Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-16
ITALY'S PART
VTYE READ in a recently issued
wv bulletin of the Committee on
Public Information that

SUBSCRIPTION SIdTtcu ny INC lNai-
ian newspaper, IL Progresso ltalo-
Americana, among the Italians in
this country, for the erection of
monument TO America. This monu-
ment, which will be placed either
in New York or in Washington,
will be a mark of the gratitude
which the Italians feel toward
America for her participation in
the war for the cause of freedom
and democracy, and especially Tor
the help we have given Italy IN
the realization of her national
aspirations. A plan is also being
discussed to build a similar monu-
ment in Rome. Both monuments
are to be the work OF one OF tne
greatest Italian sculptors ana VIII
be of such size and artlstic I'M
portance as to be worthy or the
sentiment they are intended to
express.
That is like the Italians, generous
and grateful to a fault. But what
about our gratitude toward the ltal-
ians? In the recent peace talk there
has been all too little mention of
Italy's part. The war would be over
now if Italy had not come in-but
If would have ended with the Kaiser
in Paris.
The blood and treasure of Italy
we're freely spent in the successful
effort to put Austria-Hungary out of
the war. While Italy's efforts were
not confined to the Austrian front,
her contribution to the Allied success
was greater there than in the other
places where her troops fought the
battle Of civilization. Her financial
and industrial efforts have been
equal to her military effort, and in
all these directions Italy has not
Jagged behind her allies.
Since the beginning of the war
Italy has called to the .colors little
less than 3, 100000 men and has suf-
fered a loss of almost 100000 of
them. OF that loss nearly $4,000
died in battle, and 100000 from dis
ease. Over $4,000 are totally in
capacitated, either by blindness, loss
of limb or tuberculosis. At the pres
ent moment the strength of the Ital-
ian army IS 4,O25, 900, including the
class of men born in 1900, who have
been called to the colors recently. 1t
may be said, then, that the nations
man-power has suffered a permanent
loss of nearly million.
But, serious as is this loss, Italy
has inflicted an even greater punish
ment upon the foe. In Austrian pris-
oners alone she has taken approx
mately a million. In the June often
sive on the Piave alone over 100000
Austrian dead were left on the field,
Aside from their achievements in
other theaters of the war, Italy's SOL
diers have fought through fifteen fu-
rious offensiyes on the Isonzo and
the Piave, inficting terrible losses on
the foe in each. These campaigns
were carried on in mountainous re-
gions and under rigorous weather
conditions that taxed to the utmost
the genius of the military engineers
and the endurance of the troops. The
foe, when hostilities opened, was
entrenched in carefully prepared and
seemingly impregnable positions
backed by a network of military
roads and railroads. On the italian
side were deep gorges, unscalable
cliffs, almost impossible glaciers
passes filled with snow and com.
manded by Austrian guns. There
were no suitable roads or bridges
The surmounting of these difficulties
has challenged the admiration of the
engineering world.
over $500 miles of roads have
been constructed on the mountains
of Italy and of Albania, and 1,OOt
miles of aerial cable railroads (Tele
feriche) have been built to carr,
food, ammunition and guns owe
deep ravines.
The magnitude of this military eff
fort can be fully appreciated onl,
when one takes into consideration
the economic structure of the nation
and the nature and number of it
, population. One must remember tha
out OF S6,OOO,OOO inhabitants in Ital
at the beginning of the war onl
I 100000 were male. This seemin
disproportion is caused by emigra
; ton, which was largely composed o
male adults. Out of those 1900, 90
only 100000 were adults econom
ically productive. Consequently, tn
4 subtraction of the mobilized force
4 has had an acute reaction on tn
1 economic life of the nation. It
e estimated that on an average onI
r 100 adults remained in each town O
Q village to provide in each case 70
a some 500 children below the age G
fifteen.
1 Instead of accepting monument
from Italy we ought to dedicatin
: them to the Italian armies.
H.