The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-11-23
The Meaning. of Grandi's Visit
to the United States
Visit

in exporting to Great Britain and her empire as
result of the break in sterling, but the conse-
quence Of even greater Importance looms UP in
the increased competition of British goods with
Italian on the eastern markets and South Am
erica, where Italian manufacturers have secured
an Important foothold in recent years"
Undoubtedly Grand had something to say
about the Eastern question and Latin American
markets where Wall Street, likewise, expects
greater competition from British capitalism In
this connection, the matter of discussing arm
aments in reality becomes matter of discussing
war alliances for joint attack on British mark
cts and colonies
The Daily Worker has already published de-
tails about the inner economic crisis of Italian
capitalism. This crisis is constantly growing
deeper, and no amount of fascist-inspired lies
can hide the fact that the entire financial struc-
ture of Italian fascisn is shaken. The Journal
of Commerce Nov. 2O) admits: Certainly the
trials of the Qtalian) Treasury have been ex-
ceptionally hard this year" Nor are these trials
over. They are becoming worse 1t was this
that led fascism to ferocious attack against
the living standard of the italian workers and
peasants, without alleviating the basic crisis The
extent Of the attack against the standard of
living Of the Italian workers and peasants is
shown by the following:
Farm wages were the first TO be attacked, the
average being driven down to AZ cents day.
BY cutting the wages of farm laborers the fas-
cist regime was able to wiring S60,0O0O0O out OF
their starvation wages; like amount was taken
by Mussolini out of the industrial workers, and
with the cut in government workers pay, the
fascist government was able to hand over to
the capitalists around $160,000000. While this
has driven the italian masses closer to starva-
ton, it has not availed to save fascism from
worse economic and financial crisis
Though the fascist government very zealously
hides the true extent of the economic crisis and
unemployment in Italy, the carefully censored
facts that seep through tend to show a worsen-
ing of the crisis. The following from dispatch
to the Journal of Commerce, New York. leaves
no doubt about the drop in industrial activity
in Italy and the rapid growth of the unemployed
army
THAT industrial activity has been the down
grade is proved by the published unemployment
figures. At this time last year the unemployed
were little under 100000 but at the end of
September $780, they reached 642169. At the
end of February of this year they amounted to
765,325; and now, after short interval of de-
crease, they are once again lend of September)
up to 757,763"
The actual extent of unemployment in Italy
IS about double the official figure or near 1,500-
GOO. This is huge number for Italy.
With this background, with the sharpening
crisis throughout the capitalist world with the
war proceeding in Manchuria directed against
the Soviet Union the purpose of Grandi's visit
becomes much clearer.
The Hoover governments attempts TO hide the
Grandi- Hoover conversations behind thick
veil OF secrecy forced mild criticism from the
pro-Hoover New York Evening Post which made
the complaint that:
"Signor Grand, like M. Laval has come and. :.
gone at Washington. And we are even more
in the dark as to the o-,.ts If any, of his visit
The official joint statement is even more blind,
maintaining well Secretary of State Stimson's
firm prejudice against letting the people know
anything about their own business"
The real complaint however is that since the
great masses of workers will have to be drawn
into the war being concocted by the Hoover
Wall Street regime, the Post believes 1t would
be much wiser not to expose the preparation for
new slaughters and obberes by the very
emphasis of such secrecy as Hoover has been in
dulging in for the past few months.
The Hoover-Grandi conferences were directed
against the Italian and American workers.
against the revolutionary proletariat OF the So
Wet Union, against the rising revolutionary strug-
giles IN Germany and to further a new imper-
ialist wal as way out OF the growing cap;taHst
crisis ---1SSssaaa =. laast