The Washington herald., 1912-09-29
COURT GOSSIPSOF GREAT
INTEREST FROM FOREIGN LANDS

AAS HAANoA
Ny prediction that the proposal Of
Count Berchthold, the Foreign Secretary
Of Austria Hungary. to steady the weak
ened condition and lost prestige OF the
sublime porte by concerted action OF
the great powers. would not meet with
a cordial reception by the different cabi-
nets. has been verified sooner than ex-
pected.
This shows, IL II shows anything. the
official declaration that the triple entente
ENGLAND, France, and RussiD 10 very
much needed in fact. an indispensable. In
stitution, without which the equilibrium
of Europe could not be maintained, TO
be a mere BLUM, and that that coalition
had been formed for the sole purpose OF
obstructing the plans of the Dreibund.
but particularly Of Germany.
Triple entente and Dreibund do not
supplement each other. Far from It. And
II the late King Edward, whose brain
conceived the idea, and who perfected
the dual entente, which speedily re-
solved itself by the addition OF Russia
into a triple entente. harbored any such
thoughts. he was ever so far on the
mark The two great coalitions have
been innimical from the very start. only
that Bismarck. having been the first In
the field with his union, held the whip
hand.
Were matters as Count Berchthold and
the cabinet on the Ballplatz in Vienna
deemed to have committed the error to
anticipate when he sent his almost ridicu-
lous note to the powers, the two great
European coalitions would not forever be
on the qui vive. armed to the teeth. The
thirst for revenge ceaselessly expressed
and intensified among the French as well
as the batting OF the English jingoes
leave no doubt that the triple entente
was created to frighten Germany, or at
least to intimidats the Kaiser, to compel
him to bend his knee.
Thus II becomes plain that Count
Berchthold's plan. even II adopted. 10 not
one to ameliorate conditions or TO I'm
ravel the knots which confront the Otto
man empire. But 1t has at last shown
the purpose OF the triple entente in
their true light It has shattered the
fairy tale of a concerted action OF the
great European powers under any. even
the most. peaceable circumstances. 1t
has at last opened the eyes OF the most
optimistic Germans that the two coali-
tons are enemies to the death: that
whatsoever should be advocated by one
is bound to be opposed and antagonized
by the other.
AS a matter OF fact. the plan OF Count
Berchthold was rather indefinite and
nebulous. and 1t would have been a sheer
insurmountable task to get II into prac-
teal action The first debut OF the sue
| cessor OF the late Count Aehrenthal at
the European concert was not a sue
cess Nor has II brought the Eastern
question a single solitary step nearer its
solution.
How different was the last great move
| Of Austria In the Balkans when she an
| nexed Bosnia and Herzegovina II
| is worth recalling tho method then used
| by Count Aehrenthal, OF whom Count
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS an exceptionally
able diplomat-not only is the successor.
but the disciple. 1t was a skiIlful COM
binatIon Of preparedness and secrecy.
Count AehrenthaI quietly secured and
obtained all the diplomatic adhesions
necessary to give him the winning cards
| But he gave the rest OF the world nc
! inkllng Of his real game and withou,
warning put his hand on the table claim
! ing all the tricks. His successor begins
! by showing his hand first and follows
this up by knocking at the wrong doors
His idea was To solve the Balkan con-
! tTONeTsy DN leaving OUT fSusslA, WHO mas
two proteges among those mountain
states, Montenegro. whose daughter Is
welded TO a Russian grandduke, and
whose other daughter Is the Queen OF
| Italy and Bulgaria, whose ruler IS init
mately related to the Romanoffs. Besides
| this egregious blunder the foreign secre-
tary has picked a period for his circular
note 10 the European powers when Aus
! tria- Hungary has troubles of her own
I r1fo rfEfu IN, Hum nv
7 and the growing unrest in Croatia
! II Count Berchthold were the man 70
| turn a trick Of such magnitude as &C
/ combine the heterogeneous interests OF
! France and Germany on any one object
and then to get Britain to agree. the
! Kaiser would call him the deliverer OF
/ Europe and would shower such honors or
! him as never before fell to the portion
J OF any diplomat Bismark not excepted.
! To my mind little Montenegro Is
destined to become the center of gravity
| in the present Balkan controversy. The
| country IS ready for war and is dis
| playing restlessness under the tutelagt
| of the great powers, who have hitherto
| appeared to condone Turkish aggression
often at the expense of the little king
dom and OF It's national dignity. The Mon
/ tenegrins are demanding an immediate
| settlement OF their long-standing and
| long-ncEleCted grievances In the frontier
villages the feeling is intense. and II