Hue & Cry

The first business of Italy's new government would be to do something about the growing strength of the Italian Communists. The Communists themselves were well aware of this eventuality. So was the U.S.

Arriving back in Italy after a U.S. visit, Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce brought with her the State Department's resolve to press the Italian government to intensify curbs on the Reds. At the airport, speaking over the radio, she also had a lighter recommendation. She suggested that in Italy she be called Ambassadress instead of Ambassador, because in Italian "Mrs. Ambassador" soon leads to intricate grammatical complications. "And I do not want to make even small difficulties for you." she said.

Italy's Communists and fellow travelers were determined to make difficulties for her. Two left-wing Senators charged that the Ambassador's activities "constitute foreign interference in the domestic affairs of Italy," and trumpeted for an investigation. The official Communist L'Unit`a joined in. accused the Ambassador of "espionage." called her "an old lady who needs rest to calm her nerves." The Red Socialist Avanti chimed in with its own blast: the U.S. Ambassador is in reality "Senator Joe McCarthy's Rome agent in charge of witch hunting." What the hue & cry is about: the Ambassador is empowered to negotiate arrangements which will keep U.S. offshore procurement contracts out of factories dominated by Communist unions.

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