The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-08
ANN1yERSARY OF
 BALKAN WAR WHICH LIED
 LED TO GREATER GONFLIC1

Three years ago today. on October g. 1912, little Montenegro issued the declaration of war of which the con- Hfct how raging over the greater part of Europe, and involving all the con tlnents of the world; is the direct re- suit The mouse lab pred and gave forth a mountain of woe and devasta- ton. Montenegro's severance of re- lations with the. Porte and declara- ton of hosti1ities came on the very day when the representatives of the Powers announced that they would reproye any belligerent action.'' Mon tenegro's action was followed five days later by the dispatch of an iden- tfcal note to Turkey requiring the es- tabIishment of complete Macedonia an autonomy under Christian governors, signed by Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece. Turkeys answer was to break off diplomatic relations, and on October 17th war was formally declared by the Balkan Allies.
 The nations of the lever -seething Balkans, = which of late have receiv- ed such assiduous attention from the diplomats Of the warringE powers thus lighted confagration which is the worst in the worlds history The Balkan union was the direct result of Russian diplomacy and it was thus hated and feared by the Teutonic nations but especially by Austria When the Otto1naa empire collapsed after the victories of I1ule Burgas, Kumanovo and Jenidje- Vardar, and the Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek and Montenegrin armies were completely victorious Austria was driven to the adoption of desperate tactics The Balkan states, largely increased by their victories, barred the road to the Aegean and Serbia was moreover in a position to consolidate the southern Slavs and thus shut off Austria from all possibility of the realization of her dreams of expenses to the south ward.
 Russian diplomacy created the Bal kan union, and Austrian diplomacy set about the task Of destroying it. Austria, like Germany had conf dently expected the Turks to be vic torious in the war, but the German trained Mos1en army had been wholly unequal to the task. Having, wrought the dissension which broke up the union and sent the former al- lies cIutching at each others throats. Austria again played the wrong card. She pinned her hopes to Bull garia. but that country was defeated in the second Balkan war. The net result was that Serbia issued from the conflict stronger than ever, and that Rdmania, formerly friendly to the Triple Alliance. was alienated.
 1aN1ng IWlce p1cked the wrong nag, Austria turned to the field of diplomacy. and was instrumental in 1efeahng Serbian aspirations for a .seapoft, The buffer state Of Albania was set up. and Serbia was thus de- prived of the main fruits of, her vic tory on the battlef1eIds.
 Serbia's bitter hatred of Austria was naturally augmented. and it fam ed forth at every opportunity during those months of portentous peace which followed the close of the sec ond Balkan war. One of the re- suits of that deadly enrnity was the murder of the heir to the Austrian throne, which gave Austria the on- rcrtnnity for again interfering in the affairs of her neighbor.
 n short, the Balkan union, inspir- ed by Russia and an adjunct of the Triple Entente, by arousing the an tagonism of the central powers, led by natural sequence to the greatest and most terrible of world wars. The ancient Balkan hatred of the Turks has borne bitter fruit.