Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 163, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1919 — Praise for Italian Army in Albania [ARTICLE]

Praise for Italian Army in Albania

New York.—-Brig. Gen. George P. Scriven, formerly chief of the signal corps of the United States army, who w*as for several months attached as American military observer to the Italian forces in the field, and who .recently returned from Rome, speaks enthusiastically of what he saw in Valona, or Avlona, as it is sometimes called, the chief port of Albania, which the secret treaty of London, in April, 1915, allotted to Italy. Valona, he said, is regarded by the Italians as one of the keys to the Adriatic, and their occupation since December, 1914, when troops were landed because of internal disorder, has transformed it from a squalid fishing village to a seaport that is on its way to attain an importance it has not enjoyed since the days of the Roman Empire. Docks have been built, buildings have been erected, and military roads, unsurpassed anywhere, have been constructed from Valona throughout Albania by Italian engineers, he said. . The general described how the Prince of Wied, placed on the Albanian throne by the powers, was overthrown, and a republic set up with Essad Pasha as president. He, too, was forced out, and the little country was left a prey to Austrian intrigue from

the north and the machinations of the pro-Germar. King Constantine of Greece from the south. On Christmas day,. 1914, the Italian government, fearing possible developments in Albania, sent the 10th regiment of bersaglieri to occupy the little fishing hamlet of Valona. Saved Albania for Allies. “By so doing,” said General Scriven, ‘‘ltaly saved at least the greater part of southern Albania from the horrors of Austrian and probably Bulgar occupation, and, in addition, became the deciding factor in the great ultimate success of the Balkan campaign, which now appears to have been the loose stone.in the arch that upheld the German power. “By this peaceful occupation a military position was secured that later became an important naval station for the allies, as well as a strategic and tactical base of such Importance that had it fallen into the hands of the enemy, the great military romance of the Balkans, if played at all, would have occupied a far more narrow stage, and the whole of western Albania would have been thrown open to the Germans. “With the entrance of the Italians into the war, military activity in the Balkans Increased. Additional forces were sent to Valona, from which as a base Italian control was extended over all southern Albania. The Italian troops, without violence, and, indeed, at the request of the inhabitants themselves, occupied the interior towns, or the ruins, as some of them then were, of Tepeleni, Argiro-Castro, Premafl, Llascoviki, Santa Quaranta, and Porto Palermo. Made Modern City of Hamlet. “When the Italians landed, Valona offered only the picture of a fishing village lying asleep in filth on the picturesque shores of what is a really beautiful bay. 1 “With the arrival of the Italians the town awoke as if by magic. Italy went to work to make Valona not only habitable but prosperous. Government buildings rose almost in the night Docks were constructed, electric lights were Installed. Sanitation was not neglected. “To my mind the greatest accom* plishment of the Italians in Valona, and elsewhere in Albania, lies in th« splendid military roads they have constructed. General Scriven has just been informed by the Italian Embassy at Washington that for his service with the Italian armies the Grand Cross ol the Crown of Italy has been conferred upon him.”