Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-31

King Victor Emmanuel III, who succeeds
his father. Humbert I, upon the throne Of
Italy. Is scarcely to be congra tulated upon
his introduction to royal power. for 1t means
that he must assume a burden far heavier
than falls to the average monarch. Hum
bert's reign has been unhappy for some
years, so disturbed have been the internal
affairs of Italy, so unfortunate her foreign
enterprises. The young king will need firm
ness of character and great capacity for
constructive and reformatory craftsmanship
to avoid crises, the end Of which may not
be confidently foretold.
This forecast is apart from the possible
immediate consequences of the assassiEa-
ton. 1t assumes that Italy will, after a
period of great agitation naturally following
the sudden assassination of her ruler, settle
down to comparative quiet, accepting the
rule of the young sovereign. Yet there is
danger even TO this assumption In the air,
for the elements of unrest in Italy are radi-
cal and the political conditions abnormal.
ftaly's troubles are primarily financial
Unfortunately there seems TO be a lack of
public spirit of sufficient breadth to pre-
pare way out of the maze of debt and
taxation which successive ministries have
woven around the people. The case is sue
rent issue OF The Forum by Mr. H. Rem
sen Whitehouse, who was once secretary Of
the American legation at Rome. He says:
Italians now enjoy the unenviable dis
tlnction OF being the most heavily taxed
nation in Europe. The interest on the per-
petual debts alone amount to 400. 100000
lire. Signor Fortunate, the deputy, esu-
mates the budget at 1.GOO,0OOOOO lire out
of which eight hundred millions are de-
voured by the interest on the public debt
in Its various forms. including pensions
Deduct another one hundred and sixty mil
lions reserved for the payment Of redemp-
lions. and but six hundred millions remain
for the expenses of the government, includ-
ing the army. navy, public works, prisons
public security etc. This Is not only mea-
ger. but absolutely insufficient.
But there Is worse to come. With its
barren extravaganza. its incongruity of
construction, this delusive budget at once
so meager and SO onerous, Is strangely I'M
just In the partition of Its crushing burden
on the various occupations and classes
Statisticians affirm that the poorer classes
OF Italy are burdened with 30 per cent of
the national tribute
MIR. Whitehouse points out the fallacy OF
the governmental financial system. which
places so heavy a burden On the peasant
while Tightening that the wealthy and
middle classes. He shows how the saddle
horse and four-in-hand OF the rich pay no
TAX because, according to the Italian logic,
THESE Injuries cost money and bring no
return: while the cart and donkey of the
peasant are taxed because they are tools of
his trade and produce an income. This
same spirit prevails throughout the fiscal
system, until the soil Is groaning with the
burdens laid upon It, and capital, finding
Dut little return in agricultural ENTERPRISE
owing TO the taxation which eats the profit
Is flowing steadily into government SECURE
ties. thus retarding the development of the
national resources
The result of this condition Is that ItaI-
ians Of all classes and parties unite In
speaking Ill of the government without re-
gard for the personality of the moLarch
having borne with diminishing strength for
so many years the burdens which govern
ment has imposed upon them This augurs
i'll for novice on the throne. particularly
as 1taly's greater statesmen are in retire
ment. those in power having learned from
the years of reverses and necessities the
lesson Of playing safety" policies. There
is need In Italy Of strong man. capable of
devising a scheme of reform and pushing
1t through the ministerial conservatism
which today endangers the monarchy. As
far as his reputation runs Victor Emmanuel
III Is not such man. The question of
the hour therefore Is will he find another
CrisDi?