is an example of youth acting with vigor and initiative in a spirit which is in the broadest sense conservative. It is because these men and women had suffered in the war to preserve the fruits of Italian liberation that when peace came they were willing to continue to suffer and serve to preserve them.

In order to understand what has happened in Italy we in America must remember that the Italian background is different from ours. As a free nation Italy is very young, much younger than the United States. The people of Italy have welded for themselves fragmentary states into a comparatively new nation. This people, or rather this group of peoples, have no long experience in governing themselves. In this respect they are like most of their neighbors on the Continent of Europe. Their history has been made, not by repeated appeals to the ballot, as ours has been, but by appeals to the bayonet. To us it would be a strange and fearful thing to have to resort to direct action; but to the peoples of Europe, and in particular to the people of Italy, in whose memory are still fresh such figures as those of Metternich and Napoleon III as enemies of their liberty, the natural thing is to turn to direct action as a means of release against wrong.

What has happened in

(C) Keystone BENITO MUSSOLINI, LEADER OF THE

FASCISTI

Italy is in essence a normal revolution. That is why it is not strange that the Fascisti come into power with the approval, not only of the people as a whole, but of leaders in their army and their

navy, and, most significant of all, of their King.

The week that has passed since Mr. Roselli wrote his article which appeared in the last issue of The Outlook has seen the fulfillment of what was there predicted. The Fascisti have marched upon Rome; Mussolini, their leader, has, at the request of the King-a request which he could not refuse-taken up the reins of government. He has formed a Cabinet of youth. It is also a Cabinet of inexperience in political management, but it represents, not only the Fascista movement as such, but other elements in the nation that are sympathetic with the object that the Fascisti have set before them. Mussolini has announced his policy in foreign relations as "not a policy of adventure, but one of friendship to those nations displaying friendship for us," and his policy in internal affairs as "one of strict economy, discipline, and the restoration of our finances."

We repeat the hope that Mr. Roselli expressed last week-that the Fascisti will not allow themselves to become permanently a political party, but that, as soon as they have reorganized the Government, they will withdraw and remain a moral force holding all political parties. to account.

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FEW days after the Treaty of Sèvres was signed I called on Marshal Foch and asked his opinion on the subject.

"It is quite good," he answered, "but on the condition that 300,000 French and English bayonets be sent at once over there to enforce its execution."

Since France and England had neither the means nor the will to send those forces to the East, the Treaty of Sèvres I could not be, and never was, enforced.

That sums up the whole story of this unpleasant Eastern affair.

It was not a matter of sympathy or artificiality. It was only a question of power and facts. That is what both English and French had forgotten from the beginning.

The French were the first to realize their mistake, for the only reason that during many months they had had to fight the Turks in Galicia, without the hope of any benefit whatsoever. When they had fought long enough, when they had come to the conclusion that the absurd struggle had lasted sufficiently, they hastened to make peace with the Turks, ho immediately made ready to turn on

e Greeks.

The English were highly displeased with this Franco-Turkish Agreement and strongly blamed the French for it. The latter answered that they neither could nor wanted to fight the Turks; the only way left to them was to make peace. This answer, though logical and full of good sense, did not satisfy the English.

For he does not know the English who thinks that a logical argument, however strong, can influence them! It is difficult to conceive their contempt for logic and reason when applied to politics. France's readiness to mix up logic with politics or diplomacy seems very extravagant to them. Facts alone appear to them to be of any importance.

Well, facts have just shown the English that the French were right about the Eastern question. Then only have they yielded to necessity. They have at last accepted the solution which France had proposed; that is, give back to the Turks Asia Minor, Constantinople, and Thrace.

The great British plan was to use the Greeks against the Turks in order to push them back into Asia. Unfortunately, the Greeks were not in a position

to fill the part, especially if it were to last a long time. The burden placed upon their shoulders was too much for them to bear; they were completely crushed by it.

A glance at a map will suffice to show that the Greek army could not possibly maintain itself so far from its base, on the far advanced positions that its chiefs-the civil more than the military ones-had been foolish enough to choose.

Twelve years ago I traveled all over that country during a journey in Asia Minor from Smyrna to Koniah, the old capital of the Turks, through AfiaounKaraissar and back to Constantinople.

One has scarcely left the coast, crowded with Greek villages and redolent of Greek memories, when the railway climbs three thousand feet through endless windings to the highlands. which appear to the traveler as a land of desolation and death. No civilization, no fields, scarcely any villages. From place to place a few meager fields which just enable the few inhabitants to stave off starvation. A Turkish shepherd clad in his big coat made of rigid felt reaching to the ground, with a hole for the

head, may be seen watching his flock grazing amid the rocks.

It was a pure folly to maintain a big army so far from its base. All faults and follies have to be accounted for. As this one was most serious, its consequences were therefore terrible.

