The Owosso times., 1922-09-15
HOW ITALY HELPS
HER UNEMPLOYED
Great Construction Work Being
Carried Out by the Opera
del Combattenti.
BILLIONS OF LIRE ARE PAID
Policy contemplates Using Money as
Investment to Benefit the State
RecIaining Marsh Land
Roads and Railways Built

HOme.-ln spite or the low state or
national finance Italy is attempting to
carry out broad program for the
relief Of war veterans and the unem-
ployed by means Of land reclamation
and other public works
Italy deals with it's problem of war
veterans through the Opera Nazionale
del Combattenti, organized in Decem-
Der, 1917, with an initial capital of
SOOOOOOOO lire, Of which the govern
ment contributed 25O,OOO,OOO. The
opera has social section for voca-
tional training and placing, a financial
section for providing credit to indi-
vidual soldiers or cooperative groups,
and an agricultural section. which
concentrates on land reclamation.
Relief for Unemployed.
The general unemployment problem
continuesotO be taken seriously by the
government, although there is no fear
now of revolutionary outbreaks as the
result of the lack of work. In the last
few weeks the number of unemployed
has decreased slightly, but there are
still more than half a million men out
OF work. Arrangements are almost
completed for starting the public
works authorized last August for the
relief Of the situation, but at the
moment the appOrtiODing of funds and
the increase of the amount of work to
be undertaken is occupying the cham
Der of deputies. The public works
appropriation Is the parliamentary
pork barrel of the country.
SignOr RicciO minister of public
works, Is attempting to hold the bal
ance between the deputies competing
for appointments and to protect the
national budget from being swamped
with more projects than 1t can stand.
He stated in the chamber the other
day that in the first three months of
this year there has already been paid
out for labor on public works 1900
100000 lire, as against 25S,O00,OOO in
the whole year of 1914. He added
that although the minister Of finance
had authorized the expenditure of
3,OOO,OOO,OOO more for public labor
this year, he did not see where the
money was coming from.
The grave depression in the metal
lurgical districts Of Milan and Turin
is threatening to throw more men on
the streets, and as usual the condi-
tiOn Of unemployment in the province
of Emilia is widespread.
The situation in Emilia Is typical of
the sort of problem Italian state Off
cials have to face. For the last 20
years the province has been greatly
overpopulated, but the surplus citi-
zens have refused to emgate. There
is therefore a chronic floating popu-
latiOn of day labOrers who practically
are charge on the state.
Plans Of Reclamation.
The governments policy of public
works is a sound one in that the
money spent constitutes an invest
ment which In future years will more
than pay for itself. Instead of pro-
viding busy work" the ministry is
carrying out far-sighted scheme for
the transformation of malarial marsh
lands into fertile territory. Since
low thC hdS
more than 339,OOO,OOO lire in plus
value from its reclaimed lands. For
this work the government spent ST.
7S3,31O lire for reclaiming 394,O27
acres, and private consortiums spent
an equal amount, but recovered 39j,-
OPT acres. This year the government
has appropriated SO,OO0,OOS lire for
reclamation of land in eight provinces
and work began In March.
Other projects of the government
are equally constructive. Roads and
railways are being built in Sicily and
Calabria, and in the latter province
the government Is building artificial
lakes to store water for the hydro
electric plants in the Sila plateau.
This part of the country being dry,
irrigation and not draining is the
problem, and the government has of
fered to help local irrigation consor-
tiums by paying one-third of the cost
of irrigation projects of benefit to the