The Bismarck Tribune

VAST REARMAMENT
PROGRAM IS DUCE'S
ANSWER TO BRITAIN
Virtual Lifetime Military Service
Is Decreed for All Italians

FIVE POINT PLAN OUTLINED
Fascist Grand Council Fails to
Indicate How It Will Finance Scheme

Rome, Mar. 2.-(AP)-Fascist Italy decreed virtual lifetime military service Tuesday for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 55 in a direct challenge to the threat of Great Britain's vast rearmament program.

Declaring "even the remote possibility of limitation of armaments now has been definitely excluded," the Fascist grand council plunged Italy into the swift world arms race with a five point plan to increase her armaments and war forces.

At the same time, the official communique issued after the near all-night session of the governing body of Fascism stressed the "realistic" cooperation of Italy with the Fascist bloc of nations, particularly Nazi Germany.

Consideration Wanted
In addition to what was generally considered the direct answer to British rearming, a veiled hint to Britain to consider Italian power in her foreign program was seen in the council's comment on the Anglo-Italian gentlemen's agreement.

While the grand council declared it considered the accord clarified the relations between the two nations in the Mediterranean, the limitation of the clarification to that specific area yielded no hint of general agreement.

Italy, the council emphasized, desired to collaborate with those nations which demonstrate a desire to collaborate with "Fascist Italy."

Financing Is Mystery
How the huge program, totally sacrificing the civil state to the military if necessary, was to be financed the communique did not announce.

Foremost among the five points decreed by the grand council, meeting at the call of Premier Mussolini, was the "integral militarization of all active forces between the ages of 18 and 55" with periodical recalls of the mobilizable classes.

Il Duce, who recently boasted Italy could put 8,000,000 armed men into battle, personally put through the far-reaching program to answer the British announcement that $7,500,000,000 would be spent on war defense in the next five years.

Four Other Points
The four other points reached through every phase of Italian life:

1. An "adequate increase" in the armed forces.

2. Extension for five years of the general commission for war supplies.

3. "Total sacrifice if necessary of civil necessities to military necessities for attainment of maximum self sufficiency regarding military needs."

4. An invitation to Italian science to collaborate in reaching self-sufficiency.