Chapter 21

[Footnote 32: There are in the Banat some ultra-patriotic Magyars, such as the man at Antanfalva (Kova[vc]i[vc]a) who, having lost something between his house and the post office, insisted on advertising for it in the Buda-Pest papers. But the Yugoslav rule was so satisfactory that, two or three years after the Armistice, I found in the large Hungarian village of Debelyacsa--where the _intelligentsia_ called the sympathetic Serbian notary by his Christian name--not one of the inhabitants proposed to remove to Hungary. No doubt the goodness of the soil had something to do with this decision, but, more, the liberal methods of the Serbs. No military service was as yet exacted--all that the Magyars had been asked to do was to work for two months in obliterating the ravages of war. The priest and the schoolmaster who had come from Hungary before the War still exercised their functions, and--in contrast with what had previously been the case--both the Magyar and the Serbian language were taught, the latter from the third class upwards. Altogether there was perfect harmony between the Magyars and the Serbs; when I was there the only racial question which occupied the Magyar farmers was the resolve of their _intelligentsia_ to have, as centre-half in the football team, not a Magyar but a more skilful Jewish player.]

[Footnote 33: The Southern Slavs generally acknowledged that the Foreign Office was bound to behave to Italy, one of the Great Powers, with a certain deference. They also recognize that the Foreign Office is not actuated by malevolence if she treats Belgrade as she did Morocco, when in place of the strikingly appropriate and picturesque appointment of Sir Richard Burton our Legation there was occupied by one of a series of diplomatic automata. After all, these automata, who have spent more or less laborious years in the service, have to be deposited somewhere. But if one does not demand of the Foreign Office that she should make a rule of sending to the Balkans, where the personal factor is so important, such a man as the brilliant O'Beirne, who during the War was dispatched too late to Bulgaria, yet a moderate level should be maintained--it has happened before now that we have been represented in a Balkan country by a Minister who, some time after his arrival, had not read a Treaty dealing with those people and of which Great Britain was one of the high contracting parties; when taxed with this omission the aforesaid Minister hung his head like a guilty schoolboy.]

[Footnote 34: October 13, 1921.]

[Footnote 35: This has been done, but to a much more limited extent, in Hungary where several hundred men who distinguished themselves in the European War have been granted the Gold Medal for Bravery, which entitles each of them to a goodly portion of land. This the recipient may not sell, but he need not leave it to his eldest son if a younger one is more interested in agriculture. Each medallist, by the way, is authorized to exhibit outside his house a notice which informs the world that he possesses this most treasured decoration; but perhaps to our eyes the strangest privilege the Medal carries with it is the permission to write "Vitez" (which is the Hungarian for "brave") in front of the name. Thus if Koranji Sandor is decorated he is to call himself henceforward Vitez Koranji Sandor, and that is the correct address on an envelope. Not only is the honorific awarded to him, but is to be used by all his sons and by their sons. We might imagine that a man would shrink from permanently calling himself Brave John Smith, especially if he has been very brave, but the average Magyar will not feel excessively awkward, since he is not altogether repelled by that which is garish.]

[Footnote 36: The Czechs believe that Agrarian Reform should be the work of a generation. They are beginning on the very large estates, those which run to more than 50,000 hectares, and in calculating the price to be paid, 40 per cent. is deducted for the State on properties of this size. On those of between 20,000 and 50,000 hectares 30 per cent. is deducted, and so on down to the 5 per cent., which is appropriated from the holdings of from 1000 to 2000 hectares. It is also the Government's intention in Czecho-Slovakia to take in hand such properties as are badly administered, and, by a wise proviso, when a denunciation arrives to the effect, for example, that the proprietor is not using manure and that thus the State is suffering injury, a dozen men, belonging to the various political parties, go down to investigate. If they find that the accusation is not justified and that the place is satisfactorily worked, then the man who made the charge is obliged to pay the examining committee's expenses.]

