The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-24

<hilOhSt fS lOGu pl d0u proud or NdQ1lu. He wants the city nhade again a Eu- ropean center; he wants to drag tourists there; he wants Madrid for few weeks tperhaps for a few months or years) negotiations to be the exposure of all eyes
 Alfonso a Business Man
 Alfonso Is blossoming out as bust ness man. He is displaying some of the characteristics of the late Leopold
 of Belgium, whom he resembles mark edly in nose. Alfonso has played a part in developing Spains north coast as tourist resort. He invested S500,- poo in hotels, casinos. and bathing es- tablishments at San Sebastian, just over the French frontier. and made big profits Sharp brained and sharp nosed
 Alfonso sees chances for this after peace Exacerbated Europe will need entirely new centers of rest and dssi-
 patton. Englishmen will no longer go to German spas; Germans will not go
 to Monte Carlo or Venice; and the 500,- 900 Russians who every summer spread
 over central Europe in search of health and amusement will have to go some-
 where else. To Alfonso this is busi- ness speculation. Lately in talk with
 deputation from Madrid municipality Alfonso betrayed his standpoint. The Madrid deputation said it hoped that when the time came Spain would not itE ftCl tO use her SDlenu1u as a neutral in order to bring about peace. Alfonso reassured the deputa- tion. He told the members privately about his scheme to develop the north coast and "attract tourists from all Europe" Madrid papers say that All fonso has invested still more money in scheme for bathing resorts near Santander and that there will be a casino, and would be bull fights if Queen Victoria did not strongly disap- prove.' The plan to calm bloodthrsty Europe's nerves by showing them bull fights is a good one. Alfonso has visions of all the millionaires of Eu- rope meeting on the neutral coast be- tween San Sebastian and Santander spending piles of money, and in their exasperation at losing money to his casino forgetting their political ami mosities. Thus at once would be served the cause of peace and business.
 Alfonsos only drawback from the standpoint of neutrality is that his ac- tive British wife, Queen Victoria might be objected to by Kaiser Wilhelm and Franz Josef. However, Alfonso has close ties with Austria's court. King Haalxon of Norway, who is Alfonso's only royal rival as peace angel, also has an English wife. Norway is strongly pro-entente In feeling and the German powers know that. so probably
 
 weaker than Alfonso's. Norwegian so- cialfst newspapers say that Haakon's plans of peace were discussed last De- cember at Malmo when Haakon met King Christian of Denmark and King Gustav of Sweden. The story goes | that HaalSon proposed that all three Scandinavian states should appeal to 1 the powers to cease shedding blood :: and that King Christian. who is strong | ly anti-German, and thought the Ger mans would be beaten, condemned the plan as premature. Haakon's aim Is the same as Alfonsos He is tired of being small King of small state and he wants to play role. Also he would | like to have the negotiations at Chris tiania. Norway's newspapers describe King Haakon's war bureau, which is a special bureau run by a retired colonel and two diplomats. who instruct the l King on the military situation and col ! lect for him all statements made by the belligerents as to terms of peace and all rumors of attempts by rival peace angels to begin the work of medi- | ation.
 Gustav Rivals Alfonso
 | King Gustav of Sweden could be a sec
 ond Hval of Alfonso, but he declines the | task, being modest man. The real run l ner of Swedish mediation plans is Foreign Minister Wallenburg, who is member | of the conservative party now in power. Wallenberg is steadfast, influential | and enormously wealthy man. He be- l longs to the Wallenbergs who run the 1 Stockholm Private bank, and his brother ] is registered as Swedens second richest | citizen. Wallenberg is plain man with | no desire to play a role in the world. He | aims at playing the role of peace angel l solely in Swedens interests. Economical- l ly Sweden is suffering badly from the | md l,ap tr l. 1 coming risky. The Swedish extreme le l including most socialists headed by Herr 1 Granting, are so pro-entente that they | even demand that Sweden shall take ur 1 arms against Germany; and the Swedish | right backed by most newspa pers, Is vio- | lently pro-German. The ''activist'' sec 1 tion of the right is agtating strongly, and
 it is lacked by a few able left men, like 1 Professor Steffen. and Professor Kjeler | Stockholm's two evening papers, the Aft | onbladet and the Nya Dalight Allehanda ] are openly aetivist. An activlst commit | tee has brought out a sensational book | on "Sweden's Foreign Policy" which only demands an attack on Russia. Wallenberg
 sees that the activists alone are not strong l enough to force the government hands but he fears that their influence may be ! thrown into the scale for war if any troublesome question arises between Swe- den and any of the entente powers. Al l present III StOCknOlnn are i've Engl1Sn ne- gotiators who hope to come to an agree | ment with Sweden about contraband, and so the Swedes say-more delicate ques- tions Prime Minister Hammerskjold late l ly made a speech declaring that though 1 Sweden is neutral she would not tolerate | all things. and this has encouraged the l activist party. Wallenberg is a strone peace man; he sees the danger caused by | the friction with England, the distrust | of Russia, and the activist agitation, and his motive of mediating between the bel | ligerents Is that he fears a prolonged | war may drag Sweden into the abyss
 Queen Backs Wallenberg
 l Wallenberg's chief packer Is Queen Vic. | toria. Queen Victoria is German, a
 sister of the reigning Grand Duke of Ba- den: strong German sympathizer, and
 a great friend of Kaiser Wilhelm. Queer Victoria Is not an expert politician, but
 she is a clever. sensitive woman, ant
 has a humane desire to put an end tt the slaughter. In spite of her pro- German I
 sympathies, she plays big role in op
 posing the activist party. Swedens inter. 1 venton Germany's side would, sht
 thinks, prolong the war. Swedens only
 strategy would be to attack Russia via | Finland; and Russia would never con.
 sent to a peace which left Finland, al
 the doors of Petrograd, in foreign hands Wallenberg's first essay at peace was 1 made in June after the Austro- German victory of Gorlice-T Tarnow led to the Rus
 sians retreating from Galicia. At thar moment Russia held no Austrian territory worth mentioning and Germany and Aus. tria held only fringe of Poland. com | nromisa S a rdpr n come n now pf