The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-22
Ltaly's Future
Rv ANNE o,HARE MCCORMICK

What kind of Italy will come out of the
treaty. to be signed by Mr.. Byrnes as his last
act as Secretary of State? For the past lew
weeks the writer has been discussing THIS
question in Italy with leaders OF the various
n%olitical parties and. scores OF Italians OF an
Shades of opinion and every walk OF life. me
answer is interesting because it involves Tar
more than the fate of Italy. Seen at the emo
If several months in Europe, Italy seemed
not only more uncertain put more alive, LII
some ways more potential, than any ou'ei
country. In it's new position as a poLtlcal
borderland betweens East and West' tne Ill
# takes will be quite as decisive as the re-
s,,lt of the eternal tug-of-war in the mind OF
France. italy is more malleable, physlcany
more vigorous, poorer and more stripped Ilohh
Ton to bottom. Therefore it is more ready 1ol
change. Historically and geographlcaly, IL
cannot help swinging the balance IN the Meol-
te-ranean world. =,
. Thought is stirring in Italy. A visit TO a
bookshop in any provincial town is a reveal
tion of how many new books are being pub
lished. They are paper-covered, OF course, ano
printed on cheap paper, but the fact that w
ner cent of tn population haven't enough 10
eat or to wear does not prevent piles OF new
books and old books long banned from oelhg
printed and eagerly read. 49,.
Competitions for plans for rebuilding de-
stroved monunents-the bridges of Florence,
the monastery of Monte Casino, the cathedral
at F~ascati, a town hall or a hospltal-are 60
inc on in everv town. The material and means
for these reconstructionS may not materldIlZe'
h1,t the contests, the hot debates on the merits
of the plans, cause a hum OF excitement alc
divert attention from the ruin and misery ol
the present to bright pictures OIL the lutule.
After the nightmarish gloom of Germany, Italy
is almost cheerful. The mood Of England IS
2 sober gray: in France it is black under a
coat of white and the surface is very thlh
when YOU scratch it. Italy has less to nope
for. little to build on, but a sense OF the
future CLEANS in the darkness.
AS to the treaty, mention it at a news
kiosk-say on a day when the eao9ne Oh
the sleazy sheets are full of Premier de Gas
pe~i's reception in Washington-and you are
at once the center of a public meeting. 1t Is
clear from the vociferous debate that the man
in the street, the common man. that MT.
Giannini has stolen from Mr.. Wallace as a
title for a party of programmes protest. is
baffled by the settlement. Italy is the 1lrst
major Power whose tate mas oeen oeclueo.
Among the five countries for which treaties
have been concluded, it is the only one IN
the western half of Europe. What the Italian
harps on is not any particular clause but the
fact that in these circumstances Italy got the
hardest terms of all.
1t should be added that the outstanding
feature of the treaties in the view not only
OF Italy Dul O1 du VI IulOpC II IHot Wv q
uuished states in the eastern zone got a better
deal than the 'co-belligerent in the West. 1t
cannot be said that this adds to the attraction
of Russia, which is decidedly less than it was
last year, but it does diminish the prestige
of the Western Powers, notably that of the
United States, and must influence internal
debates in countries watching to see how to
jump.
But that mark-down has increased rather
than lessened the reputation of the retiring
Secretary of State. Mr.. Byrnes has not mere
ly gained stature and accumulated an eX-
perience it is a misfortune to lose when the
crucial tests begin. In recent months he has
become a big figure in European eyes. One
hears again and again that it is due to his
patience, persistence and push that there are
any settlements at all.
The question is: To what ends will the
treaties work? Will Italy sign? Although
powerful voices are against it, if de Gasperi
is able to hold his uneasy Government to-
gether he will probably accept the terms on
the grounds that almost peace is better than
a prolongation Of the cost, inefficiency and
Gripping conditions of Allied control.
Naturally, the Communists are all for
signing. In Trieste the Italian members of
the party favored annexation to Yugoslavia,
ard Togliatti and his followers in othe- parts
of the country were prevented from taking
the same line only because passion for Trieste
as symbol of the Risorgimento, the long
struggle for liberation from Austrian rule, is
SO strong. Pietro Nenni, the Socialist Foreign
Minister, works closely with the Communists,
and his resignation on the eve Of the publ
cation of the treaties and of a proposed visit
to London suggests that the split in the So
cialist party is serious. Giuseppe Saragat,
leader of the anti-Communist dissidents, has
followers in other parties, and the plan is
to create a broadly based central grouping
with the Christian Democrats, the Action
party and the Republicans to fight totalitarian-
ism in all forms.
Italians will not have the same opportunity
to get the full text of the treaty as the readers
of The New York Times, but they already
know the gist of it, and whether they succeed
IN founding a democracy and thereby adding
48, 900, 600 people to the diminishing ranks of
democracy depends first on their reaction to
its terms and second on how much encourage
ment they receive from the powers who fought
a war to extend human freedom. This treaty
like all the rest, can work only if those who
receive the sentence receive also bread, the
means to work and hope. The Italians of all
people are ready to work, to hope, and to be-
Ieve in America.-The New York Times.
T-