t
Socialistic internationalism and sentimental humanitarianism, and
extolled the policy of conquest and expansion adopted by Great Britain,
Germany, France, and the United States as a means of strengthening the
fiber of the national character.

In December, 1910, a congress of Italian Nationalists was held in
Florence, and at that gathering, which was attended by several hundred
persons, including numerous well-known names, many aspects of Italian
national life were examined and discussed. The various speakers
impressed on their hearers the importance of Nationalism as the basis
for all political thought and action. The weakness of the country, the
contempt which other nations felt for Italy, the unsatisfactory state
both of home and foreign politics, and the poverty of a large part of
the population, were all traced to the absence of a sane and vigorous
patriotism. The strengthening of the army and navy, the development of
a military spirit among the people, a radical change of direction in
the conduct of the nation's foreign policy, and the ending of the
present attitude of subservience to all other Powers, great or small,
were regarded as the first _desiderata_ of the country. The Turks, too,
who since the revolution of 1908 had become particularly truculent
toward the Italians, especially in Tripoli, also came in for rough
treatment, and various speakers demanded that the Government should
secure adequate protection for Italian citizens and trade in the
Ottoman Empire, and that a watch should be kept on Tripoli lest others
seized it before the moment for Italian occupation arrived. Signor
Corradini insisted that there were worse things for a nation than war,
and that the occasional necessity for resort to the "dread arbitrament"
must be boldly faced by any nation worthy of the name.

The congress proved a success, and the ideas expressed in it which had
been "in the air" for some time were accepted by a considerable number
of people. The Nationalist Association was founded then and there and
soon gathered numerous adherents; a new weekly paper, _L'Idea
Nazionale_, commenced publication on March 1, 1911 (the anniversary of
Adowa), and rapidly became an important organ of public opinion, while
several dailies and reviews adopted Nationalist principles or viewed
them with sympathy. Italian Nationalism has no resemblance to the
parties of the same name in France, Ireland, or elsewhere; indeed, it
is not really a party