Evening star., 1928-05-27
ITALY STRIKES AT FRANCE
THROUGH BALKAN STATES
Takes Leadership of Fear and Gains
Prestige Once Held by French.
MAY Break Little Entente.

, truism in European politics that III
many things London sees eye to eye with
| Rome. British policy had good use of
! italy in China, in Turkey. III Mosul'
and in turn winked, for instance, at the
! Italian adventure in Albania. Great
Britain helped to persuade Italy to con-
firn Rumania's seizure of BeSsarabia
in return gave italy $4,000 square miles
in Jubuland. Italian troops went tQ
shanghai with the British. Britain
auparently agreed to a PROJECTED
italian partition of Abyssinia. Accord
has been fairly close.
Britain Objects Mildly.
The British hand, indications are
! clear. has once or twice descended
! gently on the Italian shoulder. It Is
/ apparent that Great Britain thinks
| that IN the Balkans italy has gone
| too far Great Britain wants no
further foreign commitments; it wants
peace. And between France and Italy
il wants a balance of power.
But general European politics is not
the business of this series; what it
nlans is only a sort of snake dance
through the Balkans. III each country
Italian policy has produced an inter-
esting situation.
Italian foreign policy in the Balkans
rests upon and justifies itself by va
riety of economic and political factors
First it is necessary to outline these.
italy has 40,00O.000 people already.
several million more than France. ana
must sunport them on one-fourth nf
the arabic territory of France Its
working population increases by the as
tonishinc number of 100000 every year
The door to emigration in America Is
closed. TO many other countries IT IS
modified. Italy must expand or ourst
italy produces neither coal, IRON. COT
ton. timber, oil. wool nor copper IN I'M
nortant quantities. and scarcely enough
Wheat In feed herself. Yet it is great
nower. 1t must have raw materials.
Expansion somewhere is its legitimate
right,
Lacks Major Colonies.
italy is the only country exclusively
Mediterranean. The Alps close the SIN
gle land frontier, and four-fftns OF
italian commerce must be carried ny
the sea. Yet security in the Mediter-
ranean is threatened by. France. opposed
bv ,JuCoslavia dominated by England.
The Mediterranean. Italy says, Is her
sea.
italy has no major colonies: it has
Tripoli. but Tripoli has been dis
appointment Coming last into the
field. italy found all the great colonial
plums already picked; Tripoli and re-
mote African wildernesses near the Red
Sea we're all that remained. England
and France took the German colonies.
These are the main general iustifica-
tons upon which Italian foreign policy
rests.
In addition. there are important psy-
GEOLOGICAL considerations. Most Of them
appear in rivalry to France. For in
stance, France is the oldest national
state in Europe and Italy one Of the
newest; France is rich and underpopu-
lated, Italy is poor and crammed;
France is content with the status quo
and her policy is in general defensive:
Italy insists on changing the status quo
and may be aggressive If necessary
There is an extreme Italian jealousy OF
France.
UnfuIfiIIed Promises.
Modern Italian foreign policy derives
from the secret treaty Of London, signed
in April, 1915; on the terms of this
treaty Italy entered the war on the
allied side Italys juridical case for ex-
pansion is based mostly on this treaty
and the other secret treaties which fol-
lowed it,
BY the terms of the treaty Of London
italy was promised great deal-the
Trentino, the Cisalpine Tyrol TO the
Brennan pass, Trieste and its hinter-
land, "Dalmatia within its present ad-
ministrative boundaries. as far as Cape
Plenka"; Velona, one OF the seaports OF
Albania: the Dodacenese islands. which
Italy had seized from Turkey In 1912,
Libya. In the event Of the partition ot
Turkey. lust share" in the event OF
new African divisions, "some equitable
share. particularly In Eritrea, Someiiland
and Tripoli'' In return Italy promised
TO give Fiume and the Croatian coast to
Serbia.
The maps show that almost all these
italian claims were satisfied. In 1919
20 italy went into Asia Minor TO take
foothol6 there. and was only stopped
near Smyrna when Lloyd George sent
in the Greeks. But. except In Turkey
Italy got what she vas promised. To
this day Italy claims that the treaty OF
London and especially the secret treaties
which followed It, including the pact of
st. Jean de Maurienne tAprl, 1910,
were not lived up 10: and that in post
war settlement the other allies betrayed
her.
Sttf& bhikhh EOts
Frustrated economically and political
Iv. crowded within itself, Italy finds
the best way TO force new general set
tIement in Europe is To keep the Balkans
pot Ulbbling. 1t wants 10 be recognized
as the predominant Balkan power. II
only as a matter Of prestige, and has
seniofIicially stated this aim; apparent
~ also wants the Balkans 10 be weak,
nervous and unsettled. In that lies
Ttaiy's strength 10 influence them.
There is another matter, too, remotely
In the background Some day--Musso-
lini has all but promised it--Italy must
turn 10 Tunig When that day comes
the Balkans must be no uncertainty or
danger IN the rear But on this aim
the diplomats are silent
In the main. Italy's aims are no
longer really aims: they have been real
ized For, whatever the causes or bases
or Qualifications Of Italian dominance
in the Balkans. that dominance Is a
growing reslity--a fact
fCopyHght. l92si