The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1950-02-09

fully prosecuted for evasion of
taxes, was asked after the trial by
his Italian lawyer: But where
do you keep your other set of
books?"
You might gather from this that
some business men, looking back
to the more orderly days of the
1905 would be talking of Mus
solini in terms of appreciation. l
am sure this is true but to what
extent / do not know. One OBJ
viously well-off person not only
spoke of the good old days~ but
blamed the partisians for most of
the damage that came to Italy
during the war. According to
Carbone, convulsion in Italy could
lead to a combination of monar-
! chists, ex-fascists, and disgruntled
middle class powerful enough to
/ set up another fascist state.
The day before we left Italy,
government police in Modena
played right into the hands of the
communists by killing six strikers,
five of whom were under twenty
two. One of these was the third
son of a widow who had lost her
other boys in the war. You can
imagine what the propaganda ma
f, chine of the commies did with a
| story like that. A sympathetic
work stoppage which delayed the
Silvers at the French border for
! twenty-four hours indicates how
! a few key workers may disrupt an
industrial country. Apparently
the communists concentrate their
efforts in the Modena Bologna
Reggie area where disturbances
may paralyse transportation and
communication systems which
link Rome and the north of Italy,
Two eminent Italian historians
believe that sooner or later there
will be an attempted communist
coup in this section, but Carbone,
who talked at length with them,
doesn't think that the present re-
vised government can be over
thrown by force, particularly in
view of the recent landing of
enough American equipment to
outfit twelve divisions.
Italy, though not exhausted by
the war as were Germany, Russia
and Britain, will for a long time
remain in an explosive condition.
There are too many Italians for
the c%ountry's resources. Unem-
ployment at the present is danger
ous,only in the South, agricultural
and held in a state of colonial &C.
! onomy. In all sections wages al
low only subsistence living and
workers are aware of unbeliev-
able luxury for the few. Pension
plans are a farce and factories dc
not take on men in their forties
! Child labor laws are largely ig-
|! nored. On top of this is the ines
| capable fact of animosity between
the people of the North and the
South. North Italians, who cannot
in many cases be distinguished
except by speech from Germans,
Britons, or even Scandinavians,
consider themselves overwhelm-
ingly superior to their brethren
from the South and constantly re-
fer to them as terroni, a term OF
opprobrium similar to clodhopper.
In perhaps nc other country IN
Europe does the church play a
stronger role than in italy. l
heard numerous complaints,
though, that the de Gasperi gov
eminent was mor interested in
rebuilding churches and religious
shrines than in the construction
of desperately needed housing.
One morning spent in a cutlery
factory which employs some 700
workers convinced me that effic-
lent production is not a monopoly
held by the United States. In this
plant highly skilled artisans make
their own dies, grinding and pol
ishing machines, and drop FORCES.
Steel comes from several countries
in Europe and the finished pro-
ducts are sold in every part of the
world. Italians are particularly
good at getting the best out OF
poor materials.
A well made butcher knife
which the Italian concern sells for
one dollar retails in America for
five times that figure. OF this
ffx- --- ~zo.r hn