The Washington herald., 1912-10-13
COURT GOSSIP ON TOPICS
OF WORLDWIDE INTEREST

U WOKLl
The wsit to England Of the Russian
Minister for Foreign Afnnrs was an
event Of tnternational importance y.
sazano6 V no stranger to EnshnA He has
served two periods on the sea3 Of the
Russian Emhaasy IN London. stncs 1901 he
has occupied . high position at the Rus
sian foreign Once. and he bsoams Minis
ter for Forsisn Affairs tn mo. In that once
he has shown powers Of initiative and
swift decision. which are not exactly the
distinguishing features Of modern dipao-
macy. The Potsdam agreement largely
his doing. was brought about within .
position In the foreign once at ot PEI
tsrsburt.
Many important subjects brought II.
to England, such a. the war
In Tripoli. the uneasiness in the Balkans
the position Of the new fepublic In China.
and the situation in Persia OF these the
most troublesome topic 10 the last. Since
the Anglo-Russian agreement OF 1871. the
state Of affairs in Persia has gone from
bad to worse. reople are sreluctant to
believe that this 10 solely . case Of cause
and effect. The fact remains that the
two powers bound themselves BY that
agreement to protect the independence
and intgrity Of Persia. In spite Of these
.olemn declarations. Persian Independence
Is fading away before our eyes. Agree
ment or no agreement. the result might
have been the same: but British Liberals.
who believe in nationality. and who cling
to the old tradition that England should
espouse the cause Of the weak. cannot
DO other than deplore England's associa-
tIon with a series OF events that seem
likely to culminats in the loss Of the In
Of one Of the oldest countries
In the world. the ancient Iran.
Sir Edward Grey has said that but for
tho agreement the situation in Persia
would have been worse. and that this
document has prevented friction btween
Russia and England In. Central Asia.
There Is cogency In that plea, and II
deserves respectful attention Sir Edward
has striven earnestly to keep Persia on
Its feet, for II il obviously to the interest
Of the British Empire that Persia should
be free and independent. Nowhere Is a
buffer state more necessary between
those Of Russia and Britain in Central
Asia It Is inconceivab!e that any Brit
sh minister would deliberately adopt for
A maritime country a policy that would
end in having In mid-Asia q long land
frontier conterminous with that Of
great land power like Russia. Once Per-
sia as an independent state goes-and
the friction OF its sovereignty cannot
survive a partition Of its terrttory-the
problem on the northwest
frontier of India assumes a very diner
ent aspect.
All these considerations necessarily
must be present to Sir Edward 0rey's
mind as British foreign secretary. 1t
" ould be foolish TO assume that he ig-
1ores them. and equally foolish to imag-
ne that a man of his cautious tempera-
nent desires to extend British RESPONSE
,ilities to Central Asia Yet circum-
stances may prove too strong for him
The disorgan!zation OF Persia at the pres
ent time IL SO grave that IL contains
OF serious peril. Definite ac-
ton of some kind must be taken. or
there will become complete Sir
Edward Grey and NJ. SszonoH had TO
face this very thorny problem.
There Is talk Of a revision Of the terms
of the Russo British agreement OF 1907.
Tf a revision be necessary II should not
be at the expense OF Persian nationality.
Persia is not beyond hope OF regenera-
lion. II her mighty neighbors fulfill their
Joint pledges contained in the 1907 agree
nent the work OF upbuilding the distract
"a state would proceed hopefully enough.
The preservation OF Persia as an effec-
live national unit Is OF British as well
Is a Persian interest.
In the Balkans. where unrest Is chronic.
, new factor has suddenly been revealed.
Greece, Servia. and Montenegro
have bound themselves together In a mill
AIRY convention. This quadruple alliance
s described as one for offensive pur-
poses. Preferably II should be called one
ror mutual assistance and protection.
Is hands full already. naturally will be
,erturbed by so startling a development.
Nor will the great powers relish a move
without any regard to their
interests or susceptibilities. The four
minor powers united in this Balkan
eague have limited resources. but they
could put into the field 10000 men. not
, negligible figure by any means. Their
alliance has provided another topic for
diplomatic conversations OF the European
concert.
In Russia NJ. Sazonof is known and
as a strong man. who has in
rested Russia's international policy with
more unity OF action than 1t has pos
.essed for many years. NJ. Sazonoffs
diplomatic career Is memorable. In that
his appointment to succeed NJ. Isvolsky.
low Russian Ambassador in Paris, as
Minister for Foreign Affairs was con-
irmed the day after the meeting be-
ween the German Emperor and the Car
It Potsdam in November. 1910.
Although on that occasion no ques-
ions affecting the stability OF the triple
.ntente were raised. the Potsdam con-
were followed with intense
interest both in England and in France,
'ince they dealt with the respective re-
atoms OF Russia and Germany with
Turkey and Persia. The outcome was
hat Germany expreased her willingness