FOOD BIQTS IN ITALY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14986, 13 August 1919, Page 4

FOOD BIQTS IN ITALY.

MOBS SEIZE. FOOD WHILE SOLDIERS LOOK ON: FLORENCE CROWDS WASTE WHAI ■ THEY CANNOT. USE. ' ' . . '....• ■ - - ■-. ' POLICE FIRE UPON PILLAGERS IN SUBURBS. • ROME, July 5.-- Reports received hen show that food riots m Central Italy Extend practically from coast to coast and fi'bm as' far' north as Bologna tc Florence and Viterbb on. the south Palermo", Sicily. Islands, .reports that ..tKi'rVv-ohe of the, principal fish mer. chants have 'been arrested 'charged with \"starving the people,' '-the arrests coming after the merchants had been denounced by the qrowds. The press urges the Mayor of Romt not to wait for -the repetition here^ oi riots .of the character of 'those m Florence and the Roniagna' district, but tc "prevent" action by the people" by im posing a reduction of 50 per cent upon the prices of .food stuffs' and" clothing. If 'the: producers and' shopkeepers re sist, their licenses muse be 0 withdrawn and' their goods-c onfiscated, it is. urged. A decree authorising the -requisition of all goods of prime necessity has been isseud by thhe Prefect at Bologna, according H to despatches "' receiyed here, a; a result of the 'disorders there over the cost of living, 'thus improving the situatidn'considerably.'' "'.'"• ' .Military motor trucks %re said to have' been put 1 at. the disposal of theBologna: ' Chamber of Labor tb' ■ transport, td'thfe city markets good's requisitioned throughout the district. ' ' . V STANDARD MEALS FIXED. Standard meals at fixed prices have been imposed on restaurants m Bologna, the prices set varying ' from 55 cents tc 1 dollar for a meal,', according to the class of the restaurant. The red flag has been hdisted m many places m Florence and elsewhere m the Romagna district by what are termed .local- . Soyiets. These ' 'organisations throughout the Romagna district, in -addition to imposing rules for' bartering and selling, food,' are also issuing sentences m controversies under the authority of the red flag. All 'available supplies have fallen into the hands' of the' crowds or of the organisations. - . . # . Carabineers fired upon crowds m Florence during the day, one dead and twenty injured* -'being- the total 'of the rioting m that . city during Friday. Strengthened by .'rowdies, the crowd abandoned itself to the •general sacking of all shops without distinction , destroying .what it wa,s unable -to 'carry away. One entire street was flooded -'with petroleum, gasoline', wine, beer and olive oil. ■ Wherever the Chamber of Labor is able to exercise authority, goods are being transported to special, warehouses under the ' red flag, even tram car.s being pressed into this service. Large quantities of supplies are being turned over to . the inuiiicipalitity m the Piazza Siguoria, the chief square of -the city. Money taken from shops is being placed'in the care of 1 the municipality or the Chamber of Labor. Thous r ands of boxe of matches are being dis ; tributed free 'o the crowds. SOME r IOPS UNHURT. The only s ps respected by the rioters were th c bearing the inscription: "This sho is at the disposal of the Chamber of. ibor." The Chamber of Labor appare ly has become the only authority v. r jh the people pay any attention to. \ issues orders every little while. '• The a omobiles and cabs permitted to -use tin streets must bear a sign reading :"Chv latum allowed by Chamber of Labor." Florence'authorities seemingly have r. ..do no ' effort to oppose'- the .'Chartrbcr. All. tqe Florence ne v 'id's have suspended publication becau of a strike of printers. The c sale of newspapers' from other ; pities is prohibited. One of the manifestos issued by the Chamber of ' Labor announced that all goods which had been sold at prices fixed, by the Government '" Ny'qul'd hereafter be, sold at half that" price. AH other, goods, including medicine^ it wa^ ordered,- should be sold at a reduction bf tO per cent.' from the previous', prices. A statement, evidently inspired, issued m Florence, saysr "Orderhas'been restored virtually '■ everywhere, due t6 the measures -7 taken against' the mobs which; have been engaged !in demon f strations because of the 1 " high .cb'st of living. The labor* Organisations assisted m bringing to an -end the riots." RIOTS AT VITERBO. Crowds have attacked -.