PART OF AUSTRIA DEMANDED BY ITALY]

This better understanding between Italy and her allies soon was
disturbed by their attitude toward Serbia, resulting from the successes
of that country and Greece in the Balkan wars. For the sake of
maintaining the equilibrium between Italy and Austria, the former
sympathized with Serbia's aspirations for a port on the Adriatic.
In August, 1913--this incident was not revealed until the Premier of
Italy told it to the Chamber of Deputies on December 5, 1914--Austria
proposed that Italy should consent to an Austrian attack on Serbia.
Italy refused to countenance any such action. Revelations made
after the beginning of the Great War showed that during the twenty
months that elapsed between the renewal of the Triple Alliance and
the outbreak of the war, Italy was constantly engaged in combating
the policy of Austria-Hungary toward Serbia and striving to maintain
the balance of power in the Balkans. The notes exchanged in this
period emphasized particularly Articles III, IV, and VII of the
Alliance, and since these portions of the treaty were the basis
of subsequent negotiations leading up to the final severance of
Italo-Austrian relations, their text may be set down here:

"III. In case one or two of the high contracting parties, without
direct provocation on their part, should be attacked by one or
more of the great powers not signatory of the present treaty, and
should become involved in a war with them, the _casus foederis_
would arise simultaneously for all the high contracting parties.

"IV. In case a great power not a signatory of the present treaty
should threaten the state security of one of the high contracting
parties, and in case the threatened party should thereby be compelled
to declare war against that great power, the two other contracting
parties engage themselves to maintain benevolent neutrality toward
their ally. Each of them reserves its right, in this case, to take
part in the war if it thinks fit, in order to make common cause
with its ally.

"VII. Austria-Hungary and Italy, who have solely in view the
maintenance, as far as possible, of the territorial _status quo_
in the East, engage themselves to use their influence to prevent
all territorial changes which might be disadvantageous to the one
or the other of the powers signatory of the present treaty. To
this end they will give reciprocally all information calculated to
enlighten each other concerning their o