Altogether one might say that the schoolmasters were being treated in a
manner that was at variance with the Admiral's document. To give a few
examples: Ivan Grbi['c], the schoolmaster at Sutomi[vs]cica, was
arbitrarily imprisoned and was afterwards removed to another school at
Privlaka. The Government school at the former place was closed, an
Italian private institution being opened in the same building, with a
teacher who was devoid of professional qualifications. The pupils of the
school which had been dissolved were compelled by soldiers to attend the
new Italian school. The elementary schools at Zemunik were likewise
closed and the schoolmasters, after a period of imprisonment, taken to
another village. If in the rather dreary little Zemunik, where there is
not one Italian, the schoolmaster was very dangerous to the might of
Italy, let us compare with this the conduct of the Slovene authorities
who permitted more than one priest of the old regime to remain in
office--one of them at a village four or five miles from
Ljubljana--though they knew that these clergy were wont from the pulpit
to utter disloyal sentiments. Maybe the Slovene Government was unwise,
but they had scruples in removing a priest; and moreover, they had not
given up the hope that these gentlemen would by and by change their
opinions. On the island of Pag the schoolmaster Buratovi['c] and his
wife, who was also a teacher, had to fly in order to escape
imprisonment. The schoolmaster Grimani of the same place was obliged,
with his wife, to follow the example of Buratovi['c], so that the school
was necessarily closed; and an Italian school was started in this island
with its 0.31 per cent. of Italians. The same edifying scenes must have
taken place as in so many Magyar schools where the pupils--Serbs,
Slovaks, Roumanians and so forth--did not understand what the teacher
was saying. The Government of the occupied part of Dalmatia appointed to
the elementary schools at Rogoznica and Primo[vs]ten two young Italian
law-students from Zadar, who had no pedagogic qualifications; and
whereas the legal annual salary was 1080 crowns, these lucky young men
were in receipt of 625 crowns a month, which covered more than
handsomely any depreciation in the currency. But now to another subject:
Per cent. Yugoslavs. Per cent. Italians.
1. Zadar with 80.25 with 18.61
2. Hvar (Lesina) " 92.94 " 6.75
3. Kor[vc]ula (Curzola) " 94.89 " 5.08
4. [vS]ibenik (Sebenico) " 95.66 " 1.31
5. Starigrad (Cittavecchia) " 97.98 " 1.91
6. Vis (Lissa) " 98.98 " 0.92
7. Skradin (Scardona) " 99.36 " 0.57
8. Knin " 99.48 " 0.31
9. Drni[vs] (Dernish) " 99.49 " 0.41
10. Benkovac " 99.60 " 0.30
11. Tijesno (Stretto) " 99.61 " 0.35
12. Biograd (Zaravecchia) " 99.66 " 0.23
13. Pag (Pago) " 99.67 " 0.31
14. Obrovac (Obrovazzo) " 99.84 " 0.12
15. Kistanje " 99.88 " 0.12
16. Blato (Blatta) " 99.93 " 0.05
The London Treaty had conferred on Italy the foregoing Judiciary
Districts, whose population, according to the last Austrian census, was
as given on page 147.
Italy was also to receive portions of the following Justiciary
Districts:
Per cent. Yugoslavs. Per cent. Italians.
1. Trogir (Trau) with 99.12 with 0.32
2. Sinj " 99.29 " 0.24
3. Imotski " 99.84 " 0.11
4. Vrlika " 99.95 " 0.04
In the early part of 1919 a plebiscite was organized by a delegation
which the representatives of the occupied communes elected at Split on
January 11. According to the census of 1900 the occupied territory
contained 35 communes, divided into 398 localities, with 297,181
inhabitants. In 35 localities, with 14,659 inhabitants, the census was
prevented by the Italians, who also confiscated the results of the
plebiscite in the commune of Obrovac.[38] The delegates were therefore
successful in canvassing 95.07 per cent. of all the inhabitants. In 34
communes the majority for union with Yugoslavia was over 90 per cent.,
while in 24 it exceeded even 99 per cent. At Zadar (the town) out of
14,056 inhabitants 6623 (= 47 per cent.) voted for Yugoslavia, while in
the suburbs, with a larger population, the majority was 89.57 per cent.
In the islands the majorities ranged from 96 per cent. to 100 per cent.
And if any doubts were entertained as to these figures, the delegates
were authorized to propose another plebiscite under the control of a
disinterested Allied Power.