Trench and camp. ([Admiral, Md.) 1917-1919, 1918-12-19
Advantages In Studying
The Italian Language
0S - H. SHAW, PROFESSOR
TORONTO
OF TORONTO

toral poet, the qualities OF whose
verse are difficult to appreciate, but
well worthy the attempt. P1ay4
wrights, such as Giacosa, Rovetta,
Brace, Praga, Butt and the brothers
Antona-Traversi. reflect all the liter
airy tendencies Of our age; gay, witty,
philosophical and profoundly pa
thetic, they appeal to all the moods
and tastes OF the most exacting audi
ences known. FogaZZaro, De March,,
Serao, d'Annunzio, Verga, Capuana,
Fucini, are names OF authors OF
novels and short stories (I can only
mention a few of those whose fame
is already well established), who
have written for all time.
And il the aesthetic literature in
Italian Is worth knowing, no less can
1t be said of the scientific, for there
Is no field of research in which there
are not at least one or two Italians
who are distinguished as leaders. /
shall omit all description of the val
liable and numerous periodical pub
locations which make known the re-
suits of that research, to turn to the
industrial and commercial progress
of Italy, which, since 1870, has been
more than remarkable. Already, In
1895, goods were imported to the
value of forty-seven million English
pounds sterling, and exported to the
value of forty-one million. In 1910
the imports had grown to the value
Of one hundred and thirty million
pounds sterling, and exports to that
of eighty-three million pounds. Man.
features and trade, however, as we'll
as the banking SYSTEM, had been de-
veloped, controlled and almost COM
pletely absorbed by Germany.
In 1913 Italy was exporting to
Germany an amount almost equal to
the sum Of the exports to England
and France, while she was importing
from Germany far more than the sum
Of her imports from England and
France. The present war has not
only set her free from the German
bondage, but has greatly stimulated
her industrial enterprise, so that be-
tween January and November Of last
year Italy exported to the United
States Of America alone merchandise
to the value Of 100000 lire,
while she imported from the United
States in the same period to the
amount of 1,914.000,00O lire. The
disproportion between exports and
imports to the United States is no
doubt accounted for largely by the
war-needs of Italy. Ferdinando No
bill Massacre, First Secretary to the
Colonial Ministry, in an important
article in the Bollettino Of the Amer
lean Chamber Of Commerce at Milan,
after outlining plans for the further
development of trade to- be effected
by the Government, concludes:
whatever action is undertaken by
our Government, it is certain that
private initiative alone in America
and Italy will. in the period follow
ing the war, give an enormous i'm
pulse to the trade between the two
countries"
1t appears, then, that there is a
commercial advantage in knowl-
edge Of the Italian language which is
not generally recognized, but which
is likely to, force itself upon our at
tention in short time, But, apart
from all specific advantages-edu-
cational, literary and commercial
the acquiring Of sympathetic under
standing (such as can only be OBJ
tanned by means OF the language) OIL
the civilization Of q nation Of thirty
three million people Of our own race,
ambitious, energetic and intelligent,
would seem to be desirable. It seems
all the more desirable when one con
siders that this nation is now di-
rected by a representative govern
ment in harmony with the desires Of
the masses of the people, that they
are valued allies of ours in this war;
and that they entered the war on our
side, urged on, it 10 true, by the need
of self-preservation and by the hope
of acquiring that part Of their terri
tory that was still governed by their
enemies, but also at time when our
prospects of resisting Germany and
Austria successfully were pale and
distant.