1^ 
J. AND & ^VATER 
Movember i, 1917 
to me during the last six weeks from all parts of Italy, both the 
food and the fuel difticulties-^and especially thf; former—' 
rai)idlv went from bad to worse during that period. This un- 
doubtedlv bred a discontent which furnished a favourable seed- 
bed for the i>ernicious sowings of the representatives of the 
Russian Revolutionists, whom the various Allied (iovernments 
seem to have allowed complete liberty of action in tlunr efforts 
to extend to all the enemies of the'Central Powers the same 
" blessings " that had proved so efficacious in paralysing the 
anny and navv of their own country. 
This discontent, deeper seated and more wide-spread than is 
even vet understood in any of the Allied countries, was 
directiv responsible fpr t!ie disturbances of September. The 
extension of martial law to those sections of the country where 
the disaifection appeared to be the worst was a drastic 
measure, but doubtless the only one possible under the 
circumstances. One does not know whether the conditions 
were such as to compel a withdrawal of troops actually in the 
war zone in order adequately to garrison the extended area 
o\er which martial law was put in force. I'nless the dis- 
affection had extended to the troops already in the provinces 
— no impossible contingency, however - it should not have been 
necessar\' to take men avvav from the hghting line. On tlie 
other hand, if this did have to be done, it would account in 
a measure for the Italian claim that they have been out- 
numbered four to one by the enemy on tiie Isonzo. 
Value of Victory 
With unmistakable signs of a weakening mora! among 
certain elements of the civilian population, then^ was only one 
palliative (outside efiecting an impro\emcnt in the trying 
economic conditions which were responsible for the trouble) 
that stood a chance of saving the situation, — it was the 
one which Germany has so often employed with such signal 
success to a similarend — a great military victory. Cadorna's' 
drive for Trieste at the end of August had been ready a month 
before, and the delay in lai'mching it was probably for the 
purpose of broadening its scope and increasing its chances 
of success. To understand how high were the hopes built 
upon this most ambitious of all Italian offensi\es, one does not 
have to go farther than the statement which Cadorna — who is 
noted for his conservatism and reticence — made to a Member 
of the Chamber of Deputies a day or two after the great blow 
was struck. He is reported to have said : 
I may declare without boasting that the present manoeu^'re, 
5wing to its vast objectives and its daring and its prot^ble 
otiects on the whole war, is one of the most important ii the 
history of that war. . . .Our offensive comprises such an ex- 
tensile front that it would be impossible, except for tiie 
simultaneous success at all points ; but the country may rest 
assured of our final success . ■ . The imminent and decisive 
success of Italy over her traditional enemy means the turning 
point of the whole war. 
A letter which I received from a correspondent at Italian Gene" 
ral Headquarters at this time, even though it was written after 
it appeared (as was indeed the case) that the .^ustrians had the 
advance blocked at all points, spoke of this offensive as " one of 
the rea'ly big things of the war," adding that it was " just 
beginning." and to " wait for the next move." That next 
move, sad to say, when it did come, was launched from the 
opposite direction. As to just what went wrong one can only 
conjecture. The Austrian claim of prisoners in counter-attacks 
was almost equal to that of the Italians themselves, and it is 
not impossible that the moral of the whole armv was not 
sufficient to maintaining through a fortnight the attacks 
which were inaugurated so brilliantly with the taking of Monte 
Santo and the Bainsizza Plateau. At any rate, in the light of 
subsequent events, we now know that Cadorna was fighting 
for far more than the opening of the road to Trieste in that 
fateful week when he was throwing the flower of his armies in 
successive waves of attack upon the shell-shattered summit of 
Monte San (i.abriele. Great and masterly though the victory 
was. it fell short of the sweeping one that was needed to make 
the more querulous of the malcontents forget the shortage of 
bread and macaroni. The very heavy losses which the 
Italians sustained at this time must have had the effect of 
aggravating rather than relieving the ominous situation on the 
" internal front." 
In travelling — on foot and by motor — many scores of miles 
behind that very sector of the Upper Isonzo front where the 
Austro-German cfifensive first broke through, I passed line 
after line of the most elaborately built trenches I have ever 
seen on any front. Mile on mile of those built in the eartli 
were not only walled with ccmcrete. but were also vaulted over, 
so that they formed veritable stone underground galleries, 
loop-holed and provided with machine gun emplacements in 
accordance with the very latest practice. Where they were 
excavated in solid rock the latter was completely covered over 
with wire netting in such a way at to minimise the danger from 
flying fragments during a bombardment. That a fighting 
army, occupying them could not have held up for many weeks 
any kind of attack the enemy could possibly have launched 
is unbelievable. The Italian communiqu6, however, supplies 
the reason of the rapid advance over them when it speaks 
of the " lack of resistance of some detachments of the Second 
Army." One can at least be sure that no Alpini or Ber- 
saglieri units figured in those detachments. Indeed, one reads 
of the heroic efforts of the one to save beleaguered Monte Nero, 
and of the " sublime bravery " of the other in protecting the 
retreat of the main army by holding a crucial key position on 
the Isonzo. 
