Evening star., 1927-04-03

| 0 HE Albanian problem. which in
| recent weeks has produced a
| first-class disturbance in Eu'
| Il rope, represents what may
| fairly be described as one of
| the permanent liabilities of cotempo.
| rary Europe.
Solution of the Albapian problem is
impossible because there is no settle
ment which can at once be acceptable
to the Jugoslavs and the Italians
Geographically, Albania bears some.
| thing the same resemblance to Italy
| that Belgium does to Britain. Strateg
| ically 1t is even more important for
| the Italians than Belgium for the
British, because Valona, tine southern.
| most Albanian port, is actually the
key of the Adriatic. And for italy
| the Adriatic is always a source of
| danger.
But unlike cotemporary Belgium,
| Albania is not a real state and has not
at the moment any real possibility of
| national development. While the
| Serbs. the Bulgars and the Greeks
| owe their independence to national
movements, Albania was created from
| the outside to serve international
ends. In 1928, after the first and
| second Balkan wars, the statesmen of
Europe met in London to endeavor to
| prevent a European war which was
then threatening because the Serbians
backed by the Russians, had con,
| quered and purposed to occupy all OF
| Albania down to the Skumbi River
| The southern half was likewise TO fall
| to Greece.
Austria and Italy Agree.
Austria and Italy, divided on all
| other questions. were agreed that nc
third state should hold Albania. Fol
the Austrians, Serb possession Al
| Durazzo meant the escape of the
Serbian people from the economic
servitude Austria had imposed upon
them. 1t meant that in obtaining ac
cess to the sea Serbia would at one
time gain economic independence and
| political importance.
| Italy, on the other hand, then ss
now was haunted with the nightmare
Of the development of strong Slav
| state on the east coast of the Adrietic
q state which might one day prove
the advance guard of -Slayism
/ All Italian aspiration and policy ir
| that postwar era was concentrated
| upon the domination of both tanks OF
the Adriatic and the ultimate posses
sion of Dalmatia.
| While the Italians were opposed tc
the arrival of Serbia at Durazzo. they
were not less hostile to an expansion
of Greece through northern Epirus
which would give Valona to the rap
idly expanding Hellenic state. Thus
at London Austria and. Italy com
bined to destroy the hopes of both thf
serbs and the Greeks. In doing this
both nations fully appreciated thai
tney We're merely postponing the day
when Albania would be the cause OF
conflict between themselves.
War Changes Situation.
The World War, Which came
promptly, changed the whole Adriatic
situation. The Austrian empire was
abolished and the Italians acouir ed
Trieste and Pola at once and Fi1Ine
eventually. But they did not get Dal.
malta. and even Cattaro, the great
naval harbor of the Adriatic, passed
TO the new Jugoslav state which rose
on the morrow of Austrian collapse
This appearance of new and DO
| tentially dangerous S1ay state across
lIe Aorlatlc was for Italy the su
preme Illusion of the war.
Backed by President Wilson. the
| Serbs claimed Fiume: supported hv the
! British and the French, they ACQUIRES
| Dalmatla. When the peace settlement
was made, a new state of more than
| IO,O00,0OO inhabitants, with an area
greater than that of the mainland OF
italy, had been created. And this new
| state was hostile to Italy, because the
new frontiers of the Savoy monarchy
| included many thousand Slavs. In
fact, Trieste and Fiume became for
she SiaVs an irredenta, as they had
/ been for the Italians before 1918.
| All through the first years followine
| tne making of peace tie dangers of an
ltallan-Yugo-Slav conflict were very
great. 1t was not until the coming OF
Mussonnl that the immediate peril was
| exercised by treaty of RapalIo
| Thenceforth for several years there
was an absence of any trouble and the
Adriatic question disappeared from the
list of acute international difficulties.
Italian Policy Developed.
| Presently, however, Italy began to
| develop Balkan policy. France and
Italy, in fact, became rivals in the
| Balkans as they are in the Mediterra.
mean. The central objective of Italian
| policy was to break down the Little
Entente, that combination of Yugo
Slavla, Rumania and Czechoslovakia
| which had been closely associated with
| France and was one of the bases OF
|
| AT the same time Franco-Italian re-
| lations became steadily less pleasant
| There We're all sorts of incidents. and
these eliminated last Autumn il con.
| siderable concentration of troops on
| either side of the Alps. MANY utter.
| ances OF Mussolini were interpreted in
| Paris as indicating an Italian purpose
to replace France In Tunis, while Ger.
| tain extreme nationalistic voices in
| Rome began to talk about regaining
| Nice and acquiring Corsica as well.
quite recently Italian diplomacy
scored its most considerable coup in
| arriving at a treaty of friendship with
| Rumania, and followed this by Italian
| recognition of Rumanian rule in Bes.
| sarabia. All over Europe this was ac-
| cepted as proof that Italy had replaced
| France at Bucharest and that the
| Little Entente had ceased to be ly.
| ing fact in European combinations.
| CZechoslovakia clearly remained on
| the French side, Rumania had crossed
| to the italian, but there was still the
| question of Yugo-Slavia.
Treaty of Tirana Made.
| But the position of Yugo-Slavia was
soon decided by the making of the
| treaty of Tirana between the Albanian
government and Italy. Nominally this
| treaty did no more than give Albania
! an Italian guaranty. But actually, to
the Yugo-Slav view, it transferred the
| weak government of Ahmed Zogu into
| mere servant of Italian will. Publi-
cation of the treaty precipitated a po-
| litical crisis In Belgrade and led to a
change in ministry
The Yugo-Slav counter offensive was
| now inevitable and it developed slowly.
| Taking advantage of the presence
within Serbia of many thousands of
Albanians. the Serbs are charged with
| having set out to organize a movement
for the overthrow of the Zogu govern