New-York tribune., 1907-10-13
.SERTIA'S RISING HOPE.

In no part Of the world, as a Vienna CORE
spOndent reminds us elsewhere in to-day's Trib-
une, has the illness of the Emperor-King Fran
els Joseph been regarded with more concern
than in the Balkan states and especially in
Servia and in those princpalties and provinces
which once formed the old and great Spryian
Empire That is partly because of the intimate
relations which have long, and for natural rea-
sons, existed between Austria Hungary and Ser
via; partly because so large a part Of what we
may call Scrrid IIrcdentd is under Austr0-IIun-
garlan rule, and partly-and for present consid-
Grafton most partcularly-because of the epoch
making crisis in Servian affairs which seems to
be Imminent and which can scarcely be regarded
as other than inevitable in the not remote fut-
ure, and with which the Hapsburg Kaiser is
very closely related
1he game OF assassination at Belgrade, which
has been played on occasions ever since the
monstrous murders of King Alexander and
Queen Draga, has at last provoked something
much Ike crisis. Our dispatches Yesterday
told that the former Prefect Of Police at Bel
grace mad dlsclaimed responsibility for the
murders in prison Of two men who had heen
conspicuous critics Of the regicdes and had
charged the Minister of the Interior with direct
personal responsibility for the crimes and with
having been present at their commission To-
days special advices add that the murders I'm
question nave moved some of the great powers
10 demand explanations from King Peter: that
ihat unhappy sovereign, the beneficiary Of the
re2lcides' appears to realize the impossibiIty of
making satisfactory explanations and that
therefore, yielding to the counsels of dasnair ha
has been moved TO seek the protection of Ans.
ria-Hungary. Despite the traditional hostiIit,,
between the Hapsburgs and his race. he is said
TO nave tried to conclude with the dual realm
throne would be guaranteed to him and his heirs
whlle IN return that throne would be placed
under the practical suzerainty of Austria-Hun-
gary, and Servia thus be reduced 10 y nositiop
scarcely better than that of Bosnia and Uerra-
govina.
Ihat such an arrangement, involving the
abandonment of their cherished and legitimate
national aspirations, would be meekIy acoui
esced in by the Servian people is scarcely CON
ceivabe. Nor does it seem likely that If wouId
be approved by all the great powers Indeed
one or two OF the latter are known to be derid
edly antlpathetic TO any further extension of
Austro-huhgarlan dominance in the Balkans
Thus for the time our venerable friend. the War
Cloud in the Balkans-a diplomatic rather than
military war clouds centred over Servia
rather than over the Macedonian 'Inmber Room,
of Europe" and extends It's shadows far hevond
the borders of the peninsula. In view of these
things the intense Importance of Francis To-
seph's health TO Servia is obvious. His illness
has interrupted and postponed the conclusion oP
the protectOrate arrangement and upon the ont
come of that illness depends the further conduct
of those negotiations
The ambition of Servia is nothing less than
the reconstruction of the old Servian Emplre.
under the natural "law of nationalities" and
under an acceptable and competent native dv
nasty Such empire would comprise the
present Kingdom of Servia, the principality of
Montenegro, the provinces of Bosnia and Here
govina, Dalmatia, the banate of Croatia and
other parts of the Hungarian Kingdom. and
considerable parts of Albania and Macedonia.
with 4 total population variously estimated at
from nine TO thirteen millions To some the
scheme seems visionary, to others quite prac-
ticabie Its realization depends chiefly upon