Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-08-11
ALL EUROPE SEEN
TUGG|NG At LEASH
OF NEW WORLD WAR
Economic Importance Alone
Said to Be Keeping Tenn
poray Peace in Central
States of Continent
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Especial Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1921


greed is unsurpassed. Only econ
omic feeb]eness and the uncertain
hold of present day governments pre-
vents an outbreak of hostilities.
Yet this very impotence may ena'
BILE the peace parties of all nations to
gain the upper hand. At the moment,
however the talk IS Of ultimate war
within ten or fifteen years. Mothers
are already talking of distant Amer
lea AS the place to send their growing
sons and if the United States nc
longer will give asylum to the Euro
pean peoples as of yore, because Of
immigration laws, then South Amer.
lea will be the haven of the common
people.
In Vienna, the gateway to south
eastern Europe, one kears 1umors of
trouble from all sides. The Balkans
are far from quiet.
Central Europe is now on a small
scale armed to the teeth.
The peace treaties that ended the
= European war were designed to give
= autonomy to aspiring nations but
they could not have been intended to
accomplish in five years the assimila-
or more.
Nor can monarchies be overthrown
. and privileged classes be Invested
of their properties and interests
without sowing the seed of counter
revolution. So there is Hungary
now controlled by the monarchlsts,
T. making wry faces at the little re-
publics which have been carried out
Of former Hungarian territory.
The spirit of revenge is growing
In Hungary. To fortify themselves
against the return of monarchlsts
there has been formed in central
Europe a military alliance Of CZecho-
Slovakia, Rumania and JuGo-SlavIa,
known as the Little Entente. This
triple alliance is Imported and fos-
tered by France, and lately Marshal
Foch has visited these countries
really on a military inspection trip.
Poland is not a member of the Little
Entente, but is on most intimate
terms with Rumania and would
have been admitted into the Little
Entente, but for boundary disputes
with Czecho-SloVallia.
Hungary has been looking about
for possible support in a military
way in the event of serious trouble
:. in the future and naturally has
turned to Italy because of the lat
2 ter's inevitable clash with Jugo-
Slavia over Fiume. Hungary has
been flirting with Germany and
- Great Britain because France open
1y has been helping the Little En-
tente.
- The seeds of war-are here. Were
. Hungary strong enough she would
TODAY be at war over her lost terri
tory, and only a desire TO preserve
what they received at the Paris
81 peace conference impeIs the Little
Entente to stick together as against
Hungary.
But the checks and balances of
central Europe today cannot be
taken as an index of hte future. They
constitute d kind of political leger-
demain in which chancellors and
premiers engage as means of scar
ing each other into mutually better
relations.
Foreign Minister Benes, of Czecho-
Slovakia, for instance, is at this very
moment endeavoring to negotiate Il
commercial treaty with Hungary
and conversations are going on in
Vienna with that objective. Czecho-
Slovakia is peace-loving country
and is eXerting a great influence to.
ward peace in central Europe.
Hungary is desperately in need OF
loan such as put Austria on her
feet but this cannot be obtained from
the largs< allied powers without the
express consent Of the Little En-
tente. So Czecho- SloVakia is using
the loan proposals as a means of ex-
erting an influence in hungary to
make the latter country more tracta-
bic. In other words, Hungary must
give up the idea of bringing back the
Hapsburgs and must accept the new
order of things or else no help will
be forthcoming. In fact, first of all
Hungary must disarm as provided by
tbs SAGE treaties. Her neighbors sus-
pect her good faith on this point.
Once Hungary has made a new
commercial treaty with Czecho-Slo-
vakia she will earn the support of
the Little Entente for q foreign
loan, but under conditions even more
drastic than those imposed upon
Austria in respect to the receiver
generalship and foreign supervision
of her armament.
Jugo Slavia is having plenty of
trouble amalgamating the Croats,
the Sloyenes and the Serbs and re-
Gently she forfeited the confidence
of foreign bankers by excessive ex-
penditures on ornaments instead Of
reconstruction. Only recently the
Blair group OF American bankers
decided not to lend any more money
to Jugo Slavia because it was re.
ported the first five million dollars
of what was to have been a fair sized
loar was diverted for military pur-
poses.
American capitalists are watching
Central Europe with intense inter-
est Their representatives are there
constantly studying the situation.
They seem optimistic about the fu-
ture. J. P. Morgan & Co., for in
stance are reliably reported to have
Indirectly obtained control of one
of the largest land banks in Austria,
though formal denials have been
made, probably for reasons of po-
litical delicacy.
But the fact ! that Central Eu-
roupe will some day be welded into
an economic entity Of great promise.
American and British capital alone
are available to help Central Europe
and irrespective of the Washington
governments policy Of supposed iso-
lation, there is a good deal of moral
support being given efforts Of Amer
lean financial interests to get fair
share Of business in this part Of
the world.
The larger powers can make these
small nations behave. Talk Of war
Is based on the presumption that
isolation will be permanent policy
and not a fad.
This is not likely to continue, how
ever, when once France and Great
Britain reach an agreement.