CLAIMS ORGANIZATION MUST BE NEXT IN HIGHEST STATE OF EFFICIENCY.
ROME, April 8.—(AP) Benito Mussolini, premier of Italy having escaped assassination at the hands of a woman, is determined to fight for the principles for which he stands throughout the world.
“I have chosen as the slogan of my life, ‘live in danger’ and I say as an old fighter: ‘when I advance follow me; when I retreat, kill me; should I die, avenge me.’ “
Thus Mussolini ended an address to the directorate of the Fascist party only a few hours after he had been shot through the nose yesterday by the Honorable Violet Albina Gibson, Sister of the Irish baron Ashbourne.
The directorate of the Fascist party, meeting in the Littoric Palace last night, was informed by the premier that it must maintain the party in the highest state of efficiency.
“We have won our battle at home,” he said. “We can truly affirm that the old parties have been put to rout and that the old regime is destroyed, put our battle is not yet won abroad.
“It is becoming harder and always more difficult. We represent anew principle in the world. We represent the pure, categoric and definite antithesis of all the world’s democracy, plutocracy and Free Masonry.
“We live in a fascist state since we have buried the democrat liberal state. We are the state which controls political forces, moral forces, economic forces; altogether we are a Fascist cooperative state.”
Applause greeted the premie as he concluded:
“Tomorrow I will greet you on board the Flagship of Italy. I have given orders that you, leaders of the Fascist party, be saluted by thirteen salvos of cannon. You shall hear the voice of the cannon which aboard the battleship is the voice of the mother country.” (This statement referred to arrangements Mussolini had made to start for a tour of Tripoli today.)
Advice from the Italo-Swiss borders are to the effect that guerilla warfare is going on between the Fascisti and anti-Facisti in the province of Palermo, Sicily.
The Fascists after a pitched battle captured the village of Capaci, together with twenty prisoners, including the Mayor and a priest. The anti-Fascists retired into the mountains.
The fight had no connections with the attempted assassination of Premier Mussolini yesterday, as It took place on Tuesday.
The Key West Citizen, Key West, FL, April 8, 1926