More Beautiful Cannon

Not impervious to criticism is Benito Mussolini. He explained last week the series of fiery speeches in which he not long ago called cannon beautiful (TIME, May 26, et seq.). Conscious that the French press has been painting him successfully as a war monger, Il Duce said with quiet earnestness:

"I repeat that so long as there are cannon they will always be more beautiful than beautiful but often false words. When words take on strength sufficient to regulate relations between peoples then I will say that words are divine.

"Let it be clear, however, that we are arming ourselves spiritually and materially in order to defend ourselves, not in order to attack. Fascist Italy will never take the initiative of war."

"Cut Off the Hands of Children." The Prime Minister was addressing Fascist dignitaries gathered in Rome to celebrate, next day, the eighth anniversary of the Fascist regime. To drive home his point he declared that the French press will soon say that Fascists "cut off the hands of children, as was said of the Germans in 1914."*

Then, turning on the German press with equal vigor, he cried:

"Their phrase [attributed to Mussolini] that 'Fascismo is not an article for exportation' is not mine. It is too banal. It was adopted for the readers of newspapers who in order to understand anything need to have it translated into terms of commercial jargon. In any case it must now be amended.

"Today I affirm that the idea, doctrine and spirit of Fascismo are universal. It is Italian in its particular institutions, but it is universal in spirit; nor could it be otherwise, for spirit is universal by its very nature. It is therefore possible to foresee a Fascist Europe which will model its institutions on Fascist doctrine and practice, a Europe which will solve in the Fascist way the problems of the modern State of the twentieth century."

Revise to Avoid Wat. Finally II Duce hurled at his French enemies the doctrine they most heartily detest. "Our policy of revision of the treaties [i. e. Versailles, Trianon, St. Germain, Neuilly] . . ." he said, "aims at avoiding war. The revision of the peace treaties is not prevailingly of interest to Italy, but interests the whole of Europe and the whole world. Revision is not absurd or impossible, since the possibility of revision is contemplated in the Covenant of the League of Nations. The only absurd thing is to expect treaties to remain absolutely immobile. . . ."

Exuberantly Il Duce concluded: "By the year 1950 Italy will be the only country of young people in Europe, while the rest of Europe will be wrinkled and decrepit. People will come from over the frontier to see the phenomenon of this blooming Spring of the Italian people."

Significance. Most German papers viewed with suspicion Il Duce's stand for revision of the Peace Treaties--the thing Germany most wants--because he uttered in the same breath a rallying cry to Adolf Hitler's German Fascists. Said Berlin's Socialist Vorwaerts:

"Mussolini is an agent provocateur. . . . In demanding revision of the Treaties he is not sincerely friendly to Germany, but instead is leading Germany on against Italy's enemy, France, for the benefit of Italy."

In France the current theory of Italo-French relations is that Italian Foreign Minister Dino Grandi is friendly to French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, is doing his best to keep the "wild man" fairly quiet. Last week's speech by Signore Mussolini was therefore almost ignored by the semi-official Paris Temps. But L'Avenir (organ of the Center) burst out: "The French Government should declare once and for all to the blackshirts and their German friends that we intend to revise nothing whatever! We will no more demolish the Versailles peace treaty to please Mussolini than to satisfy that crazy man Hitler. Let them understand this definitely and they can talk about something else."

*Italy's onetime Prime Minister (1919-20), Signore Francesco Saverio Nitti has said: "After the War a rich American, who was deeply touched by the French propaganda, sent an emissary to Belgium with the intention of providing a livelihood for the children whose poor little hands had been cut off. He was unable to discover one. Mr. Lloyd George and myself, when at the head of the Italian Government, carried on extensive investigations as to the truth of these horrible accusations, some of which, at least, were told specifically as to names and places. Every case investigated proved to be a myth."

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