Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-08-15
An Italy Turned Democratic
Held by Sforza Sure to Come
By Marquis ". Chlds.

! the underground. 1t includes aristocrats
| and conservatives and brilliant young
| radicals willing to take any risks The
| two extremes, according to Count Storza
| have had a modifying influence on each
| other so that there is extraordinary
| agreement on ultimate detectives
At the same time one of the heroes of
the last war Amelio Lussu, a member of
Parliament with Count Sforza. was elect
ed co-leader. The Action party, accord
ing to Storza, will work with the Chris
tan Democratic party, the Catholic
Popular party and the Socialists
'Mussolini has hated me more than
any one else. l did not make the mis-
take of these Reds, these Bolsheviks
did not call him Nero or Caligua. said
he was a fool. And he could not dismiss
me as a Red
Il have said for long time that the
whole structure of Fascism was
house of cards Blow against it and it
would come trlmbling down. l have
argued this with some of my American
friends, who ascribed far too much
strength to the organization of Fasclsm.
In the highest circles there has al
ways been the deepest opposition to
the FaScistS, even though that OPPOSE
ton could not express itself. After my
exile I lived for part of the year on the
French Riviera near the Italian border.
My house was in a grove of pines.
Generals Predicted Ruin.
Just before Italy entered the war in
July of 1910 two Italian generals dis
guised as peasants came to see me.
They told me of the plan to enter the
war on the side of Germany which, they
predicted, would bring our country to
ruin. They also told me of plan to
set afire my pine grove and my house so
as Minister of the Interior. Fornaciari
said they wanted to save me to help
rebuild Italy after the catastrophe"
A significant sign of the weakness of
the Badoglo regime Count Sforza sees
in the resignation of Bruno Fornaciari
as minister of the interior. Fornaclari
stepped out in protest against con-
tinued administration of civilian mat
tiers by the military" and his resigna-
ton withdrew the support of the
Catholic Popular party According to
Storza, Fornaclar was one of the two
or three intelligent, responsible men in
the Badoglio government
While he will not predict how many
successors Badoglio may have who at
tempt the same impossible task, he is
confident that his country will not lapse
into anarchy or revolution. The Ital-
ians, Count Sforza says, have learned
lesson. They remember that anarchy
and revolution, which existed for most
part in exaggerated reports and hys-
terical fears, were used by the Fascists
as a preteXt to suppress all liberty.
You ask me about the future of
Italy after democracy has been restored.
The Action party will supply the force
through which democracy will be re-
established. 1t unites dynamic liberals
liberal in the European sense of individ-
ual freedom-and moderate labor with
the conservatives.
Had Jeffersonian Views.
I'VE believe in decentralization We are
Jefersonian. Those who doubt the Ital-
ian capacity for self-government forget
the excellence of our municipal admin
istration. If / do say this, it is true that
our cities-Milan, Turin. Genoa-were
the best-governed cities IN Europe.
Il, of course, am a conservative We
must not promise vague reforms that are
not carried out. That is the worst thing
a government can do But we must carry
out very great reforms
First comes the agrarian reform Each
peasant must have his own land. The
objection is that this makes for less
efficient cultivation. But the small land
owners must combine in co-operatives
which will give them the advantage of
large scale production. 1t is so today
fSee ITALY, Page C-3D