The New York herald., 1921-04-17

that section which constitutes the one
political chess beard of European diplomacy
that never sees a finished game. resembles the
skill and genius of the boy chess marvel,
for he handles a score of problems at once,
and If he does not solve them all ii is only
because their solution is not yet written in
the book of fate.
Mr.. Mowrer has handled the most compi-
Gated and diverse political questions which
have ever troubled the world with clarifying
lucidity, and has packed into his treatment
a mine of understanding and wisdom which
might indeed constitute a formula for their
possible adjustment.
Mr.. Mowrer spent ten years as European
correspondent of the Chicago Daily Ne1rs ac-
curing the knowledge which makes his
presentation of this theme of innumerable
facets and angles worthy of many readings.
The Balkan situation. he explains. is the
result of many centuries of invasions. con-
quests, migrations. marchings and counter
marchings in which the whole peoples often
took part-eastern and southeastern Eu-
rope. including all of what used to be Aus
ria-Hungary and a fringe of what used to be
Russia, inextricable medley of disparate
races whose identity has been fully preserved
down through the centuries"
This entire region has now become BAL
kanized' broken up into many small ma
tonal" states weak, jealous, afraid, econom-
ically dependent, prey to intrigue and
pregnant with many troubles. Hegemony
under Austria and Turkey has failed. and
there remains only federation an economical
and political union Of free states But polit-
ical solutions must precede economic
Here is his invaluable thesis: THE worst
enemy of success in political Undertakings
is that kind of idealism which refuses to
study and accept the facts of the case how
ever distressing or disconcerting they may
be. As for helping them. 1oho ,couh
help them must first understand"
He illustrates what he fears is the preva-
lent idea of the Balkan peoples by story
OF Raymond Duncan, who goes about Paris
bareheaded and barelegged i'm toga and
sandals with a fillet in his hair. One day
stranger when paying his cabman saw Mr..
Duncan crossing the Place de rOpera, and in
his astonishment asked:
What on earth is that?"
"Oh that" said the cabman in a tone of
easy contempt that's one OF those Cze-cho-
So-vaks"
or the three springs of modern civilization
two had their origin In this region Greece
and Byzance. And Rome made herself much
at home there. giving her name and tradi-
tons to Rumana 1t was the brothers
Cyril and Method monks of the Greek
Church who carried Christianity and writ
ten language to the invading Slavs an alpha
bet which is to-day Russian and a creed
that became Greek orthodoxy
After the Romans abandoned Dacia now
Rumania, in the fourth century THE shrill
crying Huns appeared. eating wild grass and
raw flesh. and ravaging like a fire"-the first
OF those onsaughts of which our dav has
witnessed the most recent-but who can
believe the last?
In the eleventh and again In the four-
teenth century came the Turkish invasions,
only for a time stopped by the Crusades
which resulted in Turkish domination over
the following five centuries ended only bv
yesterdays Treaty of Sevres which leaves
the Turk merely his hollow shell of contin-
ued worship In the Christian Cathedral OF
saint Sophia and retention of the Caliphate
by the sultan
But the Christian States of the Balkans
as they gradually wrested freedom from the
Turks. at once set about fighting among
themselves. and to keep in practice have
continued il ever since. Russia alone pre-
vented Bulgaria from taking Constantinople
in the recent wars before the great war
The stronger fighting nations frequently
conquered their neghbors. only to be i'm turn
absorbed by the culture of the conquered
In Transylvana as fast as the Rumanians
grew in number so fast the Magvars took
to speaking Rumanian. This was apologeti-
cally explained by the Magyars. who said
the Rumanians We're too stupid TO learn
Magyar,
We find in Mr. Mowers book an interest
ing labelling of the various Balkan peoples
OF the four Slav nations the Serbs are brave
the Poles fanatically religious and patriotic
the Bulgars suspicious. economical indus
trious, moral. and the Czechs practical pro-
gressive and unwarlike.
The Magyars are polite, aristocratc. pas
sionate. proud, vigorous and warIke: the
Austrians easy going musical artistic kind
and unwarlike; the Latin Rumanians expan-
sive. poetic. eloquent, impusive tolerant
unmilitary. The Greeks are ingenious
And they have all been living close neigh
bors for more than a thousand years but
strangers still TO one another
In favor Of a voluntary union of free peo-
pies for their mutual interests. the author
instances as successful examples the Swiss
"A German. French and Italian mixture: and
the Belgian French speaking and Flemish
speaking races. But stability Is the first
consideration; federation must follow. The
student Of diplomacy must like the doctor.
diagnose before he can prescribe The au-
thor goes on:
The inclination 10 fix the attention on
economic 10 the detriment Of political CON
siderations has marked nearly All Anglo
Saxon thought concerning European recon
struction. The same bias Ii Impressed deepr
into the organization Of the American Do
partment Of State. which receives economic
reports OF the first quality from highly
trained consular and commercal corps but
which provides no adequate machinery for
the accumulation of foreign political infor-
nation"
lie declares that tho sickness of Balkan
lied Europe Is largely political or psychic
logical, and the cure to succeed. must be Of
a like nature. America, so successful In her