The Washington times., 1923-01-28
Fascist Premier Renounces
Principles of Socialism,
Which He Formerly Held.
Says Soviet Leaps in Dark.
By LOUISE BRYANT.
Copyright. 1929, by International
News SerYicel

BY LOUISE BRYANT,
Copyright. 1923. by International
News Service.)
ROME. Jan. 25.-On@ must ere.
ate a mental picture of Italy to
realize the task that Mussolini has
set up for himself. Italy has a
SOIL that has no chance to be re.
newed in 5000 years. The peasants
are appalling. Administrations in
Living and housing conditions
among the poor within the cities
are appalling. Administrations in
the past have left no heritage but
continued failures.
No one in the government dared
to assume responsibility" said
Mussolini in commenting upon pub.
lie, conditions. Everything was
put off indefinitely. All the
ministries must be cleaned out.
oiled and set in motion. Red tame
must be abolished. The national
slogan must be efficiency"
DIFFERS FROM LENIN.
Mussolini calls Lenin's method
OF making a clean sweep a lean
in the dark. He says that Rome's
method is to go forward with
OLuST0Q IdnKS.
The Fascist platform includes
these specified aims:
The' state Is not a party. It
Is a national community. 1t
embraces all, and defends itself
against every. trespass upon it's
imprescriptible sovereign rights.
We aim to deprive the state
of all its economic functions.
We are done with government
railways, government employ
nent agencies, government in
surance, with all measures that
take taxes from the people of
Italy for the benefit of a special
class. and aggravate our financial
prostration.
We leave to the state its police
powers, to protect honest citizens
from robbers and criminals: we
leave 1t the control Of the schools,
to train our coming generations.
FEARS SOCIALISM.
An italian nobleman, who does
not trust Mussolini, said:
at sounds very well, but how
are we to know in the end his
ordered ranks will. not march round
to state Socialism,
In all this speculation no one
mentions or seems to remember
King Victor Emmanuel. He Is
conspicuously left out of considera-
ton and also out of the oath which
every member OF the Fascist must
take when he joins the organiza-
ton. This oath follows:
In the name Of God and Italy.
in the name Of the fallen and
the greatness Of Italy, I swear
to devote myself entirely and
always to the good Of Italy.
LIKE A MOUNTAIN.
Premier Benito Mussolinf. thrust
up out of a foaming, boiling mass
of anarchy, INDIGESTION and despair,
much as a mountain might rise
out of the turbulent sea, Is like e.
He Is firm and relent.
less, but lonely. His goal is to in
crease the economic efficiency of
Italy. Therefore, he is anti-mo-
nopolist and anti-Socialist just as
Theodore Roosevelt was and as
Herbert Hoover might be If he
were running Italy.
Italy is country without great
resources in the earth and
burdened with debts. It's, people
have high intelligence and love of
the BEAUTIFUL but they have never
acquired the habits of hard physi-
cal labor.
Mussolini symbolizes efficiency.
but efficiency cannot be introduced
in a day. Also, in order to get It,
he has had to create hordes of
enemies. His task is
very like that of a man reorganiz-
ing a large corporation, whose only
training has been in the school Of
Karl Marx, the German Socialist.
This gives an air of unhealthy such
as Americans would feel If Eugene
". Debs at the head of the Ameri-
can Legion, should lead an attack
on his former pacifist followers.
FROM PEASANT STOCK.
Mussolini comes from peasant
stock. He is as rough and as
heavy boned as a day laborer. He
is risen from a carrier Of bricks
to editor and statesman. Like
many American political leaders he
is self educated. At times he is
tactless, coarse and repellant. He
has raised himself from bitter
poverty which the masses of Italy
know only too well.
Since his youth he had been
taught to believe that the salvation
of the world lay in applied patriot.
ism. He was caught in the fervor
of the great war. Overnight he
was swept away by love of Father
land. Now he finds himself ruler
of Italy and head of the patriotic
band, the Fascist, fighting all that
he once believed in, the religion of
his father who was q real figure
in the annals of Italian Socialism,
-k ut he hi hn6
suffered imprisonment for.