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Presents which accompanied Premier Mussolini as he entrained for Rome—and II Duce was the last person to climb aboard, after which Der Führer on the platform talked to him animatedly through an open window until the car moved off— included three crates of "rare geese" presented by the Berlin Zoo, while the City of Hanover gave Equestrian Mussolini a silver statuette of a charger, the flesh and blood original to be sent to him in Rome. On II Duce's arrival, screaming men and women raced forward waving flags and handkerchiefs with cries to their Dictator of "A noil A noil" ("To us! To us!") Appearing on his famed balcony Orator Mussolini ended his German junket with one of his shortest speeches:
"Blackshirts! . . . The objectives of ... Italo-German friendship, consecrated by the Rome-Berlin axis . . . are close solidarity of the two revolutions, a rebirth of Europe and among the peoples Peace!"
Significance. Mostly European commentators agreed that Hitler and Mussolini had now linked themselves in the eyes of their 115,000,000 people and of the world so definitely that for the present any rumors that they are not in full cooperation over Spain may be dismissed. It was clear that II Duce and Der Fuhrer were both bidding—and bidding jointly—for close and peaceful relations with Britain and France, to the exclusion of Soviet Russia and Leftist Spain. Assuming that Mussolini's state visit to Hitler cost $1,000,000—and the colossal splurge of decorations in German cities alone footed up to at least that—the whole show was a $1,000,000 Fascist way of saying to the Democracies, "You agree to our joining up with you—OR ELSE!"
As Premier Mussolini got back to work in Rome this week his aides predicted he would reject, but not too brusquely, a cordial new British-French note in which these Great Powers were understood to propose that, in exchange firstly for granting Italy "full parity" with themselves to patrol the Mediterranean against pirates (TIME, Oct. 4), and secondly for extending "conditional belligerent rights" to Spain's Rightists and Leftists, Italy in return should agree to a scheme of withdrawing all volunteers now fighting in Spain. Neither Rome, Paris nor Britain seemed likely to take an adamant position in the tri-power negotiations now under way on Spain, and prospects were for groping toward a compromise. General Attilio Teruzzi. staff commander of Italian volunteers in Spain, was said in reliable Rome quarters to have come to report in person to II Duce, will advise the Dictator as to probable war results in Spain of making any move or combination of moves touching "volunteers," "Non-Intervention," "pirates," "belligerent rights. . . ."