FOR ALL LABOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 14

FOR ALL LABOUR

\ A NEW CHARTER

FASCISMO POLICY

THE CORPORATE STATE

(8yM.8.)

'■''■•'(Publication''in'the' cable news recently of the Italian Labour Charter has aroused interest in a far-reaching experiment. The following article, explanatory of the Charter and of the policy which in- .- spired'ithas been contributed to 7*VThe Post. by an Italian with a thorough knowledge of modern -1ta1y.);.... .-

The bloody struggle on the battlefield, fend the civil strife which waa the immediate aftermath of the war, moved to passion the men who in the trenches haTl dreamt of a' better and greater Italy. ■ A race educated by its wellnigh three, thousand years of history and endowed with a national genius, wfiieh seems to hasten to the rescue in (every perilous contingency, was naturally expected to evolve a new order out of chaos. The Fascista movement, which started early in • 1919, rapidly spread, till on the 28th October, 1922, the Black, Shirts rushed from all parts of 'Italy- tb.Bome. The march to Rome was the"first stage of the spiritual revolution, that, in little more than four years, was to bring ;about' such, radical reforms, as to carry the country to another of the turning points of its great history. . • .. .' '.:".' RATIONAL DISCIPLINE. Of all'the reforms;two stand out 1 most prominently, viz., the creation of a Civil Hierarchy and' the- Labour' Corporations Law, both aiming at a new social sys■tent based on individual, self-denial and ■tern national'discipline; The Fascista spirit is ; recasting the fragments of the Civiß Romanus to make the new Italian ettlzenywho to-day revives the ancestral Bomari-virtue for law and order. :. The Charter of Labour promulgated Pfi 'Signbr Mussolini a few days ago ;sftbodies and enacts tho provisions .contained in. the law approved by both Houses of Parliament on the 3rd April of last year;. and in tho , regulations Issued by virtue of the said law in July of ;the same year. The harnessing of all Individual effort from the highest to ;th|> most humble, the grafting and dovetailing of the various organisations to form in. an end the Corporatcd State, and all this based on thepillars of personal as well as collective responsibility, and on continued education of the members of the community, is certainly a task which stands before any policy so evolved, or, at'all events, it means the determination of a whole people to Jeaya.aU. theories behind and cross into |the domain of practical economies. .._ These are young, men who, most of them; before, shouldering the rifle in defence Of their country, never had an .occasion to show their mettle; these ,war-Bcarred. young warriors returned worn the frontier with a confidence ivJP*?ed by their, own achievements on the field of honour, and were moved by thevsmgle purpose toraiso Italy to the heights of the ideal, which they had pictured to themselves on their, lonely and .perilous war vigils on the Carso, on the-Alps, and on the sea. Suc*h men were bound to favour a now system of government and social organisa*joivfor.ttiey rightly hold that circumf?*l^?B.alter cases and, indeed, the war *«-■»**■•»•.inwM,-and Italy iv particuM»on,of which the benighted notions ct former Governments were inadequate d i .?."?\: notions were therefore cast ©ff.like chaff before the wind

:!^ N0 AGGRESSIVE AIMS. i«o^ Ua? ■snperialism'snperialism' wllich is a« often leard of,.does not spell greed and asgressxveness; it is a home policy, a polIS«fe MUm i °VOr all It:ilia» citi. zssna to fit; them' to win the peace after ihASW the- Wan Its P"rP°se SSiS 1 tK C- tlVi tieS Of the Italians «^« the, ■^ m Kdotn > which activities, SSS? lua. ed ' t re draftod and classified to their callings, wherefore .•mploy.^and employeesf 'skilled and Bon-akilled labour, intellectual workers fnd^? fessional men, all are amenablo % th? same law and control. Suprcm-By;^:-the.'State over tho individual & n.°**P^ ai^ dißre«ard the intjTeate of the latter; on the contrary thß,_law, is, very mindful of labour and capitaTjihke, but it co-ordinates and leadsftheir efforts towards a superior aim—that is, the welfare of the Italian Commonwealth. • The partial success attending Labour legislation in other countries must be acconntedfor through such legislation being lopsided in its conception and application, while the Italian Labour Statute is thorough and far-reaching Labour laws in. other countriea concern onlymdustnal workers and trades, but ■factors, of agricultural production are outside such control. The interdepend, ence of agricultural and industrial proS "Obvious, so no legislation S b&aM^a>inpleto unless it in-.SffiM-^Pv-tp^er.; Accordingly the Italian Corpoi-ation Law provides for owners 'f^ 011^ a cor Pora«on of land owners, of farm;tenants, as well a, n f l^^.^o^g on the' sha^e "ystem f nd ?f,faTm handsgenerally, each mak^ t" ga L^ 83T dJ Cate ' a"d «" entitled Court S °re tho Ar»>itration

