The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-04-04
ITALY IS PREPARING TO TACKLE
BIG PROGRAM OF RECONSTRUCTION
INNS to Make the Most Of Whatever Place In the Sun the Peace
Conference Gives Her-By the Time the Peace Treaty Is
h Signed II Is Expected Dawn of Greater
Italy viii Be Here.
BY LLOYD ALLEN,
Western Newspaper Union staff Cor.
RESPONDENT

BY LLOYD ALLEN,
Western Newspaper Union Staff Cor.
respondent
Our American ambassador here In
Rome, Thomas Nelson Page, believes
that Italy suffered more from the raw
ages OF war than any other nation
fighting the central powers, except
Serbia and Poland, both of which
were robbed and almost wholly over
run by invading Hun armies.
In spite of her war losses. which In
clude almost half a million dead and
near on to a million wounded, to say
nothing Of an enormous national debt,
Italy Is today starting out on a pro-
gram Of reconstruction aiming to make
the most out of whatever place in the
u the peace conference gives her.
The slogan of the national leaders
might well enough be "Italy for the
Italians" since that phrase summa-
rixes a majority of their ambitions
and to all appearances has the sup
port Of the people.
It Is going to be a tremendous up
hill Job, this business of repairing the
damages wrought by war. Sixty-two
per cent Of the italian merchant ma
rine was sunk by Austrian and Ger
man submarines-the Mediterranean
sea was made into a graveyard Of
merchant ships. every one of which
could now be put to excellent peace
time use carrying raw materials and
food.
Enormous Task Ahead.
Half a million fine acres of land In
the northern provinces of Italy, which
was virtually abandoned during the
Austrian occupation, may not be
plowed this spring, owing to the short
ness Of time, and the enormity Of the
task Of rehabilitating the farm popu-
lation. Several thousand blowing ma
chimes must be rushed In for the work,
IL 1t is to be accomplished, as well as
a large number Of horses for trans
porting fuel and fertilizers and for
sowing the fields.
There Is a food shortage In the
meantime; meat and wheat and dairy
products are very scarce, In fact, but
ter Is almost an unknown commodity
In even the best hotels of Rome, Milan,
Turin and Genoa.
And there is a fuel shortage that is
even worse, because Italy does not
produce n pound of coal within her
own boundaries. Every pound burned
must be hauled in ships. either from
England or America. and there is none
to spare In England.
Not counting the excessively high
prices Of all commodities, these were
some Of the principal economic trou-
bles the Italian government was en-
d~eavoring to overcome during the first
weeks Of the peace conference In
Paris. The army of 100000 men was
still In uniform, although a few had
been demobilized. and 100000 men and
women were still In the munition fac.
tories.
Slight Tinpe Of Anarchy.
Throughout the political situation
there was naturally enough an under
current Of ~radicalism, which, fortunate
~ enough. was thought to be only
slightly tinged with the anarchistic
doctrines Of the bolsheviks.
With this groundwork Italy's ma
tional leaders confidently expected to
develop a greater Italy an Italy that
would be big enough. and prosperous
enough, to keep at home most, If not
all, Of the half a million Italians that
In former years were obliged to leave
the motherland to find work In the
Americas, either In the United States
OF the Argentine Republic.
First Of all the government expected
to do great things for the country by
encouraging the development Of water
power sites In the big rivers and in the
mountainous country OF the north,
through the Trentino, which had just
been won from Austria.
Food Administrators Crespi. here in
Rome, outlined some Of the advantages
to be gained by the greater use of
electricity generated by the hydro
CACSkxAC RA0nlS " tuhC thG pidIt VI
coal costing more than 500 a ton.
Available Water Power.
According to Crespi, and his views
were substantially the same as those
expressed by other Italian officials
with whom ! talked, Italy Is today uti-
liking 100000 horse power out Of the
100000 horse power that is available
In all Of the rivers and streams of the
country.
"You must remember" Crespi said
that 1t will be many years before II
ID an economic proposition to use
every bit of the 100000 horse power
we own. It's q simple problem In
nnanceering. Some Of the water-powel
sites must be left untouched because
it costs too much to harness the pow
or. The cost of installing a plant In
these doubtful sites is at present tot
great even though coal. the onl,
power substitute, is frghtfully expen
sive."
Crespi is q manufacturer himself
prominent In the silk industry, and 1.
l--.--l To-