The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-23

| with fire and sword, and for having
| given occasion to the Thirty Year War;
| which, from the national point Of view,
was the greatest calamity that ever be-
1 fell Germany. 1t was a fatal mistake,
| amounting to political suicide, to I'M
dermine the strongest pillars of the
throne in Austria. To have stupid min
listers and not to realize their stupidity
was the greatest misfortune that could
befall a sovereign Count Andrassy was
a man with clear head and warm
heart, but since his time things had
gone down hill. Poor Austria!' eX-
claimed Bismarck, II think thy days
are numbered, and, even should we not
live to see the great collapse, it VIII
surely come, perhaps sooner than peo-
pie anticipate"
After referring to the personal trla
which had bowed down the Emperor
Francis Joseph, Prince Bismarck SAID
that in concluding the alliance with Au-
stria he himself never for moment
doubted that Germany was rather CIV
ing than receiving, and that the IN
equality of the bargain would become
greater as time went on Austria was
no longer great power, and would
never be one again, Germany would one
day have to say, ooh ne s'allie pas a
un cadavre." The Austrian army was
lost when politics had made their way
into it's ranks. Austria would gradually
become disintegrated by a process of
decay, thought Bismarck, and he eX-
pressed the hope that his successors
would realize this in time and procure
a substitute for the Austrian alliance.
Finally, the ex-Chancellor maintain
ed that the most foolish thing Austrian
statesmen could do was to dissolve the
alliance with Germany for Germany
had at all times other alternatives. No
doubt Austria had also other strings
to her bow, but no European power
and this applied to England as well as
to Russia-would hesitate for one mo-
ment if it had to choose between Ger
many and Austria. Were Austria so
disloyal as to seek the support Of Rus
STA or afterwards to dissolve the Ger
man alliance, she would be making a
great mistake. If Germany showed any
serious inclination to enter into closer
relations with one of Austria's new
friends, that power would simply aban-
don Austria and she would fall between
two stools. Even France, said Bis
marck, unless Germany made some gi-
gantic mistake, would think ten times
before offending Russia in a way that
would not be forgotten by alying her
self with Austria. But even If coall
ton on the old Kaunitz pattern be-
tween Russia, France, and Austria
were formed, Russia would be the guild
ing spirit in this combination, precisely
as she was in the present Dual Alli-
ance, and Austria would be degrading
herself to the rank of a second class
power. Even if Germany stood alone
like Frederick the Great against this
coalition her position would be by no
means hopeless. But she would not
stand alone, because both England and
Italy would then be her certain allies.
The substitution of England or of Rus
sia for Austria as an ally would be a
very good bargain for Germany and a
very bad one for Austria. All this Bis
marck considered to be so clear that a !
ought to know it. But Austria /
he admitted, was eminently the land |
where the most improbable things hap |
pened, and there was no folly which |
was impossible in that country.--Ber- |
lin Correspondence London Times.