The Wilmington Morning Star

Clapper Watches Washington
By RAYMOND CLAPPER
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20.

Whatever satisfaction Germany may be taking in the news from Russia, Italy is becoming an increasing headache.

So much so that even at this time when the organization of Russian resources must be requiring an enormous amount of attention, Germany is compelled to send her best economic trouble shooter Walther Funk, and a staff of experts into Italy.

Purpose of this mission clearly is indicated by the internal situation in Italy which has become desperate from the German point of view.

Resentment against Germany rapidly is growing. Information reaching this government leaves no doubt about it.

For some time, Germany has been compelled to send growing numbers of officials and so-called tourists into Italy. As these arrivals became more conspicuous, Italian resentment increased and murmuring hostility became gradually louder.

Germans already had taken over most of the heavy industry in Italy. One of the largest iron and steel works is completely German-owned now. The larger portion of Italian chemical and metal-producing plants is controlled, if not owned outright, by German interests. In virtually all cases the industries are at least controlled through the fact that most of the raw materials must be furnished by Germany. Italy has outstanding deficiencies in coal, petroleum, iron and steel, ferro-alloys, copper, nickel, tin, magnesium and rubber. She must look to Germany for all these, and for them Germany exacts her price

The price simply is this.

Germany is denuding Italy of everything. Italians see it as they 'shop. Germans in Italy are systematically buying up unreasonably large quantities of goods. When the Italian cannot buy what he wants, he blames it on the Germans.

Some of the recent restrictions which Italy has placed on consumers' goods were for the purpose of checking further denuding of the country's stocks by German purchases. Italy has forbidden the export of automobiles because Germany was buying them up. During a two-month period recently, Germany bought 5,000 Italian automobiles for shipment to Germany.

All these activities have caused irritations among the Italian people as, individually, they encountered instances of German operations. Furthermore, letters coming home from Italian troops in occupied countries refer time and again to the attitude of German troops toward their less successful comrades-in-arms. Now bread has been put on the ration. and the Italians are heavy bread-eaters. This is provoking much complaint.

Information reaching this government shows that an Italian in Italy doesn't get any more to eat in a week than an Italian interned in one of our camps in Montana gets in a day. Our information shows that the Italian ration is barely half of the German ration.

Added to all this is popular suspicion of Germany's intentions. Italian individualism is coming to the surface again in a rebound from the oppression of totalitarian war. Italians see how Germany is stripping the country now. They feel a growing apprehension that if Germany wins the war, Italy will be given only meager spoils from the dominant partner.

In view of all this. it is easily understandable why Hitler, at a time when he needs his economic advisers to organize the newly conquered Russian territory, must send his principal one in the other direction, into Italy to take over integrating ally. The report reaching here is that Mussolini is so concerned by all this that he has. during the last few days, been out on a baby-kissing campaign to thaw out the populace.