The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-12-25
EUROPEAN POLITICS
ARE CALM AND SERENE
Believed That Kaiser and Gear
Have Agreement
DUTCH WISH MORE FORTS
Bertha Won Sufferer Deprives Herself
of Her Great Honors as a Pro-
moter of Universal Peace in
Her "Memorics.v
DUTCH WISH MORE FORTS
By FREDERICK WERNER

Berlin. December 24-(Special)-Th
beneficial effect of Christmas, even in
politics. is probably more evident this
year than for many years past, and
European statesmen may enjoy their
Z holidays with the absolute assurance
that on the whole continental political
horizon there is not the smallest cloud
TO rouse any alarm. Judging from out
ward appearances the grouping of the
great powers Is unchanged, the triple al
lance of Germany, Austria and Italy be-
Ing counterbalanced by the triple entente
of Russia, France and England, but the
more acute observer will notice that the
political center of gravitation is moving
towards Germany, though in manner
subtle that 1t cannot arouse any alarm
or even uneasiness. The cause of this
slow and almost impereeptible political
fluctuation is to be found in the KaIser's
skillful effort to influence the Gear dur
ing the meeting of the two potentatcs
at Potsdam not long ago. meeting
which, though 1t apparently did not af-
feet the European political situation, is
likely to prove greatly beneficial to Ger
many and eventually also to Russia.
Count Ernest Reventlow, whose keen
powers of observation and accurate
knowledge of the intricacies OF European
politics no one will deny, asserts that the
Potsdam meeting resulted In an unwrit-
ten agreement between Germany and
Russia regarding the building of most
important railroad lines in the middle
p east. When the projected Russian rail-
road through Persia is built the Gear
has promised the Kaiser to build a
branch connecting the main line of this
-. road with Hannekin, whereby It will 1oin
= the Bagdad railroad and in this way a
new market In Persia will be opened to
German industry and on Persian soil will
then begin peaceful commercial war
between Germany and England, in which
Germany with her more up-to-date meth
DDS is almost sure to defeat the slower
sons OF Albion. In return for this lift
Germany has promised the Gar to use
her all-powerful influence at CONSTANT
nople to prevent Turkey from menacing
Russia's predominant influence in North
Persia.
AS well Great Britain as France will
surely severely attack the agreement,
but nothing serious will happen, for all
> that can be said against 1t Is that it
gives Germany even chance in new
market to which both of the protesting
powers will have access, a fact which
France, whose prejudices against Ger
many are less acute than Englands, will
not be slow to admit.
To give European travellers the same
efficient and fast service as travellers in
America enjoy, representatives of nearly
all the large European state and private
/. railroads recently met at Wiesbaden,
where the preliminary plan of work was
mapped out. 1t was decided to hold the
] next meeting at Stockholm In June next,
followed by larger international meet
ing at Trieste in November, when several
- American managers will be invited to
+ speak.
The question of fortifying Flushing
very materially strengthens the position
of mitarists of the Netherlands, whose
: influence had been temporarily annihi-
Z lated by the radicals and pacifists OF the
country. In series of articles, which
evidently express the views of the war
department at The Hague. the 'Haager
Nieuwe Courant" shows with great lu-
cdity that the first eventuality against
which Holland must prepare in case of
an Anglo-German war is the landing of
=. English troops. The Germans. whose
ports would probably have been. block
AIDED by that time, would look to Ant
verp as a neutral port. and to the ports
of the Netherlands, which the Kaiser
therefore desires to see strongly fortified
{ and truly neutral. Consequently Ger
; many would be the only country inter-
ested In the neutrality of the ports of the
Netherlands, which the country must be
IN a position to defend.
England. on the contrary, would see
her greatest advantage in violating this
4. neutrality. To Holland there are, there
z fore, only two solutions of the difficulty.
Either an alliance with England, or
strong fortincations along her coasts.
But the first solution is not happy one,
for Holland cannot afford to give up her
colonial empire, the Dutch East indies,
> which England Is anxious to acquire.
This Is the yhy II Ia TO
persuade Dutch public opinion, in spite
I of the great deficits of the national bud
s gets, that only incessant ornaments can
h ward off the double peril, that threatens
Holland. The articles in the "Haager
: Neuws Courant" show that official Hol-
land is not blind to the British peril
and the militarsts of the country are
Z indeed becoming more and more friendly
to pan-German maneuvers.
In this fact, however lies the real
peril, a peril that is not only exterior.
but interior, because 1t drives Holland
towards German protectoPate which
( may endanger the commerce which is the
main source of revenue of the whole
Dutch people.
= I have before me an advance copy of
Baroness Won Suttner's Memories"
which is rather a remarkable self COM
5 fession.
In the Memories of Bertha Won SUIT
z Nobel Peace prize, absolutely deprives
herself of the halo that has surrounded
: her as promoter of universal peace.
AS late % years ago the baroness,
according to her own confession. did not
take the slightest interest In universal
>. peace, although she had witnessed five
wars, two of which, in 1859 and 1866. had
g robbed Austria of its Italian provinces,
She admits that she did not even care
to follow in the newspapers the events of
. these wars.
> In 1888 she met In Paris the great lead
3 ers of the universal peace movement and
the idea of writing her most famous
) novel, s'Die Waffen Nieder," came to her
!. : in a flash, though even then she had no
idea of becoming an active champion of
sIeace. Then the unexpected happened,
= the novel created an enormous sensation.
famous authors and friends of universal
peace wrote her fiattering letters and
q praised her great work and In 1880 she
decided to enter among the leaders OF
the peace idea.
2 Her only ambition was to immortallze
her name, and she succeeded beyond
Z All expectations. Her peace novel has
no greater literary value than any of her