The New Frontiers of Freedom from the Alps to the Ægean | Page 9

attempted to impose her
rule upon the Boers. Once let the Italian administration of the Upper
Adige permit itself to be provoked into undue harshness (and there will
be ample provocation; be certain of that); once let an impatient and
over-zealous governor-general attempt to bend these stubborn
mountaineers too abruptly to his will; let the local Italian officials
provide the slightest excuse for charges of injustice or oppression, and
Italy will have on her hands in Tyrol far graver troubles than those
brought on by her adventure in Tripolitania.
Though the Government has announced that Italian must become the
official language of the newly acquired region, and that used in its
schools, no attempt will be made to root out the German tongue or to
tamper with the local usages and customs. The upper valleys, where
German is spoken, will not, however, enjoy any form of local
autonomy which would tend to set their inhabitants apart from those of
the lower valleys, for it is realized that such differential treatment
would only serve to retard the process of unification. All of the new
districts, German and Italian-speaking alike, will be included in the
new province of Trent. It is entirely probable that Italy's
German-speaking subjects of the present generation will prove, if not
actually irreconcilable, at least mistrustful and resentful, but, by
adhering to a policy of patience, sympathy, generosity and tact, I can
see no reason why the next generation of these mountaineers should not
prove as loyal Italians as though their fathers had been born under the
cross of the House of Savoy instead of under the double-eagle of the
Hapsburgs.

We crossed the Line of the Armistice into Austria an hour or so beyond
Meran, the road being barred at this point by a swinging beam, made
from the trunk of a tree, which could be swung aside to permit the
passage of vehicles, like the bar of an old-fashioned country toll-gate.
Close by was a rude shelter, built of logs, which provided sleeping
quarters for the half-company of infantry engaged in guarding the pass.
One has only to cross the new frontier to understand why Italy was so
desperately insistent on a strategic rectification of her northern
boundary, for whereas, before the war, the frontier ran through the
valleys, leaving the Austrians atop the mountain wall, it is now the
Italians who are astride the wall, with the Austrians in the valleys
below.
[Illustration: ITALY'S NEW FRONTIER
A sharp turn on the highroad over the Brenner Pass]
No sooner had we crossed the Line of the Armistice than we noticed an
abrupt change in the attitude of the population. Even in the
German-speaking districts of the Trentino the inhabitants with whom
we had come in contact had been courteous and respectful, though
whether this was because of, or in spite of, the fact that we were
traveling in a military car, accompanied by a staff-officer, I do not
know. Now that we were actually in Austria, however, this atmosphere
of seeming friendliness entirely disappeared, the men staring insolently
at us from under scowling brows, while the women and children, who
had less to fear and consequently were bolder in expressing their
feelings, frequently shouted uncomplimentary epithets at us or shook
their fists as we passed.
Under the terms of the Armistice, Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol, was
temporarily occupied by the Italians, who sent into the city a
comparatively small force, consisting in the main of Alpini and
Bersaglieri. Innsbruck was one of the proudest cities of the Austrian
Empire, its inhabitants being noted for their loyalty to the Hapsburgs,
yet I did not observe the slightest sign of resentment toward the Italian
soldiers, who strolled the streets and made purchases in the shops as
unconcernedly as though they were in Milan or Rome. The Italians, on

their part, showed the most marked consideration for the sensibilities of
the population, displaying none of the hatred and contempt for their
former enemies which characterized the French armies of occupation
on the Rhine.
We found that rooms had been reserved for us at the Tyroler Hof,
before the war one of the famous tourist hostelries of Europe, half of
which had been taken over by the Italian general commanding in the
Innsbruck district and his staff. Food was desperately scarce in
Innsbruck when we were there and, had it not been for the courtesy of
the Italian commander in sending us in dishes from his mess, we would
have had great difficulty in getting enough to eat. A typical dinner at
the Tyroler Hof in the summer of 1919 consisted of a mud-colored,
nauseous-looking liquid which was by courtesy called soup, a piece of
fish perhaps four times the size of a postage-stamp, a stew which was
alleged to consist