"ROME BEWILDERED"
Sut,—In your issue of February 27th Mr. Raleigh Trevelyan, commenting on my article, Rome Efisaildered, points out that there is " nothing much wrong with the open-air selling of ties, scarves, toys and kitchen utensils,"
which is perfectly true. I now see, and regret, that in attempting to con- vey something of the bizarre scene presented by the (mainly black) street
market, I mentioned these articles rather than the various items of food- stuffs with which they are surrounded. But, after rather considerable " snooping " into the ramifications of Rome's black market, I must deny Mr. Trevelyart's blunt statement that the English and U.S. cigarettes on sale are all the camouflaged sweepings of the gutter. This is true of a certain proportion ; the majority, however, are from U.S. and British Army supplies or from Switzerland—in which country it is far easier to buy English cigarettes than it is in England.
What I find astounding in Mr. Trevelyan's amiable letter is his sentence on the way in which Romans are dealing with the " exorbitant rise in the cost of living, as reflected in the black market ... with individual economic vigour, nefarious or otherwise." These are his own words, and my italics. How on earth can he say that nefarious—i.e., wicked; wrong; evil—activi- ties do, anything to " deal with " the black market? It is the tragic prevalence of nefarious activities that has caused much of Italy's plight. No, though I appreelate the tone of Mr. Trevelyan's letter, I stick to my guns and abide by what I wrote.—Yours, &c., GEOFFREY GODWIN.
8 Beaufort Gardens, S.W.3.
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