Evening star., 1926-01-17
BY FRANK III. SIMONDS.

I
! ~ r all European countries at
the present hour, It is clear
that none, not even Russia
| ~ presents g. picture so bewil-
dertng, so incomprehensible
( 10 the average American, as Italy.
| The Britain Of Baldwin and Chamber
lain, the France Of BRAND, even the
| Germany Of Luther and Stresemann.
raises no such problems in compre-
| hension as does the Italy of Mussolini.
! And precisely as italian domestic poll
! tics battle, so do Italian foreign poll
| ctes at one time confuse and, If the
truth is to be told, irritate the Arnert-
| can observer.
| For this Irritation the reasons are
not hard to find. All things consid-
| cred. 1t Is clear that France, Britain
and, generally speaking, all the large
| and small victor nations of the war,
| as well as the succession states Gre
! ated by the victory, stand in common
agreement on the broad principle Of
accepting and maintaining the condi-
| tions of peace now prevailing In Eu-
| rope. Even Germany, through the
! pact Of Locarno, has given evidence
! of a recognition Of the need and the
| advantage for herself of escaping the
| economically and politically c1ppnng
suspicion of belligerent purpose.
Italy Rocking the Boat"
| Italy, on the other hand, to Ameri-
| can as to British and French eyes,
has had and continues to have the
appearance of willfully rocking the
| boat" From Rome there continue
| TO come the expressions Of opinions
| which seem, on the whole, not only
| strangely out Of harmony with pres
ent world opinion. but indicate that
Italy, so far from accepting the sta
| tus quo, gives constant proof Of q
national determination to acquire for
| herself a place in the world which It
| is difficult to believe can be won
! without war.
| It Is true that Mussolini has ex-
/ planned his words about a restoration
| OF the Roman Empire as having fig
| urative rather than material signifi-
| canoe, as being spiritual rather than
| chauvintstic. but the constantly re-
! curing incidents in Italy's relations
| with various adjacent nationanties
! Enthusiastically do tend TO create and
continue a feeling Of apprehension.
/ Underlying all else, of course. is
( the practical impossibility for the av-
/ erage American or Englishman TO un-
| derstand either fascism or Mussolini.
| 1t is true that there are those In both
I countries who have an open or covert
| admiration for an intelligent dicta-
torship which spares a country from
! all the manifold weaknesses and in
eptitudes Of parliamentary and con-
gressional government at the present
moment. Yet on the whole the Mus
| solini methods awaken grave doubts
even In tho minds Of those who ap-
plaud the Mussolini results.
Definite Meaning to italians.
It is fairly apparent, however, even
to those who by instinct and nature
most condemn the Mussolini episode,
that It means something in the minds
Of millions Of Italians. That II has
the unanimous or even the overwhelm-
ing support OF the Italian millions
may be open to question. On the
other hand. that 1t has great support
| is undeniable; that It means some
thing to millions beyond a mere tri-
| umph Of On adventurer, that II ex.
presses something significant In the
Italian nature, that 1t expresses some
thing potent In tho present Italian
| mind, this Is clear.
What lis 1t, after all, that italy at
the present hour represents? What
Is II that 80 much Of Italian feeling
and imagination seem centered upon?
In reality the question is Of primary
importance, because 1t IS clear that in
I the history of the next few decades
in Europe Italy Is going to be more
considerable figure than in all the
past since there was Il modern Italy.
! This is due not only 10 the obvious
resolve Of the Italians to have and
| to hold the position Of a first class
+. power, but also to the circumstances
! which have made those lands and
seas which have peculiar interest for
Italy precisely the places where the
| great racial. national and economic
/ forces Of Europe must meet and even
collide IN the next half century.
Explains True Conditions.
The story Of the unifcation Of Italy
is already old, although Italy has in
reality only Just achieved her true
unity by the conquest Of Trieste and
| the Trentino. 1t is more than so
years since the French garrison was
withdrawn from Rome and the
Eternal City became once moro the
capital of the whole peninsula. Yet
] have recently been much struck by
! the comments OF Ii brilliant Italian
/ friend OF mine who sought to explain
| something Of the true inwardness of
cotemporary Italian conditions. He
said:
| THE first great error made by for
| eigners in thinking of Italy Is in be-
| neving that modern Italy was made
on tho hour in which geographical
unity was attained. From the fall
Of Rome in the fifth century to the
occupation Of the city by italian
troops in 1870, there had been no
Italy, no national unity, nothing TO
compare with the common history
which has bound Marseille to Paris.
for example, for four centuries and a
half. And even after 1870 Italy was
still what q Frenchman-was II
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 1t as being,
namely, q geographical expression.
That was what Cayour and Garibaldi,
the heroes Of that period, made it.
Between 1870 and the World War
Italy achieved the second stage In
her real unif1cation. She had become
geographically united; she now became
enthusiastically united. There was
created q national machine operating
in the geographical units which on
the map was Italy. But there was
still no national fusion, nothing to
compare with the sense which thou
sand years Of unity had given France
or England. II the first period was
that Of Cavour, the second was that
OF Gioltti.
Beginning Of National Unity.
"The World War and it's conse-
Quences brought with It the first
real beginnings Of national unity.
| That u the phase we are In. q phase
(, through which France and Britain
passed q long time ago, through which
America passed certainly by the end
Of the Civil War. Why was social
| ism. which in France and In Germany
! carried with it no threat to national
unity, a peril for Italy? Simply be-
was still unachieved, it became anti
\ national