[Footnote 37: The trouble arose at the end of May when a number of citizens of [vS]ibenik, men and women, donned the American colours as a compliment to the sailors of the U.S. warship _Maddalena_, who had taken to wearing those of Yugoslavia. The [vS]ibenik ladies and men, relying perhaps on the words of Admiral Millo with regard to Allied colours, never dreamed that any objection would be made. But suddenly one evening everybody with these colours was attacked by Italian soldiers, who tore them off and explained that it was done by the General's order. Italian officers did not interfere while ladies were being very roughly handled. A certain Jakovljevi['c], a shopkeeper, who had sold an American flag, was imprisoned. On the same evening a number of prominent citizens were summoned before the town commandant, Colonel Cappone, who spoke as follows: "A Croat, a Croat has dared to display a flag before an ardito!" [An American flag.] "This fool! instead of giving him a black eye, the ardito pulled off his flag. This is Italy! Mind you don't go to the _Maddalena_ to-morrow! Whatever it costs me, I shall prevent it! You are the leaders who will be responsible for anything that happens to-morrow." [This was the eve of the Italian national celebration of June 1.] "Our arditi are blood-thirsty; do not be surprised if some lady of yours receives a black eye.... We are the masters here! This is Italy! This is Italy! We have won the War, we have spent milliards and sacrificed millions of soldiers." On this Mr. Mi[vs]e Ivanovi['c] remarked: "I beg your pardon, but the Paris Conference has not yet decided the fate of these territories." And the Colonel replied, "It has been decided! But even if we had to leave, remember that on taking down our flag we shall destroy everything, with 5000 machine guns, 2000 guns and 40,000 men! Good night, gentlemen." This declaration made by the town commandant, presumably a responsible officer, was testified by the signature of all those who were present.... When, in 1921, the Italians were leaving [vS]ibenik they destroyed a large number of young trees in the park and elsewhere. The Venetians, in the Middle Ages, had cut down millions of Dalmatian trees, but always with a utilitarian purpose.]

[Footnote 38: In view of what the census said with regard to this place it is superfluous to add that when an Italian officer in my hearing asked one who was stationed there if there was any social life, the other answered: "None at all; the whole population is Slav." I find that _Modern Italy_ (published in London) quoted with approval the following telegram which appeared, it said, in the _Tempo_ of May 9: "A remarkably enthusiastic celebration took place at Obrovazzo. Several thousands, including representatives of the neighbouring villages, formed a procession and marched through the town. In the principal piazza, the President of the National party, Bertuzzi, delivered a stirring speech, which was enthusiastically applauded."]

[Footnote 39: It is customary for Serbian officers to wear but one decoration, the highest among those to which they are entitled. To illustrate this Serbian modesty regarding honorifics, I might mention that one evening at the house of a Belgrade lawyer I heard his wife, a Scotswoman, to whom he had been married for more than a year, ascertain that he had won the Obili['c] medal for bravery and several other decorations which--and his case was typical--he had not troubled to procure.]

[Footnote 40: June 24, 1919.]

[Footnote 41: May 15, 1919.]

[Footnote 42: Mr. Leiper in the _Morning Post_ (June 23, 1920) scouts the idea of these malcontents being the supporters of Nikita, who "were all laid by the heels or driven out of the country long ago--largely by the inhabitants themselves." He observes that the land is one land with Serbian soil--its frontiers are merely the artificial imposition of kings and policies. The nations, he points out, are not two but one--one in blood, in temperament, in habits, in tradition, in language; round the fireside they tell their children the same stories, sing them the same songs: the greatest poem in Serbian literature, as all the world knows, was written by a Prince-Bishop of Montenegro. Since the day when the Serbian State came into existence it has been, he says, the constant, burning desire of the Montenegrins to be joined to it. We may well rub our eyes at a letter in the same newspaper from Lord Sydenham, who makes the perfectly inane remark that this constant, burning desire was never probable. "Montenegro already _is_ Serbia," says Mr. Leiper, "and Serbia Montenegro, in every way except verbally." But Lord Sydenham has set himself up as a stern critic of the Serbs in Montenegro; therefore he cannot countenance the Leiper articles, which give him "pain and surprise." Is he surprised that Mr. Leiper, a shrewd Scottish traveller, who is acquainted with the language, should disagree with him? "The great mass of the people," says Mr. Leiper, "are as firm as a rock in their determination that Nicholas shall never return." Listen to Lord Sydenham: "I am afraid," says he, "that your correspondent has been misled by the raging, tearing Serbian propaganda with which I am familiar." And he quotes for our benefit an unnamed correspondent of his in Montenegro who says that the people there are terrified of speaking. It is much to be desired that a little of this terror might invade a gentleman who plunges headlong into matters which he does not understand.]

[Footnote 43: Cf. _Morning Post_, November 17, 1920.]

