New-York tribune., 1918-11-14
Countess Maria A. Loschi
Pleads Especially for Her
People in Italy
Many Soldiers Hungry
soo 600 Prisoners Return in
Want and Wounded Lack
Nourishing Food

The time for this country to show
"a real spirit of sacrifice and loyalty
- the Allied cause has only just be
a,r This is the opinion Of Countess
,tar;a A. Loschi, who is in the United
states on a mission from the Italian
government and the city of Rome,
mi at the special request of the
United States Bureau of Public lnfor-
nation.
@Tbe great task that lies before
america now is to save the people of
Europc by giving them food" said the
,ountess, at the Hotel Vanderbilt yes
,erdav. And when | ask for food
and economic help for Europe | mean
especially for Italy.
"The military programme of the
un;ted States which did so much to
win the war was necessarily more or
ioss concentrated in France-and it
vas right that it should be. But
nave come to remind you now of Italy
'ahose prob ems | think are not SO
veil understood here We have lacked
money in Italy to spread our propa-
yanda. lust as We have lacked money
70 buv food. In the few days ! have
snent in New York | have tasted the
list good bread | have had in four
years ask you not to forget that IN
italy ,our soldiers are coming back
home and there is not enough 1000
for them.
Wounded Need Food
I'VE have 600 900 fighting men who
Nv tho
and are now returned to US, and we do
not not want them to starve. We have
our regained provinces to provide for
We have nothing TO give them TO show
we are glad they have come back to
u.s. We have no coal, no steel for our
manufactu. We have no milk or
eggs for our wounded soldiers. And
ali the while we must struggle to take
care of them we have nearly l,00oO00
interned and imprisoned enemies whom
We must feed
until this time those who have suf
fered from lack of food have had the
spiritual inspiration of fighting in
great cause to uphold them. Now that
this stimulus is removed the people
will think of their material needs.
They will feel it an injustice that they
cannot welcome their retu ming armies
with even the necessities of life. And
it is at time like this that the seeds
Of dissatisfaction are sown.
"If other nations do not give US eco
nomic help in this crisis we may be
thrown commercially right into the
waiting jaws of Germany. And ar-
uany,s jaws are ready and waiting for
US. She has already prepared her com
mercial invasion of Italy, as she had
planned her military invasions before.
Europe is living a terrible hour.
The great enthusiasm is dying down,
and soon we shall be blown by storms
Of anarchy. We can weather them
only by she revival OF our national in
dustries, so that our people may be
eccuped and fed Our munition works
and shipyards must be reconverteA
into the manufacture Of rubber, Of
autom obiles, toys, cotton textiles. But
we have no working capital with which
to effect this reconstruction. There
should be a system of international
dnancing-and we look to America to
help us.
Americans Must Teach
I'VE need you, too, as teachers. The
American Red Cross has done already
great work in my country. There is
york should go on. We would like to
ask your seven great organizations
which are now carrying on their
United War Work campaign to send us
few OF their organizers, who could
study our after-the-w problems and
help US to solve them. Your relief
work here is done in professional
way. We would like TO learn your
methods.
Only try to send US people who
understand the language. 1t was very
largely because he studied our Ian
guage and was 50 successful in it that
your representative, Doctor Charles
coward Merriam, was able to make
america so we'll understood in Italy,
came in such direct contact with our
people and was so highly beloved and
appreciated"
Countess Maria was enthusiastic in
ner description" of the service rendered
oy Italian women during the war, and
chief among them the queen, who set
an example of sacrifice and industry