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The old Cathedral of Milan looks down on a mass of communist demonstrators as the bitter

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Italian election campaign draws to a close.

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This election eve crowd has gathered to hear Palmiro Togliatti, the red leader and one

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of the communist strongholds of northern Italy.

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Even here in Milan, where the communists were expected to be strongest, they fell behind

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the Christian Democrats of Premier de Gasperi.

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Election day, despite fears of revolution and violence, was calm, and the advance of

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the red flag across Europe was halted when the Italian people were given an opportunity

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to make a clear choice in a free election.

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The Church itself took part in the campaign against the communists, and the crowd before

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the Milan Cathedral hears the priesthood called clerical slaves of foreign war mongering imperialism,

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communist jargon for American policy.

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Togliatti in his reds charge that every vote for de Gasperi is a vote for Truman, which

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brings the more effective counter that every vote for Togliatti is a vote for Stalin.

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Despite raucous communist demonstrations like this one, the vote is anti-Stalin.

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In Rome, the neo-fascist organization Social Movement demonstrates just before the Friday

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night deadline on political activity.

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The followers of the old Mussolini line, like the communists, were beaten in the election,

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but both are still waiting to take over if the Italian government cannot make democracy work.