[Footnote 44: A most vivid account of this affair was contributed to the _Chicago Tribune_ (July 13, 1919) by its correspondent, Thomas Stewart Ryan, one of the two neutral eye-witnesses. He came to the conclusion that as Italy was an interested party and was exasperated by the long delay in the decision, an outbreak even more violent might occur unless her forces were brought down to the level of the other Allies. In alliance with the city rabble, the Giovani Fiumani, Italian soldiers attacked the French: "I can state emphatically," says Mr. Ryan, "that the French guards did nothing whatever to provoke the assault, some details of which would blot the escutcheon of most savage tribes. I saw soldiers of France killed, after surrender, by their supposed Allies.... I could scarcely believe my ears when Italian officers rapped out the order to load. But they seemed to remember that Frenchmen can fight." However, he also saw an Italian officer who "prevented this murder and held back the civilians who were trying to reach their victim. I must record it to the credit of this officer that his was the only Italian voice to defend the game little soldier. 'A hundred against one! Shame on you, soldiers of Italy!' I wish I knew this officer's name." At another part of the harbour, "A British naval officer, fearing that the wounded Frenchman would be stabbed inside the court to which he was dragged, followed the body and defied the captain of carabinieri, who ordered him to leave." And at the close "I was no longer alone with my friend as a neutral eye-witness. The British Admiral Sinclair appeared, causing much perturbation to the Italian officers, who though some of them had just taken part in the shambles, were already glib with excuses. 'The British Admiral wants to know' was enough to bring the Italian officer running and bowing, with 'I beg of you....' 'We are willing to explain all....' American naval officers of the destroyer _Talbot_ were also among this post-mortem crowd. In a French motor bearing two Italian officers who stood up to ward off possible shots, came a French captain. He was of that calm, splendid type that makes you think of the Chevalier Bayard, a knightly figure. Quietly he moved among his dead. Not by the flicker of an eyelid did he give token of what was working deep down in that French heart of his. I heard an Italian officer tell him that the French had started the most regrettable affair by firing on the Italian ships. The officer spoke this falsehood under the glazed stare of the French dead and the protesting gaze of the wounded. The French captain nodded his head, remarked, 'Oh yes! of course. Now we must only pick up the wounded,' and, with all the gentleness of a mother beside her child's sick-bed...." A very good account of this shocking episode is contained in _A Political Escapade: The Story of Fiume and d'Annunzio_, by J. N. Macdonald, O.S.B. (London, 1921). His narrative is extremely well documented--he appears to have been a member of the British Mission. "It is incomprehensible," says he, "how officers and men could attack the very post that they had been sent to defend. Moreover, they were over 100 strong and fully armed, whereas the French garrison was small and had no intention of putting up a defence." One of the lesser outrages described by Father Macdonald, since it was not attended with fatal results, was that which happened to Captain Gaillard, who from his window saw an Italian lieutenant shoot and kill with his revolver an unarmed Annamese. The captain cried out with rage, and when his room was entered by fifteen men carrying rifles with fixed bayonets and they ordered him to go with them, Madame Gaillard tried to intervene and received a blow on the arm dealt with the butt end of a rifle. At this juncture an Italian officer appeared and roughly told Gaillard to come without further delay. A mob of civilians and soldiers who were outside greeted Gaillard with a shower of blows, and while they went along the street, the officer escorting him kept up a volley of abuse against France and England. Very fortunately for Gaillard he was brought into the presence of an Italian officer to whom he was personally known. This gentleman, looking very uneasy, refused to give the name of his brother-officer, but caused the Frenchman to be released.]

[Footnote 45: Cf. _The Balkan Peninsula_ (English translation). London, 1887.]

VII

FURTHER MONTHS OF TRIAL

D'ANNUNZIO SPREADS HIMSELF--THE WAVE OF ITALIAN IMPERIALISM--THEIR WISH FOR RIEKA, DEAD OR ALIVE--FRUITLESS EFFORTS OF ITALY'S ALLIES--SOME OF RIEKA'S SCANDALS--PROGRESS OF THE YUGOSLAV IDEA--DESPITE THE NEW PHENOMENON OF COMMUNISM--THE RISE AND FALL OF COMMUNISM IN YUGOSLAVIA--OTHER LIONS IN THE PATH--THE NADIR OF DEVINE AND NIKITA--A GENERAL--TWO COMIC PRO-ITALIANS IN OUR MIDST--THE BELATED TREATY OF RAPALLO--ITS PROBABLE FRUITS--NEW FORCES IN THE FIRST YUGOSLAV PARLIAMENT--(_a_) MARKOVI['C], THE COMMUNIST--(_b_) RADI['C], THE MUCH-DISCUSSED--THE SERBS AND THE CROATS--THE SAD CASE OF PRIBI['C]EVI['C]--LESSONS OF THE MONTENEGRIN ELECTIONS--WHICH ONE GENTLEMAN REFUSES TO TAKE--MEDIÆVAL DOINGS AT RIEKA--THE STRICKEN TOWN--HOPES IN THE LITTLE ENTENTE.

