Up to the time of the great French wars Italy
had a strong natural strategic frontier. First Napoleon and then Austria robbed Italy of that defence. Unless the true defensive line is restored, no competent soldier would care to undertake the defence of Italy. All that Italy required in 1915, and not more than that, was guaranteed to her by Great Britain and France. If she be asked to take less now, she retorts that Prince Billow actually promised to give her almost as much if only she would remain neutral. Why," she asks, "should I take less merely because I am victorious ? " That question, unanswerable though it may seem when considered literally, does not really, however, cover the whole case, for the reason that Mr. Wilson has mentioned—that Austria no longer exists. The security which Italy needs now is as much a moral .as a physical security. She cannot, as a matter of fact, afford to offend those who are longing to remain her friends and supporters.
