It is a pleasure and satisfaction to introduce our countryman, Luigi Carnovale, a true and charming gentleman. And we should not overlook the fact that Mr. Carnovale is a distinguished writer of books that are worth while studying for their literary and sociological contents.

Mr. Carnovale is a rare personality in the Italian colony of Chicago, or better, in the entire United States. However, he has not been able to raise the cultural and civic level of his neighbors because they-like so many other colonists are dominated to a great extent by politico-criminal racketeers, and by certain Italian and American religious sects. These factors lead to scornful isolation, as shown by the greatest number of the truly honest and sincere Italian immigrants.

Of the works written by Mr. Carnovale, I have read, somewhat superficially, only what I consider his best, "Why Italy Participated in the Great War." It is true to history, and is an excellent textbook for Italian chronology.

I was about to review it when, in the Spring of 1918, I decided suddenly to leave Chicago. However, now that the chapter in this major work entitled "Human Solidarity," has been re-edited and republished by Mr. Carnovale under the title, "Only the Abolition of Neutrality Will Prevent Wars Immediately and For All Time," I shall attempt a politico-social criticism of the latter.

Mr. Luigi Carnovale is one of those many literary philosophers who, because they live all to themselves, are not always able to create a real picture of social life beyond books and reviews.

In another major work, "Why Italy Participated in the Great War," Mr. Carnovale has completely justified Italy for joining in that great slaughter. However, much evidence to the contrary has come to light overseas, in the form of vile diplomatic documents issued by the Allies, as well as the Central Powers.

Moreover, the expression of all our ideas in newspaper articles, although censured and emasculated in America and in Italy, does not justify the entry of Great Britain, the United States and Italy in the World War.

Neither could this participation be justified from the bourgeois point of view, based on capitalistic interests, or on the conquest of mines and colonies. Only France and Belgium can explain their participation.

Thus, Italy could have remained out of the war, because the pact of London had already granted to her-in case of victory for the Allies-Trento, Trieste and part of Albania.

Again, a telegram sent by King Victor Emanuel III to his dear cousin Francis Joseph, justified Italy's neutrality on the basis of the Triple Alliance. Incidentally, we should note that the telegram did not protest against Austria's invasion of Serbia. Just the opposite, it ended with the sender's good wishes. However, this neutrality was a farce, because, during its enforcement - and even when Italy was in a state of war with the Central Powers, Italian capitalists were selling food stuffs and ammunitions to Austria and Germany!

Finally, Italian neutrality was bought through the sly and vulgar diplomacy of the Allies, who took advantage of the weakness of Italian politicians and dragged Italy and Roumania on their side, although Italy had no military 4preparation, and her supplies, as we said above, had been already sold to her former allies.

The greater portion of the Italian people, blinded like so many other nations, gave to the World War its finest blood and energies, without even the satisfaction of knowing of the existing Pact of London, and of its reward in case of victory. This pact was divulged in 1917 by the Bolsheviks, two years after its framing.

Although official Italy participated in the peace negotiations as the fourth signatory of the Pact of London, she received less consideration than Belgium.

Moreover, after the war, official Italy issued reports of her enormous losses in men and money. One million and a half were killed or permanently disabled, and 100,000,000 liras was spent-a sum more than the total wealth of the nation.

In spite of these great sacrifices, no impression was made upon the three other signatories, Great Britain, France, and Russia, who dictated a peace treaty according to their own interests and solely to create new hatreds among peoples.

Therefore, we reach the conclusion that Mr. Carnovale was wrong in justifying Italy's entry in the World War.

If we go back to the chapter, entitled "Only the Abolition of Neutrality Will Prevent Wars Immediately and for All Time," we find that Mr. Carnovale describes therein a socially impracticable utopia, humane and brutal at the same time. This shows that the author does not realize the malice of our present capitalistic society and of its vile diplomacy.

In other words, Mr. Carnovale's idea purports that when a nation declares war on another, all the other nations should array themselves against the nation or nations which, according to him, were wrong in provoking the war. Very naively he adds that mankind is perfectly able to judge between the guilty offenders and their innocent victims!

As to colonization, Mr. Carnovale justifies the seizure of "uncivilized" territories by the European powers. Thus, Italy has a "historical right" over Eritrea and Libya in Africa, particularly over the latter, because of the monuments left there by the Romans. Thus, Belgium has the same kind of right over Congo, Great Britain over India and Transvaal, the United States over the Philippines, France over Morocco, etc.

Only the Socialists protested against these colonial conquests. In Italy, at the time of the annexation of Eritrea in 1890, a protest was made only by the five Socialist-and a couple of radical-representatives in the Italian Chamber.

In reply to Mr. Carnovale's plea for the abolition of neutrality, my friend Ginseppe Bertelli and I can indicate a better road toward international amity. That is: the abolition of private property, national frontiers, and national flags.

This international socialist regime would curb or punish any racial group 7or groups which might attempt to endanger universal peace.

Peoples will become truly civilized only when they acquire a true civic conscience: that is, an understanding of mutual freedom. This means that an offense directed at one person or group is equivalent to one directed against entire humanity.

[Signed] Vittorio Bottis.