Evening Post. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1926. A REMARKABLE TRIAL

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 73, 26 March 1926, Page 6

Evening Post. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1926. A REMARKABLE TRIAL

Nearly two years after the murder of Signor Matteotti, Dumini and four other men concerned in it have been brought to trial and three of them, including Dumini, have, been convicted. They were not tried for murder, nor was anybody else. The same Government and the same Magistrates whose combined kindness had completely cleared the most distinguished culprits, had not overlooked the needs of the smaller fry. That Matteotti was first kidnapped and then murdered is beyond question. It is equally clear that the kidnapping was carried out under the orders of Cesare Eossi, who for ten years.had been Signor Mussolini's right-hand man, of Marinelli, Treasurer of the Fascist Party and another of the Dictator's intimates, and Filippelli, editor of the "Corriere Italiano," one of the party's newspapers. A trial which put these three men in the dock would have completed the ruin of the Government which the horror excited by the crime had severely "Shaken. They had, therefore, to be kept out of it at any cost. A clever combination of procrastination and of drastic action achieved, what at first appeared to be impossible. The speedy trial -which Signor Mussolini had promised had been delayed for more than a year when on the 31st July, 1925, the King was induced to sign an amnesty for all political crimes except murder and manslaughter, and to reduce the penalties for manslaughter at the same time. On the 9th October the Public Prosecutor—of course, a Fascist officer—publicly announced what the contentions of the Crown would be, viz., that as Eossi, Marinelli, and Filippelli had given orders for the abduction of Matteotti and not for his murder their offence was covered by the amnesty; and that, as Dumini-s intentions in carrying out the orders were not murderous but humorous, he and his accomplices should only be tried for abduction and "unpremeditated manslaughter." Before these contentions—the contentions, be it remembered, not of the defence but, as we have said, of the prosecution—had been dealt with by the Magistrates, the incredibilty and the indecency were carried much further by the public intervention of the Duce himself to tell them what to do. On the 24th October appeared an article signed by Signor Mussolini which contained the following passage— The involuntary character of what took place is henceforth proved and demonstrated historically and juridically. The truth is that the practical joke of June-(1924) degenerated into a horrible tragedy independently of or, rather, against tho will of its authors. On the Ist December the Magistrates accepted the contentions of the Public Prosecutor and the Die-1 tator. Eossi and the two other leaders had ordered abduction and not murder, and as political abduction was covered by the amnesty they were set free. So far as the abduction was concerned, Dumini and his fellow-bunglers were also purged in the same way, but the involuntary violence into which they had been driven by the obstinacy of their victim required that they should stand their trial for manslaughter. This is the trial in which the majesty and impartiality of the Italian law have at last been vindicated in a manner entirely satisfactory to the high officers of State who instigated the crime and with a minimum of inconvenience to their clumsy instruments. Though the defence of those instruments has been conducted by the Public Prosecutor with an ingenuity and an enthusiasm which we cannot attempt to rival, it may be well to indicate a line of defence which he could not take. If the zeal of Dumini and his companions outran their discretion and induced them to carry a good joke too far, some allowance must be made for the ambiguity of their instructions, the spirit of the times, and the avowed intentions of their leaders. On the 30th May, as he left the Chamber after a scathing exposure of the violence and the fraud which the Fascists had practised at the General Election a few weeks previously, Signor Matteotti said to a friend, "Now you may prepare my funeral oration.", A few days later he aggravated the offence, find within a week after that he was dead. Here are two of the Fascist utterances—one official, the . other may perhaps be called semi-official —during the interval. Referring to Matteotti's indictment of the Government, the Fascist journal, "Popolo d' Italia," of which Mussolini's brother is the editor, wrote as follows :— Matteotti made a speech monstrously provocative, which would have deserved in reply something more concrete than the words "band of rascals" that a Fascist deputy (Giunta) addressed to him. On the 6th June in a scuffle with the

Socialists in the Chamber, the Dictator himself went even further than this. The official report is quoted as follows by Signor Gaetano Salvemini, the exiled Florence professor to whose finely dated and admirably, documented "Story of Crime" in the January number of the "Review of Reviews" we are heavily indebted: Mussolini, Prime Minister: We have admirable teachers in Russia. We have but to imitate what is being done in Russia. They are admirable masters. We are wrong not to follow their example completely. Otherwise you would now be doing hard labour instead Of being here. Gennari: We are jußt out of prison, and are ready to go back there for the sake of what we believe. ' Mussolini: You would have got a j charge of lead in the back. We do not | lack courage, as we will show you. There j is still time, and we will show you sooner than you think. In what our cabled . report describes as "a singular whitewashing speech," the Public Prosecutor said that "he refused to pour tears on the tomb of Matteotti, over whose grave too many false tears had been shed already." No false tears for Matteotti from the advocate who said that it was not a political trial but was plainly briefed for the political party which had killed him and not for the State, but plenty of genuine sympathy for the "five unfortunates" who "had fought bravely in the War, and bore decorations for valour." For Dumini, at any rate, peace has had her distinctions no less than war, for within the last four years he has had two murders to his credit and several minor crimes of violence, but as he does not appear to have been convicted they presumably did not come before the Court. "Unintentional .death following on the culpable sequestration of Matteotti" was the Prosecutor's euphemistic description of Dumini's offence; a less tactful advocate of the other side's case might have called it "justifiable homicide." Such kidnappings, he said, were common at one time, and were regarded as practical jokes. It was really nothing but a joke if Matteotti had had the wit to see it, but his deplorable lack of humour spoiled the whole business. What were Dumini and his friends to do in the face of. the incredible stupidity which insisted on taking their little joke seriously? According to Sydney Smith, "it requires a surgical operation to get a joke into a Scotch understanding," and Mussolini himself has said that "violence is moral, provided it is timely and surgical and chivalrous." The violence with which • the kidnappers sought to cure Matteotth's unfortunate obsession was certainly timely and surgical, and it was probably just as chivalrous as the circumstances allowed. It is unfortunate that they had to hit, the poor man in the stomach, but his head may not have been within reach. A sentence of five years and eleven months may seem a heavy penalty for a joke thus ruined by somebody else, but, if we understand Professor Solvemini correctly, it amounts to almost nothing. The penalty for an accomplice in a crime of this kind where the principal is "unknown" is six years. It was reduced to two by the. amnesty, and the accused have been already twenty-one months in prison. Apparently, therefore, the longest sentence only amounts to two more months. The cry of "Long live Dumini" which Signor Solvemini says has been popular at all Fascist gatherings since his arrest will soon be renewed more enthusiastically than ever.