History, for good or ill, is being made rapidly in Italy this 
week, and for tjie moment it will profit little to speculate re- 
gar(Jing the significance of the events of one day when they 
may be discounted bytho.se of the next. The great Liberal - 
Majority — the men who brought Italy into tlie war and who 
have been principally responsible for her glorious achievements 
in prosecuting it may be counted upon to stand firm in the 
crisis, and it is they, too, upon whom devolves the task of 
re-awakening in the less "conscious " industrial workers and 
peasants a sense of duty and responsibility. 
The duty of the Allies of Italy is twofold ; fifst and foremost, 
such militar\- assistance as the situation may call for, and, 
second, the taking of such measures as are in any way possible 
to remove the principal causes of civil unrest. Coal and flour in 
sufficient quantities arc the things most needed. The men who 
make Italy's guns and munitions must not be allowed to 
go either cold or hungry this winter. 
The peoples of the Allied countries in this great, and perhaps 
supreme, crisis, would do well to think and speak of Italy 
only as a temponirily stricken Power, and, keeping well in 
mind the incalculable debt of gratitude they already owe to 
that gallant nation and its armies, extend to both a full 
measure of the confidence and sympathy they so richly merit, 
and so sorely need, in this their hour of trial. 
The foregoing article uia>i siibstitiiled at the last moment for 
a description of Ilalv's Aerial Cableways bv the same 
writer, illustrations 0! which appear on Page 19. 
A Great Skua 
After one of the great gales at tlie end of Sei)tember Mr. W. J* 
Policy of High Street, Burford, in Oxfordshire, sent to this office 
a bird which had been picked up dead in that neighbourhood. 
Nor being able to identify it we submitted it to the Natural 
History department, the British Museum, which now informs us 
that the bird is of considerable interest. 
" It is an example of a dusky vaiiely of the Great Skua 
(Catharacia skua). It is very rarely inland or on our -south and 
eastern coasts but breeds in the northern islands — that is, 
Shetlands, so that it is uncommon to find it inland. It is of further- 
interest as it is a dark brown colour instead of chestnut brown. 
A similar variation is figured in Dressers Birds of Europe (Vol.V'III, 
P- 457)-" 
The specimen, which was a young bird and in excellent con- 
dition, is now in the possession of the British Museum. 
Little is heard nowadays about Germany's plans for reconstruc- 
ti(jn after the war, but the work goes on. The Russo-British 
News Bureau recently mentioned that " the German Ls making 
elaborate plans to conduct his trade in Russia as if nothing had 
happened. From reliable sources we learn that he has established 
classes for discharged soldiers to train them as commercial trav- 
ellers. They are taught the Russian language. Ru.ssian history, 
and Russian methods of business. Moreover, numbers of women, 
some 40,000 it is said, are being taught Ru.ssian so that they may 
be able to conduct correspondence and replace the greatly de- 
pleted ranks of men. Yet another idea that is being worked out, 
is providing Russian agricultural prisoners with sample 
machines to take back with them to their villages, with the promise 
of a commsssion on any they can sell. It is a clever idea in its 
wav, but it will be futile if the .\llies make ah effort to counter il. 
There will be enormous trade with Russia after the war, and 
now is the time to take the necessary st cps to secure it." 
The Fraiikfiirler Zeiiung in an account of the autumn meeting 
of the Oermm Agricultural Society held theother day states that, 
after an address by the new Minister of Agriculture, a repre- 
sentative from Bresiau, spoke as follows on '' German Agriculture 
Production and Food Supply after the war." 
" He stated that owing to the different methods for obtaining 
nitrates, the subject of manure would be entirelv revolutioni.sed 
and production would be greatly increased by nitrate manure, the 
supply of which would be quite independent of Chile saltpetre. 
Meadow.s would produce two or e\"en three hay crops. The 
cultivation of several kinds of pulse would be limited, but that of 
lupines extended. The scarcity of concentrated fodder would 
lead to a reduction in the stocks of cattle for fattening, to a change 
in the keeping of milch cows, and pig-rearing would lose in import- 
ance. The conditions of labour would be altered, and wages 
would rise. Foreign casual workers and prisoners of war would be 
wanting. Native workers would have to be induced to settle, 
and machines would be used more and more. 
