Peril Of The Situation.

New York Times 100 years ago today, March 9, 1913:
Lucien Wolf Sees Europe "Arming for Armageddon."
    LONDON, Feb. 25.— A pessimistic view of the European situation is taken by Lucien Wolf in his article in The Graphic this week, which is headed "Arming for Armageddon." In it Mr. Wolf, who is regarded not only as a keen observer of affairs, but also as usually taking a conservative attitude, draws some very disquieting conclusions from the race for stronger armaments now going on. He says in part: Armageddon, like the truth according to Zola, seems to be en marche. The resumption of the Near Eastern war has been quickly followed by a dangerous tension in the relations of Austria and Russia, and to this has now been added not less disquieting actions by Germany and France in the matter of armaments. Both countries, of course, profess the sincerest solicitude for the maintenance of peace, but when one of them adds 140,000 men to her peace effective by a stroke of the pen, and the other responds with such desperate expedients as a reversion to Three Years' Service and an extra twenty-three millions for war material, the atmosphere begins to smell unpleasantly of powder.
    How bad the situation is may be seen in the fact that while the return to the Three Years' System will not give France a larger army than Germany now possesses without the increases contemplated in the new law, Germany has still an enormous and growing reserve of population to draw upon. What will happen when the next Quinquennate comes to an end and Germany proposes a new military law raising her peace establishment to, say, a million men? France will be powerless, for she will not be able to extend her term of service, and her resources in men do not increase. A couple of years ago she had an idea of mobilizing a black army in North and West Africa, but the experiments so far made have not proved encouraging. Besides, civilized Europe prefers to have its international throat-cutting done by white men.
    In both countries the war party is powerful, and there can be little doubt that in Russia it is all but dominant. This is shown by the tone of the Czar's reply to the letter of the Emperor Francis Joseph, which has the sinister ring of an ultimatum. What, however, Russia hopes to gain by a war is extremely difficult to see. Single-handed she could not prevail against Austria-Hungary, for she would have to fight revolution at home at the same time, and it is doubtful whether she is much more than equal to this task alone.
    Her alliances and ententes cannot help her, for France is checkmated by Germany, Italy is all for a Great Albania, though she is not enthusiastic for Austria, while Great Britain has no hazard in the game.
    So far the great Powers, as represented by the conference of Ambassadors, have apparently failed to find any acceptable solution for the Albanian question. Something, however, might be done in the way of bringing European public opinion to bear on this dangerous controversy if the Ambassadors were to make known the solutions they have suggested. Outside Austria no one wants a "strong Albania" at the expense of other races, and outside Russia and Servia and perhaps Greece no one wants a weak Albania resulting from the dismemberment of the country or the enslavement of one or more sections of its people. The right solution is, then, clear, and if there were a strong pronouncement of European opinion for it the chances of a pacific settlement would be powerfully promoted.