The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-12-26
Trieste and TrentinO Receive
Supplies by Airplane
from Italy
NO RELIEF FROM
ARMISTICE SIGNING

| ent Time-Lack of Production Since |
BEGINNING of the War Together With |
Great Increase in Population.
| MONTPELIER, Dec. 26-The need OF
Ifood is SO desperate in the northern
provinces of Trieste and the Trentino, re
Gently liberated by Austria, that tbs
Italian government has been using it,
great fleet of Caproni planes to carry food
to the starving people. Each machine
carried several tons of food from ltaly's
slim supplies to meet the terrible need.
of people who would have starved t.
death before the roads and bridges, de
stroycd by the retiring Austrian army
could have been rebuilt.
| Italy can i'll spare that food. Her own
people are never very far from famine.
| This is true not only of the laborins
| classes and of the poor, but of all classe
| of society. A professor in the University
| of Bologna. who recently arrived III TIN
| country states that this fall he and hi.
family were actually without food fol
| three days, it being absolutely lmpos
sble to secure food for that length OF
l time.
The average ration obtaining in Italy
prior To the signing of the armistice con
e sisted of nine ounces OF bread per day
d two and a halt ounces OF rice and tive
!. and half ounces of alimentary paetes tt
% be had ON alternate days; seven ounce
le Of sugar per month; and onehalf quar-
+. of olive oil per month. One Of the first
rs results Of the signing OF the armistics
r. wa. the further reduction Of these small
~ rations in order that Italy might NEE
"A the increased demands upon her meage
:, stocks OF food which were to result from
~ the cessation of hostihteS.
as The signing OF the armistice brought n,
- relief to the serious shortage of food ex
bc iSting at present in italy. In fact, tn
al cessation of hostiitics has greatly adde.
TO Italy's burden in this respect, for no,
~hc must feed the people Of the district
recently liberated by Austria.
ltaly'S normal population Vi b 10000
,. has been increased by several million
IN since the beginning OF the war. In time
as Of peace about 100000 people emigrate
a from Italy each year. Upon the outbrea
~ lcf hostilities. The flow of emigrants fror
n Italy was stopped aud in the four yeal
ny since, it is estimated that 2,0000e0 pee
9Th pie have remained in Italy who ordinaril
Il Noulu NAVE ietI the Atl0
this, 100000 Austrian prisoners; 100,0t
Of the starving people Of the Trentnc
100000 in Trieste and Istria; 6000(
in Dalmatia; and 100000 in Albania
az and one gets a total of over 60000 Oh
Il hungry mouths which Italy has now
mi feed in addition to her ordinary popul'
me ton. Subtraeting the losses of the arm
o' which amount to ore-quarter of a millit
Ter killed, this constitutes heavy drain
Italy's already depleted resources
ltal-- ia. produced sufficient food +
\ ( population. She has always be-
obliged TO import wheat and other foo
,tuffs, As her average production falls f
,R below her consumption. Since the hcei
ming of the war, of course her product,
has rapidly decreased According to a
An vices just received FROM Rome bv Il
Italian American News Bureau th
years crops of wheat arc estimated to
45.000,0O0 bushels short OF The norm
yield. Her corn crop shows deficit
de 24,000f09 bushels compared with norm
tied production. Ter livestock has been /
ner duccd from total Of l5.000.O0D head
Ices less than 6000000 head This reducti,
il. in livestock is doubly serious for Ital
nty hc,ause there the animals arc used to
his barge extent as beasts of burden in far
At labor. a. we'll as source of milk al
he meat