The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-08-15

By THOMAS r
- 80
THAT Italy has dictatorrS
= government Mussolini h.
would be the last man in the world 70
deny. Yet this fact does not prevent
the United States government from
being on the best of terms with the
Italian government. In fact, Andrew
Mellon, secretary of the treasury, is
now in Italy and it has been reported
and denied that he conferred with
Mussolini and his finance minister,
Volpi, over such boring matters as
debts sand credits Indeed the House
of Morgan saved Mussolinis neck in
physical as we'll as a political sense
once before, at a time when the die
tators had aroused tremendous mass
opposition because of the murder of
Matteotti, the socialist deputy.
A AMBASSADOR SHEFFIELD may
a not return to Mexico to resume
his activities as agent of American i'm
perialism. This is equal to saying
that the United States is about to
break automatically with Mexico.
Lest an open and formal break might
lead to the suspicion that the Coolidge
administration was taking advantage
of the present difficulties of the Gales
government in order to serve the oil
barons, the rupture will be befogged
as much as possible. Coolidge does
not want to lose the X. X. K. vote. but
he hopes to kill two birds with one
shot.
NOV comes the inevitable dose of
4 hypocrisy. David Lawrence,
Washington reporter, in dispatch to
the Chicago Daily News informs us
that ever since the controversy be-
tween the clergy and the government
became acute in Mexico pressure was
being brought to bear on the state
department to break off diplomatic re-
lations with the southern republic
While Mexico has a right to enact
whatever laws she pleases, says Law
renee, ION the other hand, the United
States has on more than one occasion
in diplomatic history expressed it's ap-
prevail or disapproval of movements in
foreign countries which violate the
spirit of democracy"
THIS is nauseating. But what fol-
g. lows is putrid. THE United States
has especially shown itself opposed to
autocratic forms of government, as
well as efforts to suppress religious
freedom" Capitalist reporters In the
pay Of the money harons have such
unfailing confidence in the stupidity of
their readers that they do not take
the trouble to lie cleverly. 1t would
not take anybody who read this piece
Of bunk by Lawrence more than one
quarter of a minute to name half
dozen countries where relationships
exist and where all opposition organi-
cations, religious as we'll as lay, have
been suppressed or forced to toe the
line.
TN the early days of the MussOlini
1 regime he did not look with much
favor on the catholic church. A cath
olic organization recruited from the
peasantry led by Father Sturzo was
prosecuted by a black shirt dictator
and its leader finally driven under
cover. Mussolini catered to the ma
sons rather than to the church. But
he finally came to the conclusion that
thaNchurch was more reliable ally
Of big business than the masonic or
gsni2ation, so he concluded an al
lance with the vatican and suppressed
the masons. Now Mussolini's praises
are sung by the Knights of Columbus
and the masonic cabinet of President
Coolidge joins hands with the pope
against the Italian masons and the
Mexican government which has ma
son for president.
DIG business cares little what kind
- Of grip you flourish or what kind
of a ritual you babble in your lodge. |
A superstitious catholic may be con-
tent to feast on a wafer and think he !
is having Jolly good time, while paw
ing his road to heaven. A bourgeois
catholic may swallow the wafer, but
he viii have roast pheasant and cham
payne for desert. The same with the |
bourgeois protestant, agnostic, or
atheist who makes his living feec-
ing the workers or helping others to
fleece them. There are more masons
that Knights of Columbus in financial
power in America, but just now they
are ready to shoot the masons of Mex
iSp, even tho the pope be served by
the bullets.
ONLY foolish workers quarrel with !
~ each other over religion. The rul-
ing class of all countries have used
this wedge to break up the growing