Evening star., 1950-01-08
| Italians Have
IBouncedBock
By D. w. Broqon

over the harbor of Genoa from
the 33-story skyscrapper that is
one OF the last relics of the dead
Fascist regime Git was finished
in 1940). The harbor was
packed with ships; smoke rose
from the factory chimneys; the
streets below were full of cars
and trucks. could see the fun
nels of the Conte Biancamano
and tried to remember whether
she. like her late sisters. the
Conte Rosso and the Conte
Verde. has been built on the
Clyde. It was an impressive
scene. |
"You should have seen it
when I came here with the lib
Grafton army" said my host.
There wasn't ship afioat. but
plenty Of sunken ships choking
the harbor; the docks were
smashed; roads, tunnels. bridges
wrecked. You would have
thought that nothing could have
put Genoa on her feet. But
look at her now. She's back
again as the biggest. =Mediter-
ranean port; bigger than Mar
seille."
This is the first impression
you get If you talk to people
who have lived In italy since
1914 or 1945. who remember the
time when the country looked
wrecked for good. They are i'm
pressed, and rightly impressed,
by the vigor of the recovery;
by the mere re- establishment Of
the minimum standards of mod
ern life. And certainly Italian
resiliency, industry and in
genuity have paid magnificent
dividends. The country that
was down and out Is alive and
kicking.
Trains on Time
There is the train service, for
instance. The trains are again
running on time, without aid
OF the Duce. And that Is feat
even more astonishing than the
recovery Of French transport,
Tor the Italian transport system
was more vulnerable than the
French. and the Germans had
far more time and opportunity
to do a thorough job of destruc-
ton. which opportunity they
used with Teutonic thorough
ness up to the last moments of
the war.
Italian recovery is visible in
other ways. After a disastrous
drought, there has been abund-
ant rain. So the reservoirs of
hydroelectric power are fill
ing UP again and the cities
blaze with light. And theSshop
windows blaze with light, too,
and are full of unrationed ar
ticles Of all kinds that may pro-
woke covetous stares from the
liro-starved tourists.
: But reflection shows they
must provoke equally covetous
looks from most Italians, for
prices are high by British
standards and Italians are
much poorer than we are, or
think we are, even at our most
desolate moments. In the CEN
ter Of what is still Italy's in
dustrial and commercial capi-
tai. you get an impression of
opulence and brilliance that
recalls a booming Middle West
-ern city-and Milan in many
ways recalls, say, Minneapolis
or Cleveland. as much as it
does an ancient Italian capital.
Most of it is new and smart
rather than beautiful. Even
the cathedral still looks as If it
had been built yesterday. There
are the smart cars and the
opulently dressed men and
women. the restaurants that
know nothing Of British food
restrictions.
In less ostentatiously opulent
cities like Bologna the I'M
preston is not quite so over
whelming, the people seem less
Well-clad. the outward signs Of
poverty are more numerous.
Yet the impression remains:
Italy is back on her feet. But
for how long?
There's the rub and one that
worries more and more think
ing Italians as the deadline Of
1862. the end Of Marshall aid,
comes nearer and as there is
more and more speculation as
to possible devastating cuts
next year.
tcoDyrisht. London Observes Forsisn