Evening star., 1922-09-24
nv EDGAR ANsEL MowRER.

BY EDGAR ANSEL MO" nrIHs"
Especial Correspondence Of The star and Chi
csgo Daily News Foreign serviceJ
ROME, Italy. August 1.-THE fas-
eisti ultimatum expired at midnisht.
but the general strike did not eno
until noon the next day. Then street
cars and taxis appeared and trains
heean to run with only normal pro-
crastination. The following morning
I started for the Tuscan seaside.
At Civitaveccha my reading was IN
terrupted.
"Duck YOUR head below the level OF
the window sill when we ieave tne
station" ordered a voice. Before me
stood a tall. wiry boy in black sn'I.
and no coat In holster on MS mp
swung a large automatic. in his hands
Ieather-covered "sfolla genta or
.tcrowd disperser'-a short. heaV!
cIub-the favorite weapon of the fas-
cista. ,., u,
SThey are likely to fire when we
reach the bridge. You'll kno" tne
place by the high stone wall. Ineh
get down on the floor. Do yoh uh-
derstand? ,-
words. but they mean nothing. VINO
is likely to fire, and at whom:
".The communists. At us. One can
see yo,r are not familiar with our
phalanxes. Just remember TO aucK n
your head when we reach the bridGe.
And he was gone up the corridor.
stopping to repeat his warning az tne
door of each compartment. Ana onIy
then I realized that we were lnVoiVeo
in one of the military operations OIL
the incipient war.
Met by Bullets.
diers and fascist. The latter were all
armed with clubs and revolvers: many
in addition carried cnrbines. oraho-
new and shining Otherwise tneS
were identical with those or tns
troops. made in the same factory anu
distributed by the same hands TOT tne
same purposes. After little aues-
tioning got the entire story from
boy with a shock of hair eight inches
long, tossed wildly back from ms
forehead, a black shirt with white
skull embroidered on 1t. and a large
automatic.
I'VE came here this morning on tne
early train from Grosseto." he said.
I'VE intended to punish CiVltaVeccnla
for taking part in the general stIihe;
burn the chamber of labor and extend
our dominion. But when we advanced
into the town we were met by bullets;
They fred first. mind you. They had
been waiting for US all night and had
seen our train arrive. Naturally we
charged and answered their fire' bu.
they were hidden in the houses ana
had dug a big trench. They seemed
10 have carbines, too. We shot sew
eral. but four or five OF US were
wounded. We might have got the
worst of it, for we were too few ana ana
their positions were too strong. but
then the troops intervenea Som n our sn
side, of courSe) and separated US, SO
that we had to stop firing. they es-
corted us back to the station and we
are going back to Grosseto on your
train. But we shall come back, be
lieve me. All the houses IN tne otnes
end of town are in their hands and
they may shoot at the tram do we ~
The effect of this narration. told in
a loud voice. was to bring most OF the
passengers within earshot hustlihg
out of the train with their vailses ana
nackages. and they began asking for
q train back to Rome. The railroad
officials walked about Struggling their
shoulders. disdaining to answer Ques-
tions. What was the use? A teIe-
graph operator who laugned at a
fascista received a staggering blow In
the face.
American Girls ON Train.
Four American girls in a compart-
ment next to mine began a discus
sion of the best plan, and one asked
me what they should do. They were
on their way to Pisa. In order tc
better answer I approached one OF
the two colonels commanding the
troops.
rs this train going on today?"
"Just as soon as the police return
to say that the communists have not
blocked the track"
"Will the fascist be on it?'
"Of course"
.su-iII the communists fire on us?"
Who knows? The fascist would
have been killed if I hadn't brought
them back to the station. The pre-.
feet wanted me to disarm them, but
70. Luckily your train came along
Behold the majesty Of the law,
murmured.
what do you expect me to do?" he
retorted angrily. Il can't start civil
war"
and peaceful country"
Foreigners can't comprehend every
thing" he argued. Then. after a
pause: ''They go too far. though. II
could go to Rome and see Mussolini
(the founder of fascism) l think
could convince him of the danger OF
going too far.
) Fascist Takes Charge.
The train whistled and I climbed
back, only to find my seat.taken by
the fascist, who had hustled them
selves into and the passengers out
Of the seats by the window, evidently
according to a concerted plan. A
dozen military police climbed after
the 800 black shirts. In our car only
an old man and ! chose to remain
standing at the window. he from
bravado, l to see-and tell The re-
naming passengers barricaded them
selves in the compartments, sitting
on the floor and stopping up the win
dows with valises.
The fascist threw themselves or
the floor by the windows with leve1ed
carbines and drawn revolvers. And
as the train gathered speed near the
bridge that marked the danger poin,
they began to fire.
Windows Become Targets.
Crack. crack. crack, crack: a real
fusillade Of several hundred shots
aimed at the windows of the house
Anything was good enough for a
target. Window glass crashed. Fig
ures appeared with frightened faces
and took instant shelter. Yet there
had been no preceding fire and only
a few shots answered our volley. A
single bullet bored the windows of O
nearby compartment, but later
could find no other marks on the
train. The fascist seemed suddenly
to have lost their reason. Yet none
of the passengers whose lives the
black shirts so lightly endangered ut
tered any protest. Only young
the corridor and cried out in a trem.
bling voice, Peace. peace" No one
paid the slightest attention. The old
man beside me smiled and made reas-
suring remarks to his wife. The
train reached the country and still