The Dominion. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1913. THE WAR AND AFTER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1768, 5 June 1913, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1913. THE WAR AND AFTER.

, When the war between the Balkan Allies and Turkey broke out there was a very general feeling throughout the civilised world that it would be a matter of extreme difficulty to prevent the conflict from spreading to other countries, and it was thought that if any outside Power should' forcibly intervene the trouble would develop into a great European war. Fortunately, all the Powers were anxious to avoid such a catastrophe, and, although at times very dangerous situations had to be faced, the Ureal; Powers were able to agree upon a course of joint action until the war was brought to a close by the defeat of the Turks. Then the "Allies began to quarrel over the division of the conquered territory, and matters were made still more serious by Austria s anxiety to protect her interests. Quite recently, it seemed as though

another war would break out, but the methods of diplomacy were again equal to the emergency, and the latest news is to the effect that the Premiers of Servia and Bulgaria have had a cordial conference, and, although tome soreness still exists, the prevailing opinion is that the danger of a conflict has now been removed. It is generally admitted that the satisfactory termination of a most difficult and delicate situation is due in a very large measure to the skilful diplomacy and masterly statesmanship of the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sin Edward Guest), who has certainly been most successful in recent year's in increasing the prestige of Britain in the councils of the nations.

It is to be hoped that the Allies will now recognise that the war is definitely over, and that they will earnestly endeavour to bring about a permanent settlement of the questions in dispute regarding their respective shares of the conquered territory. Under the most favourable circumstances it must take the nations conccrncd a considerable time to fully recover from the enormous sacrifices of men and money, loss of trade, and general social and industrial unsettlemont which the war has caused; and, therefore, the sooner the new boundaries are fixed the better it will be for all ooncerncd, not only in the Balkan States themselves, but throughout the world, for the effects of the war have been felt even in these remote parts. It will, of course, be an extremely difficult matter to satisfy all parties, but in several important particulars the broad lines of agreement have already been sketched out. In other cases, however, it will be far from easy to arrive at a settlement, as the final apportionment of territory is supposed to depend upon the efforts and sacrifices of the four Allied States in connection with the defeat of the Turk. This means that the number of troops employed by each, the number of lives lost, and the financial outlay, will all, have to bo taken into consideration, and, as the military correspondent of the Morning Post points out, the most impartial of arbitrators would find it difficult to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion based on such factors. He goes on to state:

Judged by the number of its killed and wounded, tlio services of the Greek fleet to tho common cause would count for practically nothing. Estimates founded upon tlio number of troops employed must inevitably bo fallacious, even supposing that the number could bo correctly arrived at. Servia and Greeco might fairly object to Bulgaria's claiming' her losses before Chataija as assets, losses which wero very heavy, which led to nothing, and'which tended to embolden tho Turks to ooutinuo the war. Servia could claim that slio had been obliged to keep her armies mobilised, to incur heavy expenditure, and to suffer certain losses in tho interests of the coalition, after her own private .military task was completed. On the basis ot losses in action, King Nicholas could demand a good deal more than ho is likely to get, and on the basis of financial outlay would .scarcely bo in u position to claim anything at all. If the whole controversy were left for decision to a referee it is hard to say how ho would fix tho future frontiers, but it is certain, that, no matter how ho fixed them, nobody would be satisfied.

Another point of interest in connection with the war is the future of Turkey. The Turks, of course, recognise that their position is a most desperate one, and their main aim is to safeguard the future of the little European territory which they still possess. A writer in the Ikdam, a Constantinople paper, declares that there is now no influence which can oppose the onward march of the Slavs which will in time overspread the Balkans and Greece, and reach even to Constantinople. He goes on to state' that the most important problem is tho relations of the Turks to Russia. It has been proposed that they should come to a friendly understanding with Greece, but friendship with Russia he regards as far more important. The article proceeds as follows: —

It is both more practicable and raoro profitable for us to establish commercial relations with Russia than with any other States. I would go further, and send some of our young men to St. Petersburg, Kief, anil Moscow to study in Russian schools, to acquire Russian, for the Slavs have a brilliant future, and wo may thus make progress at the pace they set us. Such a plan is doubtless new-to us. AVo havo been looking westward, with what result? Wo havo learned French, havo read French novels. What good has it done us? This point of view is something for the statesmen of Western and Central Europe to ponder over. It is, of course, impossible to say how fur it represents the general feeling in Constantinople, but it is none the less deserving of notice as an indication of the way in which the Turks arc facing the new problems which their defeat has brought to the front. The full consequences of the war cannot yet be realised. It must be left to the future to disclose the effect it may have on European policy, but it is certain that there will bs a very general readjustment of ideas.