The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-07-12
POSSIBILITIES.

In the far dim futureSthe world may be d.
vided into small States sand principalities each
free and independentfof the other and each
exercising but ittlet control over its citizens
Another con In the.future when the millennium
shall have arrived. 1t may be that there will be
no States and principalites. no governments
or rulers OF any sort, That. however. is pure
speculation and another may speculate to the
contrary and foresee a time when the world
VIII be Joined in one great federation. such
as the poet Tennyson saw in This dream of the
future. For the present the tendency is plain
1t Is toward consolidation and.toward the elimi
nation Of the small States and sovereignties
and the building upon them of fewer and larger
nations. Insofar as the present gives hint of
the future the federation of the world seems
the more likely dream. Small States battling
against each other will soon be thing of the
past for there will be few small States to bat.
tie and should war continue to disgrace cvili-
2ation war Will be between great nations re-
suting In the formation of still greater
This line of thought. II correct, furnishes
an explanation of the present situation in the
Balkans. denominated by some a caricature on
civilization. On the contrary, 1t may be an
evidence OF advancing civilization 1t may be
the inevitable result of the progress toward
that federation of the world which we have as
sumed is bound to come. II so. the conflict
between the little nations of the Near East Is
not surprising but an inevitable outcome of
the war with Turkey. encouragement rather
than disbursement being found In the fact
that 1t followed SO closely on the heels OF the
defeat OF Turkey. II the federation of the
whole world be writ down in the book OF fate.
the conflict now raging may be the preliminary
to another step forward toward that end Rou-
mania. Servia. Bulgaria, Montenegro and
Greece FIVE little States Oppressed by T,,r.
key they could not -grow. With the victory over
Turkey came more freedom of opportunity, but
there came at the same time more ambition. a
desire for greater growth and expansion on the
part of each. The result was war between the
former allies. May 1t not be possible that here
Is to be found the beginning OF one mighty ma
tion In the Balkans a nation which shall in
time comprise not only the Balkan peninsula. but
a part, II not all, of Asia Minor? Is it not
possible that peaceful amalgamation being i'm.
possible, forceful union is the only solution?
| This, too. is all speculation. A hundred things
may happen. Europe may interfere and restore
the status quo. Depletion of treasures or the
ravages of cholera may end the war before
amalgamation comes. On the other hand should
the war end without results. the time of peace
may prove only breathing spell during which
one nation may regain her energy and so grow
In strength to be able, at a later date, to
conquer the others. Compromise may give a
majority Of the five nations control over the
other two. with consolidation an eventually
Or European power may annex the territory
of all Ave nations. Anything or everything may
happen for centuries In the Near East The
only thing certain is that death and de-
structon stalk In the Balkans.