ITALY: Three-Year War

Benito Mussolini stood last week four-square on a package of exploding firecrackers. Zing!—the British Navy blanketed the Suez Canal. Zip!—Italian submarines prepared to counter with “maneuvers” across Britain’s communication lines in the Mediterranean. Pow!—Ethiopia’s Emperor tried to hand over the better half of his realm to Standard Oil (see p. 23). And bang! bang! bang!—Italian guns fired live shells over Italian troops advancing in war games along the Austrian frontier, killing one trooper and wounding two others as they charged up a hill with the King and Mussolini looking on.

One of the wounded men, told that he would lose his sight, cried out, “Then I want to see Il Duce before I go blind!” During the World War, when Corporal Benito Mussolini was down with 42 shrapnel splinters in his epidermis, King Vittorio Emanuele came to his hospital bedside.Last week the Dictator hurried to the wounded man who had asked to see him.

On his war game rounds last week the Dictator once set some soldiers up to drinks, shook hands with an Austrian frontier guard who grinned at his country’s Fascist protector, appeared to get on well with the King in a series of animated battlefield talks, and was joined by “Italy’s Forgotten Hero,” grinning, bearded Air Marshal Italo Balbo, Governor General of Lybia. If they do hate each other as much as Rome believes, Balbo & Mussolini last week showed themselves hearty, affable masters of concealment. The Air Marshal said easily that he was not enlisting to fight Ethiopia as he would be raising native troops in the colony of which he is Governor.

Climax of maneuvers was the first Cabinet meeting ever held by Premier Mussolini outside of Rome. Present were: Foreign Minister Benito Mussolini, War Minister Benito Mussolini, Naval Minister Benito Mussolini, Air Minister Benito Mussolini, Minister of Interior Benito Mussolini, Minister of Colonies Benito Mussolini, Minister of Corporations Benito Mussolini.

These seven ministers and the Premier were joined by five other ministers and Fascist Party Secretary Achille Starace. They first sent greetings to the absent Cabinet member who sailed fortnight ago to fight in Africa, Il Duce’s son-in-law Count Ciano. Then, getting down to business, the Cabinet acted as a sounding board from which the Dictator announced that Italy was forthwith put on a war basis for the next three years.

This was done by adopting decrees under which Italians must convert all foreign investments into nine-year 5% Italian Government bonds; Italian corporations are limited as to their dividends and must invest in Government bonds all undistributed profits; and the State assumes a virtual trade monopoly by decreeing that nonwar purchases are in every case subordinated to those fulfilling war needs. Before Dec. 31, 1937 all Italian motor vehicles must be converted to burn substitute fuels, such as coal gas distilled en route from charcoal by the Fiat system. Two days after the Cabinet meeting Italian motorists found that the price of gasoline had doubled to 87¢ per gal. Only cheerful sound from the Cabinet board was an announcement that “particularly abundant wheat and rice” crops ensure Italians plenty to eat this winter. Fearing possible blockades, Italian Gorgonzola shippers wired British customers last week to order all their supplies for the next few months in advance.