Evening star., 1918-06-09
BY CHARLES M. PEPPER.


asters of last october was not so
complete as the army collapse. 1t was
rather a temporary paralysis. But
the army, when it began to recover
itself, had to be supplied with munf-
tions That had been one cause of
Gen. Cadorna's retreat, according to
the statements of the Italian high
command. Neither England, France
nor the United States had appre-
ciated the need of keeping Italy sup
piled with munitions and the mate
rial for making munitions. Coal had
been lacking, and the other essential
elements of army equipment. The al
lies set in to supply this deficiency,
and then it was discovered how thor
oughly Italy herself could cooperate.
The public of the allied countries
had not known the degree to which
Italy had become an industrial ma
tion in peace. Perhaps it might bet
ter be said how northern Italy-that
is, Lombardy and it's great city OF
Milan-had become SUCH 1t also had
failed to appreciate the qualities OF
initiative and adaptability Of the
Italians.
With the encouragement given by
the allies. and with the assurance
that in the future her armies will
not suffer through lack of munitions,
the italian industrial recuperation has
been going rapidly forward. Some of
the industries still suffer from lack of
raw material, but fortunately they are
not the ones which are most vitality
concerned in war making.
The great problem for all Italian
Industries is that of fuel. There are
no coal deposits anywhere in italian
territory. The fuel for the Italian
navy. the state railways and the in
pally from England, although just be-
fore the breaking out of the great
war the United States had been sup
plying some coal, and this trade was
becoming established. Now. while
not much is said about it, it is un-
derstood that England and the United
States, in spite of the U-boats. are
seeing that Italy gets fair quantity
Of coal. 1t is not all that she needs,
but proportionately it is as much as
France receives.
. In peace times some iron ore was
obtained from the deposits in the
Elba, and these were the base Of the
Italian iron and steel industry, which
was developing in promising man
ner. It is intimated that Italy. in
ore, and is thus able to carry forward
important munition works.
Copper, before the war. was obtain
ed principally from Spain and the
United States. The copper mines OF
Spain are still accessible. and the cleo
trical industry. which was one of the
principal developments OF recent
years. is said to be going forward as
an accessory to the munition works.
The most satisfying development on
the war-making side relates to explo-
sives. Before the outbreak Of the war
italy. like England and the United
States, was largely dependent on Ger
many for chemicals. Her own chem
ical industry was so modest that it
was scarcely known even at home.
Now it has advanced very rapidly,
especially in the manufacture. of explo-
sives
Italy has one very important raw
material for the making of explosives
This is sulphur. THE sulphur beds of
Sicily are among the principal ones
of the world. There are also pyrites.
Possessing these raw materials, Italy
has been able to manufacture large
quantities Of nitric acid, azotates and
similar products for war use by
means of electric power. One concern
which three years ago turned out
barely ten tons of explosives a day
now has a daily output of more than
100 tons The manufacture Of chem
ical fertilizers also has progressed,
although there is no desire to push
this at the expense of explosives.
That Italy is getting raw material
from abroad as well as at home for
her key industries of war character
IL shown by the imports of minerals
and metals. These in 1917 were three
times greater in value than in 1915.
The Italian automobile industry had
an international reputation before the
war. Under the patriotic stimulus it
has advanced very rapidly and the au-
tomobile factories are supplying all
that the Italian army needs. One
great company. which is known all
over the world, now has 10000 en-
ployes. 1t turns out 100 trucks and
cars daily. Before the war its product
consisted of touring cars and lorries,
aviation engines. stationary and ma
rine engines All these departments
have been maintained and extended.
acter is also carried on on a vast
scale.
This new work includes artillery
tractors, machine guns, automatic
guns, machine tools. steel castings and
aeroplanes and aeroplane engines. Not
withstanding the requirements of the
Army for motors and motor trucks, the
its export trade. Last year the number
of motor trucks exported was about
$500, as against less than 1000 in
1915. The number of pleasure cars