THE CHINA MAIL, APRIL 20, 1989.
MUSSOLINI GOES IN FEAR OF HIS LIFE
Wears Mail Shirt And Carries
Revolver
It took three days for news to leak out recently that another attempt had been made on Mussolini's life. For three days the officialdom that surrounds Il Duce held that story under its thumb. Why at last was the thumb lifted? The answer is simple.
The story of the latest attempt had been known in London for two days. Mussolini's official admis- sion was made to forestall any details that might| be published.
But in spite of the Duce's declara- Nomentana, the road in which his tion some time ago that "assassins house is situated was cleared of its were only wasting their time in try-tenants. They were given short no- ing to kill me" there is a tremulous tice to get other dwellings. situation, for Mussolini
goes in daily fear of assassination.
BOMB DROPPED
Since 1922 nine attempts have been officially admitted. Within the past year seven attempts have been made on his life by citizens of Italy,
Last summer an airplane flew
Every house was then occupied by members of the Blackshirt or- ganisation. Fascist militiamen patrol the street day and night, strangers are never allowed to loiter.
WALLS OF STEEL
Did you notice the official word-i
latest attempt on the Duce's life?
"Shortly after 2 p.m. in the Via Nomentana a Fascist militiaman in plain clothes, having noticed an individual evidently mentally un- balanced.
over Rome just after dawn one daying of the bulletin that told of the and dropped a bomb towards the Villa Torlonia. The bomb fell on the stables and did not explode. The 'plane flew on and disappeared. rumour a semi-official statement was Rumour was busy. To quell that rumour a semi-official statement was
· made a week later to the effect that a plane had "dropped an object" when "making a practice flight
.
These last three words tell a lot
without saying anything.
And yet, behind all these guards and walls of steel Mussolini fears
over Rome." Later came a para-that one day one man "mentally un- -graph-in obscure corners of the balanced" may get through. Rome newspapers saying that the
"object" was a "practice bomb."
STRUCK ON NOSE
When he was bathing in the Italian sea later Mussolini was attacked by two men. He was struck on the nose. He was rescued by his guard hold- ing a handkerchief to his swollen
nose.
'DEEP-SHELTER NATION WARNING
:
We cannot afford
to go under-
en-
Still later he was due to make ground and stay there," declared a speech from the balcony of the Sir Alexander Rouse, chief Palace Venezia. The evening before gineering adviser at the A.R.P, de- the speech his secret police found apartment of the Home Office, in Lon-
don.
In machine-gun planted in a window opposite. On the morning of the He was talking about deep bomb- speech a bomb was found in a lan-proof shelters at a luncheon of the tern under the balcony.
Cement and Concrete Association to
COLONEL BECK PAYS VISIT TO “ARK ROYAL".
Colonel
Photo
Beck, the Polish Foreign Minister, who recently visited England, paid a visit to the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" at Portsmouth. shows Colonel Beck leaving the "Ark Royal."..
PALESTINE TALKS IN CAIRO DESCRIBED AS PURELY INFORMAL
London, To-day.
the House of Commons yesterday, Mr. Thomas Williams (Labour) asked whether the discus- sions on Palestine recently held in Egypt were a continuation of the Conference in London.
The Palazzo Venezia is Musso-open a campaign for "pill-box" shel- lini's office. You cannot get near ters desgned for people,not included The Secretary for Colonies, Mr. Malcolm Mac- that office unless your passport is in the Government's scheme of free scrutinised by a dozen officials. | shelters. Black-clothed guards stand every- where, guns by their side.
The grapes that Mussolini cats all day are tested before they are placed on his desk to see that they are not poisoned.
ALL ARE ARMED
When he leaves the Villa Torlonia every morning for his office, his big black car is guarded by a dozen motor-cycle. police before, and be- hing. All are clothed in black, and all are armed.
Inside the car Mussolini sits with guard. He always carries a revol- ver. He wears a shirt of mail made
the finest ansaldo steel.
donald, replied in the negative.
Mr. Macdonald added that since leaving London, the delegates of Sir Alexander put this question: the termination of the London Con-some of the neighbouring States ex- ference, the British Government had pressed certain views and raised shelters for the whole nation so they licy on Palestine.
"If we provide deep bomb-proof been considering their future po- certain points in connexion with
can have complete protection while our soldlers and sallors do good ser- vice for us, what is going to hap- pen to the nation?
"They are going to go under- ground and the war is won-not by us," said Sir Alexander.
"We cannot expect, we civilians, to have more protection than our soldiers and sailors. We are all in the trenches.
In informal discussions before
WASHINGTON'S FIRST ENVOY TO BURGOS
Washington, To-day. President Roosevelt has nominat- ed Mr. Alexander W. Weddell, at
British intentions.
The informal discussions which had taken place in Cairo had been concerned with elucidation of those points. Reuter,
MARRIED COUPLES AT VATICAN
Rome To-day. Pope Pius XII received at the Vatican yesterday, 500 newly mar ried couples, this morning the re-
"I do not say - deep bomb-proof present Ambassador to the Argen- shelters are not required in certain tine, as Ambassador to Burgos. Even the streets surrounding thé| circumstances, but I say in my opin-He is the first United States sumption by Pope Pius XII of
fally protection we cannot afford to go under diplomatic representative accredit-
Vini ground and stay there,”
ed to General Franco-Reuter,
Д
custom established by his predeces- sor, Pope Pius XI, Trans-Ocean.