If only the Greek divisions had been content to protect Smyrna and the near "hinterland"! Backed by strong and well-fortified works, they might perhaps have held their own for a while; they might have stopped the Turks, thus giving the diplomats and statesmen time to arrange for the evacuation of Smyrna in exchange for serious advantages; for instance, a kind of autonomy for the city, under the control of the Great Powers, the protection of the Greek minorities, etc.

But sooner or later the Greek army would have had to give up Smyrna. Sooner or later we should have been forced to negotiate with the Turks. The pity of it all is that we should have waited so long.

The opposition between French and English politics has greatly contributed to increase the difficulties of the Eastern problem; it has greatly delayed its solution.

Who is responsible for this inopportune opposition? Both, without any doubt. In Paris as in London both Governments could plead guilty.

Immediately after the armistice M. Clemenceau, who never took much interest in Eastern affairs, gave the English the impression that France would not be very pressing in her demands on the East, more particularly as to Syria. The English were not long in drawing their own conclusions. Circumstances having given them a high hand over the situation, they immediately let loose all their ambitions, and gave the direction of their Eastern policy into the hands of sub-agents whose only aim was to undermine French influence at any cost.

It was the Golden Age of the PanArabic dreams, with all its delusions and all its extravagance. An Oxford professor, metamorphosed into a colonel, the famous Lawrence, gave free vent to his adventurous conceptions, without any regard for the reality of things. He built up chimeric empires for his country over whose destinies the Emir Faisal and his brother Abdallah, the Bedouin Ringlets, sprung from the depths of the Arabian desert, were to preside for the greater good of England. Add to this Lloyd George's distinctly anti-Turkish and pro-Greek disposition of mind.

When one analyzes this policy and tries to discover its chief reasons, one finds a number of elements derived from various origins; foremost, undoubtedly, financial influence, which Lloyd George has always willingly obeyed; then remnants of liberal politics, the anti-Turkish tendency of the old Gladstonian doc

trine; the imperialistic idea of utilizing circumstances definitely to grab Constantinople and the Straits.

All these elements combined have conduced to warp British policy and hide from the British the great Mohammedan interests that are in the charge of England.

Lloyd George stubbornly maintained his views, just as he did in regard to Russia. It was all in vain that part of the British public, the Foreign Office, and those of the Colonial Office still more, opposed him, showing him the breakers ahead. He was deaf to all, until the day of awakening when he had to yield to hard facts.

Happily, the English are great opportunists, the greatest in the world; they always surrender to facts. Lord Curzon accepted an agreement in Paris which a few weeks previously would have made his hair stand on end.

The concessions made by Englandand one must insist on the point-are most important. In order to come back to the road of moderation and good sense the British Government had to go very far!

Thanks to the force of facts, much more than to human will power, France and England have at last come to an agreement over the essential points of the Eastern problem. Many still remain to be solved. Serious differences of opinion may still arise as regards the capitulation, the care of the minorities, the Straits, etc. But what is still to be done is of far less importance than that which has already been accomplished.

It now remains to develop the results already obtained. It was with the Eastern as much as with the reparations question that France and England had conflicting interests. On the former of those questions their interests are now, on the whole, reconciled. Both Governments owe it to themselves and their peoples, whose only wish is to be united, faithfully to try to settle their divergences on the latter also.

The statesmen have been far more to blame over this matter than the public. For on either side of the Channel the almost totality of the country has a distinct feeling that any Franco-British quarrel would not fail to bring about quickly disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, both Governments, instead of forestalling differences, or at least settling them as soon as they arose, have let them multiply. It is not surprising that under such conditions the evil grew.

One point still remains obscure; it is the one dealing with the relations between the Angora Government and the Soviets. What are those relations? What is the exact influence the Bolsheviks have over the Turks?

The Soviet Government has made a noisy and unexpected irruption in the Eastern negotiations. It has expressed the desire not to be left out, and wants to take part in all discussions. Thus, to use a popular expression, we see Lenine stepping into the Czar's shoes! It is not

the first time, however, that we have witnessed such a thing.

This Sovietic "Bat"-certainly far less pleasant to look at than the one that was shown us by Russian artists-alternately shows its paws and its wings. According to circumstances, it calls itself a bird or a mouse! Sometimes it says that there should be no boundaries, and that the old diplomatic methods should be abandoned. At other times, on the contrary, it appears more imperialistic and more jingoist than the Ministers, generals, and diplomats of the Czar ever proved to be.

That Russia holds a high interest in the settlement of the Constantinople and Straits question cannot be denied.

Any decision taken without consulting her runs the risk of being merely a provisional one.

But one may well ask to what extent is Lenine's Government, considering its origin and tendencies, qualified to speak in the name of the whole of Russia and to pledge her signature. This signature, even supposing it were given, might very easily be disavowed by its successor, when eventually there will be one.

With regard to the near East, the French thesis has prevailed. And now that the French and English Cabinets have come to an understanding, the opportunity should be seized for tackling the big question of reparations and trying to reach an agreement over it.

