Evening star., 1920-01-03
ITALIAN |NTR|GUES
AGAINST JUGOSLAV
STATE REPORTED
Mr.. Simonds Sees Reaction
! to Old MiIitaristic Order
7, on Adriatic.
Nv FRANK H. sIMONDS.

Within the past fortnight not
little information of a sinister char
acter has been received in Washing
ton from the Adriatic While the dis
patches from various European CAPT
tails announce that the D'Annunzio
episode is coming to a rather riulcu .
lous ending and the little tiarlpaiui
is retiring from Fiume with the ger,
eral consent and even enthusiasm OF
the inhabitants of this town. without
regard to race, information OF more
secret character indicates that ltal1an
intrigues in the new JugosiaV state
are having grave consequences
The composition of this new sIate
of the southern Slavs is little uhoer- = :
stood in America and thus one OF
the main circumstances of the Whoie
Adriatic question is overlooked. AZ
the close of the world war three dis-
tinct branches of the Slav famliy' ois-
tinct as to dialect, separate by
ligion and history, were gathered TO-
gether within the frontiers OF n new
state. which preserved the recollec-
tion of the diversity of elements py
its official name, the kingdom OF the
Serbs. the Croats and the SloVenes.
A common hostility to the old Aus
tro-Hungarian tyranny unitea THESE
peoples, but they were dlvldeo py
centuries of history. The Serbs We're
members of the Greek Catholic
Church, the Slovenians ana Croa.s
were Roman Catholics. moreover
while the Serbs were wholly eonsenr- tt,
ing SUBJECTS of their own dynasty
there was not little republican sentl-
ment both in the Slovene ana the
Croat districts.
What Slavs Hoped For.
One of the chief elements which
contributed to bringing about the
federation. if not the fusion. OF these
three branches of the southern SiaV
family was the recognition that IN
1,nity was strength, and in the eXpec-
tation that this federation. welcomed
by the western allies as promising
the erection of a future barrier to
German expansion southwark. wouio
be able, with the support of Britain,
France and the United States, TO OBJ
tain the realization OF It's Wnolly
legitimate aspirations to an outlet on
the Adriatic and the possession OF the
purely Slav sea front, from Fiume to
Cattaro.
Such was the policy of Great Brit
ain and France. witnessed by the res
, ervation of Fiume for the southern
Slavs in the secret treaty OF London.
With this policy America promptly
aligned herself, when the President
went to Paris. But, unfortunately,
Italian policy took the exactly op-
posite course. The failure OF the
Sonino-Salandra ministry to secure
FiuUe was seized upon by the oppo-
sitiSu,, by Giolitti, as the basis for an
attSek made for domestic political
reasons.
Oplando, at Paris. was forced to en-
deavor to repair this failure OF So
nino, it. became a matter OF utmost
Importance for purely domestic rea-
sons to get Fiume. In order to fortify
the position of Italy abroad, an in
tense propaganda was launched with
in the Italian kingdom for Fiume ana
Italian passion was reused to the
limit to strengthen the hand of Or
landot in the Paris conference.
Italians Stir Up Trouble.
But s!at the same time a far more
paign was Carried on along the Kdfi-
attic. Every effort was made to make
use of the difference between the va
rious factisns[of the new Slav state
to promote aisunion: The Croats were
negrins were melted against the
Serbs. money and military force were
employed without stint. If only 1t
were possible at this moment to get
access to the reports of American
naval officers stationed in Adriatic
waters a final revelation OF this phase
of the Italian campaign would be sup
piled. On one occasion at least only
the sudden and unhesitating interven-
tfOn OF an American HdVdI oIuCeT dt
Cattaro prevented the dispatch of an
Italian regiment to Gettinge to "as-
sist" at a Montenegrin plebiscite to
decide whether the Montenegrins
would join Serbia or remain sepa-
rate.
In the face of endless provocation
the Slavs remained confident of the
ultimate good faith of their western
allies, who bade them wait in pa
thence. President Wilson's famous ap-
peal to the Italian people over the
head of Orlando had an immense effect
in Jugoslavia. The steady refusal of
the western allies to consent to any
Italian demands for a long time kept
Slav hope alive.
But since the D'Annunzio episode
there has been a distinct change in
the situation. The failure of the
western allies to take any action in