Norwich bulletin., 1919-04-30
FACTS AND COMMENT

@ fs N L
 When after weeks oS discussion Italy showed no indication of yielding to the wishes of Great Britain, America and France, in the disposition Of Plume, President Wilson gave to the world an islustra ton of publicity in dlplo- macy by issuing in his own name a statement of the facts in the case endI his own position. It was 4 critical move but it was forced upon the pfes1- dent by three considera tions. In the first place the time had certainly come to make clear to an impatient world tlaaat the Paris conference was no Council of Vienna in which mon archs were joekeyins for individual advantages but a meeting of states men. devoted to the 5000 of their sev- eral peoples and manKInd as a whole. The world. was entitled to know the price of the delay in securing the sore ly needed peace was the possibility or securing peace based on justice, the only sort of a peace that has any chance of being permanent.
 The hope of being of real assistance to the Italian delegates in their real ly difficult political position was. the second consideration that influenced President Wilson in issuing his sur prising statement that Olando is by no means to be considered as demand
 ing Plume for his own glory, great as would be his popularity were he to be successful. The fif,IaIess that he is displaying merely indicates his earnest desire to carry out has countrg's wish es as he understands them AS patriotic citizen he wishes to secure every possible advantage for his pee- pie, but as a reasonable being he un- doubtedly has long seen that Italy cannot secure all her demands against the united opposition 0. her allies. At the same time as popularly elect ed sta tatesman he dare not modify those demands without feeling reasonably certain that his people are in a fair way to accept what he secures for them as the maximum that can be gained It was just nhis alteration in Italian public opinion that the presi- dent was hopeful of bringing about by his public statement,
 The third consideration that prompt ed the president in appealing to the world was the necessity of justifying his own stand and disarming the criti- cism that was materially injuring his position as umpire in discussions of this nature. As in the case of Or lando. it is only fair to assume that Mr Wilson is not working for his own prestige but that he may worthiiy represent his country in the part that has been accorded ntr as mediator. Ii the impatient world should come to be- iieve that it is sheer obstinacy and the desire to have his own way that are hindering Americas representa- : tive from giving in Ameriea's. prestige would disappear, Thus it was the 1 presidents duty to his country no less
 tha nto himself to set clearly before 1 the world the reasons for his refusa 1 to give Italy all thats she has beer claiming under the Pact of London.
 The pact of Lon,.on is the secret agreement whereby Great Britain ant France agreed that. f;a:y should have
 the cities of Trieste and Pola, to- gether with many of the, islands anj part of the Adriatic coast that were then Austrian territory, The por ! of Plume was not mentioned in tht ! territory that was t. be granted tt l Italy, but raising the cry Of Italia IT. redenta, Italian leaders eTeryWilert have fired the crowes into demand 1 ing that Plume, too. be theirs. It i | true that 60 per cent os Fiume's pop
 uiation is Italian. but the countr. which it serves as seaport is definiteI, Slav. As Venice is tne natural sea
 port for the country north and west
 so Plume is the outfe, for the land
 to the north and east or rne Adriatic Ii. e, the old land that was Austri;
 and the new nationally of Jungoslavia
 Plume by reason of it's location woult be of no more use to italy than Pen sacola is to Texas. Sentiment orI- would be served by granting the cit, to Italy, but in gratifying the wishe of the few thousand Italian inha bitant of the city, the commerce of the whol
 country back of it would be subjec to the whim of an alien power. T
 avoid trouble that would certainly fol
 low such a condition or affairs. Pres ident Wilson refuses 70 sanction tn
 possession of Plume by Italy, and i
 the hope that the sentiment of tn world will agree with him when tn
 true facts are known he issued hi
 frank statement.
 The strike of the telephone girl
 that tied up the service in every Ne1 England state eXcep, Connecticut fo
 a week at Easter has resulted in
 complete victory for the operators an a very clear exposition of the incon sruities of government operation (
 the wires Postnla ster General Burle , son had arranged that employees shoul present their grievances to the genera manager in charge of their imnediat ) company, and he in turn was to for l ward report together with his ow recommendations to the wire contr( board at Washington. The New Eng land operators had refused this indi rect method of settlement with a dis tant authority inasmuch as they ha } no guarantee that their demands woul even be seriously considered Urger
 telegrams from severa, Washingto : authorities had no effect and practical ly all of 630,00G phones remained out : commission until MT. Burleson took upon himself to start his own machir cry going by forma;-y presenting |
 the general manager at Boston the de
 mands of the striking operators. As
 sistant Postmaster General Rooms wa f forced to proceed to Boston and the1
 grant all that was demanded. IT
 operators are hereafter to receive . maximum Of $19 q week instead of tt : former S16 with other increases in pro } portion. The public has accepted t1 new wage as reasonable even thous
 it will mean increased charged to te ephone subscribers.
 The weakness of centralized contr ! in a country as large as ours is show by the fact that it HOOK a week ft
 the Washington authorities to settle 1 simple labor dispute. Even so u g trouble had to be investigated and u