Evening star., 1922-07-30
BY THOMAS r. MARSHALL,
Formerly Vice President Of the
United States.

Fornaerly Vice President Of the
United States.
ROME. July, 1922.
The great war was waged on
such a stupendous scale that we
are apt to consider 1t as a whole
and to pay only slight attention to
the various nations which were
engaged in it. Those of us who
speak. the English tongue are
quite certain because of our
knowledge of the motives and pur-
poses which brought us into the
conflict that the future good of
the world depends upon a right
understanding between English
speaking democracies. The Brit
ish empire and America might be
world. but If other aid can be
brought to that consummationt SO
devoutly to be wished, it should
not be rejected.
am moved to the making of
this observation because of my
belief that there Is not a general
knowledge in America of condi-
tfons In Italy at the outbreak OF
the war. l doubt II a proper and
just estimate of the contribution
of the Italian people to the final
result ever has received due ap-
probation in America. Before
coming to Italy I shared the COM
mon thought that her contribu-
tion was negligible.
1t is not what one achieves that
weighs in the scales of progress
so much as the service and sacri-
flee which one gives to a right
cause. No longer with me Is it
question how many men of Italian
birth entered the army, nor how
many Of them died for the cause
of the allies, nor how great was
the military skill of their gen.
erals. Italy's contribution trans
cends all those things.
At the outbreak of the war
there was in existence what was
known as the triple alliance,
contract for mutual defense be-
tween Germany, Hungary
and Italy. Be 1t remembered that
fine distinctions are not drhwn in
war, and that no nation ever ad-
mits that 1t is the aggressor in
war. Everywhere and always
warning people have claimed self
defense. The Italian government
might well have accepted the Ger
man plea of self-defense and en-
tered the war upon the side Of the
central powers. 1t would have
been as blameless as most people
are when keeping alliance con-
tracts. 1t was no light thing for
this government to take the moral
stand that Germany was the ag-
gressor and that therefore Italy
was not bound to come to her as
sistance under the terms of the
alliance.
Not only external but internal
conditions Of Italy must be con-
sidered, although it is quite diff
cult for an American to under
stand. and almost impossible for
him to appreciate the church ques-
tion. In our land there has been
such a separation of church and
state that we cannot conceive a
church organization, either Catho-
lie or Protestant, which would hs-
sumo to have civil control over
the people. Now and then some
foolish persons have agitated a
disturbance between Catholics and
Protestants. but their activities. so
far, in our history. have created
only rippies upon the surface OF
our political waters. Otholic
hnd Protestant continue to dwell
together, each content to let the
the dictates of his own conscience
and both well assured that 1t is
just as valuable for the church as
1t Is for the state to have them en-
tirely separate. Not so in Italy
Whether the neutrality Of the
Pope was political or spiritual in
It's character. 1t is hard to de-
termine. II is more charitable to
assume that it was political. be-
cause it would be difficult for one
to understand how the vicar of
God could be neutral in a contest
between right and wrong. l hm
inclined to treat his neutrality as
political. and this is strictly in
accordance with the claims which
Benedict XIV announced. namely,
that he was the supreme political
as well as the supreme spiritual
head of the church.
AS Austria Hungary was the last
country to acknowledge the politi-
cal as well as the spiritual head