Evening star., 1923-12-23
BY MARIA sERMOLINO.
= INTERVIEW Mussolini."

Those were the instructions
cabled to me. Direct. simple,
i no possibility of misunder-
standing. but Mussolini is NUS
SCLINI. Furthermore, he was leav-
ing Rome the following day on tour
of cities In northern italy in cele-
bration of the anniversary OF the
march on Rome. / had to work
quickly.
At PaIazzo Chigi, the magnificent
building. on Piazza Nenezia which
was built by the Venetian republic
20 house the ministers she sent to
Rome. ! saw his chief of staff, Com
mendatore Barone Russo.
Wait I'll be back presently, and
out he went.
For FIVE minutes j caressed the soft.
thick carpet under my feet. admired
the frescoes on the ceiling and tried
to keep from worrying as to what
would happen to me. Then he re-
turned.
"You are lucky girl. The duce
pronounced du-chay and means
leader) will see you at once
I followed him, for 1 soon. found
myself on the threshold of an open
door which led into a great salon
peeked in timidly and walked in,
down toward two figures l saw
standing in the farther end of the
room When I got within few
Yards 7 stood stock sIill. There be-
fore ,ne. in the flesh. stood Musso-
l,nf. duce of the fascist, prime min
lister of Italy.
at
monplace things-the window. the
table, the chair. the carpet, and then
my eyes rested on a pair Of boots.
Boots. IN an office? Funny. And
they were topped by riding breeches.
Queer Whose were they? Not
Furtively l raised my eyes,
and presently found / was staring
boldly at the duce. Yes, the boots
were his He was dressed in a rid
ing habit. I remembered he rode for
p half hour every morning before
coming to Palazzo Chigi That
seemed human. matter of fact. and
somehow the thought gave me the
courage TO contemplate the figure
standing before me.
stands as for a Picture.
He stood there erect. still. as though
posing for a time exposure. He wore
a mask of severity over his face, and
say mask" because it seemed con-
scious. His stern expression never
changed as he listened attentively to
what the young officer was saying to
him. When he opened his mouth to
answer he seemed like a stage charac-
ter talking; his answer was explicit.
ufinite, in finished sentences. He
spoke as few people write. The Off
Ger saluted. left, and Mussolini turned
squarely toward me.
WHO are you?" There are a lot OF
nice ways of asking strangers to intro
duce themselves, but evidently Musso-
lini believes in violent, direct methods.
He thundered the words at me and
scowled.
told him who ! was.
What do you want" My, what a
temper, and how fierce he looked, He
stared at me with his penetrating
brown eyes almost defying me TO talk.
hate to admit it, but I stammered as
I answered.
"Fascismo has now been a year in
power. What has it accomplished?
question! He turned on his heel and
walked away from me. Then. abruptly.
as he reached the massive table upon
which were piled books and papers. he
looked up and said, ANY intelligent
person ought to know that. Can't YOU
see? Can't you read? We have done
much, very much" and he seemed an
noyed that any one should dare ask
such a foolish question.
Yes, 7 know" l insisted, but what
do YOU consider fascismos greatest
accomplishments
Fascixts Wake 1885 New Laws.
We have made 1856 new laws" He
waved his hand as if that would dis
miss the subject.
But - didn't Italy have too many
laws on the books which she didn't en-
force" How did ever dare say it? 1t
might have been the proper remark for
one minister to have made to another,
but for a little insignificant journalist
trying TO get a favor, how undiplo-
matte.
Mussolini dropped the memora ndum
he had picked up from the table and
as he looked at me felt that he really
saw me for the first time. His look
seemed less severe. He moistened his
lips, sort of jerked his neck up out of
his collar (Which 7 later discovered IS
a characteristic gesture) and in a
softer tone said,
You are right. but we have also en-
forced many laws. . . hear that you
want to come on the special train with
mo to Toriuo tomorrow"
Yes, had hoped to-"
Are you Italian?'
No, American.
You speak italian very Well"
THANK YOU
ASK me four or five questions"
Now"
NO. not now. | will see you tomor-
row night on the train. Arrivederci.'
Good bye" and without a hand
shake or friendly gesture of any sort
] was dismissed.
Trouble In Reaching Train.
Getting on the train wasn't a simple
matter. I had no credentials, no spe
cial ticket. Plain CLOTHES men anG
fascist guards tried to bar the way
but I told them so convincingly that
Mussolini was waiting for me that hes
surrendered
got into flrst-class compartment