Evening star., 1943-02-13
Discusses Europe's
Minority Problems
Aspirations Of Small States
Held Source Of Future Wars
Unless Wisely Settled
Bp Blair BOlleS.

OF possible tuture wars are SprOuting in
Europe, which today, just as before 1899,
is beset by the ancient minority prob
lens that long have kept the continent
in upheayal
Undersecretary Of State WeIes yes
terday forced attention on the general
| problem of postwar arrangements in his
speech in New York marking the OPEN
ing of United Nations month. He urged
that the major powers agree to "lose
no present opportunity for understand
ing between us as to the manner in
which these great principles for which
we strive shall be translated into reality
when the victory is ours
One of the hard legacies of the victors
will be the need for making decisions
at the peace conference on whether Hun
gary or Rumania has the better claim
on Pennsylvania, whether Greece or
YugoslaVla or Bulgaria should get the
major share of Macedonia and whether
Eastern Poland is more Russian than
Polish
Is Finland just in claiming territory
that Russia claims? Would the nation
allStlc inhabitants of the Baltic states
be happy in the Soviet Union? Should
Southern Albania be a Greek provincep
In all these regions nationality interests
clash. The Albanians of Epirus are
uneasy nelghborS Of the Greeks of
Eplrus. Macedonia is a tempest pot be-
cause the different nationalities in Mace
donla are rivals for Macedonian S mastery.
Out of these small rivalries grow great
conflicts and wars
AT the core of these problems is con-
sIderatlon little talked about these days
-ethnology. President Wilson made the
"self-determination of peoples" one of
his IA points. He thought Justice and
peace would be served if each of the
many nationalities in Europe were given
a country of its own in which its ma
tional spirit could thrive.
This chronological approach to peace
which was diluted at Versailles by many
other thoughts-did not prevent war, but
national yearnings are still so strong in
Europe that to make a stable peace
without considering them apparently
Will be impossible. The complex prob
lem Of Yugoslavia, for instance, is
heightened in its complications by the
Illustration Of the nationality feelings of
one OF the three Yugoslav peoples-the
Slovenes.
The nationality drive of the Slovenes
has survived centuries of repression and
Vicissitude. The fact that small nations
can retain so ardently for so long their
sense OF their own distinction is what
makes these nationality yearnings very
practical problem for the fashioners
of peace
Until 1918 Slovenia, in the northern
corner of Yugoslavia now, was part
OF the Austro- Hungarian empire. The
collapse Of that empire was regarded
as day OF deliverance by the Slovenes,
who then looked forward to an era of
natlonalistic freedom within the part
nerSnlp OF YugoSlavia-the kingdom Of
Serbs Croats and Slovenes.
But all the high hopes were not real
lied. During most of the period be-
tween wars a large segment of So-
venia, known as the Julian March, was
the property of Italy gained by the
treaty of Rapallo of November II, 1920.
From that day to this the Sloyenes and
Italians have disagreed about which
people dominate numerically in this
region at the head of the Adriatic Sea.
An italian census in 1927 which re-
ported that 81 per cent of the population
there was Italian was challenged by
SloVeneS, who complained that the sta
tiSticS lacked impartiality. The Slovenes
held that YugoSlaVs-Croats and Serbs
as we'll as Slovenes-were in the maior-
ity. The whole region in 1927 had a pop
ulation OF 90l, 1863, and a Slovene writer.
Dr. Lavo Cermeji, estimated the Yugo-
Slay members of it at $4,000.
This is the typical minority dispute
the conflict over the nationality nature
OF an area. The Italians of Austrian
Lombardy before Italy'S unification COM
plaired that they were oppressed by
Vienna. The Slovenes of the Julian
March protested just as loudly that
they were oppressed by the Italians,
Most Of the place names in the region
In 1920 were Slovene Italy Italianized
them. Zabec became Villa Grotte di
Dante. Italian officials discouraged Slo-
vene parents from giving their children
SloVene names. A father named his
child Gorazd, but the Italian registrar
wrote it Gerardo
The SloVenes felt that the Italians
allowed them an inadequate voice in
public affairs, that their press was dis
crlmlnated against, that their social
structure built around clubs was threat
ened, that their church structure was
dominated by Italians and that the
economic position of the Slovene in
Italy was worse than that of the Italians
in the same area.
SloVene- Americans not long ago adopt-
ed resolution and sent it to Washing
ton in which they said: a..
We Join the Sloyenians of Slovenia
and those who have long been in Fascist
Italy and Nazi Austria in their passion
ate aspirations for a united Slovenia
after the conclusion of the current war"
The Slovenes hope that their suffer-
lngs in this war will be soothed after
the war by a settlement of the problem
OF the Julian March. The pressure of
events may force the American Govern
ment to take some notice of Europe's
territorial problems before the war is
actually over, although the policy here
now Is to stay aloof from all conference