The two points of view are certainly divergent. But so it was with the Eastern problem. Public opinion in France as well as in England welcomed with a sigh of relief the news that both Governments, after many vicissitudes, many efforts, had at last come to an understanding. Its joy would be tenfold if an understanding could be reached over the reparations question. There will be need for concessions on both sides; but in both countries all reasonable men realize that, and are ready to do their bit. I have just returned from a two months' stay in the United States. I have talked to a great many peoplebusiness men, political men, journalists, diplomats-about the reparations question. I am under the impression, from what I could gather from these conversations, that the United States will not do anything in the matter until it is shown a programme of Franco-British co-operation. As long as France and England go on pulling asunder, the United States has decided to stand aloof. It has no wish at all to mix up in a family quarrel, which, viewed from so far off, seems unreasonable and ridiculous. But when France and England present the United States with a complete programme, drawn up by both parties, asking for their support, the majority of Americans will not sanction their Government's standing aloof. They will bring pressure to bear upon it, and the latter will promptly have to yield. For in no country in the world are the political men more easily swayed by public opinion Paris, France.

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T twenty minutes past two on every American holiday some one looks up and says, "Doesn't this seem like Sunday?"

After all our preparations-the marketing ahead, the stocking up with cigars, the study of weather forecasts and revised time-tables, the sending of picture post-cards, the wondering if our firm will keep open and if the mail man will come here is the result. Yes, even on Christmas Day, though what can surpass the agonies of preparation for Christmas? Says the heroine of a charming tale by William Dean Howells, "When this Christmas spirit gets into me, I could do murder!" And behold her reward. At twenty minutes past two, infallibly, some one looks up and says, "Doesn't this seem like Sunday?"

How old Noah Webster must have chuckled when he wrote in his Dictionary, "Holiday-a day of amusement, joy, and gayety!" Father celebrates by reading the morning paper, tinkering around the house, and then going down to the office "to see that everything is all right." Mother toils in the kitchen, cooking twice the usual dinner. The young folks lie abed until noon. Among the populace in general what an air of indecision, of helplessness! On certain holidays the church bells ring. Shall we go? Or there are mass-meetings advertised, and a parade. But, frankly, seriously, do we feel drawn to the masters of oratory, or does it strike us that the parade will differ materially from the hundred and one we have seen before?

As for the parks, meanwhile, pretty crowded, won't they be? At various restaurants, special seven-course midday gorges attract, with music thrown in, yet the price, how extortionate! At the theaters, special holiday matinées prom

Courtesy of Community Service, New York

A bearded Santa Claus with a merry smile and jovial voice is really the most important part-next to the Christmas tree, of course-of a Christmas celebration, whether it is held in town or country, indoors or out

ise amusement, joy, and gayety-that is, if we can get in, though even then we pay dear for our seats, and it is the same show we might visit any night in the week.

Finally, thanks to a brilliant flash of inspiration, the populace in general hits on our typical American method of cele brating and-walks around.

Up one street and down another it goes, aimlessly, mirthlessly, yet cherishing a brave hope that something, some where, will turn up to convince it, some how, that this is not Sunday. Beyond the bawling of peddlers selling badges, medals, flags, canes, balloons, and other holiday gimcracks, nothing does. To be sure, there are several times the customary number of automobiles at large: but these, instead of banishing the Sunday illusion, seem rather to argue, "This is Sunday, only more so."

After the holiday we say we had a roaring good time, and here and there a sunburned nose or an upset digestion or accounts of a thrilling afternoon at the play so indicate. But we face ar rears of work. The postman brings a double mail, telephones shriek belated orders, complaints pour in from the ship ping department about damages to perishable goods, other complaints ar rive from customers who would have received our wares on time except for the holiday. And the boss is irritablehis ten cigars were a mistake. Moreover, the one man who knows where an important paper is tucked away has missed his train and failed to show up We ourselves are-well, not irritable exactly, but no one will detect in us any very glaring symptoms of reinvigoration. In fact, it is a relief to be back at work, provided that we can sit down while working, for the net result of a typical American holiday, as experienced by the populace in general, may be summed up in two words-sore feet.

Nor does it appear that Columbus or Washington or whatever celebrity the holiday was about got much out of it either. We hardly gave him a thought.

There are real holiday-makers-a few. There are also whole classes who profit by a holiday. For example, innkeepers, garage-keepers, showmen, and venders of peanuts, tobacco, and soft drinks, not to mention the dealers in boots and shoes. But meanwhile whole classes toil harder than ever-trolley conductors, waiters, soda clerks, and plenty more besideswhile the populace in general toils at its futile pursuit of "amusement, joy, and gayety" until it seems to deserve the encomium Mr. Dooley bestowed upon Grover Cleveland-to wit: "Industhrees, but naught very bright."

Meanwhile, consider what the popu lace in general has missed. Not genuine recreation alone. Not the deepening of