New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-02
Serb Peace Envoy
Protests Claims of
Italians to Fiu1ne
Marcovitch Says Right of
Self-Determination Is at
Stake Before Conference;
Attacks Treaty of London
By hampton Hunt
Neir York Tribune
Cc.r, k,nhlc Ssri,icn

Ne,c York Tribune
Special Cable Service
fCopyrish1 1919. New York Tribune lnc.}
PARIS, Feb 1.-'Cnless the peace
conference is prepared to throw over
board entirely the principle that ma
tionalities may dispose of themselves,
said Professor Lazare Marcovitch, one
of the Serb representatives, TO The
Tribune CORRESPONDENT, at will be i'm
possible for the italians TO make good
the claim to Fiume, lstria and Dalma-
tia which they put forward yesterday.
logically, geographically, ethnolog-
icaily and as a matter of common fair
ness, these regions must be attached to
Serbia. or, rather, to the new Serbo-
Crost-Slovene kingdom, which some
people call greater Serbia and some
Jugo- Slavia. The sole basis on which
the Italians themselves claim these re-
gions is that they were awarded them
under the pact of London. That is true,
except as regards Fiume and the south
ern part of Dalmatia, neither of which
IS mentioned in that treaty.
Terms of Treaty Changed
"The Italian imperialists were mot
satisfied with what the Treaty of Lon
don gave them, but have since added
Plume and southern Dalmatia on their
own account.
sNow no matter whether you take
these regions claimed by Italy in part
,-Io will
find people Of the Slav race, that is to
say, Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in
overwhelming majority. Even Fiume
itself, which the Italians claim is pre-
ponderantly Italian, is only half Ital-
ian Italy claims there are $4,000
italians in Fiume against $4,000 Slavs.
But the census on which these figures
are based was taken by the Austro
Hangarians when the town was under
sheir government and all they wanted
10 know was not what mans ma
tionality was but what language he
spoke.
cat least 5000 of the so-called Ital-
ians in Fiume are undoubtedly Italian
speaking Serbs. Italian for centuries
has been the principal language of
Fiume owing to the fact that it is a
commercial port and the italians are
commercial people, which the Slavs
never have been. The real census of
Fiumc, based on nationalities, would
show the Slavs certainly as numerous
as the Italians, if not in the majority
Suburbs Are Ignored
THE weakness Of the Italians claim
% Fiume is clear from the fact that
they deliberately ignore the crcum-
stances of the suburb Sussack which
compares to Fiume as Jersey City COM
pares to New York, and has population
Of 10000, entirely composed of Gfoats
and not single Italian. Further, il
you take radius, say, of fifteen miles
around Flume, you will find Italians
are in the minority by at least three
20 one.
I'm Dair0atia, which Italian imperial
ists now claim entirely, there are bare
~ per cent Italians in the whole
population Of 10000. BY what pos
sible right IN view of the principle
Of self-determination OF peoples can
Italy lay claim to Dalnatia?
10 4dl dS tbc 1 ready u LOUQDH IL
concerned, on which the Italians base
the greater part Of their claim, we
consider il null and void. In the first
place, neither Serbia nor the Jugo- Slavs
as whole were parties to it. Second
". that treaty had for its object Aus
sria-Hungary, which has now disap-
peared and is replaced, so far
as istria. Fiume and Dalmatia are con-
cerned, by the new Serbo- Croat- Slo-
k{n0Hnr1 aQ Ttalxr aAsni%c
THE Treaty Of London might be OPP
erative against Austria Hungary, but
cannot be operative against the Jugo-
STAY peoples. Thirdly, Russia, one of
the signatories Of that treaty. no long
er exists, which modifes the whole
basis Of he agreement arrived at
Recognition Is Demanded
Speaking frankly, Moreover we re-
and Franco, TO say nothing Of Italy, to
dispose OF our country. They might
have disposed of Austria Hungary.
which is very different matter.
Again, if Austria Hungary still existed
the situation would be quite different
but. Austria-Hungary has been dis
solved, has disappeared, and the new
cations which have sprung out Of
~hem have every right, if the princi-
pIes laid down by President Wilson
and accepted by the Entente Powers
mean anything, to decide what their
future shall be.
The peace conference, possibly in
order to crafty Italy, has so far de-
eisned 70 recognize the Jugo-SIavs as
a nation, but that cannot alter the fact
that the erbo-Croat-Slcyene people
really constitute an extension Of the
Kingdom Of Serbia, which, 1t includes.
ana, consequently, is entitled to full
1ecSsnItson Of its rights both by Italy
and all the' other powerg.v