Evening star., 1919-11-09

been talked around" convinced, but
the next morning, when the subject was
reopened, he was back exactly where
he was at the beginning. and the work
of convincing him had to be started all
over again NJ Bourgeois made the
same speech, setting forth the French
point of view on the league of nations
at least ten times, in eXtenso, at various
voted down every time. put it out In the
form Of an elaborate statement. 1t was
the wearing struggle chiefly with the
French that led the President finally, In
despair. to order the George Washlng-
ton, as l narrated in the previous artl-
Gle.
Italians and Japanese.
The President also had struggles
with the Italians over Fiume and with
the Japanese over Shantung. Never
were two peoples more radically Diff
ferent in their method of fighting
than were the Italians and the Jap
anese. The Japanese never said any
thing; they took the palm for silence
at the conference, the Italians took
the prize for vociferousness. The
Japanese had their minds made up
when they came as to what they
wanted; they let it be known and
then they waited and said nothing
but never let go. They were the one
possess the genius-perhaps the orien-
tai genius-of knowing how to wait.
Though the disposition of the Ger
man colonies, including Shantung, was
almost the first question to be dis
cussed in the conference in January.
it was almost the last to be settled
in May
But no one was ever quite sure OF
what the Italians wanted-except that
they wanted more. A little breath of
victory would fire their imagination
and they were likely to increase their
demands overnight They were in
veterate traders: expostulated, insin-
uated, threatened, appealed charming
ly to sentiment, expressed their un-
dying loyalties, and withal were en-
gagingly personal about everything.
1 once bought an ornate handker-
chief box Of dealer in Naples; spent
a joyous hour at it, paid twice as
worth as a box, but considering all
the coruscating personality thrown
in, the vivacity expended. so that
came away not only with a humdrum
box. but with poem about It'll felt
I had a real bargain. Well, that was
Paris. and found the northern world
too cold.
italian Inconsistency.
If one day you thought you had
them pinned down to their ultimate
demands you might find them the next
dreaming dreams of new domains in
Asia. And when you had decided that
they were a wholly unreasonable peo-
pie they would come down upon you
with a dose of realism that beat even
the French, proving to you that Italy,
as an impossibly crowded nation with
out raw materials. must have places
to, all NIL a q
amusing, when 1 was in Italy in the
winter, to find every city naming a
square or street after President Will
son. and four months later to find that
they were taking down the signs and
remaining the streets after Fiume or
D'Annunzio. If the French impress
one as old-old and tired seeking Sc
curity rather than adventure. and
safety before growth-the Italians
give one an unmistakable impression
is kind of type-figure of France.
D'Annunzio is type-f1gure of Italy
though Clemenceau is more truly
French than D'Annunzio is Italian. for
in Italy new type is arising-.a
strong, modern, practical, very able
type. represented by the industrial
leaders of the north.
Consider the Italian situation as the
President had to face it, In the fall
Of 1918, when the Austrians were still
z
ern Italy. there was large body of
public opinion in Italy-sick unto
death of the struggle-that would
have been glad to get out of the war
restored. A conference had been held
at Rome between a group of Italian
liberals and a delegation of Jugo-
sIavs in which the future relation
ships Of the two peoples were talked
over reasonably and quietly. But with
VII the AnSfrf9nS in the
fall italian ambitions began to soar.
and unfortunately. just as Lloyd
George made impossible promises to
the British electorate in December, so
Italians were stimulated by the poll
ticians No Italian leader at first ex-
pected to get Fiume, for even in MAX
ing the secret London pact. which
gave Italy so much Of the Adriatic
coast. they had themselves agreed
that Fiume must remain-as it had al
ways been-the outlet of the great
hinterland reaching back to Hungary.
But with the growth of Italian am
billions they wanted not only the
Adriatic coast but also Fiume-and a
slice of Asia as well.
What Italy Wanted at First.
When the Italians came to the peace
conference there were three outstand-
ing things that they wanted: First, to
prevent a settlement with Germany by
the allies in advance of a settlement
with Austria; second. to make sure OF
realizing their territorial ambitions. and
third. to secure immediate economic and
financial assistance. They felt that If
peace were signed with Germany and
the armies demobilized they would
stand q poor chance OF realizing their
hopes in the settlement with Austria.
Soon after the President returned to
France in March they saw that they
were doomed to defeat in this respect:
and that a peace with Germany. in
cluding the establishment of league of
nations, would speedily be made. Now,
they knew that France had always been
hostile to Italian expansion in the Medi-
terranean; and the British not over
friendly-and they were not without
warrant in this feeling, for they had
'TEAN TONIN1ACE