-and' ransacked shops at Vitermo. They attempted to storm the residence of the Mayor whom they charged with failing to take measures to bring about a lower cost of living. j';''. The entire stock: of foo s and other necessaries m Oncono, on t. east coast j are .now m the control of c Chamber of Laborl .^hese stosks ha » beeii labelled with inscriptions reaa g, "goods requisitioned and at the disj sal of the people." y Large contingents of tro* s occupy the town, but crowds met v h no resistance m seizing stocks .of * >d! The soldiers were applauded by tl people, who gave them part of the wi stocks requisitioned.* y Men., m the crowds shouted : "Come} on, boys, you so deserve a drink." ..■ .. Cohirnentiiig on the situati the Tempo says: — "The .present co itions are the consequence of the fa' "■<? of the policy of the governments dm the past four years m the diplomatic, -nan-' cial and economic fields. Thus Italy is confronted by the fact "that "her national and territorial problems are unsolved and that her economic activity is m decay. In addition .to her financial disaster, .there is a halt m production and a limitation m supplies. She is worse than, it ' defeated country." .; FOOD PRICES /STILL SOARING IN :.'."; ITALY. ROME, May 29:— Italy's ever-soaring food prices are causing universal dis* content. Already mass , meetings of protest and censure* 'against the Food Controller., ' Cres^l— absent m Paris for the' past five v hronthfr while' cargoes of food rot m all the ports for lack of orders to unload— are being held all over the Peninsula. At Piacenza City a general strike has been proclaimed as a solemn protest, and its" popularity was so. great that all stores closed down for twentyr-ifour hours, storekeepers vowing that exorbitant;, prices 'are' not due to them but to the various ' fbod : trusts. ' Public; discontent, is well founded. Wliile',' '.food, prices- gradually slide 'm all Mother' 'European countries they as Kurcljj^'t spar, -here, giving 1 an all round increase', of; 10 per .cent J --since last February^- which' already .■':• registered A rise 'of 43 per f cent on 1915 prices. Surprises are ever confronting the harassed . b ( Hisewife. ( Butter hag, been addVdJ.tb'.the list of prohibited luxuries, because it 7 costs 'over. 8s .«• pound."*- fljhe butter market has been cornered by a niafr/'uhtil 'recently -. m" the . Butter' Depa'ttfrjejn.'t of -.the 'Food Ministry. Having used^-'nis jbV'ty) get well acquainted with £alj.L the mysteries of the 'butter trade, ■'.'■ he "dbfairicd two, years' leave frd|i 'his department and next day.'blos-eon^ec^-'-,-fqrth''''';t > vs i ','jth6 manager of. a- new butter^ vthist, "raising retail prices all thrbbjjli 'Vth'e. country by. 50 per, cent. He '^ul^bid' the' butter co-operatives by offering -p'roducerp '. 1 80. cents per pound - Henhis'.b^en doing this for ,a foEfcnight and^the Gbveiuiment say they cannot prcyent iiini^ a« ttie maximum price of biftteu^has beeii, abolished. ',- Theve ? r iK, so much \- bijve oil m Cal.ibrfa',' w Southern Italy, that tho growers throw it away for lack of receptacles. Yet,,' oil sells in' all' the cities at 60 tiepts a pint j against the pre-war pricb of 28 cen;tßv; ," ' '"' ''" . '";.•,' What w itli the butter trust at Milan, the -fish trust at Genoa, the olive oil trust '&t .Naples and 'the nieat trust m Lombaydy,' f 'tlie public of all but the richest classes are being driven to pair. ' And it is not unlikely that a penefal '."'strike'"' will be prpclaimed throughout' the country to .protest against a Government that lets food rot m the ports and forces thousands and thousands of. citizens to live on bread and a little salad, while earning wages which would keep them m comfort m America. i