The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-10-09


 dissatisfaction. Today French mar shal is made the embutt of popular anger. Italy invariably planes France for her every disappointment
 This Is not only regrettable, but Ii Is unjust I can bear witness as participant that France many times supported Ttaly's just claims at Yer sailles. As everybody knows. 1t was President Wilson who refused to rec ognize the treaty of London of 1915 NJ. Clemenceau repeatedly declared his readiness to execute if. The real orux tc the long wrangle was not the demanded execution of the clauses of the treaty. but the viola ton concerning Plume for Plume, which has been so passonately claimed by Italy, was under the treaty of London. signed by Italy, promised to Jugo-Slavia.
 Truth Is Withheld
 Had the Italian people known the true facts their resentment would not have turned toward their allies. who were not to blame, but would have been against her ministers. Ths latter, for many months, through fear of public wrath. refrained from telling the truth; refrained from ad- IulAllnB lildl IL WAS IlOl LHt dlllSS ilA 1919, but Italy herself in 1915. that gave Plume to the Jugo- Slavs. Lack ing the courage to confess this, Italy's ministers stirred up a move ment of opinion from which France, being nearer than England or Amer lea, was the principal sufferer.
 These facts are the real basis of the recent painful incidents in ad- dition to Italy suffering from the same postwar difficulties as other countries, notably France Certain political persons think IL advanta . | geous to minimize the victory and discourage public opinion However much Italy may have lost and suf- | fcred, no impartial person can deny l her immense gains, including the AL 1 pine frontier, Trentino and Istrai, to mention no others.
 Never in the last half century did the Italians in their widest dreams ! expect more, Not only was national unity realized but complete security as well. Now read the Italian papers. Forget Their Gains
 These gains seem to count for noth- ing Everybody has forgotten them. This artificially created state of min l affects the whole Italian daily life.
 I can conscientiously declare that France is not responsible for this sit uation Moreover, the French papers do not contain any such bitter, and frequently aggressive, articles as the Italians publish against France. Dur ing the war and during the peace we always have acted as Italy's firm friends, and we do not deserve such reproaches But, despite all that has been done, we are anxious to I'm . prove this situation, which is so dam aging to our neighbors. to ourselves and to all of Europe.
 Conviction Is that such an i'm provement IS possible only through mutual frankness concerning com mon issues. During the last 70 months we have been living just day to day, and the result is bad, whether we speak of Italy or of Britain There is need of a frank discussion of spe- cial problems as well as general propositions.
 Until the war, Italy belonged to the triple alliance with Germany and Austria. She abandoned that com bination in 1915 and the subsequent peace completely destroyed It. France should have been reflecting on this all of the time and seeking means to, bring Italy once more withlh q systematized Europe. When d house is destroyed it must be replaced, else all will suffer. The making of war took four years. Will peace take as long?