Evening star., 1939-01-17
By CONSTANTINE BROWN,
Star Stan Correspondent.


ROME, December, l938.-There
are termites inside the apparently
solid shell of Italy. People still
shout "A MOI" whenever II Duce
appears in public, but three rows
OF soldiers separate his platform
from the people
The Italian hudget-the little
which can be seen by the public
shows an increase of 4O000,000 lire
tabout $220O ,OOO for the secret po-
lice. Fifteen thousand more men
and women have been added to the
OVRA, the italian Cheka, this year,
and few know how many thousands
already were on the rolls before
this increase They are everywhere,
in hotels, in bars, in railway coaches,
even at the exclusive receptions of
the Roman nobility.
There is a wind of discomfort
blowing over the southern end of
the Rome-Berlin axis. People are
dissatisfied. and despite the army
of spies and secret service men they
say so.
They are not yet discontented
with II Duce, however. Quite the
contrary. Many repeat the SEN
tence: We were so happy when
Mussolini was running the coun-
try" But they are dissatisfied be-
cause the father of Fascism seems
to be letting them down.
Sacrifices Demanded.
He still demands of them tre-
mendous sacrifices. but he himself
has withdrawn into a shell and no
longer keeps in close touch with his
people. His appearances in public
have become comparatively rare.
From his villa on the Bocca dele
Caminata he follows and decides
the great lines of Italy's future, fire.
quently unaware of the feeling of
the average Italian. Mussolinl
spends most of his time pondering
over the great international prob
lens in making Italy another Ro-
man empire and leaves the actual
running of the country to three
men-Starace, Alfieri and Farinaci.
These three young men have one
important quality: They are astute
politicians.
They have share in the unih-
cation of Fascism, but have not
shown their mettle as able leaders
like Field Marshal Balbo and Am
bassador Dino Grandi, the old COM
panions of II Duce
Mussolini remains now mostly in
seclusion. His own ambassadors do
not see him before taking their
posts. Foreign representative are
not received by him. Men who
have collaborated with him since
Fascism took possession of Italy
are no longer received except on
rare occasions, and then they had
better keep to themselves what they
know is going on in the country.
The triumvirate gives him all his
information, and this Is invariably
the same: "Duce, the country is
even more with you than in the
past. Lead us and Che country will
follow wherever You take U.S."
Wonders About Payment.
Mussolini is worrying more over
foreign than domestic affairs, be-
cause he feels he has definitely be-
come Hitlers second fiddle. Europe
has slipped away from him. He
knows that the German dictator
could never have achieved what he
has in three short years without
Italy's absolute loyalty and COOP
Grafton. And II Duce is wondering
now when his German colleague
will repay him in kind for past
services.
The states of the Danubian VAL
ley have all gone into the German
fold. Trade with these countries
has become difficult. Since Austria
and Czecho-S -Slovakia have been an
nexed to Germany Italian trade has
dropped to nothing. 1t is true that
Hitler told Mussolini that Italy S
future lies in the Mediterranean
and that Mussolini was willing to
expand southwark. But now comes
the question, is Germany strong
enough and, especially, willing to
so the whole way to assure Italy S
Mediterranean empire? Is Hitler
willing to use his armies for Italy S