Valdez daily prospector., 1912-11-20
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 20, 1912
THE CHANGES OF PEACE


 now that Turkey has applied to the powers for mediation, with a view to the nrgOt tiatiOn of peace. Either the armieS of the Fcder- ation will enter COnstantinOplc or inc Turks will be able to stand them off long enough for the Powers to impose terms of peace. The former is the more probable, and would make the intervention 1f Europe more difficult and dangerous. In either ease, however, the Powers in the long run can have their way if they can agree on common plan. rn- forced by united action.
 The obstacles t0 this are many. but they ought not to be insur- mOunlablc. The most obvious, and the hardest tn deal with arc inc conflicting interests of Aus tria and Russia. and of these two Powers Austria has been the most aggressive and the most threat, ming. Ii was the act of Austria in tearing up the treaty of Berlin that broke the prestige and impaired the force of the con- cert of Europ" and left Turkey exposed to the assault which the Balkan nations proceeded to plan and execute. Certainly the effect was not intendcd; just as certainly it. came. In the trc- rnendous uphcaval that has taken place, with the domination of Turkey in Europe gOne,, will Aus tria now try to seize what she has been content to wait for so long as Turkey, even if feebly, held it from the grasp of others? Will she seek a pathway through the wedge of territory that divides Montenegro from Scrvia iu her objective. the Port of Salnnika un the Aegean? That iS the ulirS- lion of pressing urgency for which the SiaIrSmrn of the either Powers demand an answer.
 CurinuSly enough the answer will mol. and hardly can, come from Austria. IL must be given by Germany. As Austria would not. and could not, have seized Bosnia and Herzegovina and wiped out ih,' treaty of Berlin without assurance of German backing. x" now she can. and will, make nu further movement wiih- out like assurance. Gan she have it? We think not. The SiiuaI ion iS Slarllingly changed. When the TOrIiIrr seizure was ma*lr, Russia. taken unawarrs. was hrIpIGs> Iu meet the menace of German armies un her Aus irian Frontier. France and 'ir"ai Britain w"r" unprrparcd to aid her. No resistance to Austria could I,r made in Ihc Bal kans. Today. in Inc Peninsula, insl"ad nr an rnfrrblrd Turkey. Austria would face the Balkan Federation with victorious ar mi < of half a million men. And Germany. il >h" vrnlur"d lu come iu tn" anI of Aust ria. would have In reckon not onl, with Ihr Triple Entente. but pos sibIy wiIII Italy. and certainly with inc frdcraIion. What could she possibly gain from the con- lest that would rnSuc, even if victory should be aiiainablc that would offset inc injury that would br inevitable? The rich fruits of forty years of indus trial nrEanizal ion and progress would bc largely destroyed. Her resources, developed by long and patient effort would bc deeply impaired. And if victory were not attained, her proud position in the world would br shaken and possibly destroyed. II is incon. ccivablc That Inc German Em. pcror and his advisers would lay such priceless stakes upon lht cast of Inc "iron dice" nn gen. cral conflict.
 But if the partition 0f inc Eu. rOpean provinces formerly under Turkish rule is not begun bS Austrian aggression, what dis. position can be made of them They can, and should. be turned