo, 163

Santa Margherita, Agreements of, 210;
purpose of, 247 et seg.; approval of,
251; Adriatic question and, 255-6;
application of, by Italian Govern-
ment, 256; effect of, on Zara and
Dalmatia, 260-1; Abbazia Con-
ference, 278; enforcement of, 300

Santi Quaranta, 363

Sardi, Baron, 335

Sardinia, soldiers of, 120; Fascisti of,
171; the post-war needs of, 321;
Fascismo and, 324; Mussolini in,
320, 323, 326; malaria, 356

Sassari, speech roth June 1923 at, 320

Sasseno, occupation of, 20

374

Sauro Basin, 279

Sauro, Nazario, 269

Savoy, Upper, Switzerland, 21; House
of, and Italian unity, 176; Military
Order of, 309

Scala, the, 25, 59

Schappner, 21

Schools, reform of, 314

Sciesa, Antonio, 161

Sea, Federation of the, 104

Seamen, Federation of, 106

~ Sebenico, 96

Seipel, 281

Serbia, 10, 12; against separate peace,
19; integrity of, safeguarded, 189

Serbo-Croat-Slovak Delegation at Ab-
bazia, 278

Serrani, 88

Serrati on Tuscany, 103

Sesto San Giovanni, speech at, 1st Dec.
1917, 25

Sévres, Treaty of: not satisfactory, 123;
results of possible failure of, 150;
Palestine Mandate, 194

Sforza, Count, on Montenegrin inde-
pendence, 189, 191

Siam, commercial treaty with, xviii, 283

Silesia, Upper, 123, 189

Sionism. See Zionism

Skrzynski, 280

Smyrna, 124; Entente and, 254

Social-Bolshevism, 108

Social-Communists, 161

Social Democrats, 203

Social-Extremists and economic policy,
275

Socialism, 5; Italian, 97; co-operation
with useless, 99; State, 198

Socialist Party, Italian: Mussolini’s
expulsion from, 3; irredentism and,
15; intervention and, 27; Dalmine
strike and, 63; condemnation of, 69;
working class and, 70; anti-Italian
nature of, 73; Fascismo and, 92;
membership roll, 93, 105; Leninist
Socialists, 101; in 1913, 97; Turati,
105; Bolshevist element in, 116-7;
Fascisti and, 139, 154; party Social-
ism and Socialism of Labour dis-
tinguished, 197

Socialist Union, Italian, 92

Socrates, 135, 162

Soldiers, Committee of Wounded and
Disabled, 51

Soviet, in Italy, 97; in Russia, 123;
Fascista policy towards, 133; Italian
Communists and the, 197; attitude
towards German proletariat, 232

INDEX

Spa, conference at, 295

Spain, commercial treaty with, xviii,
283; conditions in, 306

Spalato, 255

Sparta, Fascismo and ‘‘ krypteia”’ of, ix

Stambuliski, 345

Stampa, the, 97

Statute Law, the, 311-12, 356

Stefani, de, xviii, and Budgets, 272

Stelvio, 276

Straits, the. See Dardanelles

Strike, anti-Fascista, 307

Stringa, Major-General, 310

Sturck, 98

Siidbahn Conference, 269-270

Sudekum, 99

Suffrage, universal, 355

Susak, 256, 262, 278

Switzerland, Mussolini expelled from,
Xvi, 21, 22

Syndicalist organisation of Bologna, 37;
of the Fascista, 148, 178

Syndicalism, 9, 63, 148, 178, 313-14

Syndicalist corporations, xi

Syndicalists, in Parma, 9; of Bologna,
37; in Dalmine, 63; Syndicate of
co-operation, 69; Fascista syndi-
calism, 63, 148, 178; Fascista syndi-
cates, 81; in Italy generally, 197

Syndicate, of Co-operation, 69; Fascista,
81; National Italian, 197; Con-
federation of Italian Syndicates, 197

Tacitus, 44

Tamassia, Senator, 260

Tangorra, 215

Tardieu, 95

Taxation, 317

Theseus, 38

Tellini, General Enrico, murder of, 363

Ticino, Canton, 136, 184

Timavo, 48

Tirso, Lake, 324

Tittoni, Senator, 263

Titus, 37

Tivaroni, Senator, 260

Tokyo, circulaton of Our Next War With
the United States in, 122

Tolstoy, 114, 118

Tonoli, 161

Toscanini, 133

Transylvania, 20

Trento, Fascismo in, xiii; Italian aims
and, 53; statue of Dante at, 60; re-
conquest of, 100; acquisition of, 111;
Socialists and, 118; Fascisti of, and
Fiume, 131; elections, 173; Fascisti
demands concerning, 187

