Cries War, Red War, At Peace Meeting.

New York Times 100 years ago today, November 20, 1912:
Servian Prince, Asked to Talk in Place of Dr. Eliot, Upsets the Whole Programme.
ANDREW CARNEGIE, CHAIRMAN
Speaker Attacks His Theories on Constantinople and Then the Society Applauds Some War Pictures.
    The New York Peace Society had all arrangements completed yesterday for a lecture at the Hotel Astor by Dr. Charles W. Eliot, President Emeritus of Harvard, on "The Promotion of Peace in the Orient." Andrew Carnegie was in the chair, and a large audience greeted him. Then Mr. Carnegie announced that Dr. Eliot had been unable to come to New York on account of illness. It was a great disappointment, he said, to miss the lecture of the man who had been delegated to go to the Far East in the interest of the Peace Society. He added, however, that he took great pleasure in presenting another interesting traveler, who had been found at the last minute to take Dr. Eliot's place. He introduced Prince Lazarovich Hrebelianovich of Servia, the man whom King Peter of Servia regards as the pretender to the throne of the Karageorgevich, and who is an exile for that reason."
    It may or may not have been known among that audience of peace lovers that Prince Lazarovich is an authority on Balkan history; that he did probably more for Servian independence, both in the army and in politics, than any other living man, and that he conceived the great engineering projects designed to complete the great European waterway system and shorten the water route from the Baltic and North Seas to the Eastern Mediterranean by 1,500 miles.
    These things, if they were known, were soon forgotten, and whatever reputation Prince Lazarovich ever had as a peace advocate was also forgotten when the Prince delivered such a war lecture as would have made any peace-loving individual quake.
    Carnegie was all attention. Even when the Prince belittled Carnegie's plan to internationalize Constantinople, the Laird of Skibo sat quietly crouched in his chair and admired the enthusiastic young fighter.
    "What shall become of Constantinople?" shouted Prince Lazarovich. "Not even the great men seem to recognize the fact that we, the Balkan allies, have something to say about that question. We are there already. Constantinople is merely a part of our own home. Has a burglar a right to enter our home and take it away from us?"
    Obviously, this was not a peace meeting, and no one seemed to care whether it was or not so long as the Prince kept up his enthusiasm.
    "We will take care of Turkey ourselves," said the Prince. "We know the Turk, and we know how to handle him. We want to be let alone. We alone can insure that peace which Europe says she wants.
    "How about the great powers? How about Russia? If Russia should take Constantinople she would have control of the Dardanelles. She would then want Salonika as a naval base, and next she would demand the Servian plateau, the very point which Turkey has held and which has given her the control of the gateway to Europe. Instead of fighting Turkey we would then be fighting Russia for more centuries to come.
    "And how about Austria? I want to say here that if Austria is given a hand in our affairs the world will not see peace, but another war.
    "Now about internationalizing Constantinople," he continued. "I never saw anything internationalized that some nation did not pull the long straw. Russia would pull the long straw in this instance. You would never get peace in that way. It would be like putting rotten props under a platform. We, the Balkan States, must be allowed to deal with the Turks.
    Then the Prince sat down, amid great applause.
    "The Balkan question," said Mr. Carnegie mildly, "had to be settled. There was no escape from it. Let us hope that with the settlement of the war a lasting peace may be established."
    Hamilton Holt, the editor of The Independent, showed lantern slides covering his recent trip through Japan, Korea, and Manchuria. Mr. Holt dwelt long upon the valiancy of the Japanese soldiers at Port Arthur, showing cannon and fortifications by the score. But nobody shuddered and nobody left the room.
    Mr. Carnegie finally espied in the audience ex-Ambassador Andrew D. White, and called him to the platform, introducing him as "the greatest disciple of peace." Dr. White spoke in favor of Mr. Carnegie's plan for the internationalization of Constantinople. Then everybody went away to talk about the Prince's war talk and Holt's war pictures.