| Show POVERTY c CURSE r I Of ITAliAN I Pf PEOPLE ri I Unrest st on Peninsula Held t to to i iBe Be Due to Economic Conditions Dy By FREDERICK M M. M KERBY KERRY New Newspaper paper Enterprise Association Staff i Correspondent j I WASHINGTON s Sept pt 24 The The political and economic crisis criers In Italy Haly Is la due to tone tone ne me ne the cause rause the natural po of or Ita Italy Behind the action of or tho metal workers workers work work- I ers who ha have seized tho the factories In I northen n Itil Ita Italy I behind t the hc struggle of or I four factions factions' of or tho the Socialist party In Hal Ita Italy I out of ot whIch i emerged control bytho by bytho y tho the extreme extremo radicals behind the tho election I of or SO Socialist deputies at tho the elections In the foil fall ll of or 1913 1917 and behind the tho seeming seeming seem seem- in ing P l of the tho Italian government and it its abstention from tho the u use o of I against the revolutionists lies one fact fact fact- I luly ItAly'S a s poverty Revolutions Rc come when men want bread II to eat cat and c. get It The metal man manufacturing manufacturing man JUan Industries particularly and inless In less lees de 1 co all aU other heavy manufacturing I ing ing- ingin in Ital Italy today as before tho war rest reston reston reston on a false raise fo foundation n Uon 1 al has practically prat- prat prati I no natural nC resources of or Taw raw materials ma ma- maI I on which to base Industry Industry- She i must Import coal iron and vast ast quantities ties tics of or other raw raw m materials t il ls In order to torun torun run tun her fac factories orles FROM BAD TO WORSE Since the armistice conditions have I gone from bad to wor worse e. e Italian factory fac fae- factory I tory lOry owners onuS simply cannot hnot compete with foreign in their own lines I l i the they cannot afford to Cu co I to product hut Sut Italian Hallan workers must cat And tho the Italian lire de depre depreciated pre pre- i I elated enormously by the war left Halian Italian Ital Hal r ian fan workers wol kers on the tho very verge of star a tion Paced Faced with deman demands s for more wages metal factory owners decided decided on ona a lockout lockout were were forced to decide upon I 1 It Tho The seizure of or factories by lIy the workers work work- ers followed The Tho Italian revolution rc If J It comes come Is therefore purely tho result of natural economic c causes uses Hastened and md directed it 11 may be by radicals in tho the Socialist party larty who have e long predicted It and pro pre prepared pared for it but bul it coming will result 1 from the way 0 nl ade ado Hal Italy and not lI because l leader ader of ot the tho Maximal Maximal- I i 1st has been able ablo to commit Italian so socialism so- so to Russian bolshevIsm and nd adherence adherence ence third I CANNOT HELP ITALY And the fact that tho the revolution If Sf It comes help tho Italian people but can only plunge them still further f In mr cry cry and suffering because a blockage block block- age de de of Maly would have much more moro tragic results than the tho blockade of or Russia can I J have no effect in Sn halting tho the revolution re Serrate ti and his followers know that Italy cannot re feed d herself but the they fall back on th the tho Leninist doctrine that world revolution revo revo- f lution will como come to lo the aid of the Italians Italians Ital Ital- ians and prevent an allied blockade I Here are the tho inescapable facts of the Italian situation I Italy Is one of or tho the most densely populated populated pop- pop countries in the world Her Ber population pop- pop t 1 per square mile Is more than CO GO COper I per cent greater than wealthy France almost almost al- al r somewhat greater c than Germany German and most moH as great as that of or tho the United King dom ONLY LUXURY PRODUCE With such a population Italy HaW must de depend depend depend de- de pend principally upon n agriculture for her wealth production And Italy possesses a a. totally insufficient proportion of or agrIcultural agricultural agricultural agri agrI- cultural land to feed teed her people Moreover Moreover More More- over o the Italian climate d does s not favor r staple c crops like Jlko wheat and other grains The country suffers from drought The Italians have done wonders to overcome I 1 these difficulties but tho the agriculturists though they work wort harder than an any other people in Sn the world are arc able to produce largely anI only luxury produce rapes produce grapes or oranges or- or anges anse olives lemons figs almonds and peaches peacheL 4 The waters about Italy are arc peculiarly barren of or fish Tho The British Isles fisheries fisheries fish fish- eries cries produce thirteen times Umes as much w wealth as do the Italian In both agriculture agri culture and fishing the tho maximum of ot labor la labor labor la- la bor yields only a minimum of ot profit proUt WORSE IN MANUFACTURING But In Sn manufacturing things s are even event t worse o e. e The Tho United Kingdom produces more coal In a a. single day than Italy produces produces produces pro pro- duces In Italy has Iron a n. year t no ore oreto oreto oreto to speak of or In order to supply her railroads railroads rail rail- roads ships factories and gas cas works with Absolutely coal and iron Italy must import all of it Conditions since the armistice have ha In IntensIfied Intensified In- In this situation The alue value of or the lire has sunk to un under under under un- un der 6 5 cents as compared with a prewar nominal alue value of or cents Italy's public public public pub pub- lic debt is or 37 per cent of her entire estimated national wealth In 1919 the first year jear after the tho war Ital Italy was forced to Import goods to tho the value of or lire compared with mth imports In 1913 of ot lire At tho the same tamo time lime her exports In 1919 1917 valued valued val val- at lire compared with exports of lire In 1913 Italian agriculture fisheries manufacturing and commerce simply cannot pa pay for tor what Italian workers must have to eat cat and exist CRISIS INEVITABLE The Tho crisis was bound to come sooner or later The Italian workers in tho metal industries precipitated it when they demanded an increase In wages of or 7 lire lIro per day or about 30 cents measured In inthe tho the present depreciated currency Tho The masters refused the tho demand because they could not meet it It and decided on ona ona a 1 lockout The seizure of tho the factories followed fo |
