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The news of the formal acceptance of the Treaty of Rapallo by Italy and Jugo-Slavia has brought a sense of relief to all who were familiar with the troublesome Adriatic problem. During the two years that have passed since the armistice, political conditions on the Dalmatian coast have been well-nigh intolerable. This Slavic land, from which Austria had withdrawn her forces, was still debatable territory; for Italy, relying upon the secret Pact of London, was disposed to regard the eastern Adriatic coast as practically hers, had planted her soldiers at strategic points, was patrolling the waters with her ships, and essayed to dominate the whole region. The Jugo-Slavs, engaged as they were in the difficult work of reconstruction, but hampered by lack of money, of ships, and of materials, bitterly resented the constant presence of an alien force, which interfered seriously with travel and transportation, bottled up their harbors, and completely crippled all efforts to develop a maritime commerce.

But Dalmatia was not the only part of this Adriatic coast where the Italians remained in occupation. The same was true of Montenegro and Albania as well. The Pact of London had assigned Valona and its neighborhood to Italy, which was spending large sums in fortifying this Albanian port. At the same time, outside of

the Valona district, Italy also supported large garrisons at Durazzo, S. Giovanni di Medua, Scutari, Kruja, Tirana, and elsewhere. These garrisons, being viewed by the native population with an ill-disguised hostility, were always more or less on the defensive, and at times were forced to engage in armed conflicts. Finally, however, some six months ago, the Italians realized that the Albanians would never tolerate the continued presence of an alien army upon their soil, and retired altogether from Albania. Today their only hold upon this land lies in the tiny island of Sasseno, at the entrance to the deep Valona bay.

The contest between Albania and Italy was a matter of profound interest to Albania's northern neighbors in Montenegro, who, notwithstanding their own disputes with Albania, looked with admiration upon that country's resistance to Italian aggression. The situation in Montenegro itself was a peculiar one. Here the evacuation of the country by the Austro-Hungarian troops was followed by a popular demand for the convocation of the national Skoupshtina, or Parliament, and on November 19, 1918, a general election was held, in which delegates were chosen to meet in Podgorica a week later. In this democratic gathering the deputies proclaimed the union of Montenegro and Serbia, and the entry of Montenegro into the new Kingdom of Jugo-Slavia. Nevertheless, on the plea that the status of the country was not yet officially determined, and that it was still "occupied" territory, Italian troops were retained in Dulcigno, Antivari, Staribar, and even in the interior, at Virbazar, on the western shore of Lake Scutari. Their presence was a constant source of irritation to a proud and spirited people, and the fact that no serious clash occurred testifies eloquently to the marvelous self-restraint which the Jugo-Slav government and the Montenegrins themselves have consistently observed during these many months of suspense and uncertainty. On one occasion the writer

spent a night at Antivari, and Italian soldiers undertook to "shoot up" the town. A native official, representing the Ministry of Food, furnished the information that similar occurrences were to be expected about once a week, the object being, it was alleged, not merely to inspire fear of the foreign power which controlled the sea, but also to provoke an outbreak of riotous disorder, which could be cited as evidence of the country's dissatisfaction with its Serbian affiliation. The Montenegrins, it was said, were both eager and able to drive the foreign intruders from their shores, but were held in check by the JugoSlav troops. Strict instructions to avoid a clash had been issued by the government, which was supremely confident that the Peace Conference in Paris would sooner or later settle such international differences in an equitable fashion.

The Italian "offensive" in Montenegro was not confined to the occupation of a few points on or near the coast. The Montenegrins, for what seemed to them good and sufficient reasons, had taken a step which, as it was natural to expect, would hardly find favor in the land of beautiful Queen Elena. The National Assembly of November, 1918, had voted unanimously in favor of "the deposition of King Nicholas I., Petrovitch Niegosh, and of all his dynasty." The King, who was accused of having betrayed his country to the Austrians, of having called off his troops from the impregnable post of Lovchen, and of having demobilized them when he might have allowed them to join the Serbian army in its glorious retreat, was then living in or near Paris, where he vainly endeavored to enlist the Peace Conference in his favor. He was not without adherents, but these were far from numerous, and for the most part were living on foreign soil-in France, in Italy, or elsewhere. Of the few who remained in Montenegro, some organized themselves into small bands known as comitaji.

Establishing themselves in out-of-the-way

mountain retreats, they would occasionally sally forth to attack small bodies of soldiery or to burn the homes of their political opponents. Other comitaji were mere adventurers, who had taken to a life of brigandage, not because of political convictions, but because it was more to their liking than the work of cultivating the fields or of herding sheep and goats. None of these men could have kept up their lawlessness if they had not received support from outside the country, and it was commonly believed that they were largely equipped and financed through the Italian garrisons, which in such an unwelcome way had planted themselves on these eastern shores.

Meanwhile alarming reports were spread abroad as to the internal conditions of Montenegro. Accounts of the comitaji warfare were grossly exaggerated, and efforts were made to prove that Montenegrin civilians were the victims of savage atrocities committed by Serbian troops. Americans sojourning in Montenegro heard these stories, not in Montenegro itself, but only when visiting Italy or France, and thus could hardly avoid the conclusion that they were the fruit of an active propaganda against the Jugo-Slav administration.

The cause of Jugo-Slav union has never met with favor on the far side of the Adriatic, and it need not surprise us to learn that more than once expeditions for the invasion of Montenegro have been planned and outfitted upon Italian soil. Thus in January, 1919, an unsuccessful attempt of this sort was made from Italy by M. Plamenac, the former Prime Minister of King Nicholas, and in July of the same year another invading force set forth from an Italian port, only to be scattered on its landing at Cattaro. Even today the Treaty of Rapallo meets with much opposition in Italy, largely because it recognizes Montenegro's incorporation into Jugo-Slavia. Queen Elena, naturally, as the daughter of Nicholas, is strongly opposed to this abandonment of her father's claims.

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