ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON U.S. PRESIDENT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue 13908, 8 November 1919, Page 1

ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON U.S. PRESIDENT.

I- . - [ Speaking in the Italian Chamber of Deputies on September 27th, Signal* Tonuisso Tittoni, Foreign Minister, devoted most of his attention to" the status of President Wilson;, in the peace activities. The Foreign Minister said he ■ had suffered daily ■ anguish over the delay in the settlement of Italy's problems, declaring it was thought that- the departure from Paris of President Wilson would facilitate the task of the Italian delegates. On the contrary, Signor Tittoni asserted, it had b'een made more serious, and complicated, as the American peace delegation, fiad to communicate with the President by i cable, which made delay inevitable. "The question of <mr relations. , with President Wilso'n will have to be cleared up some day," the Foreign Minister continued. "The inquiry must not, be limited to tlie ' period commencing- with the opening: of the peace conference, but must ' go back to th<s.time of the intervention of the United States in the war, and even further. From the - time of President Wilson's manTfesto in November, 1916, it was deaf, i he intended to become an arbiter be\tween the combatants. After the ' intervention of the United States, this character of arbiter became accentuated. From December 27,'1917. our Foreign Ministry was informed that President Wilson would be considered in Great Britain as the supreme arbiter, be it for continuation of the war or for the drafting of peace terms. Some of our diplomatic .l.pfents vA-.u-ued the Government it was necessary to secure without ilo- • lay President Wilson's support for our national claims." Signor Tittoni said that when the war was ended with victory he was recognition of lier national aspirations proportionate io her sacrifices would be given to Italy. "On the contrary," lie added, "the Italian peace delegates had to engagein a> daily struggle to obtain merelv partial recognition of Italy's national programme. The peace conference had to forego its principal task of drafting peace' terms and change itself into an assemblv to settle the fate of the whole of Europe, to create hew States, to fix new frontiers and to govern Europe. If the peace conference is not or cannot be replaced bv the League of Nations it- is impossible to foresee when the activities of the conference will end."