Evening star., 1922-03-19
By OLIVER OWEN KUHN.
YING at the head of the beau

at litC ttcdu Ol tHC Dcdu-
tiful Quarnero is a symbol of
the utter futility Of modern
day statesmen attempting to
prescribe panaceas for oll-world re-
construction in the face Of ever last
Ing suspicion and desire on the part
Of peoples themselves
There lies Fiume. beautiful in its
physical aspects. but with its neart
stilled by the shifting currents Of
conflict, physical and political. Just
as it at one time seemed predestined
TO become the pivot of the ephocal
struggle between Austria and Italy,
just so it today, after more than three
years of strife, seems destined to fire
the passions. of Serbia and Italy. To-
these passions are fired. Cooler
heads of Italy have kept the great
fire of patriotic fervor initiated by
d Annunzio in Fiumc from sweeping
Italy into struggle popular in char
acter but entirely unwise from The
standpoint of after-the-war progress
and influence.
RAPALLO TREATY
HAS NEVER BEEN POPULAR.
There can be little use In disguis-
Ing the real situation at Fiume. That
fervid, patriotic fever which swept
through all Italy at the mere men
tion of the name Fiume during the
days Of the Paris peace conference
has not died. though 1t has been con-
trolled since the days of dAnnunzio's
mad ride into Fiume. where he es-
tablished 4 government that capitu-
lated only upon the strongest repre-
sentations of the government in
Rome.
/ stated two years ago. after weeks
OF investigation in Fiume and its en-
Nirons. that this patriotic fervor
which hold sway in the breasts Of
Italians in Fiume would never die,
and that demands for annexation of
Fiume to Italy would continue to live
until the day when the city actually
became a part of the kingdom. That
prediction becomes more manifest in
the light of more recent events.
TIE treaty of Rapallo. entered into
by the Serbian government and the
Italians. has never been popular.
either in Italy or Jugos!avia. To
Italians it always has meant the loss
of F'iume, even though Italian infu
ence might be predominant. To jugo-
slavia the treaty likewise has pre-
cluded Jugoslavian domination OF
this port upon which Jugoslavian
hopes Of wide expansion were based.
Governments concerned have been
passive, but peoples restive. The
separate government idea for Fiume
has proven fiasco. The Zanella
government has fallen, Deputy Curl
atti, one OF dAnnunzio's aids in the
i'iuue occupation. has destined to
head the government and last re-
ports would indicate that troops.
typi"aliy Italian. are in charge.
thougr the government in Rome Tn-
doubtadly will s.rcnuousIy strive to
restore order in Fiume and maintain
respect for the treaty of Eapatto.
This determination has been demon
strated within the past forty eight
hours. a corps Of italian soldiers resting
At Trieste hav.,lE been ordered 10 move
on and occupy Fiume until a stable gov
ernment is established there. and that
Italy be not embroigied with the Ser
bians.
To those acquainted with Balkan poll
tics and particularly the mechanitionS
that have gone on over the Fiume ques
ton, it would not be in the least sur
prising to learn soon that the Italian
occtlps. lion OF Fiurne is the direct result
of Information received by the Italians
that the Serbian forces themselves had
planned a coup. taking advantage of un-
settled conditions within the CITY TO give
iustifica ton Cor their action. The occl-
patton by Italians naturally viii pre-
clude such moves, for the present at
least.
The Fiume question is concerning
all Italy. as it did in the days imme
and so does Jugoslavia. that the
cities and ports Of the Adriatic must
remain dead. mere specters of their
is something more concrete. some
thing more tangible than the terms
of the treaty of Rapallo upon which
to work.
KEY TO SETTLEMENT.
OF ADRIATIC PROBLEM.
The Adriatic question never will be
settled until there is definite future
for Fiume. Fiume must either be
Italian or it must be Jugoslav in
character. Present indefinite condi-
tions cannot prevail. AS long as the
Italian irregulars control the city, as
long as the Serbians maintain armies
on the ridges back of Fiume ever