The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-24
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

IL w liz " l.
NEW YORK, Dec. 23.-We hav.
in our midst an Italian Immigrant
millionaire who is a Tammany pol.
itician who affects to be and, n
some extent is, a political padrons
over a large element of our popu.
lation on the eastern seaboard
from Philadelphia to Boston, Hs
operates two newspapers of large
circulation published mostly in thu
Italian language and has often de-,
clared his devotion to Mussolini.
His name is Generoso Pope and
his papers are called II Progresso
Italo-Americano and L Corriere
D'America.
Pope made his fortune in this
country, starting from scratch,
and his prestige is based On an
assumption that he can deliver or
influence the votes of several mil.
lions of American citizens WIN
were born in Italy or whose recent
forebears were born there, and
that he can deliver their sympatbv
or loyalty to the duce.
Favored BY Fascists
For a long time Pope has en-.
joyed and capitalized for profit
and for his personal vanity, which
is markedly similar to Mussolipi's
own self-approval, the favor Of the
Fascist government. He has re.
ceived pompous honors in Naples,
the port from which he sailed as
a handkerchief immigrant, and in
Rome, at the hands of the Duce
and the King. He has not neglected
to remind his readers of these
gaudy compliments and his edi.
torial theme has been unpeasantly
reminiscent of that which was EN-.
ployed to set apart from their
neighbors the German minorities
in the Sudeten area of Czecho.
slovakia and in Poland.
It is a theme of persecution Of
a national minority, of discrimina.
ton against those for whom he
assumes the role of spokesman
and defender. Pope's papers con.
stantly impress on his readers a
belief that they are different from
the rest of the Americans; that
they are Americans, yes, but
somehow still Italians; that it is
possible to be a loyal American
and still be loyal to a country
whose official spokesman have
constantly reviled this country in
the Italian press for four years;
that decent American resentment
of this anti-American policy is
nothing but British propaganda;
and that they owe it to their blood
to cherish not only the culture Of
Italy and their relatives there, but
Fascism and Mussolini.
|. This constant propaganda in
Pope's papers tends to make these
people self-conscious, to segregate
them from other Americans both
socially and politically, and to
place them morally on the defen.
sive as though they really were
somehow responsible for the awful
%obscenity of Fascism. The Italian
consuls, of course, play ball with
Pope.
The effect of all this, of course,
is fine for Pope. By 'egregatng
these people in this way he creates
a more or less exclusive advertis.
ing field for advertisers of Italian
goods. He resists assimilation Of
his clientele to the rest Of the com.
munity and then complains
that they r regarded as foreign.
ers and forced into the status Of
an Italian national minority in the
United States, where he found op'
portunity and success.
Victims Of Pope's Ambition
This is no longer a harmless
foible of quaint individual. 1t is
no trivial thing to permit a man
who has expressed his admiration
of a European dictator to create
in the United States a national
minority with a persecution con,
plex. These people are victims all
right, but not victims Of thelf
American neighbors or OF any
policy of the American govern
ment. They r victims OF PopeS
ambition and his investment IN d
publishing enterprise which Woula
suffer if they were permitted "
become one with their nelghoorS'
Among the Americans OF ltallaA
blood or birth there arc many VINO
resent any attempt to speak i'
them as Italians or Italo-Ameff
cans. Like John Lewis when ne d.
fects to speak, ~sWeeplnglN' ~
labor, Pope takes in vastly h1ols
territory than he commands. i~
example, the author of the le''e.
received today, which says il
part:
Il am a young woman Oh l'aia'
birth, but of American citlz-nslnp
Some who come from Italy MAN.
it diffict for the rest OF Us wD
love America and dctest MusS0l"
and all he stands for.
There are those OF us WliO't
eyes fill with tears at the slgA'
the American flag, tears OF graz
tude for the ideals of freedom ana
humanity it represents. we la"
Fascist culture we only [eco5
nize the culture of Da 'nl.s
Dante, Calico. Please write d A Mn
word about us who pledge ans
glance only to America.