ITALY UNDER THE FASCISTS.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1926, Page 6

ITALY UNDER THE FASCISTS.

Whether the dictum of the special correspondent of the London Daily Chronicle that “Fascism will collapse at the latest with the disappearance of its founder (Signor Mussolini),” is accepted or not, there would appear to be some truth in his statement that the officials to whom the administration of the country is being entrusted have been “trained to tyranny.” Under the latest Defence of the Realm Act, a new crime has been added to the Italian calendar, namely, that of opposing Fascist rule, and from latest messages it would seem that proceedings under this Act are of a wholesale character. Though it has only been in force a few weeks, already over 500. persons have been convicted of this modern crime of political heresy. From the point of view of civilisation in general, . the disquieting feature is that these convictions and- the punishments which have followed, them have not been the outcome of proceedings before Courts of Justice, but are the result of inquiries made by so-called provincial commissions, which are, to all intents and purposes, merely committees of Fascist?,, from whom an impartial inquiry into alleged antiFascist operations is too much to expect. This is political tyranny of the worst order, and, as was seen recently in Greece, such repression is bound to have an explosive termination. The repercussion of violent happenings in the political life of a great nation is bound to affect all Europe, with results that may be disastrous to the growth of that “will to peace”, which is being so assiduously cultivated. In this connection, however, the remarks of the French Foreign Minister, M. Briand, and his suggestion that Italy should not be taken too seriously just at present are refreshingly frank. With Latin blood in his veins, M. Briand understands the temperament of the Latin races and their capacity for blind hero worship, as well as for swift reaction from that attitude, and there is much commonsense in his observation that provided official relationships are maintained with due decorum, the conduct of the Italian “man in the street” may be ignored by other nations. Whether Mussolini is merely the “figurehead of picturesque propaganda,” as has been alleged, or whether he is the super-man his devotees would have the’ world believe him to be, he has at least shown some true statesmanship in the proposed new industrial law which he is said to be drafting. That law is to emphasize -that wage earners, while they have rights, have also duties. If the principle can be woven into Italy’s industrial fabric and accepted by her workers, the particular form of political control which she has a fancy for will make little difference 'to her progress and prosperity.