The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1918-12-27
ny DIR. FEIICE FERRERO.
Dirsstor Italian Bureau of Public
Information.


The blood and treasure OF Italy
were freely spent la the successful
effort 20 put Austria Hungary out OF
the war. While Iialy's efforts were
not confined to the Austrian front,
her contribution 10 allied success
was greater here than In the other
places where her troops fought th"
battle for civilization. Her financial
and Industrial cfforts have been equal
60 her military effort. and IN all these
directions Italy has not Jagged be-
hind her allies. That the nature and
extent of these efforts may be better
understood by the American public.
l wish 20 review them briefly.
In considering Italy's military con-
tributiona, let me emphasize the fact
that her soldiers have not confined
their fighting to their own soil Like
those OF her allies, they have gone
far afield. They contributed largely
to the glor victory on the balkan
front. 4 large contingent I'm Frame.
first gave powerful aid In the defense
OF Rheims. then tool part In the ad-
vance OF the allied forces.
Italy HAD 5.500. 900 Under Arms.
Since the beginning OF the war iuuly
has called TO the colors little less than
$500. 600 men and has suffered u loss
OF almost 800. 600 of them. OF that
loss nearly asa, 600 died in battle. ana
100000 from disease over 100000
are totally incapaciiatcd, either by
blindness. LOSS OF limb or tuberculosls
At the present moment the strength
of the Italian army rs f.o25, 900, IN
GLIDING the class OF men born In 1900.
who IA been called 20 the colors
recently. IL may he said. then. that
the nations man power has suffered
"a permanent loss OF nearly a million
but. serious "a is this loss, Italy
has inflicted an even g%renter punish
ment upon the foe In Austrian pris-
on"rs alone she has taken approx
mately a million. The Austrian loss
In killed and wounded ~, OF course
unknown TO us. but sven the most
conservative estimates make II far
greater than ours. In the Jun" Of
fensiVe on the PiaVe alone over goo
900 Austrian dead wer" left on tho
field.
Fighting Under Extreme Difficulties.
aside from their achievements IN
other theaters Of the war. ltaly's sol
diers have fought through fifteen fn-
rious offensiVes on the Isonzo and the
Piavc. inflictinR terrible losses on the
foe in each. These campaigns were
carried on In mountainous regions
and taxed to the utmost the genius
of the military engineers n the en-
durahce of the troops. The foe. when
hostilities opened. were "cntrenchcd
I'm carefully prepared and seemingly
i~mpresnable positions. backed by a
network of Iailitary roeds and rail-
Dads. ON the Italian side were deep
gorges. unscalablc cliffs. almos i'm
passable glaciers, passes filled with
snow and commanded by Austrian
guns There were no suittbl. roads
or bridges. The surmo uniting OF these
difficulties has challenged the ud-
mlration of the engineering world.
over 2,b0O miles OF roads have been
constructed on the mountains of ltalN
and Of Albania, and 1000 miles OF
aerial cable railroads CTclefertchcl
have been built to carry food. ammu'
milton and guns over deep raVines.
Economic Difficulties.
The magnitude of this military Ell
fort can be fully appreciated onl,
when one takes int consideration th'
economic structure Of the nation an'
the nature and number OF It's popula
ton. Ono must remember that on
Of 80. 900. 600 inhabitants In Italy d
the beginning of the war only u.
OOO. 90 were male. This seeming 81"
proportion Is caused by cmigratior
which was largely composed of mai
adults. out OF those 1T,00O.OoO onl
5000. 900 were adults economical
productive. Consequently the sub
straction Of the mobilizcd forces ma