X.6 
1.ANU & WATER 
Movember i, 1917 
to mc during the last six weeks from all parts of Italy, both the 
food and the fuel difficulties- and especially the ffl/rmer— 1 
rapidly went from bad to worse c)uring that period. This un- 
doubtedly bred a discontent which furnished a fa\'ourable seed- 
bed for the pernicious sowings of the representatives of the 
Russian Revolutionists, whom the various Allied (Jovernments 
seem to ha\e allowed complete liberty of action in their efforts 
to extend to all the enemies of the'Central I>owers the same 
" blessings " that had proved so efficacious in paralysing the 
anuy and navy of their own country. 
This discontent, deeper seated and more wide-spread than is 
even vet tmderstood in any of the Allied coimtries, was 
directly responsible for the disturbances of September. The 
extension of martial law to those sections of the country where 
the disaffection 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 
over which martial law wa's put in force. Unless the dis- 
affection had extended to the troops already in the provinces 
— no impossible contingency, however — it should not have been 
necessary to take men away from the fighting line. On the 
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 the Isonzo. 
Value of Victory 
. With unmistakable signs of a weakening moral among 
certain elements of the civilian population, there was only one 
palliative (outside cfiecting an impro\em(-nt 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 similar end — a great military victory. Cadorna's 
drive for Trieste at the end of August had been ready a month 
before, and the delay in launching 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 offensives, one does not 
have to go farther than the statement v.hich 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 manoeuvre, 
iwing to its vast objectives and its daring and its provable 
effects on the whole war, is one of the most important Ai the 
history of that war. . . .Our offensive comprises such an ex- 
tensive front that it would be impossible, except for the 
simultaneous success at all points ; but the country may rest 
assured of our final succes.s ... . 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 poijits, spoke of this offensive as '-' one of 
the really 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 army 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 Gabriele. Great and mastetly 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 thne 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 cffensive 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 earth 
were not only walled with concrete, but were also vaulted over, 
so that they formed veritable stone underground galleries! 
loop-holed and provided with machine gun emplacements iii 
accordance witn the ver\' latest practice. Where they were 
excavated in solid rock th.e 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 communique, 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- 
sagliori units figured in those detachments. Indeed, one reads 
of the heroic efforts of ^he 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 the moment it will profit little to speculate re- 
garding the significance of the events of one day when they 
may be discounted by those of the next. The great Lit)eral 
Majority— the men who brought Italy into the 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 ; first and foremost, 
such military 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 are 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 iti this great, and perhaps 
supreme, crisis, would do well to think and speak of Italy 
only as a temporarily stricken Power, and, keeping well i"n 
mind the incalculable debt of gratitude they already owe to 
that gallant nation and its annies, extend" to both a full 
measure of the confidence and sympathy they so richly merit, 
and so sorely need, in tliis their hour of trial. 
The foregoing article was substituied at the last moment jor 
a descrtplion of Italy's Aerial Cahhways by the same 
writer, 'illustrations of- which appear on Page 19. 
A Great Skua 
After one of the great gales at the end of September Mr. \V. J- 
Policy of High Street, Burford, in Oxfordshire, sent to this office 
a bird which had been picked up dead in that neighbourhood. 
Xor 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 variety of the Great Skua 
{Ca/hUrac/a 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 if is a dark brown colour instead of chestnut brown. 
A similar variation is figured in Dressers Birds of Europe (Vol.VIII, 
P- 457)-" . , 
The specimen, which was a young bird and in excellent con- 
dition, is now in the possession of the British Museum. 
Tittle is heard nowadays about Germany's plans for reconstruc- 
tion after the war, but the work goes on. The Rus.so-BritLsh 
News Bureau recently mentioned that " the German is making 
elaborate plans to conduct his trade in Russia as if nothing had 
happened. Frqm 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, Russian history, 
and Russian methods of business. Moreover, numbers of women, 
.some 40,000 it is said, are being taught Russian .so that they may 
be able to conduct corres];on(lence and replace the greatly de- 
pleted ranks of men. Yet another idea lliat is being worked out, 
is providing Russian agricultural prisoners with sample 
machines to take back with them to theh villages, with the promise 
of a commsssion on any they can sell. It is a clever idea in its 
way. but it will be futile if the Allies make ah effort to counter it. 
There will be enormous trade with Russia after the war, and 
now is the time to take the necessary st eps to secure it." 
The Frankfurter Zeilung in an account of the autumn meeting 
of the German Agricultural Society held theotherdaystates that, 
after an address by the new Minister of Agriculture, a repre- 
sentative from Breslau, spoke as follows on " German Agriculture 
Production and Food Supply after the war." 
"He stated that owing to the different maihods for obtaining 
nitrates, the subject of manure would be entirelv revolutionised 
and production would be greatly increased by nitrate manure, the 
supply of which would be quite independ^it of Chile saltpetre. 
Meadows would produce two or even three hav 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, taa 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. 
