Siege of Benito

The week in Italy was somewhat obscured by a strict news censorship, but there was every reason to believe that the murder of Socialist Deputy Giacomo Matteoti (allegedly by disciples of Premier Benito Mussolini --TIME, June 23) had aroused the Italian people to a dangerous pitch and shaken the very foundation of Fascismo.

The strict censorship that was enforced had the effect of pounding truth and prevarication to a frothy frazzle and it became impossible to discover precisely what had happened or was happening at Rome.

The Opposition, loud in its denunciation of the Fascisti, accused the Government of tardiness in arresting and punishing the guilty, but Benito made no answer to these jibes. At various points in Italy, riots broke out and still the Ministry spoke not.

The case for the prosecution against a number of prominent Fascisti, who sought to minimize their guilt by incriminating one another, was being prepared with all possible speed and it was believed that an important announcement would shortly be made.

All efforts to find the body of the murdered Socialist allegedly failed. None of the prisoners gave any information on the point, but ex-Editor Filippelli of the Corriere Italiano admitted that he had given instructions for the kidnapping of Deputy Matteoti. One Amerigo Dumini, who kept his peace, was rumored to have carried out the murder.

An uncensored report, however, stated that the murdered man's body had been found, terribly mutilated, on the shores of Lake Vico, and, fearing the consequences of a public funeral, the authorities had had it buried in the dead of night.

It was stated that Benito would answer the bombardment of his foes in a speech on the murder case to the Senators and in another to the Deputies. Critics professed to see grave danger to Mussolini's tenure of office unless he were able to exculpate Fascismo from the opprobrium of guilt which now surrounds it.