INDEX

Treves, 14

Trianon, Treaty of, 123;
reparations, 298

Trieste, 25; Giacomo Venezian and, 48;
Adriatic aspirations, 59; reconquest
of, 100; speech of 20 Sept. 1920 at,
108; Risorgimento, 111; Socialists
and, 118; military sacrifices of 1915,
120; speech of 6 Feb. 1921 at, 121;
Fascisti of, and Fiume, 131; Fascisti
of, and separation, 171; frontier
traffic, 282

Triple Alliance, 12, 22, 23

Triple Entente, 12, 15, 16

Tripoli, war in, 14

Turati, Filippo, 69, 105, 252

Turin, 43 :

Turkey, 10; Treaty of Sévres, 125;
Kemal Pasha, 150; juridical protec-
tion of foreigners, 302-3; Libyan
subjects resident in, 303; Ottoman

Hungarian

debt, 303. See also Lausanne
Conference

Tuscany, 328

Udine, speech 20 Sept. 1922 at,
143

Ukraine, 195, 303

United States, internationalism and the,
46; democracy of, 49; 110; inter-
vention of, 49 51; relations with,
214; representatives of, at Economic
Congress, 275; agreement with
Britain on debt, 296; Austrian loan
and, 300; Italian relations with, 304,
335 et seq.

Unity, basis of, 93, moral, of the Italian
people, 352-3

Universal suffrage, 355

Universities, Padua,
291

Unknown Warrior, tomb of, 331, 343,

344 ee
Utopia, the Asiatic, 82

289; of Italy,

Valona, 20, 117, 118
Vanzette, 79

Vatican, the, 202
Vecchi, Cesare Maria de, xiii, 310
“‘ Venezia Giulia,’’ 343
Venezia Tridentina, 171
Venezian, 134

Venice, 113, 286
Venizelos, 125

Verdi, 77

Versailles, 56

MADELL'

iy

370

Versailles, Treaty of: revision of, 99,
too; indemnity under, 124; Italy
excluded from economic and colonial
benefits, 293

Victor Emmanuel III., King, xii

Vidali, 88

Vienna, 11; Danube Confederation,
124; occupation of, 149, 172

Vigevano, Colonel, 190

Vinci, Leonardo da, 114

Vittorio Veneto, 75, 77; vindication
of fruits of, xvii, 107, 151, 154, 160,
164; greatness of victory of, 110;
Austria crushed at, 135; Fascista
Government, the Government of, 333

Votes for Women, 286

War Office, Fascisti demand, 174

War, revolutionary, 23

Warsaw, Italian firms and, 280

Washington Conference on Disarma-
ment, xviii, 243; social and pacifist
Conventions of, 355

Waterloo, 5

Wells, H. G., 41

White Federation, 197

Wilna, 123

Wilson, Woodrow, 28, 52, 126, 189

Woman’s Fascista Congress, 286; suf-
frage, 355

Workers, General Federation of, 198

Working classes, post-war rights of,
63; intervention and the, 69; Fas-
cismo and the, 75; Fascista Govern-
ment’s policy towards, 80

Workmen, Italian Union of, 66, 69

Yellow immigration, 121

Yugoslavia, pact of Rome, 126; Isonzo
and, 127; Porto Barro and the Delta,
193; Mohammedanism iu, 213; the
Adriatic question, 255; Abbazia Con-

ference, ae commercial treaty,
271, 282. See also Fiume; Rapallo,
Treaty of

Zagabria, 127

Zahn, 21

Zambon, Maj.-General, 310

Zankoff, 345

Zara, 53,59; Treaty of Rapallo, 125, 262;
Fascismo and, 136; Adriatic question
and, 192; Agreements of Sta. Mar-
gherita, 247, 260-1; Fascista Govern-
ment and, 256-7; ‘‘Special zone
of Zara,” 301. See also Yugoslavia

Zocchi, Fulvio, 9

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