Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-05-17
ITALY'S GIGANTIC TASK.
conquerins TripoIi Like Filling Up
Rat Role With Water.

Rat Hole With water.
1 wonder If the italian people have
any idea of the hopeless task that lies
before their army. I wonder If the
people who have to pay for all this
business of war and waste Of ammu-
milton out here have any conception
of the futility of 1t all, or Of the enor-
nous sum of money they will have to
go on paying every month without the
least chance of getting single cent?
mo of 1t back.
The belated European newspapers
that occasionally reach me by devious
routes, give accounts, from time to
time, of glorious Italian victories, Of
which l have never been able to find
any evidence here, though / am free
to go where l choose, writes Alan Ost-
ler, from Tripoli, to the Washington
Star. Possibly these encouraging ac-
counts are credited in Italy. / cannot
otherwise understand why the cam
paign is allowed to continue.
Even If they were true; even If the
Turkish forces were defeated with
heavy loss seven times q week; even
il every Turkish soldier in Tripoli
were shot or cut down by these ire
sistible, valiant Italian warriors, who
speak so modestly of their mythical
successes-even then, Italy would be
no nearer occupying the province OF
Tripoli than she Is today.
Here is the situation as 1t Is at
present, and as it will most probably
continue until italy wearies of her
costly enterprise:
Could Occupy Other Posts.
AS long as she Is prepared to keep
her warships ready for action and to
patrol the coast "a costly affair in it.
self, Italy can be fairly secure against
the recapture of Tripoli, HONS and
Benghazi. She ought, with little en-
terprise, to be able even to occupy
other important posts on the coast
line, and aided by naval gunfire, to
hold them against the Turks and
Arabs.
She also can advance into the de-
sert-lf she cares to pay the price.
The price will be heavy. Every ad-
vancing column will have to be enor-
mously strong in cavalry and infantry
and light artillery. The task of trans
porting heavy artillery across the sand
dunes is practically hopeless.
Every step into the desert length
ems the line of communication, which
the columns must keep intact at all
hazards and this means an enormous
Increase in the size of the army and
consequently in expenditure.
Food, ammunition, fodder and es-
pecially water must be sent daily from
the base, for the desert affords none
Of these but the last, and in the case
of an irresistible advance of this kind
the Arabs would effectively cut off the
water supply by filling up the wells
with sand.
Wherever the column halts for any
length of time it must intrench and
| fortify, as at Ain cara and it will be
harassed by bodies Of Arab flying cav
airy, to attack which would, for a
slow moving force, be like fighting the
wind
Must Fight for Every Foot.
And such a column would be able
to dominate a district extending per-
haps a days ride on either side; GER
tainly not more Now, from the from
| tier of Tunis to the frontier of Egypt
is about forty or forty-five days ride,
and Italy will have to fight for every
square foot of that area.
Even then matters would not be al
together hopeless If defeat meant sub
lection for the Arabs. But 1t does not.
cannot too emphatically state my
conviction that no amount of Italian
victories would ever induce the Arabs
to submit. If Turkey were to make
peace tomorrow the Arabs would go on
fighting as long as Italy attempted to
impose her government upon them.
They do not for moment believe
the Italian promises of prosperity
kindliness and just government. Such
promises have come too late. The
Arabs Of Tripol or, at all events.
their leaders, do not believe that Italy
has spent all the money that this cam
paign is costing merely in order to
! help them to wealth and happiness.