To the Hierarchy of the Syndical Confederations in Rome
By Benito Mussolini
I delivered a speech to the people gathered in Piazza Venezia. The speech lasted exactly thirty seconds and can be summarized in these words: "work and arms", which are also the watchword. Work is necessary to prepare arms; arms are necessary to protect the work of the Italian people.
During these agonizing moments in which we witness such formidable events each day, which also makes me physically ill, although my appearance might make you think otherwise, I ask myself this reasonable question, which I want you to meditate upon as well: Are we independent? (Shouts of: "Yes!... No!...").
The contrast in your answers is clearly evident, because both answers can be right. Those who said "yes" are right, because independence is first of all a problem of will, and to be independent one must first firmly and strongly desire it. Those who said "no" are also right, because the will is later expressed in deeds and in this sense we are not independent.
We are not independent because for the last eight months not a single one of our steamers has escaped the control—often times capricious—of British or French ships. The shipowners who are present here today certainly know something about this; currently the Italian people only have a vague idea of what happened, but the time will come when it will be necessary to inform them.
Yesterday a load of sultanina grapes was seized; the last time they gave back our cinnamon, but kept our pepper! Our steamers were forced to unload, weigh and reload, then disembark the goods in Malta or Marseilles. Also yesterday there was the case of an Italian exporter who—concerned about the sixty cases of eggs being held in Malta for two weeks—asked us if we had to wait for the chicks to be born first.
It has been said that we are prisoners in the Mediterranean. It is pointless for Italians to worry themselves by speculating about the possibility of German continental hegemony, when for eight months we have been subjected to Anglo-French maritime hegemony which seeks to deprive us of our needs.
To get to Africa we have to pass through a canal controlled by other people. Likewise, to reach the Atlantic ocean our ships must pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Yesterday a British citizen told me that Rome could be bombed from the sea. I would like to see a battleship enter the sea of Fiumicino and then we will see what happens!
Based on my long meditations on history I have drawn—or rather fixed—this determining law: a nation is independent only if it has open access to the ocean; it is semi-independent if it faces an inland sea; it is not independent at all if it is landlocked. I challenge anyone to disprove this law.
The history of this magnificent Italy has had a truly ungrateful destiny in these last few centuries. Our situation today arises from the fact that in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Italy was not a unified State. While other peoples were conquering continents (France in Canada, Portugal in Brazil, Spain in South America, England in the whole world), in Italy we were devoted to utopian poetry and to creating Arcadia.
Anyone who wants to get an exact idea of Italian life in that period should read the poem Il giorno by Giuseppe Parini, which reflects the life of the Italian gentry of that time, who, being "descended from magnanimous loins", spent all hours of the day doing nothing, indeed doing foolish things.
Italy has undergone various invasions: the barbarians invaded it after the fall of the Roman Empire; the Germans also invaded it, and they did not consider themselves to be true emperors unless they came here to our Rome to proclaim themselves such. Then, within a period of just thirty years, we saw three French invasions: Charles VIII (who is referenced in the Florentine proverb: 'If you sound your trumpets, we will ring our bells'), Louis XII and Francis I.
The Piedmontese still have not forgotten the orders given by General Catinat: "Tuez et brulez", i.e. "Kill and burn". Even the invasion of 1796 was no joking matter: the French Directory ordered that everything be taken away from the Italians, leaving only their eyes to weep over the lost things; they even took the horses from Venice!
That prince from the House of Este was right when he, upon hearing that his artillery was landing dangerously close to the allied French troops during battle, said: "No matter; they are all my enemies". And I could continue on and on with these historical digressions until midnight, but then the new president of the Red Cross, Comrade Mormino, would probably have to come and carry you all away.
Today I can only confirm and repeat what I said in my 1939 speech to the squadrists: "Italy stays true to her word", and I authorize you to repeat it to everyone. The value of a man depends on his reputation; the same is true for peoples.
When Italy was still sparsely populated and had a predominantly agricultural economy, the bars went unnoticed; but now that Italy is about to reach fifty million inhabitants, the bars and walls of the prison have become ironclad. He who does not realize this commits a sin against the Fascist faith. We are fortunate because our ally has left us latitude and margin of time and so far has not asked us for anything. Whereas if we were on the other side, they would have already said to us: "Italian gentlemen, you who are so numerous, go and die in great numbers for us!"
This policy of ours may also please those few Italians who worry about saving their own stomach more than anything else! At this point, the message I can give you can be summarized by the aviation expression: "give full throttle". And for those of who are not aviators (which is a pity, but I think some of you are at least motorists) you will understand this one: "put the pedal to the metal". But we must not dramatize or tragicize the situation: we must remain calm and be ready. From this community of spirits, I draw the conviction that you have understood my state of mind, just as I have understood yours.
