The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-10-22
Broken Austria, and the Future.

President Wilson's rebuff to Austria
was implied in his answer to Germany
He cannot say mo" to Berlin and Yes"
to Vienna. In saying mo" to Vienna,
he is obliged to contradict his own four
teenth point, in the Jan. deliyerance,
which demanded autonomy, and not in
dependence, for the nationalities includ
ed in the Austro- Hungarian monarchy.
In thus contradicting himself, Ir. Will
son is able to quote the authority of
Congress, recognizing the independence
of the Czecho-Sloyak nation-an author
ity which is superior to his own. The
president might well have referred to
the prior action of Great Britain and
France as determinant IN this matter.
Though we are now strangely embarked
in the business of solving the fate of
European nations, even to the point of
regulating their domestic institutions,
we have not assumed a supremacy of in
terest in these matters over our great
European allies. Most assuredly we
could not occupy the position Of demand
ing mere autonomy for Czecho-Slovakia
after Great Britain, France and Italy had
assigned her independence.
But the rebuff was not only deserved
but necessary. 1t hastens the downfall
Of Austria, and the downfall of Austria
threatens the total defeat of Prussia.
And as the matter stands to-day no pow.
er could stay the breakup of Austria
Hungary with the present drift of the
Hungarians toward complete separation
from Austria, even without the Wilson
reply. Even the government party in
Hungary shares this drift; and that sep
aration is popular issue is proved clear
" enough by the applause which karolyi
receives for his broadly secessionist ut.
terances in Parliament. Why does Hun
gary tend to separate herself now from
Austria? II is in large part a case of
rats deserving the sinking ship. If the
Austrian empire is to be split up into its
component parts-if Czecho Slovakia is
to stand, with Prague as its capital, as
an independent nation in the very heart
of Europe and Serbia is to be enlarged
and rendered three times as powerful as
before by the addition of Bosnia. Herze-
govina and part Of Dalmatia--t Hun
gary desires to come forward as the SEN
Tor and most considerable of the nations
between the Erzebirge and the Balkans,
and to be in position TO assume hege.
mony among them. In the realization Of
that ambition the connection with the
moribund Austrian grand duchies is a
thing TO be strapped as soon as possible.
But Hungary speaks in this matter too
late to save herself She has been the
mainstay of Austrian assistance to Prus-
sian aggression throughout this war. She
helped to break the power of Russia and
Rumania and to crush the Italians at
Caporetto. She is involved in the Aus.
trian ruin Moreover, the principle of
the self determination of nationalities
will inevitably deprive Hungary as she
is now constituted, of all her Moravian
counties in the north, of all Transyl-
vania, of the Rumanian Banat in the
southeast and of Croatia and Slavonia
in the southwest. Hungary will be re-
duced to her purely Magyar element.
The truly great nation which will
emerge from the Austro. Hungarian
wreck will be Czecho-Slovakia, which will
stand in middle Europe as Mount Zion
stood in Judea, beautiful for situation,
and crowned with her ancient and Gull
tured capital, Prague Czecho-Sloyakia
leading by the hand Jugo-Slavia, farther
south, will indeed possess moral and
an intellectual hegemony among the
Slavic races, and will by this means quite
overshadow Hungary, which has made
its choice for i'll instead of for good.
Boston Transcript.