Silent Birthday

The 53rd birthday of Benito Mussolini fell last week in the astrological sign of Leo the lion. No Italian newspaper mentioned the fact because Fascism is a youth movement, the title of the Fascist anthem is "Youth" (Giovanezza), and Mussolini must remain always young. Last week his wife gave a family birthday party and, for a birthday present, Il Duce got word from his Ethiopian Viceroy Field Marshal Graziani that Italian and native troops had surprised an Ethiopian force trying to break up the north road out of Addis Ababa, had killed 1,000.

Taking advantage of the rains, now drenching Ethiopia in earnest, Ethiopians last week set fire to an ammunition dump near Massaua, attacked Dessye in force and even hurled themselves against the capital, Addis Ababa, in a two-day series of suicidal infantry charges against machine guns and light artillery.

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