Show OF CRISIS S HARD TO FIND U komats ornate and observers unable Is 0 t o understand the attitude ha of austria STRONG FOR PEACE lot berchtold only a few weeks qt igo bitterly criticized the war party and his change of if front has not as yet been explained the confusion worse confounded Is the L phrase that aptly characterizes the tha situation in F europe the leading ir anti and the most experienced servers are unable to agree on oil any pla of the cris crisis Is arid and the reain is IB not far to seek tily a re few w weeks ago the foreign foreia of austria tu count berchtold as earnestly defending the pact pacific it C id d moderate policy he had been pur the balkans and russia ng toward oward r berchtold for peace it to the delegates at budt buda speech in n a A answered criticisms vigorously est st he ha spokesmen of the war party parti of a delegate who was sup bup ased to bo be expressing tire the sentiments f the then their heir presumptive tile the late archduke franz ferdinand count erchtold spoke of the aged emperors cincere and resolute devotion to peace ie e gave arguments arg of his own moreover ver in support of a policy of patience nd peace feared loss losa of prestige the frankness and directness of that speech impressed everybody except those atho anbo feared that austria might be accused of timidity and weakness might be misunderstood and in consequence might loso lose political and military prestige there were some among these thought moreover that russia whose recuperative power was wonderful whatever whatever shat ever might be said of its efficiency and actual strength when pitted against a more civilized and tree free power was avas getting too mighty and too confident con adent and was enjoying too much opportunity for rehabilitation anti and con boli dation of its financial and military naval resources vaguely favored a bold and aggressive policy even at the risk of amr ar which had better come sooner than later they held sweden takes up cry hut flat count view prevailed for the moment and excellent observers concluded that austria at any rate was not going to add to the troubles complications arid and dangers of by tempting fortune at that very moment sweden was excitedly discussing tile tho russian peril and demanding new inea measures of defense while a section of the ger roan inan press was pointing to the bear that walks like a man ns as the toe foe to reckon with in the near future yet the peace of europe I 1 Is broken not by russia not by a balkan power desirous of revising the settlement imposed by roumania Rou manla and the concert of europe at the bucharest charest conference but by austria and seemingly under count Herch direction i what has happened lit in the short I 1 interval n it if peace was necessary at and i d desirable to austria hungary a few geeki beka ago why Is a war inevitable today to understand the situation it la Is es lenual to distinguish between glittering generalities fanciful aspirations literature and rhetoric on the one hand and hard grim concrete facts on n the other it Is essential to know what the conflict la Is not it Is not a war between and slav it Is not a I 1 war between the pan german world party arid and tire the pan slav wor world id party it is not war for tic he preservation of 11 bairs monarchy move Is antl anti the tan pan german movement Is antl anti AuF austrian and cannot fall to be so go the success or of that movement would destroy stroy austria as a political entity tile the 1 pan german extremists have lind had to b rebuked and repudiated by responsible german statesmen As allies of austria thay could not a movement which assumed arid and labored for the disrupt disruption lott and disappearance of austria the pan slav movement in russia la ir manifestly anti austrian as well as aa anti german cerman it dreams of slav rut from the adriatic sea to the pacific it t dreams of slav union or eon oil fede federation ration under tinder tho the gentle and benevolent sovereignty of Rui russia isla azars czars interest in servia denla pau pan Is however lit in a limited kellso unmistakably in evidence in the czar s profound interest inhere st in serela and montenegro the czars azars ministers nave have often blundered in tho the Bal balkanas kats arid and have at times caused estrangement gravitation to toward ward germany german Y bitter feeling against russia but the tha blunders were ero personal blunders ot of bungling politicians russia has always posed and often acted as the patron friend arid and protector of the slavs everywhere and especially ot of the balkan slavs it lias has had arid and still has its eye on its estate in III reversion constantinople and it cannot hope to plant its lag flag there without the consent arid and support of the balkan slavs it is good pan to support sersia sia but in facing austria russia confronts not a german power but a power that Is itself largely slay slav slav will thus be fighting slav and the geri mans whatever their colors will bo be fighting for slavs arid and with other slavs arid and postponing the realization of tile the pan german ambitions arid and dreams jealousy a great factor here then la is a strange paradox hut but not the only paradox in III a situation full of anomalies inseparable front from the vey very nature and comple complexion ion of the e austro hungarian empire an ail empire to repeat that has been held together quite ti ej much by the jealousies arid and differences of outsiders ns as by the dynastic and personal persona influence of the it if austria cannot and ices dope not represent C german erman interests and germ german an culture in this fight what Is it fighting for pan servian agitation did not endanger its existence while the war slav elements at no does its own time displayed an inclination to exchange its rule for that of the czar ar although they were not averso to U using pan slav slogans in order to secure bett r representation nud and larger lecog nl tk danger to dual monarchy tile the opinion of the soundest students of politics has long been that if aus tria hungary was to be preserved only a policy of peace liberalism gre greater ater autonomy and home rule conciliation of tile the various races and elements by and social reform measures political contained the promise of such preservation the e ex the war actually endangers istance of the dual monarchy for a aside lite from tile the chances of defeat and dibas ter there Is the fact that the slav subjects of the emperor cannot chize with it the separatist and par tendencies feared by t the b e court and government car can only be deepened and strengthened by the conflict the army and nav navy y may be loyal and obedient its as many assert the be austrian it 1 army and navy may the nation is not but popular gentl factor in war and mant is a potent popular sentiment among the austrian arid and hungarian slavs does ont favor fratricidal strife worl worlie d ts Is the intelligent no a wonder puzzled arid and utterly at a loss to e explain ain Aus courso course |