Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-22
The Albanian Tangle
By Frederic j. Hasktn

Washington, D. C., June l9-Recent dis
| patches from Rome state that Italy has declared
| its intention OF supporting the independence Of
| Albania. As an independent nation, Albania has
| had short life and a hard one Established in
| February 1914, the coming OF war in August
threw the country again into the midst of seeth-
ing kettle OF military activity The interval from
February to August was enlvened by rebellions
that amounted to civil war,
The situation in Albania, it is safe to say, has
been among the problems that did not greatly
worry the average American. Albania is an out
of-the eway and lttle-known principality, even to
the people Of western Europe, and as for Amer
ica even six months ago few people could point
to it on the map without making search. There
is the incident Of an American who wrote to a
friend in Albania, and the letter went to Albany,
N. Y. There a well-informed postal clerk
marked it, Not Albany. Try Asia"
Yet it is not more than a conservative state
ment Of fact today to say that the satisfactory set
lement OF the Albanian situation is OF vital I'M
portance to Americans We have definitely cast
off our traditional policy Of political isolation, not
from choice, but from necessity. To insure peace
in America there must be peace in Europe. The
vexing Balkan question, which has kept Euro
pean statesmen awake o nights for the last two
decades has become an American question, too.
As President Wilson so clearly pointed out on
Flag day, the real ambitions Of Germany lie to
the eastward and not to the west. Berlin to
Bagdad," is the empire that the Prussian war
lords have chosen for the foundation of an auto
cratic power to overshadow the world.
Albania is in many ways the key to the Balkan
situation. 1t dominates the road from the Ad-
riatic to Constantnople. A proper settlement
OF the Albanian question is vital to the safety OF
Italy. Racally, the Albanians with the Greeks
are the only counterpoise to complete Slavonic
domination in the Balkan peninsula.
Here again TIE Albanian situation touches
very closely one of the great American princi-
Piles which we are upholding in this war-the
right OF nations and peoples to be divided along
racial rather than political lines. The Prussians
are attempting to build up an empire designed
solely on principles Of military and economic
strategy. All sorts Of peoples are to be held to-
gether arbitrarily cut apart irrespective Of race
or nationaity-Serbs, Croats, Magyars, Czechs,
Teutons, Turks-whatever lands happen to fit into
the Prussian scheme.
On the other hand, the allied democracies have
declared that the rights of people to remain
united by ties Of blood and by their own free
choice are paramount. The Albanians are as dis
tinct a nationality as the Irish or the Danes.
They are one of the oldest races in the world and
they have maintained themselves as distinct race
in way that is remarkable instance of race
persistence. A thousand years before Christ their
great city Of Scutari was the capital of nation.
Since then they have been conquered by one ma
tion after another. For3O00 years they have been
subject to different peoples and yet the blond
Albanian mountaneer is as distinct type today
as the Swede or the Russian. Five hundred
years ago body Of Albanians moved across the
Straits of Otranto into Italy. Today their de-
scendants are still readily recognizable among
their Italian neighbors,
Sd long as Turkey held Albania the situation
was not acute for Italy and Austria. The Turk
was too weak to make use of the advantage that
the possession Of Albania implied But after
the Balkan war Albania was one Of the principal
spols Of the Balkan allies. These latter pro-
Montenegro and Greece all members of the ALI
ance, arc all neighbors of Albania Serbia in
particular wanted large share.
But from Albania to Italy, across the Straits
the Bay of Avlona is in position to threaten
supremacy in the Ardatic, which all Italian,
statesmen recognize as vital to Italian
safety. Austria, on the other hand, was watching
anxousy the rise of the Slavic nations in the Bal
kans. The Teutonic element dominates Austria,
and it is to its interest to keep the Slavs OF the
Balkans weak
The final disposition of Albania is one OF the
great problems OF the war, like the Polish prob
lem and the problem Of Alsace.Lorraine. The
Albanians are distinct race. With the Greeks
they form the only body of non-Savic Europeans
in the Balkans. If they are to be established as
single state their boundaries will have to be
wider than the six powers drew them. The por-
ton assigned to Montenegro, for example, was
the result OF Austrian domination to the north
ward. The natural growth of Montenegro would
be to the northwest The Austrian provinces of
Bosnia and Herzegovina are allied to Monte
negro by blood and sympathy But the military
power OF the Teutons forbade any expansion in
this direction.
1t is safe to say that Italy desires an inde-
pendent Albania and this is probably the desire
of the allies, even OF Serbia What the panGer
mans plan to do with this bit of territory is
known only to Berlin, but it is hardly probable
that the desires or the national rights of the Al
banians have been considered.