 words at war as the bell of San Lorenzo proclaims the curfew hour I call out to you are they do Che are they can you hear me this is Rome speaking to you Rome the eternal Rome the ancestral home of all the ceasars I am calling you do you the magnetic the histrionic the dynamic hypnotist of the mob you the soldier the statesman the liar the orator journalist Philander you who so enriched the dictionary of invective and shameful phrases you who were the hope of the rich and the poor and who crushed both the weak and the strong you who once told an ignorant crowd there is no God and held up a cheap pocket watch daring God to strike you dead in five minutes you who another time compared yourself to Jesus Christ but who threw his followers into jail I hail you do Che wherever you are tonight listen to me I would commune with you laugh real-life history with you while all men listen and do not be frightened do Che what if I do reveal to the masses some of the things you'd rather keep quiet the stupid masses whom you've always hated and despised tonight do Che while the armored cars of your gentle friends rumble through my ancient streets while their hobnailed boots go step the pattern of tyranny and to the soil of my seven hills I roam cry out in salutation for all the blessings you have brought me all day do Che you great leader this is another in the words at war programs presented by the national broadcasting company in cooperation with the council on books in wartime tonight's script written by Richard McDonough is based on three important books her but El Matthews fruits of fascism George Seldy's sawdust Caesar and Eleanor and Reynolds Packard's balcony Empire to intervene in Spain that scene that took place so often during the 20 fascist years you on your balcony Roman jaw thrust hands-on hips nostrils wide and dark eyes flashing while below in the square of Venice 100,000 pitiful little people bellowed at your black shirt signal today we face history Italy can do no other we go to war against France and England yes do they even cheered the cruelest trick of all your famous stab in the back do you remember their chairs of course you do how could any Caesar ever forget the adulation of the Roman throngs and pop cry could ever strike as close to your heart as do Che do Che unless it were that other cry with which they greeted you once before do you remember it do Che do you remember that do Che your legions beneath the balcony had long forgotten it but you and I remember don't we do Che it was in Milan in 1915 the Italian nationalists were crying to their countrymen but a safe democracy in civilization by joining the allies it is Italy's duty to fight that's what the nationalists said do Che but your socialist party had voted for strict neutrality and the loudest and most violent of all the socialist pacifists was a man named Mussolini don't you recall how on September 21st 1915 at the Socialist Party Convention at Bologna you rose to new pacifist heights of violence that shocked the belligerent world and brought tears of joy to the eyes of Lenin and Trotsky I say the neutrality of the Italian Socialist Party is not enough your anti-war effort is infantile and will remain so unless you become revolutionary follow me and preach and work for the way of communism in France and Belgium down with the allies down with Zardems kingdoms and republics up with the dictatorship of the proletarian masses oh how you captured their hearts that September 21st do Che but they didn't know what you know did they do Che they didn't even suspect until four days later September 25th when you completely reversed yourself in the socialist paper that had been committed to your care I call on all Italy to join me take up arms the march to the front on the side of ravaged France and martyred Belgium oh it was funny to see the faces of those betrayed socialists wasn't it do Che and the suspicious minds they had to remember how they called a convention to expel you from the party and when you entered the hall they greeted you with a great chorus who paid you they asked they were suspicious realists those socialists it was wonderful the way you shrugged off their charges and busied yourself turning out your new daily paper il popolo di Italia Veneto Mussolini soul owner yes indeed still remembering the socialist charge remembering that you've never earned more than 10 lira a week in your life and remembering that it costs a great deal of money to establish a big metropolitan newspaper would it be too impertinent to ask at this late date who did pay you do Che and so do Che for the price of a newspaper you helped push Italy into World War one true you went yourself public opinion forced you to and in the trenches a mortar exploded one day and you got yourself 42 but none of them were fatal unfortunately and after the war Italy was in chaos but you were not disturbed not you do Che you sat in your editorial chair in Milan and sized up the situation you weighed everything carefully and then you summed up here am I benito Mussolini the son of a hard-drinking blacksmith here am I on the raft of opportunity in the middle of a seething ocean of class hatred Italy's being torn apart by the greed of a capitalists on the one hand and the man's of a workers on the other now what can I get out of this oh it was good to see a real estate work do Che so refreshing how am I Mussolini going to profit by this terrible state in which my country finds herself I could counsel both management and labor against excesses I could counsel moderation spirit of understanding what will be in it for me if I do that I need more but I'm gonna get more I'll play on their likes and dislikes on their beliefs and their fears I'll discredit the government pit class against class trim my sales to any wind that blows and who knows some day I Mussolini may rule the destiny of Italy Oh Joe the next use use springtime of beauty in fascism is the salvation of our freedom thus did they sing do Che those followers of yours now contents all you call them together you gave them black shirts and golden promises you gave them a marching hymn and you called them fascists then in 1919 you made your first real bid for power you ran for parliament as the Milan representative