The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

An address remarkable for its frank ness was delivered few nights ago in Chicago by Count Bolognesi, Italian con- sul IL is hard to believe that the count was speaking with the knowledge of his government and it is especially hard to believe that the ideas he enunciated are those of the ruling party in Rome.
 Count Bolognesi declared that in a short while Italy will have 2,20o0Oo well armed and well drilled soldiers enrolled in it's armies. Italy. he said, is not merely preparing to protect itself Its mission is nobler higher greater. One side or the other must lose in the battle of titans Russia, England and France will lie crushed and bleeding beneath the heel of the furor of the Teutonicus, or Ger many and Austria Hungary will roll in the dust kicked up by the victorious al- lies.
 Then will come Ita1y's glorious oppor- tunity. Her 2ooO.OoO untried but unafraid veterans will step across the path of the victor. You must not press down this crown of thorns' will be her shibbo- leth and her battle cry. The defeated will be picked from the dust and grime, his wounds will be washed and tended, his broken leg will be placed in splints, and his awry orb will be bandaged pend ing healing time.
 Thus Count Bolognesi hath it, or had it one night last week when, filled with righteous fire and ablaze with altruistio !. .t.. foI1, rn11r, 1.xff1 1aaT1 of Chicago. It is possible that Count Bolognesi today doesn't hold the senti- ments he so eloquently expressed last week. It is probable that ere this he has received a cablegram with Rome date line and a few words of advice ex- pressed in code.
 Heretofore \the United States has as- stunned propretorship of all diplomacy of the purely philanthropic brand. Unfor- tunately, Uncle Sam failed to copyright the article, and he can have no redress if Italy, under the lead of Bolognesi, comes along and grabs the idea and pro- ceeds to decorate it with a little em- broidery of her own. In our widest flights of Utopian lmaginings, we never thought to fight the victors to keep the Vanuushed from being utterly crushed. We had hoped to be of use when peace making time came round, employing lit tie moral suasion and a few hopeful ex- pressions in order to tighten the load of the oppressed. But to enter the arena with a shout of hold" and a few mil- lion troops had not been considered as an essential part of our plan. So If Count Bolognesi and Italy wish to adopt this role, we suppose we will have to lay our puny plans back on the shelf and continue to play the part of the suffering bystander
 But can you conceive of such heroics on the part of the Italians, the innabi- tants of that Italy which has profitad by all the recent great wars of Europe merely standing in receptive posture while some one else shook down the CO., coanuts. that Italy which was the gainer when Austria recoiled before the Ger man shock at Sadowa, that Italy which garnered great spoil from the humbling of Napoleon III? Surely 1t will be new role for Italy.
 Even now Italy seems to be watching with all the keenness of a cat at q rat hole for an opportunity to begin hostili- ties against Turkey, therefore against Austria and Germany. Vienna is kept busy explaining that 1t did not lay the mines which blew up so many Italian ships, actual or mythical. Rome has threatened to print the text of the triple alliance and some other history tending to prove that once before Germany and Austria were ready to try their strength with the triple entente and were pre- vented from doing so only by the fact that Italy declined to aid them in a war of aggression.
 Albania. Trieste and Trentino are cov- eted by Italy. If she can get them with out fighting. well and good-for Italy. If she cannot get them without joining the allies on the battle line an excuse for a declaration of war will be found in time.
 After carefully studying the situation, we are unable to conclude that Count Bolognesi was giving us the straight goods. Rather are we inclined to the view that he simply felt he was delivering a message to us barbarians of the west ern world who are supposed to know ab- solutely nothing of the ways of diplomacy and who are expected to swallow any dose that the enlightened of effete Eu- rope condescend to administer
 A tremor of sadness pervades much of
 
 the heroic, note of humanity, plaintive but positive. that, though its cadence be softly sorrowful, yet proclaims like angels trumpet-tongued against the wan toress, the wastefulness. the inutility and frtility of it all it's unnaturalness and It's insanity.
 Aboard the Scharnhorst with Admiral Count Von Spec were his two sons. They had shared his triumphs and they shared his death. They viewed life bravely and coldly, and with no qualm they stared steedfastly in the eyes of eternity when their hour struck in the bell towers of time Their nation was at war. and 1t was their duty to live for 1t if they could. to die for 1t if they must. They lived for it as their light showed them to live, and they passed into the shadows in tho manner in which they felt they should pass. Brave sons of a brave sire. their young lives were forfeits, infinitesimal and