Evening journal., 1915-05-28

Rarely in human history have the
events of one century more accurately
reproduced those of preceding than
in recent weeks. In 1913 Napoleon
was fighting his last campaign in
Germany. He had against him an al
lance that included England, Russia,
Prussia, Sweden and Spain. Despite
the odds he had opened his campaign
with his characteristic skill and ac-
customed success. Lutzen, Bautzen
and Dresden had been fought and
won. But the issue of the war was
still in doubt.
AT this moment Austria served upon
The great Emperor a demand the main
detail in which was that she should
have the Illyrian Provinces. And the
ulyrian Provinces included lstria,
Dalmatia and Trieste. What Italy
asked Yesterday Austria asked a cen-
mry before under conditions almost
identical. Like Austria. France re-
fused. Francis Joseph's answer now
is that of Napoleon.
Looking backward now it is clear
that this refusal was the decisive Incl
dent in The NapolcOnic disaster. IL
brought Austria into the field with
100000 troops, some of whom shared
i'm the great triumph at Leipzig a few
weeks later. Bavaria and Saxony, Ma
polcons allies at that moment, chang
ed sides when Austria joined his enc
mics When Austria declared wal Ma
polcon. like the Kaiser today. was
hghting on. foreign soil Wellington
kuI Il 90 aH lr DtFTnnnNC
the north French troops were along
the the Elb. and Danzig and Hamburg
were ia French hands.
10 requires no argument to demon
strate how completely the situation to-
day reproduces that of 1913. ltal,
now comes in as Austria did then
| al the moment when great coalition
] is making head against Que great
! nation. for Austria has become LITTLE
more than a German province. Ru
mania. Bulgaria. Greece are bound L
follow Italy ultimately. as the smaller
German states followed Austria. Fo
them the profit is all in one direction
and the entrance of Italy is final evi
dence that in the world outside he
own frontiers Germany cannot win.
But there is something more thai
chance resemblance between the pre-
sent and the Napoleonic era. Tn
German idea. which has plunged tn
whole world into war, is but an adap
tation of the Napoleonic idea of worl
empire II was not an accident tina
a century ago practically all of tn
nations of Europe united TO drive Ma
poleon first out of Germany an
Spain and then out of France.
The one great fact in the worl
situation of 1915 is the one centra
fact of the situatiOn of 1913. The bat
tic that is being fought today il
Europe is just as clearly battle 70
Liberation as that in 1918 in whic
Prussia played so honorable a par
For a generation German scholars
soldiers. teachers, princes have bee
looking over their own frontiers (
other lands in which they hoped I
plant the German flag, the Germa
language, the German idea The
have looked upon the world as Ale,
ander the Great did, they have sougf
TO adopt and adapt the ideas Of M
poleon: for them Corsica has cor
quered Galileo"
In German propagandist literatul
the nations of the earth have bee
sentenced to death, decadent Franc
was to vanish, the corrupt BIRTHS
Empire was to fall apart, Russia W;
TO feel the weight of German migl
rolling her back from the Vistul
Turkey was to become a German al
mex, Austria to join in the Teuton
world. whicch was to pass the Da
danelles and the Bosporys, follow q
Bagdad Railroad across Asia Mine
to The Euphrates and approach Ind
by the road of Alexander Italy WI
to obey German direction and acce
French provinces in return. Sou
and Central Africa were to becon
German lands. Belgium, Holland, De
mark, Scandinavia. "Germanic
race were to disappear in the gres
er Germany.
History will see far more clear
than we do now the extent. the gran
eur and the vitality OF the Germ
idea. But it will see with equal ella
ity why Europe rose to combat II.
will perceive that the end of all Il
tions. the subjection of all races
one. return to the old Roman id
was inevitable if Germany conquer'
II will perceive that the French,
British. the Russians. the Italians,
Serbians. probably the Roumanial
the Greeks and the Bulgarians, foue
Germany because the German id
would have been fatal TO them
poleon abolished States and sought
destroy nations, but nations, the p'