Order reigns in Albania, at least by contrast with other days; And an Albanian Government, controlling nearly, all the

country, hopes for recognition by other Powers. Naturally, it looks first to America. Everybody looks first to America, but Albania has special reasons. Chief among them is the defense of Albanian territorial integrity in President WILSON'S Adriatic correspondence last Winter, when the French and British Governments attempted to settle the Fiume question in Italy's favor and buy off the Serbs with Albanian territory. The Peace Conference decided that Italy, whose armies of occupation had done some excellent work in the building: of roads and the introduction of orderly administration, should have a mandate for Albania. Assuming that the mandate had been carried out disinterestedly, and not used as a lever for intrigue against other Balkan States, that would probably have been the best thing. But the Albanians would not have it: Last Summer they rose against the Italian troops of occupation and drove them down to Avlona, where they held on precariously while the Italian Socialists 14 demonstrated " against sending any more men and money across the Adriatic. GIOLITTI had no choice. H made the best of the situation by an agreement which gives Italy permission to fortify some islands off Avlona, thus adding to the strategic security of the Adriatic, and affords special economic openings to Italian enterprise. More than that Italy could not take, and the Albanians calculated shrewdly that Italian aid could always be relied on in case of Serbian or , Greek aggression. Hardly was this auestion out of the way when there was a little border war with the Serbs, started, apparently, by Albanians in territory that has been Serbian since 1913. At (Belgrade, Italian influence was seen 1 in this, just as in Rome Serbian ln-! fluence was bdieved to be behind the ! rising three months earlier. But | Serbia and Albania appealed to the Powers to settle the dispute and | hostilities for a time have been suspended. Then thero is the dispute with Greece over Northern Epirus. It has not been settled, but apparently the two Governments have come to some sort of working agreement; so for the moment Albania is at peace with her neighbors. Internal affairs,, too, seem quieter; the faction which supported that stormy but tenacious character ESSAD Pasha has apparently been broken up, ESSAD himself having been assassinated. For the moment the Government of Tirana seems to be pretty well obeyed throughout the country; but the record of Albanian civil turbulence will incline the cautious to wait and see. If the new Government continues the policy of trying peaceful arrangement

with its neighbors instead of fighting out disputes, one of the sorest spots In the Balkans may be healed.

Published: November 6, 1920 Copyright The New York Times