D'ANNUNZIO SPREADS HIMSELF

When the Serbian army came, during the Balkan War, into the historic town of Prilep a certain soldier sent his family an interesting letter, which was found a few years afterwards at Ni[vs] and printed in a book. One passage tells about a conversation as to a disputed point of mediæval history between the soldier and a chance acquaintance. "Brother," said the Serb, "whose is this town?" And the man of Prilep recognized at once that his catechist was not referring to the actual possessor but to Marko of the legendary exploits. When the same question was asked of Gabriele d'Annunzio he said that Rieka was Italian then and for ever, and that he who proclaimed its annexation to Italy was a mutilated war-combatant. Most of the citizens, as time went on, began to think that they would sooner hear about Rieka's annexation to another land, which was the work of Nature. Those who did not entertain this view were the salaried assistants of d'Annunzio and the speculators who had bought up millions of crowns in the hope that Italy, as mistress of Rieka, would change them into lire, even if she did not give so good a rate as at Triest. The poet addressed himself to the France of Victor Hugo, the England of Milton, and the America of Lincoln, but not to the business men of Rieka, who would have told him that 70 per cent. of the property, both movable and immovable, was Yugoslav, while 10 per cent. was Italian and the rest in the hands of foreigners. Not waiting to listen to such details, d'Annunzio sailed, with a thousand men, to Zadar, had a conference with Admiral Millo, and won him over. Whether he would have persuaded Victor Hugo, Milton or Abraham Lincoln, we must gravely doubt. "I am not bound to win," says Lincoln, whom we may take as the spokesman of the trio, "but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right; stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." In view of the wilful trespass committed by Italians on the property and rights of the Yugoslavs and the oft-repeated guarantees of protection given to the Slavs by the American Government against such invasion, it is passing strange that d'Annunzio should have appealed to Abraham Lincoln of all people. As for Admiral Millo, he telegraphed to Rome that he had thrown in his fortunes with those of d'Annunzio, and he made to the populace a very fiery speech. It is not known whether he communicated with the France of Clemenceau, the England of Lloyd George and the America of Wilson, whose representative he apparently continued to be for the rest of Dalmatia, while relinquishing that post with regard to Zadar, his residence.

THE WAVE OF ITALIAN IMPERIALISM

If Admiral Millo's rebellion had been published in the press of November 16th, it is most likely that 250, instead of 160, Socialists would have been successful at the General Election--an election which Signor Nitti, that very able parliamentarian, had brought about for the purpose, amongst other things, of testing the forces and popularity of the Nationalist party. The old Chamber had--voicing the wishes of the people--voted for the open annexation of Rieka, without war or violence; the Nationalists, in order to gain their ends, would seemingly have stopped at nothing. Military adventures, the breaking of alliances, agrarian and industrial upheaval--it was all the same to them. They scoffed at the common sense of the imperturbable Nitti when he said that the Italians, like their Roman ancestors, must return to the plough. Furiously they harped upon the facts that bread was dearer now, that coal was nearly unprocurable. And Giolitti, who in 1915 had strenuously tried to keep the country neutral, said in a great speech before this 1919 election that the War had been waged between England and Germany for the supremacy of the survivor and that Italy should never have participated. He enlarged upon the fearful sufferings of his countrymen, and he compared the gains of Italy with those of her Allies. Nor was he deterred when Signor Salandra, the former Premier, called him Italy's evil spirit who, devoid of any patriotism, would have sold the Fatherland to the Central Powers for a mess of pottage. Giolitti, on whom 300 deputies had left their cards in the tragic hours before the declaration of war, had good reason to know that even if Giolittism had melted away, the House had secretly remained Giolittian.

A new electoral system was introduced, whereby the people voted for programmes and parties rather than directly for individual candidates. This, it was hoped, would render corruption more difficult by enclosing the individual within the framework of the list, and it was also hoped that there would be less violence than usual. As a matter of fact there probably was a diminution with respect to these two practices, but only because of the large number of abstentions--merely 29 per cent. voted in Rome, 38 per cent. in Naples, and in Turin scarcely more. The people were tired of the excessive complexity and dissimulation of Italian politics. There was a good deal of violence--in Milan, Florence, Bologna and Sicily the riots were sometimes fatal--and with such an electorate, more extensive than heretofore, so that symbols had often to be used instead of the printed word, it was to be expected that there would not be an atmosphere of even relatively calm discussion. At Naples 132 candidates struggled for eleven seats--their meetings were indescribable. And it may be thought that in such conditions the victorious parties would not necessarily reflect the wishes of the country. The Nationalists were dispersed, the Giolittians were routed--the Socialists increased from 40 to 156, and the Catholics from 30 to 101. Gabriele d'Annunzio had been the Socialists' chief elector.

THEIR WISH FOR RIEKA, DEAD OR ALIVE