Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-04-21
wEDNEsDAY. -APRIL q. lgl5
WAR GEOGRAPHY.

NAlt ttalsftfinbs
The allies seem to be engaged ~
the pleasant pastimo Of dividing the
skin before killing the wolf By COM
mon consent. Russia is 10 have Con
stanunople ANA control the egress
from the Black e. the Aesean sea and
naturally would expect TO rule. direct
- or Indirectly. Turkey IN Asia fol-
lowing a line drawn from ncght, Per
Aia. on the Caspian 70 Beirut on the
Mediterranean Great Britain holds
the guez eanal. Egypt and the head
81 The Persian gulf where the Tigris
and the E0phrutcs rivers meet. ana
doubtless would seriously object TO
having Russia any closer than Beirut
to the empire If india
We have followed closely the l@un-
daries outlined hy prof Paul Nilu-
hon. ~ Russia, o. published In the
Journal Of Monday morning, and hnd
that natural boundary lines ana racial
aniunlcs frequently conflict seriously
For example. Europe az continent
Is peculiarly broken into geographic
"A entities. such as the iberian pen
lnsula. the Italian ana Balkan pro-
3rrsions and the Scandinavian peuin-
suln. The geographical unity Of
France Is pretty we'll defined by the
pyrences aud the Alpa So also IL the
great middle Danuhian basin, half
eircied by the Carpathlans and other
wise shut in by the Alps and the Bal
kan uplands Russia IL vast unity
although it lacks definite boundaries
On ihc west. while Germany lies open
on west and east.
The political boundaries OF Europe
now conform more nearly to the geo.
graphical lines Of division than ever
before. and unc might even say that
the areas OF race correspond fairly
we'll with the natural geographical
unltics, but fatally conflict at a mum
Der Of points
italy has geographical boundaries
Of cNact nature. yet the rrcutino IN
Austrian possession projects into It's
body south Of the Alpine watershed.
Whatever geographical unity the
Balkans may possess is contradieied
by their more or less arbitrary division
among four distinct races.
There are frontiers in Europe, then,
that cannot be- determined either by
geographical lines or by racial diHtii'
button Those have always heon de-
termincd for periods Of time by wars
at varying intervals The immediate
excuse for the war now raging was
the determination of the boundaries
Of the Balkan states, particularly Ser
bla The war socoudarily viii redeter-
ana The Western and southern bound
an dthe western and southern bound
aries of Russia and the lines within
which Italy must bc content for many
years
There are certain essential spaeea
held by nations without rceard TO RAJ
cni or geographical rlght but by
force Of arms such is the Austrian
occupation Of Trieste and lsita, the
German occupation Of schlcswie ana
part Of Alsace-f Lorraine. the Russian
occupation of Finland aud Besafa-
bia while the division Of Poland
among the German. Russian and Aus
trlan empires D. that Of am area with
our natural boundaries. tho country
is inhabited hy homogeneous race.
nut were Italy Go fulnll her natural
ambition 70 annex Trieste and Fiune,
the great middle panubian basin
would b. deprived Of its access 60 salt
water Between ltaiy and Austria at
that point. therefore. exists q conflict
uf Two interests which cannot bc set
tied except hy war whether Austria
viii yield rather than have ltaly en-
ten the war. remains 20 be- seen with
in the next few days Whether the
Nosgos OF the upper Rhine Is the true
boundary Of France constitutes an
evcr-feeurfng question which states.
manship cannot solve. IN the same
manner The question Of Constantine.
bic and the Daraanenee is one Ia
which Russia. RtumaniA Bulgatla and
Greece have essential interests end
upon which the very life of the otto
man empire depends
such okerlapplne interests as these
cannot be settled At The Hague or by
treaties except az these treaties regis-
ter the decisions OF arms.