The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-03-03
BAL KAN WAR
CLOUD THREATENS
Five Hundred Thousand Veterans,
Armed TO the Teeth, Are
Anxious to Battle
Again.
IsERvIA's GREAT DREAM
slay Empire Is Ruling Passion Of
Every Citizen and Noth-N
Ing Else Will
Satisfy.
IsERVIA's GREAT DREAM
by Henry Wood, Staff Correspondent
of the United Press

of the United Press.
BELGRADE, Servia, March 3.-Five
hundred thousand war veterans, each
armed to the teeth, each as ready and
willing to die as a frog is ever ready and
willing to jump into water, and each
waiting only the psychological mo.
ment which each and all consider in
evitable. This Is the nice little war
cloud that Is still nursing itself down
on the borders of the Balkans. And
this is the nice little war cloud which
Servia says that European diplomacy
can never conjure away until It has
either broken out into war and Won,
or broken out into war and irretriey-
ably lost forever.
Servia has dreamed great dream
and there are some psychologists who
| say that great dream, if dreamed
hard enough, is one of the most IRE.
slstible forces in the world. Servia's
dream Is result Of its success in the
recent Balkan wars, dream dreamed
lin the full consciousness OF the
strength and power which it has dem
Tonstrated it possesses. The dream is
to put back on the map of the world
fthe old Slav empire as 1t existed be-
fore it went down before the over
running Turks.
Seryia's dream, too, has one other
merit, and possibly one other source
lof strength, in that 1t is not only mere
4 ly political but humanitarian. The
1 &c,
tered as the jews, almost race with.
out country, and it is Servia's dream
to re-create a united homeland.
Just at the present moment, as in
4 fact for century past, the one particu-
lar nightmare in this dream is
a Austria. Austria, long known as the
bully of Europe, has been gradually
4 gobbling UP the big Slav empire on
her own southern border. One by one,
and even sometimes by twos, she has
lcome into possession of the Slav
provinces of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalma-
tia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. All OF
these are Inhabited solely by Slavs,
who speak only the Slav or Servian
Language, and who have not only the
same clinical origin, but the same
racial traditions and the same desire
for political as well as racial unity.
i Austria, in its country-old opposition
to this possible Slav kingdom, has had
two motives. In the first place the en-
tire southern half Of the Austria-Hun-
garian empire is inhabited largely by
Slavs. They have never been well
treated and have never been content
under the Austrian yoke. The forms
ton of Slav empire to the south
would mean that goodly portion OF
those would hike instantly to the 9TH
er side of the Hungarian border.
The forcing of the Hungary bound.
airy down through the Balkans until
lAustrialHungary should some day
have the old Turkish seaport OF Sal
onika has also been the great ambi-
ton Of Austria. The ambition, how
lever, the recent Balkan wars Is be-
lieved to have forever thwarted, Sal
onika having passed into the hands
of the Greeks. The creation of the
new kingdom of Albania, whose exist
ence is guaranteed by the powers,
also ends her dream of a Mediterran-
can exit and naval base on that por-
ton Of the Adriatic. While Austria
has thus been obliged to renounce her
great ambition, it hasn't sweetened In
any way her attitude against the
Slavs and this attitude Servia is con.
vinced will one day mean war and the
/ nP hof will
back OF the Slav provinces into fu.
Iture Slav empire.
AS a matter of fact, Servia has al.
ready accomplished great steps to.
y wards the realization of its dream. As
result of the Balkan wars it has now
doubled it's territory and all of this
new territory was. formerly part of the
old Slav empire. This has increased
its population from 100000 to over
100000 and while there are over s.,
100000 others still living in the Slay
provinces which Austria has seized
'Servia is not at all discouraged about
some day getting them back.
Another important step towards the
formation of the proposed Slav EN-
pire has just been accomplished Will
Montenegro This state also is pure
ly Slav and although the European
powers insist on its maintaining sep
crate existence, Servia has just ar
ranged that in the future PRACTICAL.
all of the ministers of the Servian gov
eminent will do double duty for botl
, iServia and Montenegro. The two
While having separate kings, will thu
have practically common govern
ment
In all Servia today the sentiment flo
1 tSlav unity has become almost a rul
ing passion and every Servian has bu
l one conviction. This conviction is tina