| Chapter 1: | Italy from the American Immigration Quota Act of 1921 to Mussolini’s Policy of Grossraum, 1921–1924 |
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A third series of problems complicating the situation concerned foreign ships—from five French and three English companies—involved in the transportation of Italian emigrants. Their presence, the eventual competition, and the refusal to withdraw willingly from Italian ports made imperative an intervention by the Italian government. Since those ships operated under foreign flags, the Italian Societies of Navigation, Transatlantica Italiana, Navigazione Generale Italiana, Transoceanica, Lloyd Sabaudo, Cosulich, and La Veloce, on May 4, 1921, presented a request to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce asking for immediate governmental intervention.
They pointed out the considerable decline of emigration, the consequent economic losses suffered by the companies, and the competition created by the presence of foreign companies in Italian ports. To reduce the losses of Italian maritime companies and the national economy, they recommended that the Italian companies receive exclusive rights to transport Italian emigrants and the foreign companies be temporarily excluded so long as the Johnson Bill remained in effect. In evaluating the plight of the companies, the government gave serious consideration to the expenditures they had made in improving and expanding their fleet and port facilities, especially at Genoa and Naples.
At first the government suggested the companies compete in northern European shipping markets, but the companies rejected the proposal. European shipping tonnage already exceeded the demand, and little room was left for competition. Besides, the Italian ships would have been at a distinct disadvantage. Northern European companies had the advantages of shorter trips, better supplies, and national protection.
On May 19, the Honorable Tommaso Tittoni, undersecretary of industry and commerce, sent an urgent request to Prime Minister Giolitti to take action concerning the practical consequences of the Johnson Bill for shipping companies. The undersecretary urged the adoption of the following measures: