A DIVIDED NATION

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXV, Issue 254, 28 October 1942, Page 2

A DIVIDED NATION

SIGNIFICANT PROPAGANDA ITALIAN WAR PESSIMISM. LA GUARDIA'S PLEA TO KING.

P.A. Gable.

NEW YORK, Oct. 27.

The mayor, Mr La Guardia, revealed that in a shortwave broadcast to the Italians in August, he appealed direct to King Victor Emmanuel to kick the Germans out. "Don't permit this slaughter to continue. There's still time to return to your friends. Millions of your former subjects, now loyal Americans, stand solidly behind the American Republic. In their name I appeal to you to let's stand together for peace and freedom as in 1918." In a speech in Pennsylvania, Mr La Guardia urged that Flitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini be executed or placed in captivity prior to the peace conferences. A Geneva message says that the hostile attitude of Italian Catholics towards the war is mentioned by the newspaper Regima Fascista in an article extolling the confidence of Italian soldiers compared with the pessimism of Catholics. Regima Fascista suggests that "soldiers should visit the editors of the various Catholic newspapers in order to inspire the staffs with confidence in victory." Rome radio's pep talker, Mario Appelius, declared: "The Mediterranean is once more in the front line of battle. British and American strategists have finally chosen it as the leading theatre of their war. We will be diseiplined. We will be satisfied with the news given us daily in our eommuniques." A ghost voice interjected: "Why don't your eommuniques tell the truth about your cities?" The London Evening "Standard's Ferne correspondent quotes an Italian who has just returned from the bombed areas as saying that 10,000 people who rushed for one shelter in Genoa during the R.A.F. raid on October 23 became jammed in the gates and panic broke out. As the throng jammed into the restricted space bombs began to fall in the port area. The crowd used fists to get to the shelter and women and children fell down and were trampled on. Troops at the entrance of the shelter made an effort to disentangle the mob zefore the situation got out of hand, but they only heightened the confusion because someone shouted that the soldiers were trying to get into the shelter.