The Daily News. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1922. “ACTS NOT WORDS.”

Taranaki Daily News, 6 November 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1922. “ACTS NOT WORDS.”

The new Fascist! Premier of Italy (Signor Mussolini) is evidently a determined administrator who has no time for the slacker as a public servant. Almost his first act on taking office was to institute a new regime of hard work, and in order that the Government employees should set an example to the rest of the community, the Premier telephoned to all Ministers to call the roll in their respective departments. Those who had not arrived at their work within the prescribed time were to be reprimanded severely, a second lapse into unpunctuality entailing dismissal. Signor Mussolini evidently believes in enforcing doctrines which he considers are for the welfare of the country. Not only is he bent on carrying out his new regime of hard work, but he is enforcing obedience to orders, as was demonstrated by the prompt steps he took to expedite the return of the Fascists to their homes, displaying thereby that he is in earnest in what he does, and does not shrink from apparent harshness. His motto for Ministers, public servants and the nation is “Acts, not words.” Being convinced that Italy can only be saved by hard work, the Premier is certainly going the right way o.y commencing at the top of the political tree. This same doctrine of saving the country by hard work was made much of in Britain and the Dominions; it was reiterated so frequently that it ceased to have any significance, because no steps were taken to make it compulsory, although the doctrine was the foundation of effective economy. It only requires the requisite amount of practical imagination to conceive what would have happened in Britain, New Zealand, and other parts of the Empire if the heads of the several administrations had acted in the way in whicn Signor Mussolini has done with regard to his hard work regime. At once the whole fabric of bureaucracy would have been smashed to atoms, and public servants would either have had to obey the orders as to punctuality and hard work, or else find “fresh fields and pastures new.” There is a refreshing sense of capacity in an administrator like Signor Mussolini, who knows what is wanted and how to get it. It was the possession of the requisite faculties and strength of character that enabled him to overthrow a Government consisting of timid ineapables. He has gone to the help of the Ship of State with his course plainly charted, and with a dynamic force, of will and resourcefulness that should enable him to achieve his aim. What concerns the world at large chiefly is the striking example the Italian Premier has set to other countries in working out their salvation through hard work. It is impossible to conceive a Premier of this stamp accepting a departmental reply to an order or. request “It can’t be done.” He would probably adopt a similar course to that with which Sir E. Carson is credited when he entered on his duty as First. Lord of the British Admiralty. Calling the heads of his department to an interview, he reminded them that in his profession (that of the law) it was customary to call upon twelve men to determine certain issues, but-if they failed to acquit themselves of the task, they were discharged, and other men called to take their place, adding’ “That is all, gentlemen. Good morning.” A combination of the methods of Signor Mussolini and Sir E. Carson, if carried out in every country, would certainly expedite the return to normal conditions. Moreover, the influence of the example would surely spread into industrial activities. There is a convincing virility about the doctrine of “Acts, not words,” that induces men to consider their responsibilities in a practical light. It is a doctrine that makes for efficiency and economy, and, though it may make slackers feel sore and discontented, yet. if the world is to regain its stability in finance, economics, and industry, it can only be by adopting Signor Mussolini’s motto and carrying it out effectively.