The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-07-31
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:: THE WAR IN EUROPE 3:
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When a new war breaks out most
of us common folks cast about to see
which side we will sympathize with.
We're all doing that now as this big
European war is starting. but it's
such an awful mess that if We decide
for Bill today we may be sorry tomor.
row We aren't doing our tanning 70
Mike.
For instance. if you hate Russia,
are you prepared to root against
France and against England and little
Servia?
Then again. if you hate Austria,
are you ready to hate Germany, too,
and also Italy?
It's quite a mixture, this threatened
war, but at that, no more mixed than
the causes that started the sudden
rush to arms. Austria finds that Ser
Wan public officials were in the plot
| to assassinate Crown Prince Ferdi-
nand OF Austria and his wife and de-
mands in an ultimatum that Servia
punish said officials, suppress all agi-
! tators and agitation against Austria,
and be pretty derned quick and hum
, BILE about it,
Servia regards the ultimatum as
insulting and impossible, and refuses
But Mere Incident
There you have the official cause
of the war. But in truth. the assassi.
nation OF the Austrian crown prince
and Serva's connection with it is
mere incident.
The real causes are race antagon
ism, political ambitions, political fears
You could dig back into remote
I centuries to find causes of the war be
tween Austria and Servia You could
write a stack of books that would
pretty nearly fill your wife's kitchen
If you tried to tell all about the rae
antagonism, all about the politics, all
about the history involved in the
| scrap. SO Wen boil it down. leave
most of it out, and still try to ilum
mate the thing bit.
The Countries.
Austra-lIungary Is Catholic ma |
| tion. ruled by Germans and Hungar !
ians, and the country has millions
of people of other races. Servians
and cousins of Servians. The latter
are badly treated by the ruling races
and long for the day when the Aus
trian empire will break up so that
they can take a swift punch at the
people who now oppress them.
Servia also longs for that day be
cause Servia, being ambitious of es-
tablishing an empire in southeastern
Europe expects to pick up big
slice of what is now Austria Hungary
and free her sad eyed brothers and
cousins Servia Is Greek Catholic, the
same as Russia, and the Russians
are cousins of the Servians racially.
hundreds and hundreds of years ago
the Seryians, or Serbs were a great
nation in the Balkans and had an en-
peror They are still strong nation
Notwithstanding more than four hun
dred years of yassalage to the Turk.
Austria's Fear
Austria is in deadly fright of that
day when her ancient empire breaks
up and her ancient Hansburg rulers
have TO go to waiting on table. She
fully realizes the danger from the
hatTed of The millions of other races
within her border, but greater still
she fears the danger from the ambi
-tious nations that border her south,
southeast, east and northeast-the
fighting Balkan nations and their ally,
cousin and best friend, Russia
Six years ago Turkey had two prov.
inces called Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She didn't hold them very fast be-
cause the Berlin treaty of 1878 gave
Austria sort Of civil and military
membership over them. Both provinc
es were full of Servians and cousins
of Servians. Seryia had looked upon
these provinces as all but hers. When
Turkey broke up. all she'd do. dye
mind, would be to step casually across
the border the next morning and grab
off Bosnia and Herzegovina. There
was nothing TO it-no trouble at all
Which, of course. would make Servia
across the Danube from Austria, that
much bigger and stronger and sassier.
Annexation Decree.
So. six years ago. Austria simply is
sued a decree annexing Bosnia and
to her empire-just like
that Servia had seventeen million
hts about 1t, but Russia wasn't ready