The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-14
MUCH OF GERMAN GREATNESS IS LUCK Country Has Been FOrtu- nate Since Bismarck FINNISH RELATIONS Dealt With in Bill Before the Russian Duma-Sassanoff's Illness
 Is Very Much
 Regretted
FINNISH RELATIONS

Europe is to very large extent due to the genius and fervent patriotism of her statesmen and the sterling qualities or her people, you cannot close your eyes to the fact, that much is also due to luck Germany has been in luck every since
 Bismarck decided to try the army created
 by the genius of Won DoltEe, in the two little wars against Denmark in 1864 and Austria In 1866, mere dress rehearsals for the great struggle with France in 1ST0-7l,
 which crushed the power of Napoleon III. | Then more than a quarter of a century later, during which time Germany had developed all her military, naval and in-
 dustrial power, Russia was made narm-
 less by the war with Japan, followed by | years of constitutional struggle, making
 it possible for Germany to concentrate all
 her energies upon extending her markets
 all over the world and creating an inn
 mense commercial navy, the chief repre-
 sentatives of which are the enormously
 wealthy and powerful steamship com
 panies, "The Hamburg American and
 the North German Lloyd" and now, just at time when these companies are
 looking for new commercial routes for
 the fleet of steamers, Russia comes along
 and opens up to them uniookedfor oppor
 tunities in the Black sea- where the Czars government had until now consistently 1 favored private Russian steamship com
 panies subsidizing these to such an eX
 tent that foreign competition was impos-
 sibe
 |
 there has been a prosperous, if some
 what easygoing, Russian company at
 work, whose steamers were far and away
 the most comfortable. the safest and the
 steadiest on the Black sea. It is the
 Russian Company of Navigation and
 Commerce. It received a solid subsidy
 from the Russian government. The con | tract having expired the financial com
 nittee of the duma proposed last year to pay 1t in future only about $335,000. This
 offer was declined Now the committee recommends the duma to refuse to pay tanything at all to that company, but 10 offer instead financial aid to the volunteer fleet, on condition that it's steamer ply between the Black sea ports.
 About $750000 would be paid annually to the volunteer fleet, and it cannot reas- onably be expected to make the Anatolian trips at once d. e. to visit the Turkish ports between Batoum and Constantino- ple) these may be discontinued for a ftwelvemonth.
 That is Germany's opportunity and she is utiliziss it. Her agents are on the warpasn Already, according to the No voye Vremya, the so-called Northern Steamship company, founded by Russians and still assumed to belong to Russians, is in reality German.
 sThe Germans desire" this nationalist organ writes, Ito appropriate to them selves all the steamship communications [of the near esI and on the >Back sea. as they have s,;sceeded in doing in the Medi- |terraneanLt For this purpose they snatch at every possible means, and in order to
 triumph definitely the year waiting inn patiently for the moment when, instead of our various private organizations, they will have to cope only with the state en- terprise of the volunteer fleet" And now that moment is apparently drawing near. A bill dealing with one aspect of Russo Finnish relations has been laid before the duma. It provides for the payment by the Finnish treasury of a certain sum-somewhat less than five million dol lars a year-in lieu of military service. The committee that has framed the bill states in the preamble that it is, but a
  ing fairly the financial expenses. What ever theory one may hold respecting the degree of Finand's aloofness, says the preamble, it is indisputable that if Fin land Is under the sway of the Russian empire 1t must in justice and equity con tribute a fair share to the common fund for imperial protection This duty might under favorable conditions be fulfilled by personal military service. adds the com
 
 not favorable. Patriotism is condition sine qua non of good military service. But, despite century's union with Rus sia the Films lack all feeling of solidarity with the Slav nation. To introduce a contingent of anti-patriots into the com- mon army would be to weaken it enor- mously. Therefore personal military ser vice is eliminated. In like manner q per sonal army exemption tax would also be
 looked upon in the spirit of passive resist ance now rampant in the principality. Therefore a contribution to be paid in by the Finnish treasury every year is the form preferred by the committee. There | is no doubt that the duma will pass this bill by a large majority.
 Genuine regret is felt here as well as at Vienna at the news of NJ. Sasanoff's con- tinued illness, which may lead to his re- tirement Sasanoff is looked upon as the good fairy of Russia, just as the fallen lIsvolsky was considered her evil genius. Here is what a leading Vienna paper says:
 "Sasanoff conducted the foreign policy of Russia not in the interests of her polt- ical friends, but in her own interest Rus sa wants rest This rest was endangered as long as St. Petersburg championed the imaginary interests of other powers. The logical result of M Sasanoff's policy was the Potsdam interview. Russia entered into good relations with Germany, and the result Is >that England terrorized by
 the noise of part of her population about | the specter of a German invasion, will change naval information with Germany; that the Bagdad railroad question is to | large extent solved and that the relations | between Russia and Austria Hungary
 have become most friendly. Europe is
 breathing again freely. That Is the work
 of Sasanoff.'
 | The visit of King Peter of Servia to
 Budapest to pay his respects to old Elm
 peror Francis Joseph has been greeted all over the dual monarchy with expressions fof the greatest satisfaction, not because the people of Austria hold any higher l opinon of the man who ascended to lboodstained throne without ever proving himself innocent in regard to the assassi- lnation of his predecessor, but because the visit is regarded as the disappearance of lthe last yestige of the Bosnian quarrel
 which. at one time, threatened the peace of Europe, and as the final acknowledge ment of the victory of the Austrian poll cv Mauna niuously 1t Is now conceded