New-York tribune., 1920-09-16
The. Wilson-Cox Prese,..
SeU-Detcrmination As n ~.
Applied in The Twof
To the Editor of The Tribune

To the Editor of The Tribune. 4
Sir; May few remarks be peru,....
on Governor Cox's speech the otbsr A..
at Butte, Mont? His listeners eor,s
help admiring the well-balanced -.
tences, the plenitude of plst;.ns
Since then there was time to think ,h..
over, to weigh. Time to anaIv,. %,
verbose expositions, compare them .,,.s
actualities emerging to common ~ ssa
edge.
Some of his hearers were - a.
comfort in the assurance 9Th. ,I ~
question, under existing cona;s,.A
could not be presented to the bs, =.
public opinion; under the Lesypa y. "
NationsD it cam Accepting tbst W. W.
dict for what it is worth, public oo;,,..
is far from unanimous, nor would az
league be likely to solve it. For 49,.
Archbishop Mannix took occasion ,s.',
cmphatically to express his opip;o,
"they have given us league of v;rs;a
tive victors."
Governor Cox reminds US thu, t.
took up arms to end the rule of m;,Ats
The present conditions abroad form
sad commentary. Unruly might ia Ia,
loose. Demagogisrn, anarchy, BoIshsr
ism run amuck. One must sigh for u.
promised Improvement.
He continues: I'VE were chamn,or. =,
the rights Of small peoples" Not :.
mention many instances where r;,A..
lack clear definition, overlap. enero.,h
the fate Of Tyrol is worthy of ser,on'
consideration. Here is small nso,l.,
the census of 1910 gives a little ls,.
than 100000. Inhabiting the eastern
main stock Of the Alps; hardy, hand.
working, frugal; loving their humble
homes in the mountains, bravely main.
tanning their independence for nigh
thousand years. Politically an entity
though in race divided Some 60 No,
cent claim Teuton origin and spesk
German. About 100000 occupy the val.
leys north of the Brcnner Pass. and
215,935 of German speech dwell to ths
south of it, living in close sympathy
with 1906 Loidins of Rhaeto-Romsn.
ish descent. Thus we have nearly
quarter million souls nhabiting Tyrcls
central districts, nearly all Teuton ds.
scendants. From the village Of Saturn
southwark we enter the Trentino. with
363,942 mouths using the Italian ian,
guage, a clearly defined ethnographie
division.
Although no Italian soldier had set
foot on German Tyrolese soil, the Tyrol
landsturm, boys of sixteen to men Of
seventy years of age, stood on guard
The armisticc decrccd Italian occupatio,
up to the Brenner. Not the Trentins
only, but the central part of Tyrol, with
its quarter of a million of Teuton in.
habitants, all wee to be Italianized In
the new province Of Alto-Adigc. Italy's
aspirations thirsted for the Trentipo
The conqueror, aided by France, Great
Britain, supported by the United States
stretched his hand beyond. The peace
treaty of st. Germain confirmed the
grab. President Wilson, though withou.
authority from Congress, sanctioned it.
Where is justice, whore justification for
so high h-haaded robbery?
Wilson's famous Fourteen Points
once figured as the sine qua non for
armistice terms as we'll as for peace
negotiations following. Mere academic
ebullition, indigcstible to European dip.
lomacy, quickly scrappcd and buried
His rule of self-determination, his recog.
milton of nationality are echoed in Cox's
utterances, but wofully lack Ct appliea.
ton in Tyrol.
RICHARD LINDNER
Allendale, n. j., Sept. IA, 1920.