ITALY: Workers of the World, Give

Agricultural Castelfranco (pop. 20,000) is one of the Reddest districts in the Reddest province (Modena) of all Italy. It unfailingly elects Communists to the major offices and contributes to the region's big Red plurality in national elections. But in Castelfranco recently, some 66 of the community's 1,500 registered party members turned in their party cards. Last week one of the defectors explained why.

"To be a Communist has become too much of a luxury," said ex-Comrade Angelo Bardi. "It isn't only the party dues [200 lire a month], it's all the contributing that comes afterwards. Every day someone from the party comes begging for contributions—for L'Unita, for the funeral of persecuted citizens of some country I don't know, for help for jailed comrades, for comrades who have just got out of jail, or for a gift for Comrade Secchia [Italy's No. 3 Communist]. They solicit contributions for Indo-Chinese comrades, for Chinese guerrillas, for bigger cooperatives, for a stronger Federation of Labor, for the rent for cell'meetings, for striking French miners and all kinds of other causes. Last year I paid out 25,000 lire [$40] in contributions. How can I possibly give so much when my annual income is only 170,000 lire [$272]? I just cannot permit myself such luxuries as belonging to the Communist Party. I have a wife and two children, and for six months of the year I cannot find work."

The party tried to talk Angelo out of his decision. "All kinds of people came to see me. They talked big words like ideological deviationism. They even tried to scare me. But I told them I didn't know anything about ideology and that I joined the party only because they said they would help poor people like me. When I saw that wasn't so, I quit."