The Washington herald., 1911-10-28

turbed by any one Of a score of Incl
dents No one, to-day least Of all, can
be blind to the possibility that the new
found energy and aggressiveness OF the
Ballplatz at Vienna and the Consulta at
Rome may be turned against one an
other. Before very long we may see
Count Aehrenthal and the Marquis di
San Giuliano drawn into an antagonism
as sharp as that OF two gladiators In
Roman arena
II this is to remain mere diplomacy
we may we'll expect to see them dupli-
eating the famous diplomatic duels be-
tween Bismarck and Metternich, or be-
tween Buelof and Delcasse. The Mar
quis de Giuliano, the present foreign
minister of Italy, and the author OF the
coup against Tripoli, is well known IN
London, where he spent two years re-
Gently as Italian Ambassador. His Is
the strongest and best equipped person.
ality that has served the italian govern
ment since Crispl's day. He is a Sicil-
ian nobleman of Norman descent, fifty
eight years old. a hereditary senator Of
the kingdom, which fact removes him
| from the exigenc.es of electioneering,
and he is absolutely at home in all mat
ters pertaining to foreign affairs.
In nearly thirty years of political life
he has held but four offices After serv-
| ing as under secretary in the ministry
| OF agriculture, anu III lllG lDlV O4AiSN'
/ he accepted the portfolio OF postmaster
/ general in the Pelloux cabinet of 1899
1900. But he did not attain to the post to
which his instincts and studies had al
ways inclined him. and for which his
! talents had long and conspicuously
marked him out, until toward the end
Of 1905, when the Forts cabinet was
reconstructed, and he became minister
OF foreign affairs.
| The anDointment was not we'll received
either in Vienna or Berlin. The Marquis
| di San Giuliano knew far too much Tor
| the comfort Of his cOuntry's allies.
! Foreign and colonial questions have
| heen his hobby almost from boyhood; ne
| has something of Lord CurZon's old pas
| sion for investigating them on the spot
and at first hand. his range Of political
interests and information is hardly infe-
! rior to that Of the late Sir Charles Dixie
the one man who ever tempted me TO
| believe in OmnisClenCe: Albania, the Bal
kans, the Trentino Tripol, Erythrea, all
the districts, in fact, which are the spe-
cIal concern of the italian foreign office,
he has visited and explored. not as a
mere slghtsecr, but, as his admirable
writings show, as keen and compre-
henslve student Of men and affairs.
With a SicIllan Quickness Of mind. and
la Rooseveltlan power OF acquisitiveness,
the marquis unites a strong and sober
Judgment. and a detachment not unlike
Lord Rosebery's from the ordinary stress
Of party politics. He is the first Italian
foreign minister OF the last two decades
who can be said to have a mind OF his
own and he really an expert in the
questions that come before him. His
predecessors have been little more than
royal secretaries. They have followed
tho line of least resistance. and allowed
the practical direction OF affairs TO rest
= with the King-an arrangement which
has worked well because Victor EN-
manuel III. in my Judgment, is Italy's
| WisoSt statesman.
For good or i'll. however. It is impos-
sible for the Marquis di San Giuliano Ia
eface himself in that way. He is foreign
minister in fact as well as name, con-
! fident. resolUte man Of pronounced indl'
viduali'y. and much more used TO fram-
, ing his own policies and opinions thar
to accepting them from some one else. In
: Vienna he is suspected of belonging tc
= the class Of men who have been there
? and ought 10 know" Men OF that class
: have usually a policy Of their own. anc
, as a rule that policy is OF the forward
school.
. In a little while. when the Tripoli af
fair shall he at an end and all Italy !!
\
and success. 1t will no doubt be seeI
more clearly that the chief result Of tn
o Kingdoms ''risorgimento" is to increas
the latent antagonism between hersel
, and Austria. In that case the struggle
, between the Marquis di Giuliano and tn
6 Count Won Aehrenthal will be well wort
watching. for personal as we'll as psy
9 Geological and political reasons-betwee
-, this marquis. full OF life and force an
ambition and the tall slim. bespeCta
cled. parchment-hued diplomat in tn
# BallpIatz. Of a slow, semi-pedanti"al
. methodicaI suavitv. mOnotonOusly pre-
:, else and unrhetOriCal in his form OF ad
Il dress. but a master OF reserve an
: blessed with that priceless gift OF avoid
o ing notice. the tireless planner and frr
l. executor Of policies that aim at nothin
VI less than an Austrian domination OF tn
e Balkan lands and the near East.
l. FLANECR.
3 lCoryrisht. 1911. by Court Gossip syndicatsJ