Finally, on the 23rd of May, 1915, the Italian Government withdrew its
ambassador to Austria and declared war. A complete statement of the
negotiations between Italy and Austria-Hungary, which led to this
declaration, was delivered to the Government of the United States by the
Italian Ambassador on May 25th. This statement, of which the following
is an extract, lucidly presented the Italian position:

"The Triple Alliance was essentially defensive, and designed solely
to preserve the _status quo_, or in other words equilibrium, in
Europe. That these were its only objects and purposes is
established by the letter and spirit of the treaty, as well as by
the intentions clearly described and set forth in official acts of
the ministers who created the alliance and confirmed and renewed it
in the interests of peace, which always has inspired Italian
policy. The treaty, as long as its intents and purposes had been
loyally interpreted and regarded, and as long as it had not been
used as a pretext for aggression against others, greatly
contributed to the elimination and settlement of causes of
conflict, and for many years assured to Europe the inestimable
benefits of peace. But Austria-Hungary severed the treaty by her
own hands. She rejected the response of Serbia which gave to her
all the satisfaction she could legitimately claim. She refused to
listen to the conciliatory proposals presented by Italy in
conjunction with other powers in the effort to spare Europe from a
vast conflict, certain to drench the Continent with blood and to
reduce it to ruin beyond the conception of human imagination, and
finally she provoked that conflict.

"Article first of the treaty embodied the usual and necessary