The Washington herald., 1915-05-30
WAR STARTED BY
AUTOCRATIC rule
Kaiser, Car, and Franz Jo-
seph Had Only Courtiers
to Confer With.
AMERICAN PLAN IS BEST
Restraining Form of Government Pre-
cludes Our Rushing Into War. Says
Princess Alys Borshese.

Of Italy is to assist to end the war.
to do nothing that might prolong it.
We discuss over and over again every
phase of the conflict. chiefly with our
thoughts directed toward some ter
mination that will mean for US and
for all Europe a truly lasting peace
Ono thing seems certain. that the au-
tocracies and parliamentary govern
ments of Europe cannot live side by
side In peace and safety any better
after this war than they did before
it. Either one system or the other must
be destroyed In the interest Of more
| o. less permanent peace.
We can sec now how much the per-
| sonal feelings Of the three Emperors.
Of Austria Hungary. Russia and Ger
many. did to bring on tho situation
that made war inevitable. The senile
Emperor of Austria was worked upon
| in his time of grief and resentment
| by the group Of courtiers surrounding
him, who desired war until his gov
eminent sent the ultimatum to Serbia.
Car Hsstened to AID.
Tho Russian Gar feared for his po-
sition as religious head and general
protector of the Balkan Slavs II no
did not support Serbia
The German Kaiser. surrounded by
military favorites who infiamed his
| ambitious spirit. hurled himself into
the house quarrel OF the Hapsburgs as
an individual. dragging his people be-
| hind him with no thought but for
what he believed to be his personal
! honor.
II any one OF these three astorratIc
gentlemen had lad the restraining
force of . representative and free par
lament. 1t In more probable that the
! war would not have been forced On
the world.
These three Emperors are little
troubled by conscience, because they
live in an unreal and make-believe
world built around them by their lit
tie coterie of confidants. They resem
BILE Catherine the. Great of Russia. of
whom il is told that she believed in
the reality of castles of which the
| facades alone had been built, by her
momentary lovers to please her van
| ity along the road she travelled
through her empire.
For the life of these men, surround
| ed by courtiers and -fiatterers, con-
sists chiefly of facades built to please
their eyes rather than of real build
ings with which common men living
real lives must be pleased. They have
childlike faith in the personal or
tribal deities on whom they so loudly
| call almost every day.
Controlled BY Cosrtiern.
On the other hand, the military af-
fairs and the matters of foreign rela-
| tons, 30 closely allied with armies and
fleets, in these autocracies are con-
trolled in perfect continuity by q
| small group of selfish courtiers un-
hindered by the people. While in coun-
frieQ O0vornad nv i'm he
pie change their ministers SO often
and are unwilling to bear heavy taxes
for armament, which cannot satisfy
any ambitions of a whole people, that
they are never equally as well pre-
pared for war as the autocracies and.
| therefore. are always more or less
at the mercy of the autocracies and
their little ruling groups
The German empire reminds one
somewhat OF the bankrupt scions of
old aristocracies. who imagine they
can pay of their debts by a sword
thrust cleverly dealt at their unwar-
like creditors under the duelling code.
particularly when the poor creditors
are unskilful with the sword and SO
easy victims to their brutal force. The
parliamentary countries in actual war
! are as unready and unskilful. COM
pared with the military autocracies.
fessional duelist.
Warnings Go Unheeded.
The warnings of such men as the
French Senator Humbert. who de-
nounced the unprepared condition of
his country repeatedly. or of our own
Italian Gen. Po-ro, who could not Sc
cure the needed funds for preparation
for national defense though now we
have been forced into far greater ex-
penditure through the necessity of
haste, fall on deaf ears in popularity
governed countries War is SO sense
less that it is almost Impossible to get
majority of any people to vote for
great armies and fleets: only au-
tocracies can indulge in such Illogical
extravagances
So the future continuance Of au-
tocracies and popularity governed
states side by side in Europe after
the war seems to assure nothing but
new wars.
1ndeed many statesmen in Europe
are already saying that your Amer
lean system of constitutional fedora
ton is likely to replace both the pres
ent systems prevailing in Europe as
more nearly combining The continuity
Of the autocracies and the liberal
rights of parliamentary systems. since
the government has. definite life of
several years assured after an cleo
ton, yet changes at popular will SO
that no coterie Of selfish court favor
ties can dominate completely.
Radical Reform Needed.
The only alternative beside this
seems to be to create some sort of
an automatic machine for signing laws.
somewhat like the automaton chess
players one sees. as the perma-
nent heads OF our. European states
and with such mechanical heads for
our governments proceed with an
elaboration of our parliamentary sys-
TENS. resorting to metal wheels for
the needed stability that now our
parliamentary system lacks. Nc more
overnight changes such as We must
submit to in parliamentary gov
eminent, no more civil lists Of
royal families, running up into mil
lions as they do in Austria. Russia
and Germany. only a few pennies
worth Of oil to lubricate the autom-
atoms wheels. that even in peace
would be boon for European ma
lions. particularly after the dreadful
cost Of this autocratic war has rub
bed raw the burdened shoulders Of
the European peoples.
Gen. Young Can't Be at Reunion.
Louisville. May 2s.-Gen. Bennett H.