The sun., 1913-12-28
Review of Happenings Of
theLast TwelveMonths
Political Sensations.
Industrial Unrest and
Unusual Weather Dis
turbances Conspicuous

ments having permanent i'm
portance.
Although the promoters Of the uni.
versal peace idea have not relaxed their |
Efforts war is not yet thing Of the !
past AS final appeal the resort to
arms is still dominant factor in ma.
tional affairs.
At the present moment the Balkan
melting pot is quiescent. but there are |
few signs to indicate that 1t will remain |
so. On the contrary, there are numer-
GUS Indications which point to another
violent cbullition.
The opening Of the year found the |
Balkan allies in apparent control OF the
field. Their common enemy. the Turk,
had been compelled by the vigor and
persistence Of their assaults to make
overtures looking toward peace. A peace
conference was held in London. For
more than six weeks the representatives
OF the Balkan allies and those OF their
Turkish opponents tried to come to
some agreement which would result in
a treaty between the warning nations.
BY January the Turks consented
to give up everything demanded Of
them except Adrianople and the .f;gean
Islands. Turkish pride insisted on the
retention Of Adrianople. which Is more
important to the Turks than any other
city except Constantinople. On Janu-
AIRY 10 the Ambassadors Of the six great
Powers presented note to the Porte
urging the Turks to give up Adrianople
and to leave the question of the cesson
Of the .Egean Islands to be settled by
combined Europe.
This the Turks refused To do. and the
fighting. which had never been discon-
continued although an armistice was
supposed 10 he in force. went on with
rcdoubied energy. on March 2S. after a
siege Of more than five months. the Bull
girs and Servians entered Adrianople.
and that virtually put an end to the
war. although the Montenegrins kept
on pounding away NJ Scutari, which had
been holding out against them for six
months.
These fierce warriors had been promi-
nent among the allies during the war;
and IN fact had begun the allied march
against Turkey. With a kingdom rather
smaller than the State of Connecticut
and u population about equal TO that Of
Jersey City. King Nicholas was deter
mined to add Scutari to his posse ss!ons.
but the Powers would not permit him to
realize his ambition. and he was COM
PEELED To evacuate the place.
The war between the Balkan allies
and Turkey was brought virtually to an
end by a provisional treaty OF peace
signed at ST. James's Palace, London.
at the close Of May.
The allies spent the early days of
June in quarreling Violently over the
division of the spoils Servia broke off
relations with Bulgaria, and before the
close of June Bulgaria was fighting Ser
via on the one hand and Greece on the
other. Early in July the armies OF Bull
garia were forced back by those of
Greece and Servia, and the Bulgars. in
order to head off an invasion by Ru-
mania. were compelled to yield strip
Of disputed territory to the latter.
Thus the second Balkan war. which
ended in the triumph Of Rumania, Ser
via and Greece over Bulgaria. was con-
cluded by the signing OF the treaty OF
Bucharest on August 10.
BY the terms OF this treaty the Turks
seem TO have Jared better than their
allied enemies. on July % they were
permitted to reoccupy Adrianople, and
the diplomatic game Of the great Powers,
in which jealousy and mutual distrust
play q prominent part. has strengthened
their position in southeastern Europe.
But the victorious allies. who have
failed to realize their ultimate aims after
so great sacrifice and loss. are still a
menace to the peace OF Europe.
Early in the year what has not inaptly
been termed the Mexican continuous
performance began to assume a tragic
aspect. On February IS the world was
startled by the sudden and violent end
of the Madero regime in Mexico. The
army, with its commanders, went over
to Gen. Felix Diaz. nephew OF the ex.
lied ex-President and dictator; impris-
oned Madero. his family and his ad-
visers: made Gen. Victoiiano Huerta
provisional President. and put Diaz in
command of all the troops OF the re-
public.
The Mexican Congress elected Pedro
LascuraIn provisional President. Then
The army took the reins again, deposed
Lascurain and declared for Huerta.
Gustavo Madero. brother OF the Presi-
dent, was shot by order Of Diaz. Charges
we're brought against the President and
his trial was ordered before the Cabinet.
On February 23 Madero and Suarez,
former Vice President, were shot while
being taken from the National Palace
10 the pcnitcntiary. Huerta declared
that they were killed while attempting
to escape. The Madero supporters and
members of his family maintain that
the dcposed President was tortured by
order of Huerta and that his body was
taken into the street to make It appear
that he had tried to escape from the
country.
At the capital the supremacy Of the
new Government was soon established
hut In some OF the States. notably Son
ora and Coahuila. Madero's followers
offered fierce resistance. American and
foreign business interests In Mexico be-
came loud In their demands for inter-
vention by the United States. Presi-
dent Wilson made public declaration
df Q "hands or policy pending the
peacefui readjustnient OF Mexican az
fnirs
Henry Lane Wilson. the American
Ambassador, expressed his belief that
tho Huerta Government was innocent
Of the charge Of killing Madcro and