The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-07-27

half-armed SpaniardS at Guadala-
jara - half-armed but full of scrap
They shagged Duce's pet warriors
right up to Rome's suburbs
Mussolini got even by Smelling some
defenseleSs cargo ships bearing the
Spanish flag -. Still spelling for
fight he ordered the invasion OF
Albania The Albanians, who
didn't scare, hit him another belt
in the puss, and he had to 60 to
Hitler to get poultice for it,.
He declared war on conquered
France to feel manly again.
Greece, with rag-tag army, was
the next featherweight to chase the
heavyweight Fascist troops into the
sea q. BY this time even Benitos
Axis ally was laughing at him
They made jokes about Mussolinis
secret weapon being a German di-
vision He was marked a bum
the minute he had to prove how
tough he was. The payroll be-
gan in Africa, where Italy lost her
Empire, and ended for him in Sicily,
with bombs falling on Rome, just
to make it look official Italy
had had enough of her ctrutter.
The topper humiliation was slip
ping Mussos job to Marshal Ba-
doglio, his worst enemy That's
an old feud. When MusSo, safe
in Turin, sent his dupes against
Rome in 1923, Badoglio offered to
smash the tramp army with one
regiment. But the king, who looks
like something cartooned by Soglow,
couldn't stop his teeth from chat
tering long enough to OK the idea
Next time Badoglio got sore
was when Musso fired him three
years ago, after the Fascist army
had taken one of its customary
beatings Not liking Fascism
much, and not liking Mussolini at
all, it is reasonable to suppose Ba-
doglio wouldn't cry if the ex-Duce
slipped on banana peel - fatally.
But being an officer, Badoglio will
probably have to wait his turn.
All day Sunday the comic king
kept suffering the proclamation
about the buns rush into the Rome
radio. The piece was probably
ghosted by the Germans, who are
still telling Italy what's what E.
His Royal Nothingness swore the
country would keep fighting - if
you want to call it fighting 1t
makes no never mind to the Allied
troops. Bombs hurt just as much
with Badoglio at the helm as they
did when they came down on II
Dope.
The cherriest part about Benito'S
kick in the pants is the anxiety it
is bound to cause the other two-for-
a-nickel traitors who peddled their
countries to Hitler. If he losses
his partner to the wolves, what
chance have they? They"
meaning Franco, Laval, Quisling and
all the others who are living on Hit
lcr's promises. They didn't have
to see Benito butchered to know
what to expect from Adolf. Hit
Ter always murders or Welshes. He
assassinated Roehm, his girl friend
and co-plotter in the beer hall
days Lots of his brown shirt
generals died from bullets in the
back. Putzi and Fritz Thyssen had
to cop sneak to save their hides
Adolf doesn't carry any dead
weight. AS he confided to Benito
last week, he's got troubles enough.
My God, but those Russians
mean business!
Mussolini, when he was going big
on the balcony, had his circle OF
admirers over here, too. One OF
them, a famed correspondent (Who
shall be nameless since he's learned
better, is down in print as calling
him the greatest statesman since
Bismarck One biggie is stuck
with quote in the 1884 files hail
ing Duce as "the civilizer of Italy,.
He claimed Benito destroyed the
assassin bands, the Malta and the
Camorra, long the disgrace OF Italy
Destroyed them? He hired
them. They, and some of the
blood-thirstiest torpedoes from the
American underworld, were the
flower of his armies.
Benito Mussolini lived a life OF
profitable crime for tWenty-one
years. He put a curse on Italy it
will be long time removing :.
He caused the murder of many good
men, many great men. He for
feited the worlds respect for his
nation He was dirty-dealing,
strutting criminal, a man without
principle, without honor, without
decency Italy will long remem-
Der him as her betrayer. The rest
of the world will remember him as
a crook who ruled by the technique
thieves use in rolling DRINKS.