763.72/1643
The Ambassador in Italy (Page) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 8.]
My Dear Mr. Secretary: For some time past, as you will see by the papers, and as I have telegraphed you, there has been much talk here of Italy’s coming to an agreement with Austria through the negotiations of Prince von Bülow, the German Ambassador, by which Austria will cede to Italy the Trentino and a further region lying along the northern Italian border, and perhaps other territory, comprising enough to satisfy Italy, and keep her from going to war against her.
This came about just at the moment when it was announced through the Greek press that the allied fleets were half way through the Dardanelles and that Greece was going to join them. Evidently Bülow made a great effort and succeeded in stemming this sudden rush which might have resulted in throwing both Greece and Italy into the scale against the Central Empires. As it transpired that the Dardanelles were still unforced and that Greece had not gone into the war, and in fact was no longer controlled by Venizelos; but by a government friendly to Germany or at least to peace—Austria,—whatever she might have done in the other contingency,— refused to accede to the plan which it is said was proposed to her, and appears to have ended by offering to cede only a small portion of the Trentino, and simply to hand this over to Germany, as it were, in trust for Italy, to be given to the latter only at the close of the war, and meantime to be held as a pledge for Italy’s good conduct.
In view of this there has been, as I telegraphed you today,44 a sudden smoothing down of matters here, and no one appears to think that Italy will move if she moves at all, before the end of April.
Undoubtedly things have suddenly quieted here, and a sort of apathy appears to have set in after the state of suppressed excitement which existed here a week ago.
I do not know when she will move; but I feel measureably sure that if she does so, she is not going to set a given date for it; but will move without warning. This is what she did at the time of the Libyan war, and I feel pretty sure that she will do the same thing this time also.
Bulgaria still appears to me to hold the key to the situation, as she holds Greece in check, and should Greece move Italy will hardly [Page 721] remain quiet. The fact is that up to this time, Italy and Greece alike have been afraid that Germany and Austria were still sufficiently strong to mass forces which would, to use a phrase that I have heard used again and again, “treat them precisely as Belgium has been treated”.
An interesting thing came to my notice yesterday. I heard, through private sources, that Germany is bitterly hostile to America and that although this hostility has been intensified by America’s refusing to accede to her demand that no munitions of war et cetera should be sold to the belligerents opposed to her, this was not the beginning of it, and that she hated America because America had stood in the way of certain plans which she had with regard to Mexico last year.
You will recall that last year during the Huerta regime, we heard that a large number of the discarded rifles of the model of 1890-91 were about to be sold by the Italian government, ostensibly to be shipped to Bremen; but destined in fact for Mexico. I succeeded in getting the Marquis San Giuliano to prevent the shipment of these arms, although it seems some Ninety Thousand Dollars had been paid “on account” of the purchase of these rifles, and the arms are still held here in Italy, where the representatives of a number of governments have been trying, ineffectually, to buy them.
Since the account given me yesterday of the feeling in Germany against us, and of the part that Germany’s aspirations about Mexico played in that, I have put two and two together. And there has also come to me what, from time to time, persons have said to me, that after the war is over, we shall probably have to look out for Germany on one side and Japan on the other.
From time to time people say to me that the time must soon come when America will have to take a hand and do something towards making peace. Some of them evidently mean only in the way of tenders of good offices; others, however, mean in the way of going in as the ally of the Allies,—for no one here imagines that we could go in on the other side. I think that, should the time come, as well it may come, when the tender of good offices may appear proper and even necessary, the neutral powers would be likely to give at least a moral support to such a tender. This I judge from the expressions of representatives of some of the neutral powers who talk to me now in a very friendly spirit.
I enclose as a bit of interesting gossip here the translation of a news item45 which appeared two or three days ago in the Corriere della Sera, the most important newspaper in Italy. From it you will see that there are rumours in circulation that Mr. Bellamy [Page 722] Storer,46 who you will observe is mentioned here, not as an “ex” Ambassador, but as an Ambassador at present, is suggested as being interested in a mediation to be arranged between Benedict XV and the President in favor of a Treaty of Peace whenever events shall enable such a step to be taken.
I was called on a day or two before this notice appeared by a newspaper correspondent who informed me that the rumour was rife here that Mr. Storer is to be appointed as the representative of America to the Holy See. I informed him that I knew nothing whatever about the matter; but hardly thought it probable. I have also heard since then from an Ecclesiastic, who is a personal friend of mine, that his information is that Mr. Storer is working with this in view. It is not for me to offer advice unless it shall be requested; but I think it will not be considered improper for me to say that since I came here to Rome, no facts have come to my knowledge which would make it appear necessary from this end of the line to have in Rome an additional representative to the one accredited to the Quirinal.
Believe me [etc.]
- Foreign Relations, 1915, supp., p. 20.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Ambassador to Austria-Hungary, 1902-6.↩