The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 9, 1927, Page 9

Mussolini’s War N the 26th of May Mussolini delivered a “great” speech, lasting several hours, in the fascist “parliament.” He spoke exclusively for the fascist deputies. He began with the form of address: “Honorable fascist deputies!”, whereby he wished ostentatiously to show that he took no notice of the few “liberal” deputies who had appeared at the sitting of the Chamber under the leadership of Giolitti. The speech of Mussolini gives a really miserable picture of the “great achievements” of the “fascist revolution” in the sphere of public health, admini- stration, police, etc. In regard to the population question he stated, according to the official parliamentary report: “{ have introduced taxation of unmarried people which will, perhaps, be followed in the not distant future by the taxation of childless marriages. (Hear, hear!) “The taxation of unmarried people yields a revenue to the state treasury of 40 to 50 mil- lions lira a year. But do you really believe that I introduced this tax solely for this pur- pose? By no means! I have made use of this tax in order to. accelerate the growth of the j population. Let us speak plainly. What are 40 million Italians compared with 90 million Germans and 200 million Slavs? Or let us turn to the West: what are 40 million Italians compared with 40 million French plus the 90 million inhabitants of their colonies? or compared with 46 million English plus the 400 million living in their colonies ? Gentlemen, if Italy wished to become a really great power in the world, she must in the second: half of this century have more than 60 million inhabitants! For the past five years we have been saying that Italy has too many inhabitants. That is not true! “If we wish to understand something of the history of Europe in the last fifty years, then we must bear in mind that from 1870 up to the present time France has increased the number of her population by two million, Germany, however, by 24 million and Italy by 10 million. “If the number of the population declines we shall not be able to establish an empire, but we shall become a colony! It was high time this was said!” ‘ This is how Mussolini deals with the population problem in his speech on “home polities.” This extremely imperialistic .attitude to the question, which is directed all too plainly against the French “sister nation,” is confronted by the depressing fact, which Signor Mussolini had to admit in his speech, that the misery. among the town population in Italy is so great, that the number of inhabitants of the biggest industrial centers, in spite of the rapid pace of industrialization, is stagnant and is evea going back. We quote from his speech: “In the year 1926 the population of Turin had declined by 538 compared with 1925. Milan in the same time increased its population by 221 (!) Genoa by 158. And these are the three most industrialized towns of Italy.” Afterthis statement Mussolini consoled himself with the rapid increase of the rural population, in which ke wishes to see the guarantee for, the realiza- tion of his imperialist aims. The second “home political” question dealt with in his speech was the question of the Brenner frontier. He.spoke of the administrative reorgan- ization of the province and referred to the creation of the province of Botzen. Regarding this question Mussolini declared: “That has nothing whatever to do with the Brenner-frontier. Even if there happened to be a hundred thousand one hundred per cent pure Germans living in the Upper Etch Valley, the Brenner frontier would be sacred and in- violable (Loud® and prolonged applause. The deputies and also the public in the galleries rise from their seats). And if necessary we would defend it with a war. Even tomorrow! (Hear, hear.) y “The people living there are nothing but an Italian minority speaking a German dialect as their ordinary language, and this since only half a century. For the rest the problem of minorities speaking a foreign language is an insoluble problem; one can reverse it, but one cannot solve it. “Those who believed that the creation of the province of Bolgiano constituted a present or a concession to the German elements, especially to those turbulent elements on the other side of the Brenner, made a big mistake. That is . quite out of the question. The province of Bolgiano. has been created in order to be able to Italianize this district more quickly!” (Ap- plause.) . The Austrian and German “Fascists,” and also Herr Stresemann, who in recent times has not been | sparing in his demonstrations of sympathy with the Ttalian dictator, might take these words to heart! But it is to Herr Stresemann in. particular that Mussolini has addressed yet another message. He Threats ae POPPA AAA IF I PPLL IS f= ~ sought to prove the necessity of increased military armaments with the following words: “The picture of Locarno is as follows: France and Germany mutually undertake not to attack each other, and there stands a gendarme on either side of them: England and Italy. “But in Locarno they have made something more: a chemical preparation—the spirit of Locarno. Now gentlemen, the spirit of Locarno has today—in scarcely two years—considerably lost its color. (Laughter.) “What has happened? The so-called Locarno “powers are feverishly arming both on land and on sea. “Then there are happenings Which it would be a crime to close our eyes to. Gentlemen, the great Berlin parade of the Stahlhelm took place just recently.: There were 120,000 pre- sent, which fact in itself would not be of par- ticular interest to us if one of their standards had not borne the following inscription: ‘From Trieste to Riga!’ It is paradoxical and even idiotic, if you will, but it is a fact. And what “serves the purpose of exerting a pres By G. AQUILA follows? It follows that it is the px mental and foremost duty of fs Iialy to increase to the highest potentiality all its armed forces on land, on the sea and in the air! (Re- peated and prolonged applause.) ise, funda- “We must be able at a given moment to mobilize and to arm five million men. We must strengthen our navy. We must see that our air fleet is so numerous and so powerful that the noise of its motors shall drown every other sound on the Peninsula, and that its wings shall darken the sun over our whole country. “Then, when between 1935 and 1940 we shall stand at the parting of the ways of Enropean history, we shall be able to let our voice be heard and see our rights finally recognized. (Exceedingly enthusiastic and repeated ap- plause.).” We believe and are convinced that later events will confirm that the speech of Mussolini, at this moment, delivered two days after the breaking off of Anglo-Sovict relations is—along with the action of the English cunservative government—the most serious threat of war against the Soviet Union. One must not lose sight of the connections. The English cons:rvative government has taken the first decisive step. The second step, must be the setting up of the widest possible imperialist united front against the Soviet Union. The London conversa- tions of the French president and foreign, minister have probably not achieved those immediate positive results which are so urgently necessary for English imperialism. The attitude of Germany, too, is per- haps not such as could completely satisfy the Eng- lish conservatives. In this situation, therefore, Chamberlain and Churchill send out in advance their ally, Mussolini, whose threatening speech, appar- ently directed against France and Germans, only ure on these governments, in order in this manner+-and on the other hand by promises of England—to bring them finally into the anti-Soviet front. Whoever wishes to deceive the European prole- tariat regarding these facts is an open or concealed ally of the imperialists in their campaign not only agairist the first proletarian state, the Soviet Union, but also against the proletariat of the whole world. He is the worst enemy of the world proletariat, which must rise like one man if it wishes to avert the immediately threatening danger of war before it is too late. LET NOT THE EVIL CWINSPERINGS oF THe DEV! “Lean You Inve SINFULL PM < 7 SEOR IT 19: THE Duty or x ys, EVERY SON OF THE | ——~ Loro! OVIDENCE) MEEKLY ano GRACE FULLY Sy > —~Por there (8 A) a HIGHER ReEwAROY UP_ABove || AMEN Lie