The Washington herald., 1922-09-11
Power in Balkans
Shattered, Says Simonds
Proposed Austrian Membership in Little En-.
tente Regarded as Casus BelIi.

Peteto Shoft 10 8tIcet tuS otptutcr
gration Of italian influence In the
Danube countries and check tho
rise OF an alliance Of the succession
sion, States. Jugo-slavia. Cxecho-
slovakia and Rumania TO the po-
sition occupied by Austria Hungary
before the world war. For this
rise threatens not alone the poiiti-
cal influence OF Italy. but II also
carries with II the death warrant
to Trieste and the Adriatic iittorsl
acquired In the Paris settlement
and siiainatsd by the treaty Of Ra-
pallo. after the long Fiume con.
trovsrsy.
Chsiisnsss French Policy.
Last and not least, by this prae-
tical uitimatum. Italy openly cha, |,
iengss French policy and French
influence IN the Danube valley and
seeks quite obviously TO block the
whole effort Of French statesman
ship In recent months. an effort
which bore fruition at the Genoa
conference. when the little entente
and Poland stood solidly with
France and not alone wrecked the
italian conference. but gave evil
dence OF q strength which carries
with IL Q menace to some Of Italy's
dearest aspirations.
We are actually, then, In the
must continue indefinitely and will
have almost unmeasured influence
in the shaping OF future European
history. 1t 10. therefore. OF obvious
importance to appreciate the fun
damental questions at issue. above
all to grasp italian policy In its
present and Its future purposes.
Italy Reintegrated
The war meant for italy. hrst of
all. the completion Of the national
reintesration, the crowning Of the
long task OF the last century by
the addition Of the remaining IRE
denta, the Trentino. comma ndin 9
the entrance to the valley Of the
Po from the Brenner Pass, an his
toric enemy and the barrier TO all
Italian ambition in the southeast
Of Europe.
But Italian conception of the fu-
ture did not include any expectation
or willingness TO see Austria Hun
gary replaced by a strong coalition
OF the succession states. The rise
of a strong Jugo-Slavia on the op-
posite shore of the Adriatic was
for Italy at once a disappointment
and a menace. 1t was a disappoint-
ment. for Italy had hoped to see
the southern Slavs broken up into
not one but three states. II was a
menace because Italians insistd
upon the acquisition of large areas
populated by Slavs. and of Fiume.
the natural port of much of the new
nation. insured resentment, created
automatically a Slavic irredentism
which promised and promises future
conflict.
Resent French Aid
Finally. as the last straw. the
spectacle Of q swift and complete
fusion OF interests between this al.
lance OF the succession states and
France and Poland. leading to mill
tary agreements and creating a
French supremacy in Europe, given
excited An italian resentment which
is little appreciated In the United
States.
bcSpltC COnCOrO
the war and common sacrifices
against the German foe, French and
Itlaian relations remain bad and
tend to become worse. France 7.
the Italian rival in the Mediter-
ranean and France has been able in
North Africa to get possession OF
all of those lands which once be.
longed to Rome and in the Italian
mind should be the field of italian
expansion. With a huge excess OF
population Italy Is compelled to
send her surplus to the United States
and South America and see IL lost
to her. while the vast regions
of .orth Africa lie open to colon.
ization and France, the possessor
lacks the colonists.
Look to Adrfstic.
Today italian population equals
il It does not exceed French, but
while France holds Morocco. Alge-
ria. Tunis and Syria along the
Mediterranean shore italy can only
boast Of the relatively insignificant
Tripoli and Italian colonies along
the Red Sea area weakened by
French possession OF Jibuti, the
one good port at the entrance OF
the Indian Ocean. in West Africa
too, France has even vaster pos
sessions and italy nothing.
Copyright. ls2a.)