The Washington herald., 1912-10-27
py FRANK HENRY.

mighty giant to squelch the last vistage
Of lfe from his shattered body. His big.
sad eyes glisten as, in his death throes.
visions Of far-nung tributaries from the
pillars of Hercules to the Ganges nit BY
in glorious view. Mighty Spain. Egypt,
Persia, Morocco. Tripoli. Greece, Bull
garia, Serv.a, Crimea, Cyprus. Crete
lord Of all these was he-a miehty mas.
ter favored Of the prophet and blessed OF
Allah. But now he is q poor old man.
shorn Of his substance. and he dieth-a
poor, Door dying man beset by his enc
mics.
Furious little fire-spitting Montenegro
has flared up and made war on MIN ana
captured one Of mis- great armieA
Goaded by outrages of 500 years' the
sturdy Montenegrins have eaten their
way far into Scutari and bade defiance
to his imperial legions- Greece has come
into his territory from the south with
10000 men; Servia, and BULGARIA
from the north with 100000 More
than 900 men hedge him in with gns-
tening bayonets. To this vast array Lne
sick man can oppose 100000 troops. a .,,
tory is about to record a war wnicn WIN
stand out among the gfeatest '"0'
ever scourged mankind.
VIII the mammonth fighting machines
of Germany, France. England AustIin-
and Russia fly at each other ana wipe
civilization from the map OF Eufope'
Let us see Here Ii the situation'
Big Powers Concerned.
Russia stands by jealously watching
for an opportunity to grab a alice OF
Turkish territory. This has been ner
ambition since the days Of Ivan the Ter
r,ble Under the guise Of friendship for
the oppressed Balkans. the Car has re-
peatedly sought excuses for war WIN
the Porte. After the Russo-TurKisn Mel
of 1Sl5-7 he came near accomplishing
his object BY the treaty Of San Steiano.
Austria ana other European powers
would not allow Russia to keep the ao-
vantages she had gained in this agree
ment. Count Andrassy. Austrian minis
ter for foreign affairs, issued note
in ISIS asking the great powers
to hold a congress at Berlin to feao!ust
the treaty. The result was Russia los'
all her advantages when the powers
signed the famous treaty OF berhh oi'
the morning of July Is. 1878:
The great Iron Chancellor Bismarck
arose after the treaty was signed ana
declared that the agreement would De q
source Of continual trouble tnat
would be a nightmare for the great
mowers How well his prediction was
calculated.
Germany, in these latter days, mas
secured a preponderance OF innuehce
over the Turkish court. through tne ei-
forts of Baron Marschal Won Bieberstein.
lately transferred from Constantinopie
to London, where he recently dled. Inc
Sultan uses every power at his disposai
to promote German commerce tnrougn
his realm; in return for this the KAISER
has tacitly agreed to protect him from
the rayases Of Russia Yhis sinister sup
port of Germany has been the oogy man
of Russia's ambitions In the near bas'.
Germany's influence.
1t is through Germany's ofices that.
until now, no steps have been taken 10
correct Macedonian. East Roumelian ana
Albanian artocities.N Ambassadors OF the
Great Powers have called at the Yeldiz
Kiosk month after month WIN ho.es
of protest against outrages committed by
the Sultan's soldiers. To each protest
decorous attention was given. but as
soon as the pompous protestor hao
gone, his mission was promptly Forgotten
bv the dangerous Sultan who knew he
rested securely under Wilhelm's wing.
Once a German countess called at the
German Embassy in Constantinople ana
asked that Germanys representative AID
her in distributing aims to inhabitants
of the scourged territory. The blunt re-
ply was: IT cannot help you. German
trade cannot be interfered with by your
aims"
Another time a French fleet siezed
the island Of Mytelene with the intention
Of holding 1t as security for debt due
some French contractors for construct
ing docks at the port OF Saioniki. AS
soon as the news reached Constantinople,
the Turkish Ambassador at Berlin was
instructed to call on Germany's minister
for foreign affairs for advice. Turkey
was advised to pay the money. The am
bassador protested that financial condi-
tions would not permit 1t. Through the
good Offices of Germany France was per-
suaded to release the island and take q
mortgage on the proceeds of a Turkish
custom-house for two years. and to this
date has not received payment OF the
debt in full.
Germany and Austria. |
On Germany's side in this matter |
stands Austria Hungary, her ally. She |
has modified an entire army corps on /!
the Servian and Roumanian frontiers and |
has re-enforced her troops in the Sand |
3ak Of Novibazar and in Bosnia and |
Following this she has is |
sued a statement declaring that she will 1
go any length to protect her interests |
(and Germany's, tool in the Balkans. In |
with the terms of the Triple |
Alliance, Italy should be with Germany |
and Austria in the move to protect Tur-
key from the fate Of Poland. Italy has |
no heart for the alliance, and by attack
Ing Turkey has already betrayed Ger
many's interests in the near East. In /
view Of this. Italy cannot be in with |
Germany and Austria.
In the opposing camp with Russia are /
France Italy, and England. French and |
English interests have dwindled to a
mere nothing in the Turkish dominions.
France has practically taken Morocco
from the Sultan, and Is thus one Of his |
chief despoilers. Germany is not popular
In England. France, Italy, nor Russia
Probable European War.
Just how much would it take to make
these two armed camps fly at each
others throats? How much would 1t take
to engulf Europe in history's greatest
conflict?
II the Balkan allies win and an at
tempt is made by them to partition Tur-
key among themselves, Germany and
Austria can be expected to intervene at
once II Turkey should be any miracle,
get the best of her enemies. and over
run their territory with her ,barbarous
soldiers, Russia cannot be expected to
remain quiet. The Balkans peoples are
slavs. Russia has sought every pretext
20 intervene in their favor, and such an
incident would afford her an excellent
chance to take another slap at Turkey 1
The moment Russia opposes her soldiers
,eainst Turkeys, Austria as Germany's
,at's-paw, can be expected to move to
he Si,ltan's aid Certainly, II Austria