The Domimion FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1920. ITALY REVIVING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 95, 16 January 1920, Page 6

The Domimion FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1920. ITALY REVIVING

Italy has done something since the armistice to deepen the problems and perplexities of her allies, but time on the whole strengthens the conviction that she may yet be relied upon to play a worthy part in the task of world reconstruction. Within the last few days brief cablegrams have indicated that a settlement of the Adriatic question is being approached; and whether or not such predictions err on the side of optimism they receive a certain amount of support from the fact that internal conditions in Italy seem to be settling down. Both in regard to the Adriatic dispute and to wider aspects of the peace settlement much, of course, depends on the ability of Italy to attain settled conditions of government and of productive industry. As a country enjoying internal peace she will be much less likely to come to blows with her Adriatic neighbours,' and much more likely to reach complete agreement with her allies, than if she is a prey to internal strife. As events are now shaping it seems fairly certain that a considerable element of exaggeration entered into the reports which were current a month or two ago about the development of insurgent forces and tendencies in Italy. Shortly after the elections in November last there was some- talk of impending revolutionary upheavals and of attempts to compel the abdication of King Victor Emmanuel, but the actual course of events since that time has been in the direction of restoring settled order. The state of affairs disclosed by the elections certainly left plenty of scope for such a national recovery and awakening as seems now to be in progress. An arresting feature of the returns was tho remarkable success of the Socialists, who captured 156 seats, as compared with the 40 seats they held in the previous Parliament. In addition, an entirely new party —the Catholic Popular Party— iwhoso platform is one of national economic reconstruction closely resembling that of the Socialists, secured the election of 101 representatives.

The new forces thus introduced, bulk large in a House with a., total roll of 508 members, and since most of the Socialists profess Bolshevik sympathies, the election results give some obvious' grounds for apprcKcnsion. Well-informed authorities arc agreed, however, that the Socialists owe their success to the apathy of other parties, and represent only a minority of the nation. The percentage of votes registered in some parts of the country was phenomenally small. In Rome only 29 per cent, of the voters went to the poll, and similar apathy prevailed generally through Central and Southern Italy. The electors of one or two Calabrian communes abstained altogether from voting, as 0. protest, it is said, against Government inactivity in- providing schools, roads, and railways. In the north of Italy, however, from 60 to 70 per cent. of. the qualified electors recorded their votes. No fully convincing explanation has been given of the widespread failure to vote, but it is clear that Socialists were thus offered,an exceptional opportunity by which they have profited to the full so far as the gain of scats is concerned. The opinion has been expressed with some show of reason, however, that their entrance into Parliament as a strong party and the t responsibilities thus cast upon them will act as a great damper upon their extreme views.. Their success is manifestly of a negative character, and no doubt it would speedily be reversed if they attempted to stampede the country into wild courses. In Signor Nitti, who rcfa-ins the Prime Ministership, Italy seems to have found the right leader to extricate it from its present difficulties. ' He is a resourceful statesman, full of energy and vitality, who buoyantly refuses to be cowed or disheartened by the crowding problems of the moment. When the election results were declared one at least of his colleagues, the then Foreign Minister, Signor Tittoni, was of the opinion that the Cabinet ought to resign. Signor Nitti avouUl hear nothing of such counsels of weakness. He considered, according to an English correspondent at Borne, that to abandon power at such a moment would be equivalent to a general deserting his soldiers on the battlefield and in face of the enemy, and would almost be treason to King and country. Events have already done something to justify his courage and optimism. Disorders had to be put down in some places in the weeks which followed the election, but quieter conditions have supervened, and just before Christmas the Chamber of Deputies passed a. vote of confidence in the Government by 242 votes to 216. SiCNOR Nitti seems 'to be well endowed with the elements of calm strength which are so much needed in Italy and elsewhere at the present juncture. "I protest," he said recently in the Chamber of Deputies, "against the campaign abroad tending to. represent Italy on the eve of a revolution. The conditions relative to public order are not different here from those prevailing in the majority of (he countries of Europe. All necessary measures have been taken by the Government." The Italian Premier and those who second his efforts are- faced undoubtedly by a heavy task in rallying a somewhat exhausted unci dispirited nation and rousing it to new effort, but there does' not seem to be any doubt that a good and promising beginning has been made on these lines.