CORPORATE STATE

Southland Times, Issue 22508, 16 February 1935, Page 11

CORPORATE STATE

SYSTEM IN ITALY THE WAY IT WORKS The general plan of the Corporate system, as it appears at this moment, is as follows:—The old Socialistic syndicate was based on the principle of class war, and its one aim was to keep together the employed of a special category, on the basis of their common interest, to enable them to fight the class war against their employers, regardless of the welfare of the industry they were employed in, and of the general welfare of the country. The Fascist syndicate had a wider scope, and its aim was to abolish or to regulate the class war, making a peaceful settlement compulsory in the disputes between employers and employed; it also introduced a certain amount of State intervention and of State control in the industrial world, in so far as the decision was to be referred to the amicable settlement by State authorities (as a rule, the Prefect of the provinces) and, in cases when the settlement through the representative of the State was impossible, to the final decision of special Courts, whose decison was to be enforced by the State. However, this system still kept some of the old defects; it only took account of the financial needs of the components of each single syndicate as distinct from the rest of the economic life of the nation, and it allowed employers and employed alike to follow their particular line of interests, regardless of the State and of the needs of the industry. In the Corporative system the basic principle is the industry itself, since the Corporation has for its principal aim to ensure the proper working of the industry in its inner phases and in its connection with the other industries and general production. The syndicates still form the body of the Corporation, but they must follow the discipline laid down by the Corporation itself, so that the particular interest of the syndicate can be defended and protected only m so much as it is not antagonistic to the needs of the industry embodied in the Corporation and to the general needs of the nation. Whilst the syndicate was a purely economic unit, indifferent to the needs of the production it was engaged in, and to the general needs of the nation, the Corporation will be the organ through which the state will make its needs and its will felt in the industrial field. It is in view of this aim that in every Council of every particular Corporation special representatives of the Government and of the Fascist Party have been introduced, as well as in the general Council, which is entrusted with the duty of co-ordinating the separate activities of every single industry into an economic whole, for the general welfare of the nation. As Mussolini has put it, it is a question of introducing “politics Into economy,” that is, to make economy obedient to the wants of the nation; although to be correct, it is generally interpreted in the contrary sense. Whether it will shape out as represented, the future will show. In short, the State is “top dog,” and not the Syndicate. Bottai, ex-Minister of Corporations, lost his post because he was too much in favour of the Syndicalist organization which left too much freedom and power to the FascistSocialist members of the Government.

Mussolini is keeping the balance loaded towards the capitalists-indus-trialists, land-owners at this moment. But this does not mean that the Corporative State is non-Socialistic. Time only can show how far Mussolini has courage to go on the Socialist road. AT GANDHI’S HOUSE Dame Edith Lyttelton in "Travelling Days” (Geoffrey Bles) has recorded the impressions of a journey to Japan, Korea, China and India, during which she met with many noted Orientals. There was Dr Wellington Koo, whose name suggests a Bab Ballad. There was Marshal Chang Hseuh-liang, “a young pale man with a face like a Dulac picture, looking very intelligent and inscrutable.” There was Seho, the great Japanese artist, who so much admired Botticelli and the PreRaphaelites and whose pictures are ordered years in advance. There was Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Chinese Republic. And Mr Gandhi. One of the most arresting parts of the interesting book is the description of a service at Gandhi’s house with Mira Bei in attendance: A beautiful Indian night in the winter. Its indigo sky sown with bright stars, the deep blue sinking into paler blue threaded by the lights of Delhi, and out in the suburbs by sudden isolated gleams from separate houses, a slight haze of dust rising from the roads and paths. We drew up in front of Dr Ansari’s long lawn, which stretches down from the verandah to the road, a length of about a hundred and fifty yards. There were a good many motor-cars and a huddle of white-robed figures at the gate. We walked up the drive and saw in the dim light rows of men and women sitting on the grass waiting, murmuring together in subdued

tones. There were chants, a brief reading by the Mahatma, and then three or four minutes of silent concentration: It was a lovely few moments. I forgot all the other doctrines and rituals, the cows and priests and the sacrificial blood, and found myself at last in touch with something pure and mystical; a childlike trust and a spiritual perception prayed for and entertained in complete simplicity. I slipped into the stream of their consciousness as far as I was able, and felt the hovering wings of spirits of love ana service. Nearer me I could see some of the upturned faces with brown eyes full of a stilled rapture. The two minutes silence on Armistice Day at home has something of this quality. . . . NATURE’S WEIRD WAYS Strange as it may seem E. G. Boulenger tells us in “Zoo Cavalcade” (Dent and Sons) that for seven years the London Zoo possessed a cross between a lion and a tiger, known as a “tigon.” It was presented to the zoo by Ranjitsinhji. It was taller than either lion or tiger and weighed as much as its two parents together! Boulenger also discourses on the electric fish: In the days of ancient Rome the torpedo was put to a very modem usage. The Romans anticipated our vibro-mas-sage as they anticipated so many of our latest inventions, and this fish was a popular cure for rheumatism, the patient standing on the living animal with his bare feet until its powers were temporarily exhausted, when the masseur brought a fresh supply from the reserve tank. The little electric catfish of the Nile seen in the Zoo Aquarium’s tropical hall can likewise give shocks, but employs electricity in a different manner. Instead of shocking other creatures to death and engulfing them, the electric catfish approaches them with an appearance of casualness till its bulky form just touches that of its victim. Instead of being fatal, however, the shock is merely sufficient to make the object of its assault bring up its previous meal—the catfish remaining behind to enjoy its ill-gotten gains. There are many peculiar developments in the zoo: Kangaroos and wallabies of every size waylay the visitor in their attempts to appeal to his generosity. Some even refuse to give the road on the special days when cars are admitted until the driver has dispensed food In some form. The weekly admission of cars at a stipulated eight miles per hour has proved that the instinct to pace the motor or any other moving object is not confined to the domestic dog. Young lions, dingoes, zebras and others gallop beside the cars until the limits of their enclosure call a halt,when they return to the starting-post and await the advent of the next car with obvious enjoyment. Recollections of the birds of the HonkHonk breed in Stewart Edward White’s short stories.