Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-30

Bismarck. Gortchakoff and Andrassy
must turn in their graves as they see the
Berchtolds. Jagows, Greys and Sazonoffs
posing as statesmen Of authority ana try
ing in their twentieth century way to
bend the diplomatic bows of the nine
teenth century Achilles.
The complaint that Europe wants a Bis
nlarck has been brought to a head by the
present Balkan imbroglo. in which the
powers individually. and, still more so, the
powers when acting in concert, have cut
contemplate figures It is when such
high politics come up that Europe's pow
erty in craftsmanship shows itself.
In domestic affairs things go we'll
enough England has good. bold states
men France is rich i'm extraordinarily
clever debaters and dialecticians;- Ger
many has solid administrators, and al
most everywhere except in Russia inter
nal progress is made. But once higher
lapses incontinently.
Europe today has not single for
eign minister who is sincerely re-
spected in his own country or who
has the least moral authority outside
it. Baron Won Aehrenthal was the last
of the great tradition. Only one for
eign minister can claim to have rem
dered the least service to his country.
That is the Italian Marquis di San
Giuliano. Bat San Giuliano's service
is Tripoli and that enterprise. though
accidentally crowned by success. need
ed adrottness rather than the talents
Of statesman. The French are bet
ter off They have had of late no
foreign minister of first-rate talents.
but their diplomats are the best in
Europe. That is why, in spite of her
decline in power and population.
France keeps leading place in Eu-
rope But French statesmen lack
what Germans call der crosse zug"-
mainly In the domain of intrigue. in
the making use of friendly powers and
in being made use Of Germanys
diplomatists. since the death of Mar
schall Won Bieberstefn are wholly and
unanimously UNFIT.
The late Kiderlen Wacchter had
Bismarckian pretense. and poses; he
had also Bismarckian courage, but he
had no instinct for policy. The new
foreign secretary, Herr Won Jagow, Is
an amiable nonentity. Even the no
wise brilliant San Giuliano fooled him
when he was German ambassador at
Rome AT an hour when Italian
transports were preparing to steam
out of Italian ports on their way to
Tripoli. Won Jagow was telegraphfng
innocentiy to Berlin that the tale OF
the impending seizure of Tripoli was
a ridiculous lie.
Russia is as bare of talents in foreign
affairs as she is in home matters. The
present foreign minister, Sazonon, owes
his elevation to the fact that he is a
brother-in-law Of the late Premier Stoly-
pin. just as Izvolsky before him became
minister because his manners pleased the
Dowager Empress Marie He is an i'm
provement on Izvoisky. 1Zyolsky was all
vanity. During the ;Austro- Russian quar-.
rel over Servia in 1867, when war aeemed
almost certain the st. Petersburg news
papers gave daily accounts of how he
worked at nothing save the decoration OF
his official apartment SaZonoff' has SUI
perior brains, but he is idle and 6isikes
TO work even at the decoration of his
apartment. All detail and difficult work
is left TO subordbates. The Novoye
Vremya lately published an article show