Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-10-06
BY FRANK H. sIMoNDs.

BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.
DOWNRIGHT 1918. New York Tribune, Inc.>
- NCE the treaties of Brest-Li-
toysk and Bucharest elimin-
ated Russia and Rumanla from
~ the war there has been no
more important political event
than Bulgarias cry of "kamerao! oi
the morning of her great military oe-
feats in Macedonia. The detection OF
collapse of Bulgaria would carry IN
slant doom to the German Mlt1ei-
europa, it would separate the central
powers from their Turkish ally and
it would restore the old barriers 10
German expansion toward the east 10
demolish which Berlin and vienna
risked world war.
We are justified in regarding the
Bulgarian gesture with every possIuio
suspicion until there can no iohseI os
any question of the Bulgar soo1
faith, and there can only pc an Gnu
demobilized and Serbian, Rumanlan
and Greek territories occupied ny
these Bulgar armies restored 10 their
riehtful owners. Yet, recognizing
that Bulgaria may have useu nel
peace proposal merely as 1naheusei
designed, on the one hand, 10 COM
pei Germany and austria " iusa
Inducements to the Balkans, and, on
the other, to coax the allies INTO a
declaration of terms which mlght dls,
appoint their Greek, Rumanlan ana
Serb allies, there is still complete JUS
LITIGATION for examining the meaning
of the possible elimination OF Bull
garia from the war.
Meaning of Bulgar Collapse.
The removal of Bulgaria not mere
ly from the war but from the ooHi,
ination of German influence. Woula
mean the removal of the keystone or
the German arch opening from Eu-
rope to Asia Minor.
We are beginning to be perfectiy
familiar with Mitteleuropa. Inc WoIlu
understands now that in the years
preceding the war Germany was Ia,
empire which should both insure 10
her the domination Of Europe, as Ma
noleon possessed it in his great pc
Rod. and, in addition. with turkey
and the Straits of IAardaneiies anu
Bosporus included in the empire,
would enable Germany TO ESCAPE
from the fatal embrace OF sea poWe.
and Law hands upon Asia Minor ana
even upon North Africa, to approach
Egypt and India.
Mifteleuropa was a fact in the Ger.
man mind before the present war. II
was a fact upon the pan-GeILn ah
mans and in all German calculations:
German policy sought in the nrst
Years of the present century to OBTAIN
the decisive voice in ConStantlnople
and. as a necessary further conoltloise
to the realization of the dream o.
Mitteleuropa. an equally conipIeee
mastery of the Balkans. For 1t was
assential to possess landward COM
munications with the Turkish en-
nire. and these communications neces-
sariiy passed through Rumanla' Der
bia and Bulgaria.
By 1912 Germany had achleVed ecu
nomic and political supremacy at co on-
struction of the Berlin-Bagdad ran
wav line from Scutari. facing the COL,
dep Horn. to the Cilician Gate, ana
her engineers were already tunneilhS
the Amanus and the Taurus TO open
way for the new railway into the
n,.;ns of syria and Mesopotamia.
VIE, this work was accomplished the
onIy interruption to German power
hetween Berlin on the north ana the
Persian gulf and the Suez canai on
the south would be the thin baikan
barrier constituted by the territories
of Serhia Rumania and Bulgaria;
If this barrier could be broken down.
then German influence would pc un-
impeded, and the route OF Gerhai =
mineral advance be removed beyond
the reach of sea power.
Obstacles Raised in 1912.
But in 1912 the. first Balkan war
suddenly raised a Balkan obstacie
hitherto unexpected. Bulgaria. ser
bia and Greece, laying aside age long
riyalries, made a common cause
AGAINST the Turk, defeated him. de-
prived him of all but a tiny fraction
of his European territory ana tnuS
laid the foundations to what seemed
for the moment likely to develop IN ,
to a powerful Balkan federation ana
a permanent barrier to German eH-
pansion to the southwark.
In this situation German and Aus
trian diplomacy undertook to remove
the danger. Serbia had made a par
gain with Bulgaria by which Mace
donia was to be partitloned peaMeell
the two states, the larger part falling
to Bulgaria, while Serbia received
northern Albania and her long desired
window on the sea-" Austria forbade
Serbian expansion to the sea. SERBIA
then asked a revision of her bulgarian
to hold more of Macedonia. all of
which had been conquered by Serb and
creek armies. Bulgaria refused and,
melted nv Berlin, attacked Serbia. The
second Balkan war followed. and the
destruction of the Balkan League, the
fatal obstacle to German schemes, was
thus achieved.
Unfortunately for Germany. how
ever. Serbia and not Bulgaria won the
war AS consequence a considerable
Serbian state was created squarely
across the German pathway to Con-
stantinople. and for this state there
was assured Russian support. Ru-
mania. too, had been drawn into the
conflict and was now passing from
her alliance with Germany to SYM
nathetic understanding with the OPP
posine group of nations. On the other
hand, Bulgaria was now entirely in
the hands of the Germans; her car
held his throne as a result of German
financial aid to his country and the
assurance that Germany and Austria
would shortly restore to Bulgaria all
she had just lost.
Conditions in 1914.
In 1914. therefore, when the world
war came, Germany controlled the Ber-
lin-Bagdad roadway except for the
short span between Belgrade and the
Hulgar frontier. This was the one
barrier to her great Mitte1europa.
Could she dispose of Serbia, then, with
the King of Greece in her control and
a strong element in Russia at her dis
posal she might hope to establish her
great world empire. In these condi-
lions Austria attacked Serbia in 1914
for Russia was bound to support Serbia
o,a pritoip and France o0uld not