The Dominion SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1918. ITALY'S MORAL ENLARGEMENT THROUGH WAR
A distinguished French thinker has.said that seasons of easy-going peace tend to corrupt nations, as large towns tend ,to corrupt- air, and. that 'war is a, way of putting the world brutally to rights. We have illustrations of such a statement in this war. In the days before the war .considerations, of mere expediency, not always of the highest kind, bulked too large in tho policy of the nations of the Allies;, but now a regard • for principle, without which civilisation is impossible, has constrained those nations to glory in sacrifice in war; and by doing so they have found moral enlargement. This is very specially triio with regard to Italy. The war found her bound by an unholy pact of peace- to Austria, her hereditary enemy, and to Germany, hoi- sham friend.' ' For years before the war the political boss of Italy was Giolitti, who was ever ready to dance to the political piping of the Potsdam war lords. The country was getting enmeshed ■ in the political and commercial toils of Germany: banks, industries, the Press,: and even Parliament were often so. many flies in the web of .the German spider. 'As late as 1914 a commercial treaty was imposed oni Italy that brought a steady profit annually of 25,000,000 francs to German commerce and , industry. "Italy before tho war seemed morally and politically asleep. Although a member of the Triple Alliance, she was' usually treated by Austria and Germany- ;ns their fag and not as their-"equal.. \ At. times, when, the peace of Europe. >.was threatened, :taly was treated as an equal.' "But," says Dn.'". Dillon, "when once the incident was over she became the needy and biw-bcatcn client of two wealthy grandees on whose rare generosity shs was wholly dependent, and whose behests it was part of her functions to carry out." _ It has been pointed out thatAustria in the map of Europe presents .'the" appearance of a- huge bird of: prey with its.'head in the Tyrol and its devouring beak in the Trentino part of the Tyrol. The suggestion hasv a. sad significance. 'The Triple Alliance was no restraint to Austria, as regards her.playing the vampire/and sucking the blood of sleeping Italy. She sought to destroy without mercy Italian Irredentism in, Trieste. She flooded 'the place with Slav immigrants and gave, them social and political honours* and ousted tho Italians.- The Italian language was driven from the schools, and it. was treason to sing, an Italian- national'-song.- . 'When the. war broke out -Italy began to wake out of sleep. The slumbering consciences of Italy's statesmen began to speak.- -.War on the-side of Austria aridrGermany was clearly to them, morally impossible. The Cabinet decreed that it must for a time at least be neutral, and it showed to France what it meant by ■neutrality—by withdrawing.' its troops from the French frontier. German}* became alarmed that this neutrality might not last, and sent Prince von'Bui,ow to' buy or bribe Italy by Austrian concessions to permanent neutrality. This bargaining wonton for months, and Italian diplomatists were'always raising the price higher; though neither King nor Cabinet wanted war. But while this huckstering was going on the nation in whose eyes the Central Powers had become the enemies of the World's peace and, freedom declared for war. It demanded.war or revolution. It declared for warwhen the. prospects of the Allies were dark'and dreary. -The people felt that this waV was one of liberation like the wars that brought unity and independence to Italy. The people led King, Cabinet, and I Parliament"into war. The entrance uf Italy into the war was to her a moral rise. It was an answer to a cry of Italy's! friends, such as was expressed by Swinburne years before: .' 'Italia! by the passion of Hie pain iliat bout'and rent thy chain.; IMia! by the breaking of the bands, The shaking of the lnnds, Beloved, O.Men's Alother, O Men's Queen Arise, appear, he seen! On May 23, 1915, the Italian Parliament, in obedience to the cry of tho nation, declared war against Austria, On May 9 in London a secret treaty was signed by Britain; France, Eussia, and Italy. Trotsky I found this treaty in the archives I of tho Foreign Office in Pctrograd, and published- it on November 2li, 1917. This treaty assigns to Italy not only her "unredeemed lands," but also other territory, and she is made almost entirely mistress of tho Adriatic. Nearly all this is-just, as it should be, but the treaty presses harshly on 'the Slav races whose shores run down to tho Adriatic. Italy has had reason to have unkindly feelings towards tho Austrian -Slavs. Austria used them to degrade and despqil the Italians in Incstc and Trentino,' arid tho publication of this treaty Had a disturbing influence on' tho Jtfgoblavs, who till the collapse of Russia were looking to"ltaly as one of ,tho Powers tljat might help them to-rise to national unity and independence. But this breach has been healed, anti its healing is due to the action of some of Italy's best sons. Two Florentine University professors wrote a book on The Adriatic Question-cuvly in 191(j, in which they pleaded for adequate recognition of Slav rights, but the censor suppressed tho book. . Tho Italian Foreign Office has changed its mind since then. The censor's ban was removed early in tho year, and tho book was published. / A Congress of Jugo-Slavs-and Italian statesmen was held in the Capitol in Homo the other month, and a common agreement come to, called "The Pact of Rome." "Italians and Jiigo-Slavs pledged themselves to a" unity of their interests, and to act in common to secure their full rights. They particularly specified .that the liberation and defence of tho Adriatic: was a vital interest of tho_ two peoples." An "Old Mazzinian," in. the''Contemporary Review of June, gives a luminous account of this purging-/'a-nd'purify-ing of the war aims of- Italy with tho view of doing justice to. :tho
Slavs. - Ho ■ remarks: "The range and magnitude • of this new departure are clear enough. It involves the whole political future of SouthEastern Europe and the settlement of. tho Balkan problem under thp aegis of Italy." More will be heard of this "Pact .of Home," but it is evidence of another moral rise in tho ideals of Italy's leaders. The fact that Italy rescued the Serbian Army in the dark hour of its defeat in December, 1915, must count for much in the eyes of tho Southern Slavs of our time and of all time. If; has done much to draw Italian ' and Slav together. Italy's fighting forces on land have done much to win our truest admiration. They are guarding a line longer than the Belgian, British, and French line on the Western front, and they have kept busy colossal armies of the enemy. But Italy's Navy is worthy of equal respect, and,the record of the rescue of i the Serbian army after its retreat js worthy of- being placed alongside the best traditions of the British 'Navy. The 1 official narrative of what the Italian Navy did in the Adriatic early, in 1916 has been given recently to the- world. When Serbian armies, smashed up by' Mackensen's great.forces, fled to the shores..of the they were saved by. Italy.' In a sea-, infested by submarines and ■ mines Italy, assisted by French and British, transported 300,000 men, ;iO,OOO tons.of war material,, many thousands of animals, to her. own and other friendly shores, without losing one man through enemy attack, When we consider the high ideals of Italy's present-day leaders, and her fine record'of daring "on sea and land/ we can iindsrstaiid'th'e enthu. siasm of one of America's war correspondents, who said: "After what I have seen over there I feel like lifting my hat in respect and admiration to the next Italian that I see."
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 306, 14 September 1918, Page 6
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1,316The Dominion SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1918. ITALY'S MORAL ENLARGEMENT THROUGH WAR Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 306, 14 September 1918, Page 6
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