Evening star., 1938-07-07
ITALIAN CRITICISM
OF BRITAIN GROWS
u Duce Striving to Place
Pact Into Effect
This Month.
BY FRANK SMOTHERS,

Chicaso Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
ROME, July Increased sharpness
In criticizing Great Britain now char
acterizes Fascist pronunciamentos.
For long after the signature of the
Anglo Italian pact in April the Fas-
cists, while steadily heaping derision
or bitterness on the heads Of British
Laborites and Liberals-put the soft
pedal on anti-British propaganda in
general.
Broadsides against Great Britain
have, by no means, reached the level
OF the days before the signature of the
pact, but the increase has become
significant.
To be sure, Fascist bombing planes
have suspended the bombing of ships
OF different nationalities" over
Spanish loyalist ports and no British
ships in recent days have been sunk
by aircraft of any nationality operat-
Ing on behalf of Gen. Franco-a tenn
porary result sought by Lord Perth.
British Ambassador to Italy, in his
parley with Italian Foreign Minister
Count Galeazzo Ciano on June %.
Chamberlain Lauded.
To be sure, also. Italian spokesmen
continue to laud Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain and to con-
graduate him on his handling of the
parliamentary opposition. Italians
speak with cautious optimism of the
progress made by the London Nom
Intervention Committee-while point
ing out that many pitfalls and chances
OF disagreement lie ahead. But these
developments do not cancel increased
criticism of Britain.
, Many reasons contribute to this.
The most immediate, as seen by
numerous observers, is simply that II
.Duce wants the Anglo Italian pact
put into effect as soon as possible
preferably this month, before the
Parliament recess in London. There
Is evaporation in Rome that Britain,
awaiting the condition of some sort of
settlement" as regards Spain, has not
put the pact into effect, including the
recognition of Italy's conquest of
Ethiopia. This evaporation, although
unexpressed, is reflected in the press.
But beyond that it appears to many
competent observers that the Fas-
eists figure 1t is a good time to try to
hurry Britain up by forceful re-
minder of the extreme anti British
propaganda which prevailed until
Capt. Anthony Eden was forced out
of the foreign Office and before the
Anslo-1talian negotiations began.
British Being Threatened.
The British are being shown, al
though only in relatively small doses
as yet, compared with the old days,
what may be in store for them if they
do not soon give Fascismo its reward |
And the press propaganda within |
Italy is reminder of the wave of |
anti-British propaganda by Italy in
palestine and the Near East before
signature of the pact-propaganda |
which can be turned on again as
quickly as it was turned off.
Anti-British passages in the press
largely turn around the Italian allie
gation-now very trite outside Italy
that the democratic plutocracies"
were happy over Italy's former poor
wheat crop prospects and that the
newspapers. more particularly in
France, but also in England. wanted |
the starvation" of Italy. Non-Italian
readers have been unable to see the
basis for the charge that the democra-
cies wanted the Italian people
starved" but that has not hampered
the Italian propaganda machine.
such charges aid Fascist propa-
ganda for economic "self-suficiencv"
ana Its sacrifices at home. That must
also be remembered in reading the
current slams at the British.
Expansion Long Range Aim,
Behind all immediate campaigns.
however, is the long-range ambition
OF the nationalists of Italy repre-
sented by Fascism, for expansion in
the Mediterranean. and the fact that
Britain, despite the concessions of Mr..
stands in the wav of
Ultimate Fascist dreams.
Although nothing is now being said
ABOUT Malta, Egypt or Palestine. the
TACT that Britain-whom the Faseists
o1ten describe as decadent as an en-
plre-s blocking the way to the ulti-
mate Fascist dreams, and the result
ant chronic evaporation here, make
the Italians all the reader to attack
the British when this fits with their
immediate policy.
SCopyrleht. 1898 by Chicago
Daily News. Inc)