The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-03-24
War Offices Asked
 About Another War
Continued from rage 1)

 tContinued Italy with the greatest pool of trained-man power in the world, to- talling already about 7,000,000 and growing.
 It Is composed of 453,Oo0 in the active army; 878,000 active reserves, and 5,838,000 inactive reserves. At least 5,OO0,0o0 are believed fit for the field at present.
 Total of 7,469,OOO
 Adding youths of pre-military age between Is and 21 who have under gone moral, physical and military training" since childhood prepar- atory to entering the army, the grand total available IS brought to 9,469,0o
 Fedrico Baistrocchi, undersccre- tary for war, once stated in the chamber of deputies that Italy could mobilize within "A hours an army of 100000. exclusive of the forces at that time engaged in con- quering Ethiopia.
 Greatest, Except Russia ..
 It is a greater number than any nation axcept Russia could mobil- izc 50 rapidly.
 A typical Italian boy begins train- ing at the age of six, when he is in- corporated into the uniformed wolf cubs" similar to the boy scouts, to be taught marching, discipline and the Facist doctrine.
 At eight he enters the Balilla, or junior blackshirt, where he learns drilling, shooting and other phases of militarization. He remains in the Balilla until he is 18. Then his training is broadened and intensif- fed until he is q, Whereupon he enters the active army for normal !, period of i8 months. After his release, he continues per- iodic post-military training until the age of 55, after which he remains a member of the civilian mobilization scheme.
 Since the ancient Greeks, no state has devoted such attention to phy- sical and military training of its population. Direct military expen- diture--or that portion revealed by the budget, averages about onc- fourth of the total budget.
 Budget Necessary
 The budget for l936-.l937 totalled 20, ,29O, ,0O0,O0 lire( $932, ,325 ,0o0). of which 4,8O0,OOO000 ($22O,560, ,000) was for military purposes. It Is es- timated that next years total will be 23, FOG, 100000 f$l,080,0l5,00O of which $500, 100000 ($252, ,725, ,00O will be military.
 Aside from masscd, trained man. hood, the most important material factor in Italy's military strength is her air force, which undoubtedly ranks among the largest, strongest and most modern in Europe.
 Although exact figures arc kept strict secret, foreign observers cs- timatc first line planes at more than 2,000, which indicates total num- Der of 5000 or 1000, including re- serves.
 The chief characteristic of the air force lies in the large proportion of planes manufactured within the las; two or three years, which results in an unusually up-to-date force, com- pared to some other European nations.
 Big Force of -jomberS
 A high ratio of the force is coIn- .josed of bombers with a speed of round 220 miles an hour. Italy is
 ow developing a new, huge fiat .R-20 type bomber with an 80-foot ,aing span. It has speed of 275 niles an hour and a radius of 1900 niles. It carries 8. /, tons of bombs md is defended by six machine guns It is reputed to be the fastest and most powerful bomber in Europe. equipped with two 1000 horsepower motors and capable of reaching 2l, 900 feet within 2l minutes.
 Without a load, a height of 3l,000 feet is claimed for the plane. Italy's program is avowedly the production of l,500 airplanes annually, of which her factories are capable, but the training of pilots and ground crews retards the schedule.
 The general efficiency of motors and planes is demonstrated by Italy's numerous world speed records and by such flights as Marshal Balbo's to Italy and to Chicago. the latter with 24 planes in formation.
 Italy has 25 schools training 1,500 pilots and 4,500 mechanics. Fourteen air fields under construction bring the total to l30, plus 25 seaplane bases.
 Factories working 24 hours a day are concentrating principally on high-speed fighting planes and high speed bombers.
 Italy is better able than most na- tons to concentrate her air forces wherever they are most needed bee cause of her cl0seness L0 Libya. her North African colony. and to the Dodecanese Islands off the coast Of Asia Minor.
 Her greatest military disadvan- age is the lack of primary raw mat erials necessary in war time. Italy produces only two per cent of her petroleum requirements. 3.2 per cent Of coal and 3T per cent of iron and steel. To offset it. she has piled up q year and a halfa reserve of coal and half q year of gasoline.
 EleelTif.Ing Railways
 MuEs0llnl is rapidly electrifying fkaA nmtlVeAme ela An laaaaan Aha na.af en.