The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-27


ceded her there She was excluded
from supremacy in her own watery
domain, excluded even from serious
consideration in the management OF its
affairs. The Mediterranean was an
English lake; II became French lake
as well. With a valid claim TO the
northern littoral OF Africa she found
herself, like Germany, without colonies.
And France watched her as jealousy
as England watched the empire.
With Crispi began the succession OF
able Italian statesmen who have Gre
ated and consistently developed their
countrys foreign policy. Both during
his lifetime and after his death Crisp
has been attacked and maligned es-
peCially in France. He has been called
vain, he has been accused OF caring
more for his own greatness than for
! Italy's interests; It has been charged
against him that he was Bismarck s
puppet and that his policy OF opposf-
ton to France wrought much harm FOR
/ Italy without yielding it compensatins
benefits; Il has even been said that he
[ led tho kingdom to the verge Of bank
| ruptcy with his ambitious plans. but
/ the truth OF the matter IL that he gave
he made her really one OF the great
| Powers OF Europe. commanding Eu-
ropes attention and respect. His sta tes-
manship and that OF his successors
/ without exception. produced results OBJ
/ tsinable In no other way. II was not
untn after Crispi had shown that Italy
/ dared oppose France that the republic
/ discovered that the kingdom was worth
! conciliaung.
And yet. on the whole. 1taly's foreign
policy has not been an aggressive one
/ Aiming at friendly relations with
| France, England and Russia. IL has con-
: sistently attended to its own business
as a member OF the Triple Alliance
/ That alliance. by the way, has paid
Italy a hundredfold what il has cost
her. II was not meRalomanta, the de-
sire to play the part of c great Power
that led her into the partnership. lu,
a sound understanding Of her interests
Like Germany again. she found at tn.
beginning Of her national life a chess-
board set by other Powers The insur
ance the Triple Alliance gave her was
not only or primarily against France
but against Austria-Hungary in the
Balkans. 1t gave her there the dssur-
mare settlement and, with H. CON
tinued assurance Of her hegemony In
the Adriatlc-all the hegemony she
could claim in the Mediterranean
England ut Gibraltar. guarding the
gate; France IN Algeria. then in Tuns
and in Morocco England aVair In
Egypt. IN Malta and now in Cyprus
! And Russia WIS coveting CONSTANT
nople and the hegemony Of the Bal
| kans. The riValrics OF Italy and the
| Dual Monarchy there, serious though
| they were, We're outwcighcd by th.iI
| Common interests against the threat
| med Slav predominance. The alliance
with Germany and Austria Hungary
| was 1tlly's only choice. France not
| rival in the Mediterranean, reaching
! ever further eastward along the Afri-
| can shore. The claim that she should
! have kept free from all alliances is an
/ erroneous one. IL only because in that
! case her bills for military and naval
| expenditures would have been far
/ heavier than they needed 10 he under
, her system Of defensive insurance with
| the central Powers.
since IL is the fashion just now to
trace all European history since 1871
back 20 Bismarck, f. may not he with
out interest to remember here that it
was not he but Bea,orsfeld who, a,
the CONGRESS Of Berlin. sent Austria
Hungary into Bosn!-Her2cgov!na. He