Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-06
NEW EUROPE AS SEEN
TEN YEARS AFTER WAR
Created States Have Survived and Press
Ahead Despite Internal
Dangers.

capital of Croatia, there may be more
culture than in Belgrade. But they say
ut is only our military resistance, our
logged courage. our record OF battles
that created an independent JugoslaVia.
rIy political opponents in Italy have
so often accused me of identifying the
Italian victory over Austria and the
fruits of our victory-all Italy united
and free under the complete crown OF
our Alpine frontier in our hands-with-
the progress and life of the free sue
cessor states of Austria Hungry that In
Belgrade they may at least believe In
my deep and cordial sincerity when l
tell them:
"You believe that you are proud. On
the contrary, you are modest and suS-
picious-s of others, but more
of yourselves. Your political leader
ship when a crisis menaceS the horizon
is such historical necessity, the grow
ing generations in Slovenia and Croatia
have such an honest desire to believe In
their southern brothers, that with no
danger you might afford a sufficient
amount of decentralization in the new
state to give Zagreb and Ljubliana the
sensation that they did not struggle
against the Vienna and Budapest rulers
only to be governed by Belgrade. The
NIT in the three parts of the state the
stronger will be the unity OF Jugo-
slavia."
Situation in Rumania.
In Rumania the tenth anniversary
of her existence as a state where all
Rumanians we're united for the first
time in their history has witnessed a
great event. The rulers of the old king
dom had tried to retain their former
supremacy without giving a sufficient
amount of influence to the populations
of Pennsylvania, much more Western
lied and cultured than those of the
kingdom. The situation was somewhat
analogous to the crisis in JugoSlavia.
The latest development is that the
regency of the state has wisely advised
the "dictatorial' cabinet to resign and
has appointed as prime minister in
their place the leader of the Transyl-
vanian peasants. This gentleman, Mr.
Manu-, has announced his intention Of
uprooting the present bureaucracy and
establishing truly democratic regime,
the first condition of which is the eS-
Enlistment Of free" elections.
This would mean a complete break
with the former semi Oriental traditions
of the Rumanian regimes. Europe and.
the world must follow with interest
such a novel challenge to vested inter-
estS and such candid determination
to reform the Rumanian state from top
to bottom. Anyhow, it is life; it Is not
Oriental stagnation. Above all, 1t is
reform, bold reform, without ar die
tatorShip. rs
Poland's Dictatorship.
OF which. To tell the truth. with the
disappearance of the Rumanian OIL
garchy, there is no trace in the new
European states, except in Poland,
where the forms of freedom have been
saved, but in reality power has been
concentrated in the hands Of Marshal
Pilsudski. This fact, of course, makes
it difficult to judge the progress made
by Poland. Relationships live on pres
tige and the entire atmosphere Of
country which accept them gives an
impression of unreality and artificiality
that discourages an honest search for
the truth.
1t cannot be denied at least that the
foreign policy of all these countries is
marked by some common ideas and
bound by some common links which, In
spite of appearances. make this part of
Europe healthier zone than before the
war.
In spite of appearances, I said, be-
cause the old Europe of 1914 still seems
to many to be the only permanent and
reasonable Europe. All men Of mature
age. in America as well as in Europe,
had grown used to seeing on the map
in the center of Europe two vast uni
color blotS symbolizing Germany and
Austria, and the new names and the
new colorS on the map sometimes seem
causes of disorder, or at least OF I'M
certainty.
In reality this is a very distorted
view of European history. The Europe
of 1914 was only so years old, while
Poland had existed for 800 years and
Bohemia for 700.
The Austria Of 1914 could only live
on divisions and jealousieS, being as 1t
was not a national entity, but sterile
oligarchy of courtiers and bureaucrats
with no spiritual message for the wo-ld.
Living Nations Exist.
Now, probably new injuStices have
replaced some of the old ones, new re-
sentiments have been added to old
hatredS. But the great fact remains
that where artificial Austria was stand
ing, stand today living nations. Each
of them had centuries ago, and will
have again, a part in Europe's progress
-Czechoslovakia, which gave, with
Huss, great martyr to religious free
dom; JugoSlavia, where West and East
meet under the same language; Ru-
mania, with her Latin oasis in Slav
world; Poland, with her free overindi- g
vidualistic history.
Now that they have come into a new
life, each of these nations may commit
blunderS. But, like Britain or Ger :
many, Italy or France, they are living
entities, each one with a mission and
voice in an organized Europe.
In minor proportions the same may
be said of the new states on the borders
of the Baltic Sea. 1t would be a great
Injustice to them to believe that they
were invented by the entente, and espe-
cially by England after the Russian
collapse In the course of the nine
tenth century, which was the era OF
national awakenings the awakening be-
fell even the little Baltic nations, each
differing so profoundly in race and Ian
guage from its powerful German and
Russian neighbors. Finland, ESthonia,
Latvia and Lithuania only awaited the
right moment for asserting their own
life. That moment came with the out
break of the World War.
States Have Shown vitality.
For a while it was the fashion to
repeat for the Baltic states the same ,
lullaby which was used for Central
Europe-that the treaties of peace had
"Balkanized" Europe, and that all those
LatviaS and EsthoniaS would be merely
season states with no real life.
Ten years have elapsed, and the new
Baltic states have shown a vitality that
their best friends did not expect. With
their juvenile nationaliSm they have put
the maps against them. 1t Is difficult
to remember that Kovno, the capital of
Lithuania, has now been baptized Kau-
mas: that the old famous port of
Memel is now Klaipeda; that Reval, the
capitaI of ESthOnia Is now Tallinn and