IN IMPERIAL ROME

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 143, 14 December 1933, Page 13

IN IMPERIAL ROME

ITALY AND MUSSOLINI

WELLINGTON VISITORS

(From "The Post's"' Representative.) LONDON, November 7. Mr. and Mrs. W. Appleton (Welling ton) have completed a Continental tour which lias been full of interest. They were more than delighted with the beauty of Switzerland and the comfort of the hotels, whiK the engineering skill of the Swiss in the mountain areas was something of an eye-opener. In Italy they found much to please, notably the vast improvement apparent even in the space of four years since Mr. Appleton was last there. Cleanliness and punctuality were everywhere apparent, while the people were all busily working. In Borne, he said, the lamb on the menu was equal to the best produced in New Zealand, and when he made inquiries as to country of origin he was told that it was Italian-produced meat. In Northern Italy the pasture seemed to bo excellent. Mussolini and the authorities working under him have affected marvellous things for the benefit ,of the country and the people. Eesidential buildings of the best kind, in the form of big blocks of flats, are a feature in Borne and elsewhere. For nearly eight years the Fascist Government* has been controlling the excavation of Imperial Rome. Until now this work has had a three-fold object—the clearance of unsightly semi-slums, the erection of new houses away from the congested centre of the city, and the resurrection of classic monuments. This social task has been carried out so quietly and regularly that the achievement almost escapes, notice. Over 10,000 people have been cleared o\it of the tawdry houses which encumbered the classic sites, and'have been installed in healthier surroundings. '•'■■, In Germany people were alert and busy; in Austria there seemed to be. considerable poverty, but Vienna; was a fascinating city. Paris also was' much enjoyed. Mr. and Mrs. Appleton have now a few weeks longer to devote to England; there ia business to attend to, and there are relatives in the north to whom farewell visits will be paid prior to mid-December. . ■ , ',