Omaha daily bee., 1915-04-06
Italy's Price for Neutrality
-aeorr. D Mecl.lian in N.w xort Timss .

NeofRe -. AAcGAellem IN NEW NorA AAueNs
II the rumors which we have heard lately from
Rome to be believed. the territory demanded BY
Italy Of Austria the price OF her neutrality, In
cludes the whole OF southern Tyrol south Of
the Pustertal Corr and Gradisca Trieste and all Of
lsria, with about dozen OF the largest Islands lying
off the crotian and Dalmatan coast thrown in for
good
Whether not this the real attitude OF the
Italian government II undoubtedly represents the de-
sires Of considerable part OF the Italian people who
have lately revived the IrredentIst movement which
prominent during the last quarter Of the nine
tenth century.
In 1878 the young kingdom Of Italy. greatly enjoying
the sensations OF it's newly realized nationality.
fdently expected 10 share IN the distribution of the
Turkish loot at the Congress OF Berlin. Net only was
that hope disappointed. but Italy had the mortfca
ton OF seeing It's hereditary enemy. Austra-Hungary
awarded the administration Of Bosnia-H Herzegovina.
As the result Of this disappointment. and largely
because OF hatred OF Austria. the movement for a
sreater Italy, which had untn then made but little
progress, acquired vigor. The gospel OF Italy
rredents, italy unredeemed preached all over
the kingdom. and It's apostles insisted that italian
honaty was not and could not be complete until ali
italians had been gathered under the house Of Savoy
The usual arguments advanced in support OF italian
claims TO these territories That they In
habted almost entirely by Italians who desire be
included In the kingdom Of Italy; that they shock
ingiy oppressed and misgoverned. and that until
Gently they have belonged TO one or other OF the
Italian states In short IL s urged that their acquis
ton by modern Italy would be nothing but the right
ing Of great wrong, the restoration TO Italy OF
peoples who have been stolen from It. These srsu-
nents have been constantly that they have been
very generally accepted. although. as a matter Of
fact they far from being accurate
The irredentist claims upon the Trentino from
the Italian frontier to Franzensfeste distance Of
ninety-six miles This territory 10 inhabited by an
Italian speaking population for q distance OF thirty
five miles from the border. and for the remaining
fifty-one miles by oermsn-speaking Teutons, The
city of In ha nh
the l@eoo inhabitants OF the Trentno speak Italian
as against one-third speaking German.
The Austrian crown land OF Corr and Gradisca
lies between Italian Friuli and Trieste. OF its in
habtantS twothirds Itaian-speaking Itaians the
rest German-speaking slavs. while Of the 1ssOO
Inhabitants Of Trieste three-fourths speak Italian the
three-fourths are slavs the rest italians, while OF
the Inhabitants Of critia and Damatia including the
islands. only about per cent are Italians
In the charge OF oppression and misgovernment
the wish has been largely the father the thought
for the local Of Austria certainly not
compare unfavorably with those Italy while indus
trial prosperity under normal conditions s higher.
The chief grievance OF Italian Austrians IL the lack
OF an italian university Austrian SOIL and Austria
has done little or nothing 10 II generally
supposed that all the Austrian provinces In which
Italian Is the language OF the majority OF the inhao-
itaRce and in modern times, belonged to italian
states. yet such IL not the case.
OF the Trentno the extreme southern END % line
somewhat north OF Lago di Garda belonged to the
Venetian republic until Its fall 1t is true that the
rest OF Trentino incorporated into Chariemagne
kingdom Of Italy in IA. but early 1897 the en-
peror Conrad H. gave all the temporal rights the
region to thu bishop Of Trent and transferred II
Germany. to power or other OF which Il has since
belonged except during the rule OF Napoleon The
claim that Garbald conquered II in 1866 Is absolutely
untenable It had only crossed tho border when he
received the order TO retire from cavour.
During part Of the eleventh century Corr and
<Fadiaca belOnRed mai nj
The region then held successfully by the Eppen-
stein and Lungan families and with the exception
Of It's occupation by Napoleon has belonged to the
house Of Hapsburs since the year 1900
Trieste belonsed 10 the German count-bishOp from
the fail Of the Roman empire until its capture by
Venice in 1908 II off and under Venetian
troll until 1859, when Al passed definitely 70 Austria
IStra- non-Italian-speaking province. belonged to
Venice from the twelfth century until the peace OF
Campo Fornio in 1897, when passed TO Austria.
while Dalmatia, another non-Italian region more
less under Venetian control during the period
OF the entire Austrian territory which the IRE
dentists desire only Isria and the Damatian islands
have belonged to Italian state in comparatively
modern times and they have belonged to Austria of us
years. while Of the unredeemed' Inhabitants nearly
half either Germans or siavs and do not speak
Italian
In all human probability il IFredentlst dreams
como true Italy viii find itself with a problem its
hands almost as serious a. that which Germany has
had In Alsace and Lorraine. The German inhabitants
OF South Tyrol have always been among the most
loyal subjects OF the house Of HApsburg II Is as
nconcevabie TO think OF the German peasants the
Trentino becoming loyal Italians It IL to think OF
the Italians becoming loyal Prussians The savs In
the lrrcdentst lands have absolutely nothing in
with Italy. Those who disloyal to Vienna OF
Budapest look to Petrograd for inspiration and Ger
tainly not TO Rome. In gratifying the irTedsntisi
l hopes Italy would assume not only Language ques
ton. but also race question and national question
The strength OF modern Italy has been its nationa