The Washington herald., 1920-03-28
CBy JOHN LLOYD BALDERsToN,

(By JOHN LLOYD bALDEhSTOND
Florence. Italy. Feb. 13.-To come
from starving, sullen, disheartened
Austria and from the White Terror
of Hungary into North Italy Is to
pass from some street tragedy OF
real life into Q, theater where dra-
matte horrors are being enacted in
the glare of the spotlight by ac-
tors who are playing for effect and
for applause.
At least that Is the effect the
revolutionary movement" here
produces on me.
Death to all Foreigners paint
ed in large black letters, is a sign
that I have seen more than once
on the crumhling walls Of the aged
olive orchards that scramble over
the Tuscan hills. "Eviva Lenin"
Tower of Giotto in Florence; all
over Tuscany and Piedmont some
|geniud who ought to be getting u
large salary writing advertising
has mprovised an organiza3io
which by night makes the coat of
arms Of the Moscow Soviet govern
ment, a scythe crossed by a ham
mer, glover from public buildings.
railway stations and garden walls.
serio-Comic Bolshevism Thrives.
Italy wants Fiume badly. She
wants other things that the Yugo-
Slavs covet and she needs coal and
raw materials. Her statesmen in
Paris and London plead that IL
these things are not Forthcoming
Bolshevism will ensue. And when
allied officials smile skeptically the
Al
Soviets unearthed in Florence, Mi
Ian, Turin and Genoa, the sporadic
outbursts of violence, the great
quantities of troops necessary" to
keep treading down the embers or
revolt. So the ferment in the north
helps serve 1taly's cause with her
allies; and well-informed Italians
assure me that for this reason the
ferment is not unduly discouraged
from Rome.
Other equally well-informed Ital-
ians assure me that this Is all nom
revolution that may break out at
any moment. sweep the troops in
the north into the movement, and
bring the historic peninsula into
closest alliance with Lenin. Which
view is right do not know.
Queer things are to be seen in
North Italy. Some days ago, before
the railway strike was settled, II
was not safe to 60 into the streets
of Florence alone after dark. There
were no murders. no brutal as
saults that I heard of. but groups
of men politely but firmly relieved
of their valuables.
they were told
for the funds of the revolution.
Foreign villa Owners Disliked.
Near Florence are many villas,
famous for centuries for their mar
velous views of the Tuscan hills.
the valley of the Arno and the
domes and towers of Florence.
These villas are inhabited by
wealthy Americans. English. Rus
SLAMS, Rumanians and Serbians.
and this international colony Is not
regarded with favor by the natives
in the towns. Propagandists have
taught the Italian people that all
the woes under which they now
suffer, the shortage of coal and the
high prices and the lack of food,
are caused by wicked foreign ma
tions. 50 1t Is not surprising that
foreigners are looked at
askance.
During the railway strike that
ended early in February q rigid CEN
sorship was enforced on the press,
and the authorities regarded or
pretended to regard serious revo-
lutionary activity as imminent. As
crossed Italy from the frontier, to
Florence during the strike I was
able to see the extraordinary mill
tary measures taken not only to
run the trains but to overawe the
in towns where Red
Is strong.
All oarburetors were removed
from private automobiles by the
throughout the king
dom on the plea that Reds might
seize the cars and rush about the
stirring up the people. Mil
Itary passes were necessary, at
least in North Italy. to- ride a BIZ
cycle from one village to the next.
Machine guns were Ncarried on all
trains. and soldiers in force occu-
pied all railway stations and guard
ID the lines to prevent attempts at
violence.
Poison Gas Used In Railway Strike.
The most dastardly outrage ever
tried in a strike was perpetrated
near Florence the next day. when
! tunnel was filled with poison gas
lust before a crowded train plunged |
nto IL. The engineer. whose head !
was out OF the cab window. was
overcome. but the train ran through !
The poison belt SO quickly. with ,
closed doors and windows. that
ncr9Tof the Passengers were hurf.