; : J PAifEEKAi CONTROL. fr,^^ i^ 3- k 7 hich Fascista Italy-has' set it is worthy itLfh Jl rae?' Md we f<*l sure that Jits-of the new system will pl? cc thn Jhß framers of the law do not pretend to,, have, put on tho Italian Statute a 3aw that .will work smoothly from the S- -or Ration but they rely, on experience qnent need of amendment. fiW admin^tration ..is entrusted to tiyenty-four Courts, each presided over fry* Supreme Court-(Cortedi Appello) Jndge assisted by experts in the trade m dispute, but these must not bo men ■who are.in .the smallest degree interest<W i Xl iS *nteresting to note that.such a champjon of Labour inter£ste i as the secretary of the late Italian Confederation of Labour, Signor D'Ara gonva bitter opponent to Faseismo who for four years fought against the Pascista Labour platform in Italy, and at the International Labour Assises in Oeneva, is now a sincere convert, and avows; that the law is indeed most fair essentially democratic, well conceived! and thorough, and that it satisfies all t^e aspirations of the Socialistic Party of-which he was one of the most prominent members.

■ THE NEED FOR INDUSTRY. Is there any cogent compelling reason for bo far-reaching a change? For Italy, there certainly is. No less than ,■^3 Hulhon Italians live within the borders of a land of some 120,000 square nflles, half of which is very mountain-'drisone-quarterns r hilly, anc only the last 25J000 square miles arc fiat country. If Italy had toTcly on her agricultural resources solely, no matter how much the production of the soil mi"ht bo intensified, she could not feed half the number of her people. Hence the necessity.to develop manufacturing industries,. ; But Providence, which lavished 80 much natural beauty oji the ioontiji yatßAt generous in the mat-

ter, of providing what is indispensable to manufacturing industries. Italy, therefore, is very greatly handicapped, for there are no coal seams in the country, neither are there metals, or minerals or any other raw materials, and although her artisans and craftsmen have produced wonders of skill, it is felt that' unless industrial peace is assured and fair play is guaranteed to masters and men, Italy would bo left behind in the competitive race. Working to disadvantage through the. lack of .raw materials for which Bhe is tributary to various -countries, Italy would not have the'staying power to quickly overcome the consequences of strikes, lock-outs, and other forms of industrial unrest and disaffection.

The world is looking on Fascismo as a great experiment, but we Italians are convinced, because we feel, so, that our country is on .the eye of a second Renaissance,' of which !Pasei3mo has already built the foundation and. corner stone.' Besides engaging in and pursuing the industries, which are the wont of this utilitarian and mechanical age, Italy will revive the guilds that made her famous in the Middle Ages, and which have' enriched her with those heirlooms that people flock from all parts of the world to admire, and which are an inspiration to all. The handicraft, for which Italians are peerless, has not died out, and we intend to revive and foster it, so that Italy may once more become the workshop of the crafts yielding "those things of beauty that are a joy for ever." The Renaissance owes much to those guilds, which were moved by jealous love for their craft or.trade> and were nred by patriotism. They were truly cradles of artists, who' became soldiers, and their captains, who were leaders of industry excelled with, them on the battlefields