Evening star., 1933-03-12
DIPLOMATIC HISTORY 1871.
1882 BY Raymond James Sontag. New
York: The Century Co.

--HE word diplomacy has come to have
sinister sound to many ea-s. The
results of diplomacy are so often known
only after the war; when all the blue.
orange red and other tinted pamph-
lets are published The first of Wood
row Wilson's IA points has not met with general
acceptance, nor is it certain that it would be
productive of universally beneficial results If 1t
were accepted 1t is an ideal: open covenants
of peace openly arrived at after which there
shall be no private international understandings
of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always
frankly ana in the public view" After the TACT
it is possible to know what has taken place IN
diplomacy often with the benefit of inte-pre-
tation by a student trained in history and in
ternatonal law. And If more study were given
to the past and its obvious and implied lessons
by the governing powers in all nations, perhaps
there would be fewer mistakes in the present
and future. European Diplomatic History, py
Prof Sontag of the department OF history OF
Princeton University, is based on authoritative
material is, of course, very much up-to-oate,
AMI is clearly and forcefully written from the
point of view of the historian. who is able TO
compare various events in the wlndlng course
of European diplomacy and to draw conclusions
therefrom. The book is not only Valuapic aao
to students of modern European history; 1t Is
also a book for the intelligent general reader
Two diplomatic ideas are central IN Prof
Sontag's treatment of his subject the problem
of the status quo and the effort to preserve
peace He lucidly describes the existing rela-
tions among the great nations OF the world ana
explains the diplomatic background OF those
relations. His order is chronological and devel-
opment may be easily followed. In 1871 the
treaty Of Frankfort was concluded between the
new French Republic and the new German
Empire This date is taken as the beginning OF
a new era in diplomacy because from that time
three considerations modified the simplicity
of the doctrine that war was the logical con-
tinuation of diplomatic policy" These three
considerations were the change in the charac-.
ter of war due to modern science and industry,
the alliance system which made localized war
impossible and the influence Of popular gov
ernment conscription and the press. which
mate it necessary that a war decision should
be supported by public opinion. In the light
of these considerations 1t is interesting to fol-
low the events Of the period. grouped under i'm
portant general subjects, as Franco-Russian
relations, the entrance of Great Britain into
European alliances, with the result Of the Triple
Alliance and the Triple Entente, the World
War and the Peace of Paris. and the recent
"Hegemony Of France" One reflects, with SAD
irony that the new diplomacy. in spite OF It's
three urgent considerations. was powerless TO
avert the World War.
GRAY WOLF: MUSTAFA KEMAL. BY H. c.
Armstrong. New York: Minton, Balch 81 co.
4 AUSSOLINI, Lenin, Stain. Hitler, Rivera.
M Kemal-the list of dictators is a long one
for this democratic age. They are all good SUD-
jects for biographies. They all have strong per-
sonalities, though some of them try to conceal
the fact Mustafa Kema1 is one Of thece. He
prefers to remain an enigma, with no intimates,
few contacts with foreigners. and dislike Tor
p,blicity He is a comparatively young man.
He was born in Salonika in 1881. the year before
Britieh troops landed in Egypt. In 1908 and
1905 respectively. he was at the Monastir Mill
tarv School and the Staff College Constantl-
nople. Soon he was on the staff Of the Sd Army
Corps at Salonika His military career was
we'll started Then came the deposition OF
Abdul Harlid, the two Balkan Wars, and the
World War Mustafa Kemal moved from one
command to another During the uncertainties
for Turkey following the World War, when the
allo5 were occupying Constantincple and there
was warfare with Greece. he bee" me more and
more dominant. Had he a plan? Was 1t
chiefly the result of chance which brought OPP
portunity? 1t is difficult to decide, even while
rec <i.,r the account of his life. In August.
1921 Mustafa Kemal was made commander In
chief of the army with powers of dictator.
The title, Gray Wolf" refers back to the
emblem on tn, standard of the fir"t Osmani
Turks who marched, fierce hordes, out OF
the claims of Central Asia and the Desert Of
Cobb, in 1888. It was considered appropriate
because Mustafa Kemal suggests grayness-
gray eyes, gray complexion, and hair that
seems gray-and because there is something
wolfsh in his relentless cruelty and lack OF.
sentiment and OF iinarily accepted moral sense.
The biography is in the form of an interest,"
ing narrative. an Arabian Nights tale, which
move; from the poverty-stricken house OF
KemaPs father the Turkish clerk, Ali Ria, In
a cobbled alley under the walls of the old fort
of Selonika to the government palace at Con-
stantnople. Capt. Armstrong has spent many
years in Turkey, during the war, as assistant
military attache to the British embassy after
the war; and later on the staff of the British
Army of Occupation H: saw the death OF the
old Ottoman Empire and the birth of the new