New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-11
German Versus Slav Misleading
War Cry.


Those who want 10 impersonalize responsibility
for the plunging Of Europe into general war are
fond OF saving that the present struggle was '"e
unavoidable outcome Of friction between the Sia'
and The Tcuton. Professor Munsterberg insists
that in supporting Austria Hungary in the iat'er
arrogant demands on servia Germany was only
standing nm for German ideals and supporting c
,rortoric a,lv bemmed in on the east and south
by Slav enemies.
IAN GOOD will for peace was doomed because
tho issue between the onrushine Slavic worlu anu
the German world had grown to an overwhelming
force saws DR.. Munsterberg. That SOUNDS ike
. rrotoupd world.history judgment and blots out
all the narrow personal and caste motives OF 'ne
military and court circles in Austria-Hungary ana
cormapv which we're so powerful in deciding the
issue of peace war
D.. Looking st the plain facts in the case how
Is Austria Hungary entitled to pose as GERMAN
mower maintaining German ideals and INTERESTS
,rs+ria may once have been German in popula-
tim and feeling but it is so no longer The dynasty
IL
is recruited largely from the German minority Oh
the population and the bureaucracy is more or less
German. But even in Austria proper power IS
rapidlv passing into the hands of the non-German
elements. and under any more representative form
Of government the German element would soon DE
reduced TO political insignfcance
Austria had in 1910 2s,32494O inhabitants, OF
these only 9.9JO266 were Germans. There were
= Aa5 os3 Bohemians Moravisns and Slovaks,
Aes7as4 Poles. S,51s,S54 Ruthenans, 1,25294O
slovenes 7sS,8S4 Serbs and Croats, 76S422
Italians and 275.115 Rumanians. The Germans
were in minority of 1 to ., and the Slavic ee-
p,ents in the population outnumbered them by
more than 30 per cent
In Hungary. naturally, the showing for the
Germans was vastly worse. Out Of population
Of 2os66.7s7 in 1910 there were only 2,O3I435 Ger
mans 100000 less than there were in 1900. The
AIagyars numbered 1OO5O,575, less than majority
IN their own kingdom, The Austro-Hungarian EN-
pire. including Bosnia and Herzegovina, had o.
1oo771 inhabitants in 1910. and only 119S7,70l-
If is well known that the non-Germans and the
anti.German elements have been gaining ground
on the Germans Bohemia is becoming more and
more Czech and so strong is the desire of the
Slay peoples in the empire for larger recognition
that the late Archduke Francis Ferdinand had
MANNED on his accession to erect new semi-inde-
pendent slay state, converting the Dual Monarchy
into Triple Monarchy. In that Triple Monarchy
the Slavic races would probably soon have ac-
ouired the political predoninance to which their
numbers entitled them.
II Austria Hungary's ambitious plans for OK
mansion southwark TO Salonca had materialized,
the Dual Monarchy would have become more
oyerweighted than ever with nOn-German popua-
lions Instead Of being oneffth German, it would
have become one-seventh or Oneeighth German.
The sav peoples have never been Germanzed, nor
have the other non-German elements. If Austria
Hungary should enlarge its territory at the end
Of the present war it would be more than ever
conplomerate of races loosely held together and
without any Matchmaking ties. The cause OF Pan
Germanism would hardly be helped thereby Ger
man Austria has never assimilated the subject
races, and Prussa's experience with Schles~ig-
uolsteln Prussian Poland and AlsaceLorraine
no,nts similarly to the conclusion that the Ger
man body polite has only minimum of assimia-
tive power.
So far as the present war is concerned, the cry
OF Teuton against Slay is delusion Nor can
much more value be allowed to the plea that Ger
many is fighting the battle Of Western European
civilization against the Eastern European races
II would be a queer championship of Western
European civilization which arrayec Germany and
Australia ungary-the latter four-hfths non-Ger-
AGAINST Great Britain, Belgium and France.