The New York herald., 1920-12-05

ally. 1t will disclose further that he
made 1t plain that IL was not ques-
tion or this minister or that, or of this
or that ministry whether the condi-
tions defined were demanded. but that
those conditions were demanded by
the Italian people. and no ministry
could stand which did not meet their
aspirations
And as proof that the heart of the
nation was right, Mr.. Page gives this
account of the acceptance of the en-
trance into the contest:
THE instant that war was declared
the people of italy quieted down. All
the excitement which had ragged dur
ing these last few days had subsided.
The people of Italy, fully conscious
of what 1t meant. stopped the noisy
demonstrations Of the piaZzas and set
themselves to the silent and serious
demonstration of what patriotic devo-
ton could achieve when profoundly
in earnest. The italian people were
never so admirable as when in this
mood. The day of the actual declara-
ton of war. the streets of Rome were
as quiet as on any spring afternoon.
All of the stir and struggle had been
transferred to that long front where
for 500 miles the armies of Italy began
the huge task of forcing back their
age-long foe from the most difficult
terrene known in warfare, fortified
to the last point of military science,
and defended by an army which its
commanders believed so powerful that
they had few months before de-
liberately delivered gage Of battle to
half the world"
The following word portrait of the
Premier who recently replaced Signor
Nitti refers to an earlier period. But
it has keen present interest:
"Signor G:olitti is one of the Italians
about whom an outsider finds diff
Guilty in forming a judgment COM
pletely satisfactory to himself His
friends defend him and his enemies
denounce him with equal vehemence
and sincerity. A Piedmontese, devoted
to the Monarchy, brave, strong, bodily
and mentally, he had had an active
past. His name had been mixed up
with bank scandal-his enemies as
sert, justly: his friends. most unjustly
and he had lived for a time in Ger
many, whence he had returned to new
triumphs. The charge, indeed. appears
to have been that he was implicated
rather politically than personally, for
hardly any considered that he had
personally corrupted himself. His am
bition was for power, not for wealth.
He had now been for fifteen years the
head OF the italian Government and
substantially the dictator of Italian
!, a. l,o
retained his power by making capable
OF reconcilement with any direct line
Of high governmental principle. he was
conceded to be n master in the po-
litical game and his friends followed
him with implicit faith
And the author has this to say of
the popular attitude toward Fiume:
THE Italian people. who in the be-
ginning knew little of Fiume. had
come since the controversy arose to
feel that Fiume was italian and that
an italian city was being given up TO
their enemies. And what was more
calling to them-that Italy was being
placed by her Allies in the same cate
CORY with those who had fought
against them. The former contravened
their sentiment, the latter struck them
to the heart. To place Italy. as II
were, in the same scale with those
who had fought against them out
ragged their sentiment beyond hope of
correction. Fiume became on the sud-
den the token of Italys sacrifices.
and on 1t focused the passion of her
people,
This book is the work of Arnbassa-
dor Page. A lover ot "Marse Chan"
and other stories OF his earlier years
cannot escape the wish that he had
been less weighed down here by a
sense Of his grave responsibilities to
history.