The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-15
WHY ITALY WENT TO WAR

and for the moment each and all become ! patriots. It has been evident for some | time past that unless Italy could find a
 valid excuse for trouble with ano-her i country she would have a peck of trou- | bles within her own borders. Months ago | it was the opinion of well informed stu- l dents of European affairs that Italy s
 only salvation lay in a foreign war. It is probable, therefore that the present 1 campaign against Turkey, frankly one of | exploitation, buccaneering and brigand- age on a martial scale, was entered upon ! in the hope of once again unifying United | Italy. The tense electric atmosphere cre-
 ated by troops leaving from every town, village and hamlet for the front, the call 1 ing out of reserves the daily and hourly bulletins of expected conflicts and bat
 ties raging, draw the whole people close
 to the throne and make them one in a
 common cause, winning, for the time l being al least, universal allegiance.
 l The silence and seeming indifference ? I of the other powers of Europe toward Italy's unwarranted onslaught upon Turkey has also been feature of the present situation which has not been satisfactorily explained. Immediately before the Italian Turkish trouble reached an acute stage, the relations of several greater powers were men, acingly strained oyer the Morocco sit uation. France having established her sphere of influence in Morocco, had taken firm stand in opposition to Germany. The German government was undoubtedly anxious to proceed vigor- ously in defence of her own position, possibly even to the extent of going to war, and thus perhaps involving a large part of Europe in a prolonged struggle, but for an unexpected op- position, which came from what is now large and forceful body of the Ger man people; namely the socialists, who have large representation in the reich stag and who count in their member ship nearly a majority of industrial | Germany. The working classes of Ger
 many have learned, as the working
 classes of Italy and other countries l in Europe are learning, that upon them
 rests the burden of the cost of wars
 The socialists in Germany put a de-
 cided damper upon the aggressive spirit of the German government and for the
 moment there was apparent hesitancy las to whether Germany should retreai | from her stand, thus lowing to the proletariat and the socialist, or pro- ceed in defiance of their wishes ano judgment. England also was seriously | concerned in the Morocco situation partly because of her affiliations with France, and partly because of the long brewing trouble between England anu Germany. Ana England again is torr with internal and near revolutionary dissensions.
 With England, Germany and France all in plights perpleXing and difficult al most to desperateness, Italy suddenly dis tracts the interest of the world, center ing it upon herself and Turkey. The movement came so suddenly and the 1tai ian demands were so uncompromisine that all Europe stood aghast The s lence of the other powers under the cir
 cumstances seems to imply that Italy hat
 their taeit approval in her enterprise.
 is obvious that such movement on th'
 part of Italy would gain time for th'
 powers whose situations were acut.
 through the lessenng of public interest ir
 local affairs, and thus the ltalian-Turkisf
 affair has been used as a sort of red
 herring by the rest of Europe to turr
 the direction of popular interest and gair
 time for public opinion to cool off.
 Turkey was the easiest sacrifice tC
 hand. There is little sympathy anywher, in Europe for Turkey, as was evidenced . when Austria proceeded to take Bosnia and Herzegovina out of Turkish intlu ence, with never by your leave please" Turkey is being slowly parti tioned and swallowed up piecemeal by
 other nations, as Poland has been di . vided and as Finland is being Russian ,, ized and more and more the realm O [ the Turk is being corraled around tn Bosphorus. Italy struck at an oppor tune time, for Turkey is concerned witt internal troubles and in serious flnan cial condition. The Turkish excheque | is sadly depleted and it is probable tha
 1 Turkey will find great difficulty in se
 curing immediately anything like prop
 CT foreign loan.