Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-08
The Germans in Rome.

Chancellor Bruening and Foreign
Minister Curtius are in Rome, pursuing
the political peregrinations which set in
with their trip to England in June on
the business of the Hoover moratorium
plan. Neither that journey nor their
later visit to Paris outstrips in under
lying significance the communings now
in progress with Premier Mussolini and
Foreign Minister Grandi The outside
world is not likely to learn much Of
them beyond platitudinous communicates
and uninformative pleasantries. AS a
matter of fact, Germany and Italy
share certain longings. the realization OF
which would have far-reaching conse-
quenees.
When the Italians disrupted the Triple
Alliance in 1914 and threw in their lot
with the allies against Germany and
Austria Hungary, the action of the
Rome government stirred Berlin and
Vienna to the depths. No. losses in
blood or treasure which the cen
trail powers inflicted upon their va
rious foes during four terrible years of
war were regarded as quite such fitting
retribution as the defeats visited upon
Italy on the Piave and elsewhere Now,
as Mussolini said yesterday at Rome,
the war is over, and we all have need
of fresh air"
There is particular kind of fresh
air in which both Germany and Italy
VIGOROUSLY would like to disport them
selves. 1t is the stratum In which they
hope, some day, to find it possible to
effect a revision of the treaties of
Versailles and st. German Although
Italy signed those pacts as conqueror
and helped to dictate their terms, they
were negotiated by the regime which
Mussolini three years later expelled
from power as reasonable to the italian
people.
Mussolini and Germany see eye to
eye in demanding revision of the peace
treaties. The Germans are the more
determined proponents, but the Fascist
dictator ever and anon registers SYM
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cause of any prospective gains by Ger
many, but because of desired benefits
for italy. Mussolini feels that Fiume
and the South Tyrol were wretchedly
poor booty for the italians, considering
how much better the other allied pow
ers Jared in the distribution of Ger
man, Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish and
Bulgarian territory. In other words,
II Duce wants a larger slice of the
Spoils. That is why, though for differ
ent reasons, he would make common
cause with Italy's wartime enemies in
bringing about a new deal from which
all would profit.
Germany and Austria meantime have
bitter grievance against Italy on ac-
count of her treatment of the thousands
of Germans who became Italian sub
jects with the annexation of the South
T'yrolear and Trentino regions formerly
part of the Austrian empire. italy is
accused of dragooning these Germans
and tyrannically disregarding their ma
.ionalistic susceptibilities. 1t is the
same indictment which Germany levels
against Poland in connection with the
former Prussians now under the boot
heel of the Warsaw government. Italy's
and Poland'S Germans are among those
"minorities," for whose protection the
peace treaties essayed TO provide, but
whose interests have been Systematically
fiouted
There can hardly be any real rap
prochement between Germany and
italy, such as is in the making--on the
surface-at Rome this week end until
Irredenta Germanica becomes a clooed
incident and South Tyrol ceases to be a
bone of contention. Nor is the proposed
German Austrian tariff merger a
project calculated to cause Fascist hats
to be thrown into the air It is the
open season for political bargaining in
Europe and Mussolini is shrewd
trader.