The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-05-23
On the
World Front
Fascist Powder Magazines
The Balkan Pact"
Italy's Balance Sheet
BY HARRY CANNES

Italy's Balance Sheet
EASCISM has spread to the
L two most explosive points
of the European powder ma
gazine, the Balkans and the
Baltic buffer states. EXPIRE
mier Zankoff, the butcher of
thousands of Bulgarian work.
ers and peasants, comes out of re-
tirement to provide the Bulgarian
capitalist and landlord class with
his assassin experience.
Latvia, with Hitler's blessing, has
dropped all democratic pretenses
and rules through the open, naked,
brutal dictatorship of the capitalist
and rich landowning class.
In Bulgaria, the fascist coup is
dolble-edged weapon, intended to
strike for new military adventures,
and against the surge of the peoples
revolution of the workers and peas
ants which is ripening throughout
the Balkans,
The victory of the fascist dicta.
torship in Bulgaria strengthens the
group of capitalists who looked for
stronger alliances with fascist Ger
many.
The Balkans generated the spark
which set off the last imperialist
world war. The rise of fascism in
Bulgaria forecasts that here history
will repeat itself.
DROOF Of the rapid rise of the
1 revolutionary forces in Bulgaria
was given at the 18th Plenum of
the Communist International last
December by the representative of
the Bulgarian Communist Party. In
this preponderantly agrarian coun-
try, the Communist Party had be-
hind it majority of the working
class, though certain decisive Sec
tions particularly the railroad work
ers, had not yet been won for the
revolutionary cause.
The Communist Party since 1890
had grown four fold in membership.
It had led tremendous demonstra-
tions, and was carrying on brilliant
struggles from day to day. The
Party of Comrade Dinitroff had
lived up to the glorious tradition
he demonstrated in the Leipzig trial.
1t is for this reason that the Bull
garian bourgeoisie, endeavoring to
preserve itself from doom, decided
to play its bloodiest card-fascism.
A LITTLE more than a month
II ago the governments of Ru-
mania, Yugoslayia, Greece and
Turkey signed the Balkan Pact"
preserving the boundaries of the
Versailles treaty, and attempted to
induce Bulgaria to sign this new
war alliance. The Bulgarian bour-
geoisie, who wanted a re-distribu-
ton Of territory more advantageous
to it, refused to sign the pact.
At that time the Communist Par
ties of Rumania, YugosIavia, Bull
garia, Greece and Turkey issued a
joint declaration on this Balkan
pact, on the rise of the war danger
and threatening fascism. We quote
from the conclusion of this dec
laration:
THE Balkans have already once
been the center from which pre-
datory world war began. The
Balkan countryside, stained with
blood in the two Balkan wars,
was flooded in a sea Of blood in
the four years of the world war.
ut depends on you, workers,
peasants and oppressed nations,
whether this will be repeated.
Only your victorious revolution
can bar the path to the approach
of new war.
Down with all imperiaIist
pactS, Down with faSciSm! Down
with war! For the revolution!
For the complete liberation of OPP
pressed nations from the inn
perialiSt yoke, for the right to ma
tional self determination to the
point of separation! For the VIC
tory of the workers and peasants,
for Soviets!
For fraternaI peace, for close
alliance between the peoples lib
Grated from capitalism and inn
periaIism.
"For the U. S. S. r., which
showed us how to carry out a vic
torious revolution of the toilers,
how to liberate peoples, how to
fight for real peace!"
AS we write of the newest fascist
II dictatorship, we are presented
with balance sheet of the oldest,
Italy.
In the June, 1884, issue of Cur
rent History" Hugh Quigley, chief
statistical officer of the Central
Electricity Board in Great Britain,
after a detailed survey of 1919 years
of Mussolini, draws a damning in
dictment of fascism.
After showing the decay of cul-
ture, of economy. finance, giving
details of the tremendous decline in
the workers living standard, Mr..
Quigley sums up his data with the
following four conclusions:
1. Italy has gained, on balance,
nothing in the cultural, economic
and political spheres during the
period October, 1922-March, 1884,
which can justify the Fascist ex-
pertinent. 1t has lost, on the con-
trary, IL years.
2. Industrially and socially,
Italy has definitely lost ground.
1t is only necessary to wander up
the Valley of the Oglio and visit
manufacturing centers in the