Excerpt from The Question of Fiume

We therefore have a total on the one hand of Italians of Fiume (who are certainly utt all indisputably Italians) who would be sacrificed to the Slavs; on the other the - and even 12lo, -000 of that territory who with the union of Fiume would be annexed by Italy. Is it a Jugoslav who frames the proposition contained in this paradox? No, it is an Italian, and 'one who, in his anxiety to appear just, makes no compro mise with regard to what he considers tobe the legitimate and absolute rights of Italy Professor Sallvemini, of the University of Florence. He rightly emphasises the impossibility of dividing up to an extreme or excessive extent the right of free disposi tion. And how absurd it would be to recognise it separately in the case of each zone of a district or each quarter of a town. A territory must be considered in its entirety and the decision given in favour of the people iputting forward the best claim.

Now what are the grounds pleaded in Italy by those who, whether government or public Opinion, conceived and put forward the idea of the revendication of Fiume? Some Speak of national sentiment. But until the war the Italian movement of Fiume was never irredentist; it was purely autonomist-muni cipal. It is only since the outbreak ofiwar that the Committee Pro Fiume italiana has been established in'lrome' by a few refugees, but even during the war, and especially at the time of the Congress of oppressed nationalities, held in [rome in April 1918, the question of Fiume did not present itself to serious Italian politicians. Others acknowledge more frankly the true motive of Italy: i.e. To create a commercial rampart for the defence of Trieste, in order to avoid the eventuality of the traffic of Trieste, either by the present branch-lines or by others to be laid down, being diverted tp Fiume. Fiume is indispensable to the commercial progress of Trieste On Fiume depends not only the existence of Trieste, but of Italian commercial supre macy in the Adriatic, he who defends Italian Fiume defends also the prosperity of Italian Trieste; the destinies of the two are closely interdependent Thus do the moderate 'jorgans express themselves in the Italian press; it is useless therefore to quote others.

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