Licking Valley courier., 1922-11-16
y n

working classes on the hr't da. was spOraulc, uls-
organized and lacking in leadership.
Without losing time the Fascist launched al
offensive with three specific objectlves. The first
was to keep the railroads and other instruments
Of public service in operation, by taking up with
elements of their own the work abandoned by
strikers; the second was to crush the prOletariat
press, the socialist municipal administrations
wherever they existed, the cooperative unions
and other worklngclass organizations from
which the strike might derive moral or material
energy; the third to terrlfy the strikers into
submission by the application of armed force and
execution of drastic reprisas against any attempt
to revolt E
The centers of strike activity were Genoa, MI
Ian, Parma, Lvorno, Ancona and Ravenna.
Forty-eght hours after the strike was called
Turau realized he was licked To save as much
as he could from the ruins Turat rushed to
Facta and offered to call the strike Off II Facta
would promise that the government would take
the strikers back
Facta gave the socialists the required assur-
ance. On the following day-August S-the Labor
federation called upon the strikers TO return to
their posts, announcing that the proletariat had
achieved Its object
But II the socialists were through the Fascist
were not They had definite program to com.
plete, and they proceeded to complete 1t. In Mi
Ian they drove the socialist administration out
Of power and took possession OF the Paazzo Ma.
rno. On the following day they attacked the
Avantl, the leading socialist newspaper In Italy,
put the editors to flight and set fire to the plant
In Genoa they suppressed the publication Of the
Lavoro and marched In force upon the Palace OF
San Gorglo, where the socialist consortium OF
the port was located. The Fascist demanded
the surrender Of the consortlum, and when sur
render was refused they seized It by force.
.al.a
elaborate cooperative organization which ha,
served as a model of socialist cooperative devel
opment for students from all parts of the world
In Ancona they destroyed the printing plant OF
the socialist organ La Dfesa and set fire 10 the
headquarters of all the principal labor orgunza
tlons, including the Federation OF Railway Work
ers, the Society Of Sovlets and the Chamber O
Labor. They marched into Parma 5000 stron,
and took possession of the city. They destroye,
the printing plant OF the Pccolo and disrupted tn
cooperative unions
Considering the violent nature of the reprsal
that occurred against the working classes, Their
was surprisingly little blood shed during tn
course OF the strike
On August ., when II was al over the govern
ment came to life and confded to military contrc
the cities Of Genoa, Milan, Ancona, Parma an
Livorno.
In the special terms by which the Fasc,st an
the socialists subsequently defined "ylctory" IN
claims of both We're justified by the fact.
Whether the victory OF either faction meant vi,
tory for the italian people and Tor the iitlon n
whole was question which seemed to concer
neither of the opposing forces When. lndee,
Focta, In his second inaugural declared thg
italy could be ruined by such victory" Lup
the Fascist leader in the chamber responde
with challenge which clearly Indicated that
civil war was not yet an actual fact in Ital
It could any day become one.