Today, unfortunately what many facts indicate only too well is that universal peace as we conceive of it still lies far in the distant future and in view of the growing greed for the lands of others the weaker countries can no longer trust the stronger ones
Keep your powder dry and always be ready to defend yourself this is for Italy as well as for others a hard necessity at the present time
I do not believe that there is at the moment a single government in Europe which is actually planning war but the time could come when those who are thinking of it least might find themselves embroiled in war by force of circumstances We had a classic example of this in France in 1870 when, one month before the war no one dreamed of or could have imagined such a thing but once it had started no one knew how to stop it
Meanwhile one thing seems certain alliances today are made not for war but for peace We see proof of this in the fact that one nation belonging to a given group of allies can establish and maintain friendly relations with nations making up another group without protests or complaints from the allies