The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-08-13
ITALY AND AUSTRIA.
No Human Method of Reconciling Aus
trian and Italian Authorities.

world is fixed upon the Belgian plai
where hundreds of thousands Of soldier
OF four nations are moving toward bat
tie, events are taking place in south
eastern Europe too important to be over
looked and not unlikely to exercise |
material influence in the general war.
Most important of all is the lombard
Inent of Antivari by the Austrian feet
OF itself Antivari is of no real value al
a port or as base for naval or military
operation. But with Dulcigno it is th'
single tiny Slav facade upon the Ardi
attic, the only window on the sea" Of
the Serbs What is even more note
worthy is that it is the only barrier be
tween Austrian Dalmatia and that Al
bantam kingdom in which Austrian ana
Italian ambitions clash
1t is this circumstance that has made
the artillery Of Austria on the Adriatic
awaken angry echoes in Rome. Tech
nically the Italians protest that Aus
trian cannon were trained upon Italian
property protected by Italian flags in
/ 1IlllkdIls dtIuullN lllF dhktl 40 wv
casioned by the fact that Austrian opera
tions disclose plainly what win be the
line of Austrian profit if the Austro-
German alliance triumpphs in the present
war.
The Triple Alliance has broken down
at the decisive moment because there
was no human method of reconeiling
Austrian and Italian ambitions. Foreign
dispatches allege that the Kaiser offered
Italy Algeria, Tunis, the Belgian Congo
But the eyes, the ambitions of Italians
are as firmly fixed upon the Adriatic as
English upon the German ocean. What
the Straits Of Dover are to the British
those of Otranto are to Italy.
Slavdom and the Italians pursue par
Iallel, not conflicting aims in the Adriatic.
Apart from the sentimental alliance be-
tween Montenegro and Italian, arising
from the fact that the Queen OF Italy is
the daughter OF Nicholas of the Black
mountain, the Italians are fully recon
eiled to the prospect Of an extension OF
Seryia TO the Adriatic, to the union OF
Bosnia and Herzegovina and even a por-
ton of Dalmatia to Servia and the ere
alton on the Danube and the Save and
along the Adriatic of Slay state which
shall permanentslly block Austrian aid
vance along the Adriatic and down the
valley Of the Morava to Saloniea.
All the good harbors of the Adriatic
are on the eastern side. Trieste, Pola,
Sebenico. Cattaro, Valona, every naval
base OF Importance lies on the Austrian
side of the narrow sea, and all save Va
Iona are in Austrian hands. All, too,
have Italian names, Italian speaking in
ha bitants, and were a portion Of the
great overseas empire of Venice until |
Napoleon came, Trieste, like the Tren-
tino, is italia irredenta" for the newer
ton as Venice and Piedmont were
for Others.
To-day Italy has to consider that If /
Austria and Germany win, Servia, Mon
tenegro and the road to Salonica will I
all become Austrian. Austrian territory |
will join that Of the tottering state of /
and not impossibly, Albania it. !
self with Valona, the key, the Dover of
the Straits of 0tranto will pass to the
Dual Monarchy She has also to con.
slider what may possibly be the attitude
Of a victorious Austria toward an ally
that at the moment of battle, for rea
sons OF her own, however honorable,
failed to take her expected place in the
line.
A victory by the Allies Of the west, on
The contrary, would have no serious re-
suit for Italy In fact. Austria whipped,
perhaps dismembered Italian ambition
% dominate the Adriatic, to recover
orotectorate in Albania, even to hold
Rhodes and the islands of
he Dodecanese in the Hgean would be
.asily attainable, wholly attainable with
he approval of France and England, the
treat naval powers of the Mediterran- |
an. ii Italy made common cause with |
hese nations.
Self-interest is the deciding element {
With nations as with individuals. and in
he case of Italy self interest as well as
'rejudce and popular feeling all march
n one direction. This explains why,
With ever increasing insistence, dis
atches from Europe forecast that Italy j
vill presently enter the ranks of the e
oes of Zweikaiserbund j
To prophesy is foolish, but it is we'll e
0 recall the famous words of a great $
Italian diplomatist, Count Nigra, who '
aid, Austria and Italy can be only al J
les or foes" And Italy has definitely t
nd deeisively elected not to be an Aus v
rian ally in the great crisis of European a
istory now existing.-New York Even '
~ Sun. q