Evening star., 1943-07-18
Italian Press Prints
Rooseve|f-Churchi||
Surrender MESSAGE
BY the Associated Press.

9urren0er message
: By the Associated Press.
LONDON, July 17.-Stefani, off,
cial Italian news agency, declared
tonight that the entire text of the
Roosevelt Churchill demand for
Italy's surrender had been printed
by the Fascist press. which answered
it by reiterating Mussolinis words
that if defeated the Italians would
be cleft only their eyes to weep
with"
(Allied planes dropped leaflets
containing the message over Italy,
and last night the Rome radio
broadcast the text to North
America, and presumably else
where in the world. This was
curious development, indicating
that italian propagandists could
no longer conceal the contents,
or had other undisclosed reasons
for wishing to give greater cir
culation to the message)
Swiss dispatches said the Rome
correspondent of the Tribune de
Geneve reported that the press had
reminded the Italians of the pres
ence of their Nazi allies and gen.
orally expressed the opinion that
Italy now has only one choice-"not
the best but the least bad"
That choice was said to be to try
to stop the invasion, and If unable
to do so then try to hold the Allied
position on a determined line.
Italian Battlefield Feared.
The most disastrous of Italys
possibilities, the newspaper said.
would be an effort to step out of
the conflict and make Italy the base
of an attack on Europe with de-
mands on it greater than those it
must now meet.
1T is very improbable that the
Germans on Italian soil would
withdraw without resistance and
Italy therefore would become
battlefield" the dispatch quoted the
press as saying.
Even if the Allies intentions are
the best, the newspaper told the
people, vigorous German resist
ance about which there should be
no doubt in the event of Italian
capitulation" would compel the
Allies to treat Italy as France has
been treated by occupation troops
"exploitation to an extreme degree"
Swiss dispatches said the Journal
de Geneve, commenting on the
Roosevelt Churchill message. de-
clared there was no doubt that
Italy is tired of war" and that
there were millions. discontented,
but not a single organization in the
country is capable of uniting the
opposition.
The message. the editorial said,
seemed to forget that Italy is mot
mistress of her own destiny; that
she is bound by the Reich; that
even if the regime wished to end
hostilities-which is does not dream
it is unable to stop them"
Rome. Radio Replies.
The Rome radio, making its first
direct reply to the Roosevelt
Churchill demand, intimated that
Italy had strung with Hitler too
long to turn back because "even If
Italy surrendered 1t would not mean
that she would have found peace
once again."
If, as the British and Americans
say. their goal is Berlin, then their
way to 1t is Italy, the broadcast
declared - %"NF~
THE Italian people would still be
in the war; they would be asked by
the invaders to turn their weapons
against Germany. Italians know
full well that for them this war is
one of life or death"
1t declared that common sense
tells us that Italy will become bat
tlef1eld in any case" and warned
Italians against betraying their
cause "by placing themselves at the
disposal of the invaders"
The broadcast followed closely the
italian high commands announce
ment that Allied planes flew over
Rome last night and dropped leaf
lets which later were disclosed to
have contained the Roosevelt
Churchill ultimatum to surrender
honorably or be blasted out of the
war.
Photographs of Leaflets Printed.
The Berlin radio broadcast DNB
dispatch saying afternoon newspa-
pers in Rome printed photographs
of the leaflets, but it was not dis
closed whether the words could be
read in the reproductions.
II Giornale d'Italia was quoted as
saying that the message represents
part of the policy announced by
Prime Minister Churchill of the
big stick and carrot toward Italy.
The message, of course, is the car
rot"
The German International Bu-
reau, a propaganda agency, said in
Berlin broadcast recorded by the
Associated Press that Nazi Foreign
Office circles had labeled the sur
render demand typical Of the Ar-
glo- Americans to take political
mortgage on their initial military
successes"