Notes

At the opening session of the National Fascisti Council, Benito uttered words of advice to Fascisti. Said he : " The Fascisti must put the big stick in the attic. That does not mean donning dressing-gowns and slippers, for no real man is worth anything unless he can face the tempests. While the Opposition is calling on the Fascisti to march about with olive branches, they never show the least sign of a desire to disarm themselves. The recent crisis was useful because it clearly showed who Fascismo's real friends and foes are. The party does not want lukewarm adherents who will cast it off. The new Directorate which the Council meets to elect must be strong and disciplined." Italy's wheat crop has failed. This was evidenced when Roman bakeries started to bake the inferior war bread -- now called pane popolare and sold for 1 lira 20 centesimi per kilogram (6 cents). The price of white bread advanced to 2 lire per kilogram (10 cents), owing to the advancing price of wheat. A party of, men, said to be Fascisti, broke into St. Peter's Catholic Club at Borsano, near Milan, threw all the furniture into the street, made a bonfire. Irate inhabitants were cowed by threatening revolvers.

The parties of the Opposition announced a general meeting, supposedly to discuss internal policy. Benito was not invited; he therefore did not permit the meeting to take place. The Opposition became livid, published a manifesto in which Benito's act was described as "a new demonstration of the policy of repressing every liberty pursued by the present Government." While rain and hailstones swept over Milan, Piacenza, Mantua, Novara and Brescia -- Bergamo and Verona experienced, for the first time in memory, a Summer snowstorm. The Italian Tyrol was so cold that people were forced to wear furs. Throughout northern Italy the rivers and lakes overflowed, causing much damage to crops. The Italian ex-Servicemen's Association ended its annual Congress by promising support to Benito on condition that he fulfill his promise to pacify the country and reform the illegalities practiced by the Fascist extremists.