Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-10
By FRANK II. SIMONDS.
Author Of '.The World War" ''They Shall Not
Pass"

with 80 immediate and COM
~ plete a collapse Of a nation
L as did the Austrian disaster
in the second battle Of the
Piave. Indeed, one must in reality turn te
Jena for anything like a parallel, for
even after Waterloo France remained
a definite and coherent unity. remain
ed a force to be reckoned with In all
future European calculations Bu'
Austria. like Prussia after Jena. has
collapsed; her power to resist rs az
an end, her very existence Is a prov,
lem in the hands of her Toes, "h m,
may well avoid the mistake n ps ~ 2
NAPOLEON when he permitted Frussia
In the Italian triumph-and we
m,,st frankly and freely recognl1e
that the triumph was ltaiian, stmG Ie
the allied aid consisted OF p9I
British divisions, one French Gv ntW
and single American ,,n1ediateIy
iost in the political. AS a battle tne
second Piave lasted at most LOT .
week the anniversary week Oh sns
~reat disaster of Caporetto, one ysaa
ago. In the beginning the A us;d
resistance was sharp ana n.sed
fsr there came, first, a battienelo
COLLAPSE. and then surren1er ~
terns dictated on the battieneio
armistice across the firing INES;
TINS in one short week we nave
seen the surrender OF TurKey anu ~. Sa
Austria, the liberation OF serp,a fr I'm
nassine of the Coburg dynasty ir0.,
RMIi the end of the Haps6urs
5Hnsstv in Austria-H WIN
u .g A,,s+r;an army was losing its last
t.at.1a the dual monarchy was pfeak-
,ne I'm behind it, disbanding. re
solving itself into a group or Spuo
lies. the number still inoetei ;th na
with bolshevism racins ~ the
t;ona1ism to control the ruins Oh Tic
fallen state.
italian Side Of Drama
But it is to the italian SIDE Oh en- .nt
o;eantic drama that we must Hrs'
t,,sn hundred years ago the mrs
carnations of the Italian peopIe; eH a
nressed imperfectly but coherentiy "
NanoIeon's kingdom Of Italy, rag.
mant of the real Italy, were crusnee
at the congress Of Vienna. inc .Sl
body of Italy was throWn od desnoi,ers
Venice and Piedmont were MADE Aus
trian.. the wretched Neapohtan dy.
naatv WAS restored, north Italy peloW
the Pc valley was again partitiones
among princes and princesses nv
turned to Vienna for their support an on.
conducted themselves on Italian sol
az Eerman armies have conducted
Themselves in france in the presen
WE" generation Of agony followed
while italy slowly gathered the mora
spiritual forces for her great awak
ening. And then. when the revoiutiol
trlG(
ana failed. Novara seemed the ulti
mate sanction of the Austrian yoke,
nermanent guarantee OF Italian mis-
ery. The Savoy sovereign VINO aodl
Gated after Novara and left ms coun
try seemed to be carrying WIN MN
the last hope Of thirty millions o.
Italians.
Cavour Undertook Task.
But after Novara came the swirl
change. Cavou;. undertook the m'gn itS
france and a new Napoleon acquired
Temporary laurels in Italy by the VIC
tories of Solferino and Magenta
which liberated Piedmont and doome
the patchwork of monarchles south o.
the Pc. Garibaldi and p ms ,mmor ox,
Of Naples. But the lesser Napoleon
lost courage, left Venetia still in Aus.
TRAN hands and continued to defend
the temporal power OF the Pope II
Rome. n;, .,5
But Bismarck. like Napoleon III
failed to complete the liberation o.
Italy. Trieste and the Trenttno, To-
rether with Rome, were stiit outsid.
the kingdom. French defeats IN loN
ended the temporal power 81 tine pope
RES. the capital of the Latin state o.
italy. And now. after forty-eigh
years more, the Italian tricolor hoat'
over Trieste and Trent. Italian liberia
tion is complete, a century OF strug'
gle. Of agony and OF glory is enaIne
Austrian armies are fleeing in ruiz
or surrendering unconditionaIiy;
anal expuneing Of the sorrow Oh NO
yara Is taking place.
And this victory demonstrates clear
" the soundness OF itailan states
manship in entering the world wal
m the allied side more than thre'
Years and a half ago. When the wal
came italy was still allied to Ger
MANY and Austria. A marriage OF con
yenience growing out OF the poltica
policies Of Crispi. and the manipu
to fieht against the liberal nations o.
the world If Germany and Austria
uere attacked or claimed themselve.
the assaulted parties. She was bount
To defend the very jailers who helt
her brethren in ignoble servitude.
1taly's Momentous Decision.
The refusal of Italy to transform Z
defensive into an offensive alliance
in July, 1914, was one of the decisive
moments of the whole war. Had Italy
Franco
Of the Marine would have been a Ger
man victory. for French corps. which
inst suF ced to win that struggle
would have been fixed upon the Alpine
frontier. But Italy did more thar
release French troops; she promptly
confided to the world that she intend
ed to be neutral France knew 1t IN
the earliest hours of the war and
knowing her southeastern frontier
was safe. took her military measures
accordingly. Moreover. 1t was the
warning of an Italian ambassador
mobilized in the critical days just be-
fore war came.
From August. 1914. to May 1915
Italy stood neutral. A great battle
was waged in the peninsula between
the German influences and the 1tal.
ian patriots. who saw clearly tina,
neutrality was not possible. Once II
was decided that Italy would moi
march with Germany and with Aus.
tria, a thing impossible. then 1t was
not less patent that Italy could not
stay outside the war and maintain
her moral or material position in the
world after the war had ended. Like
the United States. Italy was in
eluctably drawn into the conflict.
Hun Propaganda in italy.
As In the case of the United States
q vast German propaganda was op'
Grated in Italy. Bulow, the mos
sstute OF German diplomatfsts, con.
Quoted the diplomatic battle: news
papers and poiitic;ans were pur.