Ferdinand May Be Emperor.

New York Times 100 years ago today, November 5, 1912:
Report That He Will Be Proclaimed When Allies Enter Constantinople.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Tuesday, Nov. 5.— As King William of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles in 1871, so, it is said, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria is to be declared Emperor of the Balkan Federation when the victorious troops of the allies reach Constantinople.
    This report from Paris is probably more a guess at King Ferdinand's ambitions than an accurate gauge of his power to realize them. Its possibility, however, is a logical development of the situation.
    The Turkish Government's appeal to France to impose an armistice on the Balkan allies has been rejected, and though the German attitude is more favorable to the Porte, it is not likely that any power will go further than an offer to mediate.
    The support of the other powers was made a first essential of France's offer of mediation, and Austria's rejection has now been followed by that of Germany and Italy of Premier Poincaré's proposal that all the powers should make a declaration of "disinterestedness" as a preliminary to joint action. Thus a fresh formula must be found before mediation by the concert of Europe becomes a possibility. The Union of Austria, Germany, and Italy against M. Poincaré's proposal clearly indicates how easily the concert of Europe may be turned into a discord.
    The disagreement of the powers removes the last obstacle to the Bulgarian march on Constantinople and the downfall of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. Whether or not it will be succeeded by a Balkan Empire is King Ferdinand's secret, and it opens too vast a question for present discussion. Before the final triumphal entry into Constantinople something yet remains to be done. Though the Turks are still being hotly pressed by the Bulgarian forces, some pause will be necessary to give King Ferdinand's exhausted warriors a chance to gather strength for their final effort.
    The fall of Adrianople, which is expected daily, will release 50,000 men and siege artillery for the attack on the Tchatalja lines, supposing that the retreating Turks have succeeded in reaching those defenses in sufficient numbers and spirits to make their resistance formidable.
    However, as Lieut. Wagner states, the advance on Tchatalja may be begun this week.
    If the reports of the casualties in the great battles in Thrace are correct, the losses, though heavy, are by no means extraordinary. Twenty-four thousand Turks and 20,000 Bulgarians are stated to have been killed or wounded. At Mukden the casualties on both sides were estimated at 100,000. At Sedan, too, the proportion of losses was higher, while in the American civil war the casualties were greater than in any European war of modern times.