Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-01
.D'ANNUNz|O CRAFT
COPIED AT AVLONA
Albanian ''Deserters" Who
Serve Like the Italians
at Fiume.
BY HIRAM X. MODERWELL.
Correspondence of The Star and Chi
cagO Daily News.


ROME, Italy. July 15.-Albanian
regular soldiers have attacked Av-
Iona The Albanian government in
its Official capacity disapproves, and
IN its private capacity cheers.
An immoral situation, you saw. The
soVe. nment VIII accept the benefit of
tne Avlona attack if it succeeds. but
escapes responsibility if it fails. When
ended by the Italians, it saws: ''The
men VINO are attacking Avlona are
acting as private Individuals We are
SoIry, Out we are simply unable to-
prevent them. Which is true
II may De immoral this trick, but
the Albanians learned it from a dis
tinguished contemporary. When the
uAnnuhzlo 1rregulars occupied Fiume
iast summer the Italian government
SAID: We disapprove; we are sorry:
put we are unable to prevent them -
ana proceeded to bargain on the fait
accompli and extract all the po1itical
gain it could get out of it
IN snort. the Avlona affair is the
riufne aHalr all over again The I'll
rama government has kept its record
straight. 1t sent a letter to the in
surSents washing it's hands of the af-
1alr and urging them to desist from
the illegal and unauthorized attack.
by a strange accident. this letter
IeiI into Italian hands. 1t ordered it's
Arglrocastro regiment to leave the
vicinity of the fighting and come to
Ilrana- 1t came. The government is
sued orders that no soldiers serving
the government could be permitted to
take part in the Avlona attack
Leave as individuals.
Yet as individuals these soldiers be-
gan to dribble out of Tirana and walk
or ride to the battle lines. They es-
capped; they deserted. 1t is the gov
ernm ents duty to prevent such de-
sertions. Certainly. But who can
prove that it didn't try? 1t was the
duty of the Italian government to
prevent it's troops from deserving to
F.iume. but such troops dribbled into
d'Annunzio's lines by the hundreds
No government would like to under
take the job of proving. beyond legal
doubt. that the Italian government
assisted their escape. 1t would be
equally difficult to pin the goods, in
a legal way, on the government of
Tirana-
On their side the insurgents also
keep the game going. They send their
military bulletins to Tirana, not to
the government. but to the deputy
from Avlona, who happens also to be
vice president of the parliament. 1t is
true that after they had selected. the
future governor of Avlona they OBJ
tanned his confirmation from the I'll
rama government. But, of course, the
government understood that posses
sion of Aylona was to be obtained at
some future date only by legal and
peaceful means.
Difficult to Punish Deserters.
Just before I left Albania word
was received that the whole Argiro-
castro regiment (Which had been or
ganized and trained by the French
for use on the Monastir 'front.' was
on the march for the Avlona lines.
1t had ESCAPED" of course. The
thousand or more men composing this
regiment left Tirana at a moment
when the government, much to it's
regret, was looking the other way.
These deserters will be punished,
of course. At least, court-martial
must sit on their case. Last fall an
Italian court-martial sat on the SIM
liar case of a Fiume deserter and de-
clared him innocent because he had
sincerely acted for what he believed
to be the good of his country. The
Albanian court-martial may be led to
the same legal conclusion.
italy tries to be indignant at the
Tirana government. But it is en-
harraSSinP