The Dominion TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1926. MUSSOLINI AS A WORLD MENACE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 44, 16 November 1926, Page 8

The Dominion TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1926. MUSSOLINI AS A WORLD MENACE

Italy, declares Signor Mussolini, demands that her indisputable need for sun and land shall be recognised by all nations, otherwise she will be forced to take matters into her own hands. This is the substance of the Italian Duce’s latest gesture —one of the high lights of an interview accorded to the Rome correspondent of a Berlin journal. Mussolini’s periodical indulgence in dramatic, not to say forcible manifestoes, are singularly reminiscent of the sword-rattling with which the ex-Kaiser was wont to stimulate the martial ardour of his Fatherland, and, incidentally, accelerate the military preparations of his neighbours. It has an unsettling influence on the work of the international peace-makers, since it tends to keep other countries on the qui vive. Most prominent of Mussolini’s aspirations is the building up of a “Greater Italy.” There is a large surplus Italian population, and territorial expansion in North Africa and elsewhere to provide for this is one of the main planks of the Fascist regime. In a recent interview the Duce presented a succinct statement of his policy in this connection: (1) Interior colonisation, involving a redistribution of the population in Italy with the object of developing the less inhabited areas; (2) the colonisation of overseas possessions, such as Libya, Italian Somaliland, etc.; (3) regulated emigration to the richer countries; (4) arrangements with other countries for the supply of raw materials; (5) consideration of the question of new colonies. In regard to this last intention, the Duce was extremely

reticent. . . Signor Mussolini presumably considers that the prosecution of this programme to a successful issue may be hampered by obstacles raised by other nations, and that the best means to secure his ends is through the creation of an aggressive public opinion in Italy. The danger of this course is that his compatriots win in due course expect results commensurate with the policy and language of their leader, and willingly or otherwise may force him into action. In the meantime, a study of Italy’s development reveals the existence of a well-balanced policy of national efficiency. The cardinal feature of this is the cultivation of the consciousness of seapower in its relation to Italian expansion and international prestige. The navy, one learns, has been given a new lease of life, and the Italian flag is being increasingly displayed in foreign ports. There has been a well-marked improvement in the efficiency and development of the Italian mercantile marine. Here it may be worth while to quote from the speech delivered by the Duce on the deck of a warship on the occasion of his visit to Tripoli some time ago: I specially wished this ceremony to take place on board a battleship for the following reasons: First, I wanted you to render homage to the navy, in which our best hopes for the future are placed. Secondly, that you should become familiar with these instruments of war. Thirdly, that here your consciousness should become wider, and that on returning home you should awaken a consciousness of our sea-power. We are a Mediterranean people, and our destiny, without copying anyone, has been, and always will be, on the sea. The deduction to be drawn from the foregoing is that Signor Mussolini has not only formulated very definite plans for the future of Iris country, but has also estimated the possibilities of outside resistance to his plans, and the means which may be necessary, in the last resort, to overcome that resistance.

It is all very disturbing to the peace and quiet of a war-weary world. Italy no doubt has certain reasonable aspirations which ought to be possible of settlement in peaceful conference with her neighbours. But one could wish that Mussolini would express himself in a less bellicose key. Just imagine what the effect on the world would be if a challenge expressed in similar terms were to be uttered by a representative Japanese statesman!