The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-04-07
SideIights on The News

pressionw as translated Into law
lessuess formed the core Of the
eternal city's black market.
7 Unemployed refugees from the
north and south Of Italy and Sicily
took to the Bookkeeping OF food and
drink and clothing, first as saliva
ton from starvation and later as
an amazingly easy way to accumu-
late a small fortune.
Today yesterdays Italian poor
are. in extraordinary numbers.
Rome's rich. And yesterdays mid
die class bourgeoisie. slowly but
surely fleeced OF their own and
their forefather's hard earned shv-
ings. have become ltaly's poor.
An Overwhelming number Of
street vendors, house 10 house ped
oilers. smallest store Keepers and
others formerly engaged in the
humblest sort Of daily toll can be
seen in improyised gambling speak
easies at night CT at the racetraek
on Sundays on" done up In furs
and Jewels and gambling and talk.
ing in Italian millions.
The white-collar worker is the
real victim of Mussolinis folly.
To their physical hunger is add
ed mental anguish. These people.
who because OF education feel more
deeply their sudden plunge into
misery, but can do little TO i'm
prove their plight.
In fact, recently they have be-
gun TO draw a strange dividing line
between themselves and the "Pleb-
clans they hace created "aristo-
cratic" soup kitchens where docu-
mented evidence that they are the
somebodies" OF yesterday is re
quired for membership.
On six successive days | visited
these kitchens and tasted their
soup and talked to them.
The price OF the meal-a two
course affair OF American dehydrat-
ed pea or bean soup and a mainstay
OF plain navy beans was ten
cents,
At my table were seated unem-
ployed musicians. working govern
ment employees. even a retired ad-
miral
one old lady very charming in
her purple turban and black fur
coat resignedly explained that she
and her pensioned husband had
gone through q life-time's savings
in a few months OF black market
buying
Nowadays. she remarked,
where else could one have good
soup for so little and meet such
nice people"
The Rome racetrack provided yet
another view OF III complex Ro-
man picture.
Here, startling change has
taken place from pre- Fascist days.
The gamblers run into thousands
instead Of the few hundreds Of
yesteryears.
The faces arc coarse and the
hands rough Women, who in the
morning can be seen selling in the
citys numerous bootleg markets,
are the afternoon racetrack fans.
Underneath mink and sable coats
many still wear theid dirty work
dresses
And the flashy iewelry does not
cover. but instead accentuates the
grimy hands. They stand or sit
these men and women. still uncer-
tain whether they are rich or poor
playing the role OF "aristocracy"
nut somehow still clinging to their
lifelong habit of bringing loaves
OF bread stuffed with meat and
vegetables. which they MUNICH at
and stew all over the place. when
their chosen favorite loses and they
forget they are playing at being
gentlemen and ladies'"
Perhaps the most striking thing
are the youngsters. They sell any
thing they can get their hands or
in the morning, and bet hundreds "
dollars on the ponies in the after
Hoon-for themselves and their
elders who find no difficulty in al.