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be the centres and the schools of a new feeling in life, and the
basis of a revolution that had to be led by all the " producers "
in every country. He felt the influence of Blanqui and Sore1
much more than that of old Marx. He meant to carry out his
revolution ; he did not merely speak of it. All these were points
that deeply divided him from the average Socialists of Italy.
But he had a great ascendancy over the masses, and they followed
him. So, Mussolini succeeded in imposing himself on the other
Socialist leaders, and for a time he was the editor of the leading
Socialist paper, the Azuxti ! Had Mussolini succeeded in securing
an even greater power in the Socialist Party, so that he might
have been considered the real leader of it, the history of Italy
might have been very different. The Socialists would have been
an interventionist party a t the beginning of the Great War, and
under Mussolini's lead a peaceful revolution would have taken
place in Italy when the war was over-probably in the direction
of reforming the Upper House, of diminishing the privileges of
the Elective Chamber, and of granting legislative powers to the
Sy?zdicuts.
But such was not the case. When, in 1914, Mussolini stated
that entering the war on the side of the Allies should be the first
act of the Italian revolution, all the other Socialist leaders stood
against him. He left the Socialist Party and, with a handful of
young followers, chiefly Syndicalists and Republicans, he founded
his own daily paper, the Popolo d'ltuliu, which was most effective
in its interventionist propaganda. Round the Popolo d'ltuliu
many other young extremists gathered, leaving their own parties
in order to join the interventionist campaign. They called
themselves " Fasci di combattimento " (bundles of fighters), and
were most effective in leading Italy to declare war against
Austria and Germany. It was, once again, the patriotic spirit
that had brought Italy to a new Eenaissance, which repre-
sented the feelings of these revolutionists and galvanised in
a national sense their very modern and very advanced social
ideas.
All these first Fascisti were a t the front during the war, and
they had an enormous number of casualties. Meanwhile, many
among their opponents were a t a different work inside the country.
The Socialists were bound to show the masses that their point of
view was right and that the intervention had been an utter
mistake ; they profited by the absence of the Fascisti and of the
other active patriots in order to poison the spirit of resistance
of the masses. It is sad to state that they had many partial
122 BRITISH INSTITUTE O F INTZRNATIONAL AFFAIRS [MAY
sound administration. The deficit was ever growing; " Red "
Syndicats and Co-operatives were largely supported for electoral
reasons ; all kinds of speculators had a free hand in dealing with
public money or in abusing private enterprise.
Mussolini, who in the elections of 1919 could not even succeed
in getting into Parliament, was the most popular candidate in
the elections of 1921. He secured more than 300,000 votes in
two constituencies. The Fascisti had reorganised their ranks,
they were a recognised party, they had accepted the principle of
" direct action against direct action," they had organised a police
service whenever the State had failed to do so. Above all, they
had faced unpopularity, standing for the ideals of patriotism,
economy, co-operation of classes, diminution of the power of
Parliament, and an increase of Government responsibility. They
wanted to face the evils of the country with unprejndiced minds,
free from dogmas and theories, having only in view the welfare
of the country as a whole. If they may be said to have had a
dogma of their own, it should be this : " Spirit above matter;
competence above number."
I11 August 1922 they had their qrande.~manceuvres on the
occasion of the general strike proclaimed by the Socialists for
political reasons. Mussolini declared in the columns of his paper
that the Government must settle it within a certain time, or else
the Fascisti would do so. I n point of fact, the Government
were powerless and the Fascisti had to come forward, run the
railways, maintain the public services and protect their fellow-
workers from the attacks of the strikers. It was evident that
Pascismo had become a State inside the State.
Mussolini offered to co-operate in the Government and was
offered a few under-secretaryships, but he replied that Pascismo
could not and would not enter the Government by the area door.
He planned the march on Rome, which was accomplished a t the
end of October 1922, with the result that the Cabinet had to
resign and the King called upon Mussolini to assume the responsi-
bility of Government, and he accepted.
Economies to the extent of two milliards of lire have already
been effected by the Fascista Government on the basis of the
Budget drafted by the former Cabinet. More economies are to
come. The two Chambers of Parliament have granted this
Cabinet financial dictatorship for more than one year. The police
service has been simplified and bureaucracy greatly reduced.
State enterprises that were responsible for milliards of lire every
year are being denationalised. All classes of the population feel
124 BRITISX INSTITUTE O F INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS [MAY 1923