The Press: Invention

La Gazzetta del Popolo of Turin reported last week that a battalion of the French infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Dupont, had deserted to Switzerland because the men were perturbed by the international situation. Beneath this story in very small type, La Gazzetta added:

“The above report is an invention. But so was the report published by Paris newspapers that four Italian soldiers of the 27th Infantry Regiment had presented themselves to the French military authorities . . . saying that they had not had enough to eat in Italy.”