REGULARS ENTER FIUME.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 226, 30 December 1920, Page 6

REGULARS ENTER FIUME.

FOUR HUNOfifiD; DEATHS. *

tt™ o ; lily Kief trio Tei'Bftipli.-'Copyriitht.) » .PARIS, Dec. 29. . General t.nv'ghV l»a-1 entered Fin me. It J| reborled iluv W lira dwtuil killed' and wverul thousand wounded, including p Annuialo. who was slightly wounded in the head by ii iliyll. ®'!' j t>UiHUt.(Sbver»u*uft»i is anxious that D'Annunzio be captum unhurt, and offers-* a reward to the so w doing lids,- fA. uiul NX cable.)

, IS D'ANNUNZIO SANE? J. t • / Recobed December 30, 12.5 p.rn. PARIS, Dec. 29,

The newspaper* > declare that D’Annunzio has entirely lost bis cable.)

CESSATION OF FIGHTING, Received December 30, 12.5 p.m. ROME. Dec. 29. The cessation ot fighting at Fitime was preceded bv the Mayor requesting: Wti armistice. and D'Annunzio apparently concurring Tlie truce conditions inchide tfieTlegcncy t promise to evacuate nnd toretun the Government vessels.— (Times'.)

AUTHORITY HANDED OVER. Received D P.ra. 29 ' Tho newspaper Corricro della’ Sera states that D’Annunzio has hitftdcd over authority to tho Communal Council at Finnic. (Reuter).

WITHIN THE POET’S CITY. IMPRESSIONS OF TWO MONTHS AGO A special correspondent. who visited Flume ii October lust, gives Uio following description of the city under D’Annunzios then undisturbed dictatorship:- . ; “On approaching the ‘holocaust city—so D’Annunzio call* it-frorn the sea,' there is nothing to irfaphro enthusiasm or to justify pride. The little Steamer from Abbazia dings close to the shore and runs slowly along the wharves, which extend for more than a mile from the inner harbour. Not it movement can be seen as empty warehouse after empty warehouse iVpassed, witlr long rows of splendid cranes running ouf tipotrj their overhead trollies, unci' nsei ]cm army above the vacant quays/- The nrst

impression is that the city;-is dead; that stricken bv white' sudden disaster, it.-uos shrouded in rust. The brownfeh red pylll overly ini; the grey paint-contrasts with patches of green weeds, that., have sprung up between tlio flagstones. Grass, too,’" is growing in the gutters/and on the roofs of builddigs which word once -the scene of bustling activity. Can this bo Fiutne,” the City of Life?’ . , " ' .. ' T i “But the scene changes. The miier bar;

hour is readied, and there the Dante Alighieri, a- modern battleship,;lies with steam up and; her big guns trained,land; wards f'ii the rpads loading. to the town; Close bv are a Couple 6f cruisers four or ' five cloi,trovers, tViul a flotilla of sing lei’ craft, about ,16 In all. So ■D’Annunzio lias unite a fleet. The ships have 1 not- lost the navy look. They’ are spick and span] and as wo pass;one of' the' destroyers’.tld captain is being piped overside in triio navy fashion. , , . i “It ft a grout mistake to underrate D’Annunzio, This mail lira real force, not only by wbaF he has been in the past, hut what, li? is; and stands for, to day. No one did more to bring Italy into, the wa.r. and some of his speeches then, .like his Fiumo orations now, will endure as long as tho Italian language. 1 He fought on land; at sea, and in the air. He. was severely wounded, and even after the* lora of hi| right eve he remained m the ‘fight. He hud always dreamed of a greater Italy, supreme in tile Adriatic ami extending its influence over no Balkans. .DLVnminzio iJofaessea both and executive ability- Ho is an untiring worker, and MS that divine gift of- personal magnetism, which attracts the loyalty 1 and devotion-of otlier men. There can bo no question of hia power to sway tho masses. “And well may they' Ijjpk upon him as superhuman,-ami have faith in his lucky star. Has ho not appcarW .successfully, to ,l c fv not only the Government of his own country, but the Allied;- and Associated Powers to boot ? 1 Have .they not left hmv ■ for more than a year in . undisturbed posseseion of the city he seized ? Has 'lie notby acting while others talked—set the whole Peace (,‘onference at nought! But his Arditi have other and more immediate proofs of J,is power- to perform miracles for them I For IP months Fiume has lived without wharves 'are deserted,. tin?, i ail wit ft overgrown with, weeds, the, faos tories mostly shut-the great WhiteheadJsipedo shop, which in 1913 employed 1800 mm. now Ims only some 350 workers. Business in tho town is limited to supplying its needs and ' doing a ’ little trade w.ithi Trieste, Venice, and parts of Paliiijitm, . Yet in some totally unexplained fashion, 1 the soldiers are paid, the unemployed are given bounties, food is plentiful and, compared with other Italian I cities, living is cheap. . “Tho soldiers and.r.sailors .pet regnlnr • Italian Army rations, with something added, and extra allowance of wine. • Of..every,thing there ft nn abundance, not excepting money. Fiume is the Only, city tordny . whereone gets real pure wheat bread,'made from the; finest white flour. > ft.tastes like cake, indeed. the other day D’Annunzio was .able to sell 2COO tons of white-flour to the Austrians. Another feature ortho Fiume puzzle. which" recnlft the "miracle of-the loaves and fishes, is fh‘e; enormous 1 and neverdiminishing supply Af 1 ,.t.0n--rogi. ation Italian , spite of M quantity used. day in slum fights and trainutgr, D'Annunzio boasted to me of the fact that in 'irrimintt his stormtroons his men went %Wrdwith five hand-grenades ‘ under a: tijadnmvgim bars rage 1!5 inches above tlfoir Heads His casualties, mostly from, pre-mafpro explosions of hand grenades, sometimes, total-a dozen a day. Of course, it'all provides Ins youth ful followers with that excitement which - is ns osseutinl to t®m. urihe - air they breathe." *" ’ ■