Detroit for Naples

Three weeks ago Italy asked the U. S. to close its consulates at Naples and at Palermo, Sicily. Official reason: both places might be bombed, and U. S. consuls hurt. One suggested reason: Fascists did not want the U. S. to know too much about those strategic industrial and military centres.

Last week Secretary Hull informed the Italian Government that its request would be complied with. At the same time he requested that two Italian consular offices in the U. S. be closed. The two--far more important to Italy than Naples and Palermo were to the U. S.: Detroit (with jurisdiction over an Italian-American poplation of 98,048), Newark, N. J. (jurisdiction over 279,095). This retaliation called attention to the fact that Italy maintains 48 consular offices in continental U. S., to Britain's 24, Germany's 18. Said Newark's Vice-Consul Giulio Pascucci Righi, who had taken charge of the consulate only four days before: "I like it here and I was just about getting the seat warmed."

Ambassador William Phillips in Rome was also requested to ask the Italian Government: 1) to see to it that all Italian officials in the U. S. remained in the area of their respective offices; 2) that the State Department be informed of movements outside Washington of Italian military and naval attaches; 3) that the State Department be kept informed of where the staffs of the closed consulates move.

Rome last month put into effect similar regulations regarding U. S. diplomats and correspondents.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.