The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-02
ReUiUal Of Italian Industry
 OnLyEscape From Bolshe Uisn1
Socialists Elect 156 Members Parliament But Small Ground for Alarm Is Seen If Wars Sufferings
 Can Be Quickly Reduced
By MARIUS

Milan, April 15.--(Special 1.-The genera
 elections of last Novembr carried l5t
 Socialist deputies into the allan Cham
 Der. Combined with the radical propa
 ganda carried on by "Avanti," the officia
 organ of the Socialist party, and the ire
 quent strikes throughout Italy which have
 political rather than an economic basis
 the socialist complexion of the Chamber
 gives rise to justifable anxiety concern
 ing Italy's political horizon.
 Certain political conditions in Italy bear
 very markedly on Italys immediate fu-
 ture. In the first place, the more re-
 sponsible leaders of the Socialist party
 are convinced opponents of the communist
 creed. Signor Eurati who has edited
 since 1891 an excellent socialist review,
 La Critica Sociale", is at the head of
 those who fight the tendencies of the ex-
 tremists. One may safely say that more
 than one half of the 15e Socialist deputies
 now in Parliament, are equally convinced
 of the fallacy of Communism and that
 the other half as already appears from several symptoms, will feel the cooling influence of the parliamentary atmosphere
 One must not forget, however, that while
 the intelectuals had a decisive influence
 on the rank and file of Italian socialism
 in it's first period, now they have last much of their prestige and the mob is more ready to heed the working man than the advocate and the university pro' lessor.
 The Communist experiments in Rus sia, Hungary and Bavaria have also dis credited Communism even in the eyes of the Italian socialists and their failure is privately, if not publicly, admitted. With regard to this it is interesting to relate that the official socialist party sent some time ago two of it's most trust ed deputies, Signor Morgari and Signor Maffcli, to Hungary charged with the task of studying the Soviet organiza- tion there. These two emlssaries return ed dsgusted with what they saw and convinced of the injustice and evils of the Communist regime which. they said, was doomed to failure wherever it might be tried. They expressed their views in a secret meeting of all the deputies and members of the executive of the party, but were warned not to make any public, statement on the subject One of the two, Signor Mafficli, thinking that by his silence he would betray the true interest of the Italian publicist resigned his post of deputy, in order to be free to express his opinions.
 The economic situation in Italy may im- prove and it's improvement is rightly look ed upon as counteracting force against the revolutionary tendencies If Italy could obtain a sufficient and regular supply of coal (which now costs the 600 lire per ton), if she could succeed in getting raw materials and thus be able to keep her factories working, she would not only re-establish her econo- mic position but also check the spread ing of revolutionary propaganda. At the cause of her instability IS her crisis. It will serve to clearer understanding of the present situation If they give a rapid and impartial survey of the his tory of the Italian socialism. This may be divided into three periods. In the first period (1SS0-1900) the party, then in it's youth, affirmed itself in opposition to all other bourgeois parties, which follow ed revolutionary tendency. In the second period Q900-191O), having aban- doned it's isolation, it's cooperated with other popular parties of the bourgeois for the conquest of political liberties in a reformist or Fabian campaign. Finally in the third period d910-1920) the socia- list partly returned to it's isolation, re- assuming and accentuating the revoru- tendency
 Socialism made a late appearance in Italy, partly on account of the national which absorbed all interest and partly from the absence of great indus- tries and consequently of an organized and conscientious proletariat In the eos