The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-08
REDS BIG PLOT
TOBOMB HEART
OF ROME FAILS
Conspirators Ready to At
tack With Hand
Grenades.
SIXTEEN ARE CAPTURED
Anarchists Fired On When
They Ask Troops at
Fort to Revolt.
PRICES CUT IN ITALY
Rioters Disperse and Strike
Ends in FlOrence-ShOps
Looted in Palermo.
PRICES CUT IN ITALY

ROME July Am Anarchist plot to
attack the central part of Rome by
means of hand grenades and other
explosives has been exposed by the ar
rest of sixteen OF the conspirators four
hours before the time fixed for carry
ing out the plans.
About the same time, thirty Anar-
chists motored to Fort Pratelata, four
miles from Rome, and tried to induce
the garrison to join in an attack on
the Rome market places. The soldiers
fired on the Anarchists and seized sew
cral Of them. The others fed. The
city remains tranquil.
In those cities and towns in italy
where food prices have been reduced
and profteers forced to put their huge
accumulations of supplies on the mar
kets for public consumption at decreased
and fixed quotations. rioting has ceased
and quiet is being restored In other
places where there have been no reduc'
tions and war time prices prevail there
have been demonstrations against the
"starvers Of the people" as the specula-
tors and profteers are known in Italy.
Chief among the cities in which riot
ing has ceased Is Florence, where the
reductions in prices IN some cases went
so high as 20 per cent. The strike In
Florence was called of on Saturday
night, although large crowds had as
sembled in the streets and were ready
to continue the fight for lower priced
foods by raids on the shops and store
houses Troops with machine guns had
occupied the town. In all the rioting
in Florence no American property was
destroyed although there is large
American colony there.
In the cities in which food rioting
has spread. Milan. Leghorn, Alessandria
and Brescia are the largest.
Public welfare at stake.
Premier Nitti to-day appealed to the
newspapers for their support in pacify-
ing the radicals. He asserted that the
sole cause for the disturbances was
economic A leading Italian statesman
in explaining how the rioting could
continue without the Government crush
ing Il at once said that ''Salus Publica
Suprema Lex" which translated Is ''the
public welfare is the supreme law'-the
ancient motto OF the Romans-was being
applied by the Government at this crit
.cal moment In the national life Of the
country. He added;
Tho Government closed one eye; in
deed, in some cases both, for so long that
the people took the law in their own
hands. They were aiming at giving a
harsh but deserved lesson to profteers
II was right that the people should pun.
ish those who made millions through
the suffering of the entire population
which for over four years strained every
nerve in the face of the greatest strug
gle OF its history. With pitiless energy
however. as pitiless as its leniency here
tofore, the Government now intends L
repress any attempt to transform a JUS
protest into something more serious"
In Genoa, where the uprising agains
the cost of living took a most orderl,
form. the people imposed reduction IL
all prices. watched the carrying out o
this order. and prevented any violence
against shopkeepers. They interveneC
whenever attempts were made to ran
sack shops putting down the disorderl!
elements with much greater energy thai
the police ever used.
Reductions I'm Milan.
At Milan the people have presented
an ultimatum demanding that the price
Of all necessities be materially reduced
by tomorrow.
A mob ransacked almost all the sho
shops at Palermo. the troops being calle,
out too late to prevent pillaging. Whel
they appeared they were received will
applause, the crowd shouting to the sol
diers: mo firing boys, we aren't at tn
front. Here we are all brothers and al
are against the vampires who hav
starved U.S."
From all towns where disorders hav
occurred the same report Is coming.
week ago everything could be bought a
high prices, but now the shops are closed
goods are lacking and nothing can b
found. Entire families in many place
are in despair at finding something t
eat.
Count Olgiati. Prefect Of Florence, ha
been removed from office. He was trans
ferred to that city from Milan durin
the war, after he had been unable to pre-
vent a general strike in Milan.