listen to me oh Milanese hi Mussolini the leader of the fascist black shirts will represent you in the parliament of Rome fascists what are they who are they the fascists are the hope of Italy the name fascism is derived from the Latin fascist the old Roman symbol of authority and that's what Italy needs today in a government authority what is your platform it's simple clear direct and unchangeable I Mussolini favor the expropriation of land mines and transportation these now held by the rich I will return to the people who are the real owners of the nation's wealth I am anti church and anti monarchy I am for the people to the poll citizens of Milan and vote for Mussolini the fascist black shirt and they did as you directed them do Che they voted for Mussolini nearly 5,000 of them unfortunately though 341,000 voted for your opponent this is intolerable incomprehensible I offer them a proletarian platform and they reject me I win 5,000 votes against my opponents 341,000 obviously something is wrong do Che yes we must try something else very well I can't win the masses I'll appeal to the landlords and the property classes but how do Che how will you appeal to them they're afraid of Bolshevism aren't they yes and I Mussolini shall become the great anti-Bolshevik what do you yourself have said in a public speech how can anyone think communism is possible in Italy the most individualistic country in the world if there is no Bolshevism how can you fight Bolshevism I direct you to forget that speeches of this moment when when people are afraid of ghosts it's easy to create ghosts we shall create Bolshevists every strike every labor disturbance no matter how trivial must be labeled communism and when there are no labor troubles we'll create them a body fascists aren't to our sacred duty to save Italy from Bolshevism it worked do Che it worked oh weren't you the sly one though it was the most beautiful bit of rabble rousing Italy had ever seen it was so simple all you had to do was call yourselves patriotic nationalistic Italians scream down with Bolshevism and label everyone who opposed you as communists the more noise you made the more financial support flowed into the party coffers contributions from the merchants associations benign non interference from religious leaders thousands of lira from the massanic order millions from petty bourgeois individuals sincerely hated communism and the fascists save Italy from Bolshevism then the following year 1920 it is over the election is over results please your fascist party do Che has won 32 seats out of 502 no it wasn't as good as you'd expect and do Che but it was a start a good start it gave your hoodlums just the encouragement they needed to bring in new members to the fascist party and to stamp out opposition my oh my how those boys could wield the whip the knife and the flaming torch it was a trifle rough though and I admit I was worried there for a while it looked as though the brains of every other Italian would be decorating our gutters then along came that astute young man named Albo with his idea for a new use of castor oil ah there was an up-and-coming young fellow do Che too bad he afterward became too popular causing you to get rid of him but your fascist machine smashed forward on its way to national influence and international repute fired by fear and greased by graft and castor oil but you at its helm were not content with 32 seats in parliament and so full of that confidence which is so often an attribute of egomaniacs and paretics you made the big decision on October 28th 1922 black shirt legions now I give the immortal order of auntie March on Rome actually it wasn't much of a triumphal March you recall do Che you yourself prudently stayed behind in Milan waiting to see what would happen I roam was positive your attempted coup d'etat would fizzle out in gloriously I was sure of it when I looked into the heart of Bedolio the army's chief of staff you know do Che there's a lot I'd attest about Bedolio but his one saving grace has always been that he hates you and everything you stand for and he gave me a happy moment when he went storming into the quid and all that day to see the king your majesty yes Bedolio you are alarmed by this fascist March on Rome irritated your majesty annoyed not alarmed give me the authority to lead just one division of Basilieri against them and out sweep them into the sea ah do Che that was a moment in history you know and I know that Bedolio could have done what he promised the king but Victor of Savoy took time out to reason if I allow you to fight Bedolio there will be civil war and in civil war the house of Savoy may lose the throne I have expected Bedolio to remind the king that his first duty was to Italy and not to his own family but poor Bedolio was hushed by the royal presence and merely said whatever it is you wish sir oh how Italy needed a strong man that day do Che if she'd had one the king would never have sent you the telegram to come and form a government Italy would not have unsheathed her knife to stab her neighbor in the back her people would have retained their honored place among the nations of the world and your friends from north of the Brenner would not be tramping through my streets tonight but what's the use of dreaming Italy had no strong man and the king did send you the wire and you came and fascist violence quickened its course we are pleased to report to you that today we wrecked two more newspapers of the opposition we psyched the city of Bologna today for not playing ball with us we drove out the town council burned the Chamber of Labor to the ground smashed the presses of the newspaper that had been critical and murdered five communist workers ten thousand new members of the fascist party enrolled this month all paying dues senior Farinacci request additional appropriations for clubs and castor oil two priests who had spoken unwisely in their pulpits were taken to the hospital this week report of accomplishments for first five months of 1921 do chair labor union headquarters invaded 120 socialist centers destroyed 243 communist working men killed 202 communist workers wounded one thousand one hundred forty four it developed afterwards that one of the two hundred two communists