New-York tribune., 1918-04-24
Italy Has Paid Heavily for Failure;
Whole Nation Now Awake To Task

the business life of Italy depends or
her success in this war.
In political sense Turin is the
siums of Piedmont, hence quite ap-
propriately the headquarters of Gio-
httl. But even Turin is not hopeless.
The untiring efforts of patriots are
gradually reclaiming it; slowly, how
ever, It must be said, for German
money is showered generously upon
the Socialists, among whom cupidty
outweighs patriotism.
None the less Turin leading men held
a conference three weeks ago and al
terward made public statement that
Italy, if she is to be free and nrosper-
Gus, must push the war 10 a finish.,
That such sentiment should come
out of Turin is a hopeful sign. The
new spirit will dawn sluggishly, for
we must remember that Piedmont is
naturally cool. Alone in sunny artistic
Italy she has given birth to no great
artist, no great man whom, at the mo-
ment, | can recall, save Cavour, and
ms parental nativity is not certain.
Milan for War. from
Morning Until Might
From Lombardy to Sicily there is ar
tistry Characteristic to each province.
but none carries the Piedmont arms.
Florence, Of Tuscany, lives on art and
tourists, and the former languishes
now for the absence of the latter. and
she is short Of corn and the fibre of
her lllustrious forebears.
Milan is for the war, morning noon
and night, and Milan is Lombardv. and
as goes Lombardy so goes Italy.
Unhappy Venice, with her factories
and shops closed under the bombs the
Vandals have raincd upon her historic
wondrous beauty, is sending away, her
unemployed to work inland, but keeps
her valiant spirit at home
Genoa has both patriotism and the
mlghtiest munition plant in Italy.
Turin turns ont more motors than
the remainder of the country combined
But Lombardy is progressive, indus
trial and has a fighting backbone. and
Milan, with her 100000 people, rep
resents, despite her Socialist Mavor,
the new: spirit OF Italy in war and com
merce as no other centre Her citi
zens have given 10000 900 lire to wa,
relief, subscribed one-sixth of the re-
cent successfully hoated national loan
OF O0o,0O0,000 lire, and with Venice
shares the distinction Of having the
only church of Rome pulpits heard of
from which war sermons are delivered
The old gondolier who ferried me to
my departing train at Venice exclaimed d
lmpressively as left him at the land
ing: Viva Italy. Viva America! Viva
Italia Libre"
Patriotic Spirit
Everywhere Evident
peasant farmer I met in Padua
who had lost all he ever possessed in the
getaway from udine, where his home
had been, only regretted his years
which kept him out of the army, and
he was strong for going on with tho
war until Austria was beaten. A porter
IN Verona, water-carrier on Mount
Grappa, a mule train driver on the
Aslago, road worker on the Brenta
a woman at Ala, fifteen kilometres in
side the Austrian frontier-all chosey
at random on my journeying-in one
way or another expressed their hope
for victory and a desire to be free Of
AUSTRIA
Even in Rome, the great white way
Of Italy, where the surface frivolities
appear to be shadowed by the thought
less, spritless Boche sword that hangs
over their national head the same sen.
tlment was expressed by laundresses
vegetable hucksters, station porters and
walters that | sounded
And here five hundred women work.
ers in soldiers clothing factory con
tributed 100000 lire to Italy's last wal
loan.
Naples, itself usually Indifferent tc
questions not directly connected with
daily existence, rose with enthusiasm
to D'Annunzio's moving address at the
commemoration of the liberator Carl
baldi's sailing from Quarto for the con
quest of Sicily. which resulted in the
overthrow of Bourbon power in italy
of which Naples had been the capital
and strength.
Throughout all the north country
where burns the true fire of the wal
spirit, posters reciting Austria's crimes
and designs call on the people to rally
to their country's flag, while the lead
ing newspapers lombard Socialism,
with the fatal example of its ruinous
workings in Russia.
The "Correre Della Sera" delivered
recently staggering blow by repro
ducing tho speech of Philip Scheide-
mann, leader OF the German aiority
Socialists, made in Paris in 1912, when
he exhortcd the French not 10 support
the military, declaring that there neve,
would be war, and If the demand
came in Germany he pledged himself
and his followers to prevent it
Scheidemann's 1912 speech and his
present intimate association with the
German military government point IN
dubitably to the utter untrustworthi
. 80