The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-09-17
BISMARCK PLANTED SEEDS OF EUROPEAN
 WAR 38 YEARS AGO

Thirty eight years ago today Prince l toto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck Schoenhausen set out for Vienna. It l was memorable date, a momentous 1 journey, for as the result of it Europe 1 is now weltering in blood and America has been drawn into the maelstrom of conflict. It was in the develop ment of his great game of Weltpolitik
 that Bismarck found it necessary to visit the Austrian capital. There he
 met Count Julius Andrassy, the Hun garian statesman, and together they negotiated the terms of the Dual A1- liance. From that time on the trail
 that leads to the present carnival of terror is so plain that he who runs
 may read. And yet,N strangely enough, 1t was this treaty of alliance that led the shortsighted to give to Bismarck the title of "Peacemaker of Europe" The Iron Chancellor, hating and fearing France, brought all his gen.
 jus to bear upon the task of isolating the republic and rendering her inca pablo of forming anti-German, alli- ances. The Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria, consummated in 1879, remained secret to the world at large until 1888. In the
 meantime, Italy was won over in
 1882, and the Drei Bund, or Triple Alliance, came into being.
 Thirty years ago Bismarck inaugu- rated the career of Germany as a ccloniz.ng power, which necessarily brought him into conflict with Great
 Britain, and laid the foundation for the present grouping of powers un-
 der the Triple Entente. The Bis- marckian ideal of .friendless France" was thus rendered impos- sible of realization. France found her first friend in Russia, however, andf in 1891 the republic entered in to treaty with Russia, which was not made public until three years la ter. Anglo French relations were still far from cordial, however, al- though Great Britain and France held common hatred of Germanl. The rift in the Triple Alliance be- gan in 1896, when France and Italy, before estrangement, made overtures toward friendship. In 1901 France agreed to give Italy free hand in Tripoli, and Italy reciprocated by withdrawing all objections to French, operations in Morocco. The Franco Italian reconciliation was completed ten years ago when the Italian king and President ItOubet exchanged vis- it's. This was the first indication of the crumb9ing of Bismarck's Triple Alliance. About the same time King Edward | visited Paris. and Loubet returned the visit. In 1904 a treaty was made 1 by which France was left free to work out the destinies of. Morocco and England was left supreme in | Egypt. Thus the Triple Entente of |
 Great Britain, France and Russia 1
 was formed. and France was no long
 1ncss Tf-,1 all
 bound by the Drei-Bund, hated Aus 1
 tria and feared Germany and sym |
 pathized with the aspirations of |
 France.
 The diplomatic war between |
 France and Germany over the Nor
 ocean question. began in 1906, when the Kaiser landed at Tangier and
 Virtually promised German support |
 to the Sultan in resisting the plans of l
 France. Ins the Algeciras conference 1
 France had the support of Great Bri-
 tain and Russia and the friendly |
 sympathy of Italy and the United
 States. In 1909 Germany recognized
 the preponderance of French poIiti- |
 cal interests in Morocco.
 The Entente Cordiale did not reach |
 Its full flower until 1907. when Eng l
 land and Russia entered into treatyI
 by which their clashing interests in |
 Asia were amicahlyi settled The an-
 nexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
 by Austria, with the approval of Ger
 many, and the German challenge to
 France at Agadir in 1911, brought
 Europe to the verge of war The in 1
 tervention of England, and the wide
 spread opposition to war of German 1
 Socialists. resulted in delaying the
 crisis Events have proved, however. l
 mat It was only a. postponement of l the inevitable.