killed was not a communist so we awarded him a posthumous membership in the fascist party and inscribed his name on the honor roll of fascist martyrs yes your power and influence grew but there was criticism you are not yet the dictator you were merely prime minister of Italy so there was criticism and the most garling of all your critics with the leader of the socialist deputies in parliament Matiote you have no idea how anguished I was for you when senior Matiote would arise in the chamber and take you to account Matiote the gadfly armed with two stings irony and humor day after day he would come at you hurling your own words down your throat while you squirmed and frowned and mudded threats and again I ask a question of the honorable prime minister I see by your own admission that Bolshevism is dead yet now you declare the chief object of the fascist party is to fight Bolshevism you wouldn't whip a corpse would you remember how even your friends in the chamber grinned at that one do you if is the honorable prime minister is said Italy was saved by the fascist party in nineteen hundred nineteen why does she need so much saving today how do you explain the civil war with your fascists have inaugurated their destruction their burnings their assassinations how do you explain it honorable prime minister he was nasty wasn't he do Jay how do you explain that fascism playing the adulterous has passed from the bed of the working class to the bed of the capitalist class betraying each in turn as fancy dictates how do you explain it you really ought to have had a better answer for him than just mumbling traitor cow it you really ought to do you have a denounced financiers as brigands you fought the army you have attacked the clergy you have denied that God exists yet today you are the chief defender of these persons and ideas how do you explain yourself yes do Jay the man was unbearable there's such a thing as carrying free speech too far it was just as well you had him assassinated but your hoodlums ought to be more careful in committing the Matiote murder the terrible scandal it created was almost the end of the fascist party there for a while so do Jay please be more careful next time if there is a next time and then do Jay you decided you'd waited long enough you called in your henchman remember the Matiote assassination has proved that we can get away with anything so now is the time to strike what do we do to Jeff it's time so called liberal Italy gave way to totalitarian Italy all those things built up by Garibaldi and the liberals must go press parliament free mason's all of them I Mussolini shall be more than a duchy I Mussolini shall be the supreme dictator I Mussolini shall be Italy it is decreed any newspaper a periodical causes any interference in the diplomatic action of a government and its foreign relations or hurts the credit of the nation at home or abroad causing undue alarm among the people or in any way disturbs the peace such newspapers or other periodicals shall be suppressed do Jay wasn't it smart of you to silence the press first after that there was nothing to stop your issuing your other laws by decree and quick succession it is decreed that from this day forward the right of public association is abolished that destroys free masonry it is decreed that the chamber of deputies is now a consultative body it may discuss and ratify laws it may initiate no laws of its own only those approved by the duchy that takes care of parliament it is decreed that all functionaries who place themselves in a situation incompatible with the political directives of the government may be removed that forces the teachers in the line it is decreed that here after anyone criticizing the head of the government will be punishable with six to 30 months imprisonment and a fine of not less than 300 or more than 3,000 lira that stops free speech is decreed that all power of the army and navy shall henceforth be exercised by the duchy and not by the king and this takes care of everything yes duchy you took care of everything and you know it was really a good joke when you come to look back at it there were all those people the little ones I mean they were disgruntled and dissatisfied along you came to promise them an easy utopia and they either voted you into office or failed to stop you when you decided to take over you certainly took care of them didn't you and the king you certainly made him a jack in the box didn't you why you even betrayed Pope pious the 11th yes duchy you betrayed them all people king and pope well duchy the noise of the cheering legions has faded from the square of Venice all that's heard now is the footfalls of Nazi centuries the distant rumble of the allied guns and the bell in the tower of San Lorenzo how like a funeral now it sounds and do you wonder for whom it tolls if so listen hard duchy hear that at the noise something reminiscent of a cheap pocket watch ticking and ticking away while with flamboyant oratory a cheap demagogue dares God to prove he is in his heaven by striking with swift justice do you hear it duchy it is the clock of Providence the ticks on and on the hour of reckoning is near at hand even the longest years are made up of tiny seconds and the second slip away one by one into eternity listen to Che listen words at war has presented tonight a radio treatment of the disease known as fascism inspired by and based on three informative books fruits of fascism by Herbert L. Matthews saw dust Caesar by George Saldis and a balcony empire by Reynolds and Eleanor Packard our script was prepared by Richard McDonough of the NBC script staff the voice of Rome was played by Grace Coppin and Mussolini by Arnold Moss with Ted Osborne Roger Decoven Jean Leonard and Alexander Scorby as the supporting players the music was composed and conducted by Morris Mamorsky and the entire production was directed by Frank Papp next Tuesday December 7 words at war will present a book of war letters another in this series of war book adaptations brought to you in cooperation with the council on books in wartime by the national broadcasting company and the independent radio stations associated with the NBC network this program came to you from New York this is the national broadcasting company