865.044/35
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Castle) of a Conversation With the Italian Ambassador (Martino), February 23, 1928
The Ambassador took up with me the question of the letter written by Mr. Hamilton Fish to the Secretary of State,9 asking whether it was true that Mussolini demanded absolute obedience from the Fascisti the world over and whether it was true that the Fascisti in America tried to prevent Italians from becoming citizens. The Ambassador stated that, in so far as the order of obedience was concerned, this did not and could not apply to the Fascisti League in the United States for the reason that many of the members of these Leagues were American citizens. He said, on the other hand, that these Leagues were very troublesome and were often composed of cranks; that he was up against a dilemma. He said that if these Leagues should, as American incorporated bodies, be entirely released from the orders of Rome, they would proceed to do all sorts of things which would make trouble in this country and would give Italy a very bad name; that, on the other hand, Rome could not successfully assert complete domination for the reason, as stated above, that many members of the Leagues were American citizens and they were actually American corporations.
As to the influence of the Fascisti against permitting Italians in America to take out citizenship papers, the Ambassador said there was no ground whatever for the statement; that Mussolini himself had repeatedly said that he was glad to have Italians living in America become citizens; that the Fascisti League never tried to influence Italians not to become citizens, but on the other hand did everything possible to facilitate it. He said that it was, of course, true that the Government in Rome used every argument possible to prevent Italians living in the Mediterranean region from becoming citizens of the country where they live; that this was particularly true in Tunis and Syria, where Italy was determined to continue, for political reasons, the thoroughly Italian character of the population. This, of course, follows along the line of what he said to me the other day about the political crisis which would undoubtedly arise in a few years because of the desire of Italy to maintain its place in the sun.
- Not printed.↩