The consensus of opinion was that it would be brief, in which case the terms dangled before Italy’s eyes by the Entente would, it was believed by the Cabinet, greatly transcend those which the Central Powers were prepared to offer.  Anyhow they were accepted and the compact was negotiated, signed, and ratified by men whose idealism marred their practical sense, and whose policy of sacred egotism, resolute in words and feeble in action, merely impaired the good name of the government without bringing any corresponding compensation to the country.  The world struggle lasted much longer than the statesmen had dared to anticipate; Italy’s obligations were greatly augmented by Russia’s defection, she had to bear the brunt of all, instead of a part of Austria’s forces, whereby the sacrifices demanded of her became proportionately heavier.  Altogether it is fair to say that the difficulties to be overcome and the hardships to be endured before the Italian people reached their goal were and still are but imperfectly realized by their allies.  For the obstacles were gigantic, the effort heroic; alone the results shrank to disappointing dimensions.

The war over, Italian statesmen confidently believed that those supererogatory exertions would be appropriately recognized by the Allies.  And this expectation quickly crystallized into territorial demands.  The press which voiced them ruffled the temper of Anglo-Saxondom by clamoring for more than it was ever likely to concede, and buoyed up their own nation with illusory hopes, the non-fulfilment of which was certain to produce national discontent.  Curiously enough, both the government and the press laid the main stress upon territorial expansion, leaving economic advantages almost wholly out of account.

It was at this conjuncture that Mr. Wilson made his appearance and threw all the pieces on the political chessboard into weird confusion.  “You,” he virtually said, “have been fighting for the dismemberment of your secular enemy, Austria.  Well, she is now dismembered and you have full satisfaction.  Your frontiers shall be extended at her expense, but not at the expense of the new states which have arisen on her ruins.  On the contrary, their rights will circumscribe your claims and limit your territorial aggrandizement.  Not only can you not have all the additional territory you covet, but I must refuse to allot even what has been guaranteed to you by your secret treaty.  I refuse to recognize that because the United States government was no party to it, was, in fact, wholly unaware of it until recently.  New circumstances have transformed it into a mere scrap of paper.”