Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-09

feated nations were helpless at first;
gradually, however, they managed to
get on their feet again and have found
In Italy a strong supporter OF their
hopes of revising those treaties. The
open antagonism between France and
Italy has resulted in Europe being again
divided in two distinctly hostile
groups, the French and the Italian.
The difference between the prewar
grouping of powers and the present
organizations Is that In the days be-
fore the war the various heads of
gantzed alliances, but there was less
bitterness between the nationals Of
each group than there Is today.
Crowned heads and their advisers made
political treaties without the people
they ruled knowing anything about
them. When the crisis came the ma
tionals of each country we're aroused
by propaganda In the jingoist papers
and by ultra-patriotic speeches. This
is no longer necessary today; the ma
tionalistic sentiment Is powerful; ma
tons snarl at each other and seem to
be ready to jump at each others
threats at the slightest provocation.
| includes Little Entente.
The French group of powers con-
tains France, Poland and the little
entente Jugoslavia, Rumania and
CzechoSlovakia. Poland and Czecho-
slovakia have been created as inde-
pendent states by the treaty of YER
sailleS. JugoSlavia and Rumania were
small countries before the war; their
combined populations did not exceed
IL million inhabitants. BY the treaties
of Trianon and Neuilly their popula-
tionS were more than trebled. They
received large territories which be-
longed before the war to the Austria
Hungarian empire and to Bulgaria. It
Is only natural that these nations
should be opposed to any revision Of
treaties.
The italian group contains Italy,
Bulgaria and Hungary The Italians
hope that if the political and economic
situation in Europe does not improve
within the next few months, they win
be able to add Germany and Austria
to their list
Italy feels that she was not given
proper share in the war spoils and Is
consequently in favor of revising the
peace treaties which she signed In 1919.
The other countries in that group feel
that they have been made to pay too
heavy q price for their defeat and were
not given fair chance to recover.
Great Britain, heavily handicapped
by industrial depression, unemployment
, and troubles in India and the Middle
East, Is for the time being neutral
observer and is sincerely trying to avert
. catastrophe in Europe. Should, how
] ever, the antagonism between the two
: groups of powers result in an armed
| conflict 1t Is likely that her sympathies
, viii go toward the less prosperous
J and least powerful group, namely, the
) italian.
. One may safely assume that, because
. for centuries the policy of the British
/. Empire has been the sar1e-to oppose
> the strongest nation or group Of nations
! on the European continent She fought
{ Napoleon because France was endeavor-
) ing to establish an hegemony over
. Europe; she fought the Germans be-
cause Germany hoped to dominate
Europe politically and economically
She has had too many troubles Of hel
own now to assume that in case Of q
conflict in Europe she would actually
come to the assistance Of the italians
and their allies, but 1t Is likely that In
case of trouble she will maintain O
friendly neutrality toward the latter
: group of powers.
!: Fear and Suspicion.
The desire of the French group tc
; maintain the peace treaties intact and
, the wish Of the Italian group to revise
these treaties is the underlying motif Of
Z the present strained situation In Europe
: The inevitable psychological effect il
! that some day, in the near future
: Germany may become sufficiently pros
3 porous and strong enough to demand
, the abrogation Of the Versailles treaty
France suspects Italy of desiring ter.
ritorial expansion at Frances expense
Poland fears that Germany win succeed
In forcing the issue Of the Polish cor
rider and regain that piece of territory
which today separates East Prussis
from the rest of the Reich. Czecho-
c Slovakia and Rumania suspect Hungary
Of intriguing to get back some of hel
lost territories. Jugoslavia fears Italy
Some day, the Jugoslavs say, the Ital.
ians will cause the diSmennberment o.
the Jugoslav kingdom.
The avowed causes Of tension be
tween these two groups Of powers seen
;" futile, and II it were not for the deeper
motives indicated above, there SHOULD
be no real trouble about settling than
The tension between the Italians anC
the French Is due to the fact that italy
felt that she had been badly treated
: and insufdciently rewarded at the con-
cluSion of the World War. She needed
more territories for her rapidly In
. creasing population, and France, the
Italians claim, has prevented the other
allies from allowing her Just share u
the victor's Spoils. At present the
points of dispute between Italy and
. France are: % The question Of the
Italian citizens In Ttlnisia; (2) the
question of the rectiflcation Of from
tiers in Lydia; CD the question Of naval
parity, and az Frances fears that the
italian nationalist would like recti-
flcation Of Frances southeastern from
tier to include the district containing
: Nice and Mentone. This the italian
government, however, hotly denies.
Italians in Tunisia.
1 Tunisia may be regarded as Q
: French colony, although theoretically
it is only q protectorate. On account
= Of its proximity to Italy and of IA
i vorable climatic conditions o large
number Of Italians have settled down
4 in that country. Today, SO years after
the French occupation, the Italian pop
ulation Is still larger than the French
The Italian government desires all the
Q Italians who emigrate to maintain as
much rs possible their nationality. The
}. French would like to see all the italians
who have lived in Tunis at least two o.
three generations become either Tu.
nissan or French citizens. According tc
;. q convention between France and Italy
signed in 1896, the French cannot corn.
] pei the italian inhabitants Of Tunis Il
abandon their nationality. But thu
French, who control the country. car
put innumerable obstacles in the way
Of the Italians. They can prevent then
from exercising different professions O
by refusing to give them work In publ
utility companies In order to compe
them to abandon their Italian nation
, atty. This has been done lately. ThG
result has been that the Italian Gov.
eminent has violently protested againS
these measures taken by the French au