The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1918-12-06
The National tuberculosis Association

Dalmatia in view of the fact that the
portion of this province has been a
part of the old Venetian republic, or
still earlier a part of the old Roman
empire, then Italy can by same
rights claim the half of western
Europe belonging once to Rome.
The argument of "historic rights"
better suits the past autocratic and
dynastic Europe with her people
ruled by monarchs whose reigns are
modern European democracy in
consent. The Historic rights" have
cost Europe SO much bloodsehd,
suffering and devastation that we
may fairly suppose that this argu-
ment appeals but feebly to over
whelming majority of democratic ele-
ments in the allied countries.
The future peace must be built
upon basis of conditions and facts
as they are today-and not upon
what has been in medieval and ante
diluvian times. And the plain facts
of today are as follows:
The provinces claimed by Italy
have major Jugoslav population.
The Italians are so fond in stating
the figures of Italian majority and
Jugoslav minority in population of
Trieste, Gorilla and other cities ofthe
littoral, but they prudently keep 81
lent about the figures of population
in the country as whole. Here are
the official statistics of 1910 (Austro-
Hungarian statistics which are by no
means favorable to the Slovenes
and to the rest of the Jugoslavs):
Trieste: Italians 1889, Slo-
venes 1924; Germans $40; total
population 190,808.
Provinceof Gorilla: Slovenes 1885,
039; Italians 90,119; Germans $500;
total population 249,658.
Istria: Croats and SloVenes 224,-
400; Italians 145,517; Germans 49,
1856; total population 382,652.
Dalmatia: Serbo- Croats 612,-
$50; Italians 1902; Germans 3,081 !;
total population 633,778.
Grand totals: Jugoslavs 1852
082; Italians 372,623; Germans 49,
1856; Grand total 1,456,891.
The Italian population of all
islands of the Dalmatian archipelago
numbers 1858, and the Serbo-C roats
116,227 souls.
One glance upon the above figures
will convince anyone what is the ra-
cial character of the country involved
as whole, and that a few cities like
Trieste and Gorilla with their Italian
majorities cannot be separated from
the surrounding regions, therefore
constituting an Italian minority of
the country. But, judging from the
Italian claims, they (the Italians)
would apparently make the whole
Jugoslav territory subjacent to the
ethnogra phical status of the named
cities, and in order to hberate some
thing over 100000 Italians they
would subjugate over one million
Jugoslavs.
But this is not. all. An amazing
attempt, as it is, to include within
''Italia irredenta" the districts of
Idria, Logatec and Postojna, in the
southwestern Carniola (Kranjsko) /,
leaves us at loss to understand upon
what kind of justice is this ter
ritory being claimed. Those districts
are purely Slovenic. We cannot
help but suspect-and our suspicion
is not without grounds the real
reason for demanding that part of
Carniola by the Italians is to get
hold of the rich mercury mines at
Idria and the splendid forests in the
surrounding regions. If so, then
this is imperialism, pure and simple.
as it was in case of Prussian i'm
perialism annexing Alsace-Lorraine
on account of the iron mines and for
other strategic reasons"
So much for the racial stand
point of the Italo-Jugoslav question.
There are many other points, Eco
nomic and cultural, that speak well