[Enclosure]
The Swiss Minister in Italy (
Wagniere
) to the American Ambassador in
Italy (
Page
)
Rome
, November 15, 1918.
Excellency: Referring to the conversation
which I had the honour to have with you yesterday evening, I feel
anxious to give you some particular details about the question
concerning the relations between Switzerland, the Vorarlberg and
Tyrol.
At first I should like to point out to you that I never expressed to
your Excellency the desire of seeing Switzerland increased by new
territories. To the question which was put to me by a member of the
Embassy, if I remember well it was Mr. Richardson, I answered that
if the population of the Vorarlberg should ask with overwhelming
majority to be united with Switzerland, I thought that my Government
would have to examine seriously the question, taking inspiration
from the principles of the right of the peoples to dispose
themselves of their fate, affirmed with so much authority by the
President Wilson.
The Vorarlberg is a territory which, from a point of view of
geography, is really more united to Switzerland than it is to
Austria. All its rivers run naturally into the Swiss part of the
zone of the Rhine. In the course of history it was already once
conquisted [conquered] and made part of the
Confederation for some time. The
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man language. But for the moment it seems that
it has not manifested in a positive manner its desire to be
incorporated into Switzerland. The only movement was to send a
Delegation to Switzerland with the object of asking for provisions.
We also know that a petition is actually circulating among the
population in favour of an incorporation of the country into
Switzerland. My Government has not yet had an occasion to deal with
the matter and the Swiss newspapers have expressed different views
on the subject.
Concerning the Tyrol, the idea of joining this country to Switzerland
has had its birth in the foreign press. Neither on the Tyrolese, nor
on the Swiss side, the desire of a union has been expressed and I
think that this idea will not be taken up.
The whole Tyrol, as it was until now understood by Austria, had a
million inhabitants and inclosed the Trentino and the
Vorarlberg.
Putting the Vorarlberg apart and after the taking possession by Italy
of the whole Trentino to the chain of the Alps, which latter is
composed of 380,000 inhabitants of Italian language and about 100 to
200,000 inhabitants of German language, the rest of the Tyrol is
formed by the about 180 chilometres long and partly narrow valley of
the Inn, running from the Arlberg towards Kufstein. This remainder
of the Tyrol would have about 300,000 inhabitants all of (hem of
German language.
In any case, Switzerland would not refuse to examine the desires of
her neighbour populations, but it has never expressed the wish of a
territorial increase and in no case it could consent to enter into
discussion with the Powers on the subject of whatever modification
of her own actual territory.
I beg to thank especially your Excellency for the interest which you
take in my country. In the moment, in which the nationalism, put on
so an exclusive ethnical scale, menaces in Europe to continue the
rivality and provocate new fights, it is precious that the small
model of the Society of Nations, which is formed by Switzerland and
founded on democracy and on the respect of individualities and which
has resisted to the prove [test] of
centuries, should be able to count on the sympathy and the
comprehension of the great American Democracy.
I beg to remain [etc.]
