POOR DIVIDEND

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 22, 20 October 1944, Page 4

POOR DIVIDEND

Italian Response To Relief POLICY CRITICIZED (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Received October 19, 9.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, October 19. Doubts about the ■wisdom of the American relief policy in Italy is being expressed in some quarters in the United States. Critics assert that the whole matter should be recast and made part of a constructive Allied effort to promote democracy in Italy. They do not suggest that .America should supply Italy, with her basic wants. Criticism is directed rather at a policy which, it is said, aids the Italian people without also insisting that they purge the country of all surviving Fascists. According to what should be trustworthy reports, the drive to rid Italy of the very elements which brought the country to. its present dismal state has been slowed down to a walk. It is claimed that most of the Fascists instead of being brought before the courts and made to pay for their crimes seem to be accommodating themselves very well to the new situation. Mussolini’s Men “Back.” Reports from some areas, including Sardinia, say supporters of Mussolini are back in power. The “Christian Science Monitor’s” Washington correspondent says:— “Though nobody suggests that relief should be used like a club over the heads of hungry, homeless people, to force them to follow the Allies’ orders, it is thought that the distribution of food, clothing, and other essential supplies should provide an excellent opportunity for a little judicious democratic propaganda. Virtually all American relief sent to Italy is being distributed by’ the Roman Catholic Church, whose parish priests parcel out the goods in various towns and villages. Thus the Church, rather than the democratic world, is receiving the gratitude of the Italians.”