Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-06

allies would fail to get the men to
Macedonia in time to save the Serbian
army.
italian Failure.
The full consequence of the italian
failure are just beginning to be appre-
ciated in Rome. If the Germans win
the war now, not only will Italy not
get back the Trentino and Trieste, but
instead of a neutral Albania and two
Independent Slav states barring the ad-
vance of Austria to the south, she will
race a Balkan peninsula and an Adri-
attic shore completely under German
and Austrian control.
AS for Italian dreams in the near
east: 1t is again an example of poetic
Justice that Is to be found in the
aegean, as in the Adriatic. In the
turkish war the Italians seized Rhodes
ana the Dodecanesus group The peo-
pie OF these islands were as Greek as
those OF Venetian are Italian. In TAX
ing these islands Italy did violence to
the whole Hellenic aspiration and re-
peated in the near east the precfse
crime that she charged against Austria
In the Trentino.
The people of Rhodes and the Dods-
canesus desired to join the Greek king
dom. So did the Epirotes of what the
Italians call southern Albania BY in
terfering with the legitimate national
aspirations of the Greeks the Italians
aroused bitter hatred in Athens.
When italy came into the great war on
the allied side the hatred of the Greek
people for the Italians, hatred based
on wrongs that were still recent, con-
trfbuted materially to holding back
the Greeks. 1t was a contributing els-
ment in the success of the German at
tack upon Serbia. because the Greeks
were not unreasonably suspicious that
they might bear the brunt of a savage
German attack, only to find that the
Italians had turned Greek victory to
more islands or provinces.
BY her policy toward the southern
Slavs Italy raised up the Slav resist
ance, which has SO far defended Aus
trian frontiers from Italian attack. BY
her invasion of Greek islands and her
interference with legitimate Greek as
pfrations in Albania Italy did much
to help King Constantine defeat the
EFFORTS Of Venizelos to enlist the Greek
nation on the allied side in the recent
critical months when the Germans and
Austrtans were coming south.
PerpleHng Problem.
The problem of the Adriatic and thu
Aegean is one of the most perplexins
the adherents Of the allied cause have
to face. 1t is easy to defend the al
lied proposals so far as Belgium and
northern France are concerned The
liberation of both these conquered re-
glons is easily proved to be desirable
on ethical and national grounds. But
what of Adriatic lands?
IF the allied victory which means the
liberation of France and Belgium also
means the destruction of the Slay ma
tional and racial claims; if the Ger
mans are to be driven out of Belgium
and the Italians permitted to do in Dali
malta what the Germans might do in
Belgium. could they annex it, then
there Is a confusion.
Again. If it is good logic that the
Belgians are entitled to choose their
own king and their own country; il it
Is sound doctrine that the French
should remain free and France should
not be mutilated again, by the same
token why should the italians be per-
mitted to destroy the Hellenic inher-
itance and rule in Rhodes or deny to
the people of Argyrocastro and Santi
Quaranta that freedom which for them
means reunion with Greece?
In point of fact. the Italian aspira-
tions. except so far as they apply to
the Trentino. and perhaps to the city
OF Trieste, are no more legitimate than
those of the Serbs to regain Bosnia
and their ancient frontage on the sea-
The Austrians have quite as sound a
claim to Dalmatia as the Italians, and
both are offenders against the law of
actually or in their desires,
along the whole Adriatic coast from
Pola to Corfu.
Returning to the military aspect Of
of the situation. it is plain what the
operations mean. Austria Is
now at last doing the work she had in
mind to do when she served her ulti-
matum upon Serbia in July. 1914. She
Is getting ready to complete the con-
quest Of the eastern shore of the Adri-
attic by taking Valona; she already has
Il oh, L.
valona. the work is done, the whole
eastern coast is closed to Italy and the
larger fraction of what Italy has
dreamed of taking for years is lost, at
least temporarily.
Va1ona and Salonfkf.
II the quadruple alliance, the sea
powers as contrasted with the central
powers. can hold Valona and Saloniki,
they will still keep bases from which
they can resume the conflict in the
near east whenever the Austro-German
resources begin to fail, granting that
exhaustion and attrition prove to be
the forces that they have been esti-
mated to be. The allies will have still
such bases in the Balkan peninsula as
Great Britain held in Cadiz and Lisbon
But if these bases fall to the central
powers. then the control of the near
east will pass absolutely to the central
powers. the task of reconquest will be
difficult and the fate of the Balkans
will be decided on other fields. This is
not wholly undesirable. 1t
would be wholly vicious thing. from
he point of view of those who beieve
hat races and peoples should be al
owed to follow their own aspirations.
hat the Italians should replace the
Austrians and the Hungarians as the
masters of the Slavs. or should repeat
n Greece the offense which Austrian
-ule in the Trentino constitutes.
The only solution of the eastern ques- .
ion that will make for permanent
peace will be founded necessarily on
The recognition of the indepen-
ience of the various Balkan peo-
1les. Italy's policy in the near east
s policy of aggression, as plainly
Is. that of Germany in Belgium. The
iefeat of both schemes should be vel.
coined by those who believe in the
allied doctrine that the rights of the
little peoples must be assured.