Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-22
BALKAN WAR CLOUD
IS GROWING DARKER
London Times Sounds Danger
Warning to England.
AUSTRIA THE FIREBAND
Her Rule in Bosnia Calculated to
Provoke Provocation.'
WEAK NEIGHBOR INSULTED
Acts of Incredible Tyranny Prac
ticed Over Press and People
to Suppress Liberty.
oeecial Csble:ram tn The Star.

opecial Csbesram to The Star.
LONDON. November 21.-"The truth is
that the present situation contains SO
many elements of danger that every pru-
dent government will keep itself pre-
pared for all eventualities and every
patriotic Englishman will indorse the
wise words i'm which Mr.. Balfour on
Thursday night urged his countrymen to
look not only to the navy but also to the
army as its necessary complement" The
foregoing is the concluding sentence of
p long pesSimistic leader in today's Times
dealing with the latest phase of European
politics.
There cannot be much doubt that the
Balkan crisis is approaching another acute
stage. 1t has been evident for some
days past that Austria's attitude has
been one calculated to provoke provoca-
ton She showed at first only a
naughty Indifference to the natural pro-
tests Of the Slav peoples. There had
been crop of frontier incidents, moOl-
lizing on a large scale and official acts
and utterances on the Austrian side
which had been deliberately insulting to
their weaker but higher spirited neigh
bor$.
The only controlling agency for peace
at the present moment is the weather.
Winter has set in early on the bleak
frontiers between Servia and montenegro
and Bosnia and Herzegovina. but even
this restraining influence may not he
strong enough to avert hostilities.
Austria herself is not prepared for a
winter campaign. but her policy SuS-
gests that she may prefer decisive
struggle now in order to have fresh fats
accomplis to lay before a European con-
ference If one is held. Her long delay
in replying to the Russian note and its
somewhat equivocal tone gives emphasis
to Premier Grey's warning this week of
the great need of haste IL peaceful
solution is to be reached
The most favorable feature of the sit
uatfon Is the progress of the negotiations
between Turkey and Bulgaria although
even here Austrian influence Is acting as
a deterrent The Oriental railway, which
is owned by Austria. Is making extreme
demands on Bulgaria and delaying an
agreement. Bosnia and Herzegovina
have long been terra incognita so far as
news Is concerned and Austria has foS-
tered the idea that she has done great
things for the country by her benign ad-
ministration. AS a matter of fact. she
has long devoted herself with great skill
and perseverance to crush the Serbs and
to make the provinces German.
Bosnian Press Muzzled.
The Nation prints today a letter from
its correspondent at sarejavo describing
government. He says: THE press is one
of the greatest obstacles to the German
izing of Bosnia. Therefore, it Is treated
far worse than in any other country. not
excepting Russia. After the Young Turk
movement succeeded at Constantinople
the editor of the SerdSky Reich of Sare-
jevo remarked that now Bosnia Is the
only country in Europe that has not got
constitution. For this offense the editor
was kept in prison for four months with
out trial. There is no special press law
any more than there is in Russia but the
police are able TO do what they like with
the press | visited a Serb newspaper
office and found that the only foreign
papers in the office were the Neue Freie
Presse of Vienna and the Pesther Lloyd
Hungarian papers. Every other foreign
paper is seized in the post and If the
editors manage to ect French or English
papers surrepttiouSly and translate from
them anything bearing on the Bosnian
question the papers are confiscated and
the editors fined. Not d single Servian
paper is allowed 10 enter into the coun-
Try. and the late Count KaIlay even pro-
hibited the importation of his own fairly
impartial book about Servia
Nor is il always safe TO translate ar,.-
cles from the Neue Freie Presse. Some
months ago the editor OF the Serbsky
Reich translated from that paper an ar1i-
Gle in which the question of granting
autonomy to Bosnia was academicaly
discussed. For this offense the editor
was sent 10 prison, and is still in Jail.
Journalists are quite unable to Say what
kIud of an article will entail connSCaton.
SO that all the Serb papers now have
heen cut 10 one small page daIiy, with
one side Of the page blank.
Even Newsboys Jailed
The local police officials in each town
exercise their own judgment in Furnishing
the press. Sometimes an article which
PASSES the censor at Sarejevo entails con-
hscation in MOstAr (the chief town of
Herzegovina }. \ short time ago a Mostar
paper was confiscated for republlshng an
article which appeared in Serb paper in
SareJevo without the Sarejevo authorities
opjecting. When the paper was Confis-
Gated not only the editor who published
The story. but the publisher of the paper
the printer who set IL up the Office boys.
the neUsboys. the business agent and
the advertising manager were sent TO Jail.
\ short time ago a paper in Banaluki
printed an article entitled Powder Is
Ready. which went to say that in
case of an Austro-Servian war the Bos-
mans would help the Servians. For this
about dozen people were sentenced to
terms OF Imprisonment ranging from two
10 nine years.
The extent TO which the Bosnian au-
thorities go to exclude all literature
which IS politically undeSira BILE. IS almost
Incredible. 4 few days ago the Neue
Freie Presse published u telegram from
s.. Petersburg TO the effect that Foreign
Minister Isvolsky declared that Russia
would never recognize the annexation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria. Not
q single number OF the issue that con-
tanned this telegram was allowed TO
enter Bosnia.
Post Office Intercepting Letters.