The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. "Luceo Non Uro.” THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1934 MANIAC POLITICS.

Southland Times, Issue 22448, 11 October 1934, Page 6

The Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. " Luceo Non Uro.” THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1934 MANIAC POLITICS.

Again the assassin’s hand has struck. King Alexander of Yugoslavia walked in danger throughout his life, and it has ended while he was engaged in furthering the interests of his country, strengthening the ties with France who stands as the friend of the Little Entente, the union in Central Europe which stands for the preservation of peace. The Karageorgevitch dynasty came back to the Serbian throne when a conspiracy of Serbian officers, by a brutal assassination, removed a king who was the tool of Austria. Alexander’s father, King Peter, was called on to take the Crown, and under him the Serbs took steps to assert their independence. With the othei' Balkan nations they threw off the Turkish yoke, but Serbia was denied coastal gains,- largely through the intervention of Austria-Hungary. At that time the Croats were eager to escape from Austrian rule and they sought aid from the Serbians. Out of their desire to rid themselves of Austrian domination came the assassination at Serajevo which started the war in 1914. Alexander, who had been trained in the Serbian Army, was Crown Prince when the war started, his elder brother having renounced the succession, and he served through the terrible days which saw the Serbs driven out of their country. After the war, Serbia was enlarged by large tracts taken from Austria and Hungary, and the Croats were included in the new kingdom of Yugoslavia, over which Alexander, who had succeeded on the death of his father, reigned. But the Croats were disappointed. They sought a federal scheme in the new kingdom which would make them virtually independent, but this was denied them and a strong anti-Serbian movement developed in the difficult post-war years. All the while Alexander ruled firmly, though at times efforts were made to placate the Croats. Then the king established a dictatorship, and though some observers declared that he was merely the tool of the military party, the realists saw in Alexander a king strong enough to enforce obedience. He was the ruler of Yugoslavia and the military party obeyed him. His policy was to maintain the peace through the Little Entente, and through the Balkan Pact, which included Bulgaria within its scope, allying all the Balkan powers in a group strong enough to resist Russia on one side or Italy on the other. The strength of this group and its friendship for France explained, as much as her suspicion of Germany, Italy’s deep concern for Austria. M. Barthou, the French Foreign Minister who was also killed, was largely responsible for the creation of the Little Entente, uniting Poland and Czechoslovakia with the Balkan powers, and to these he added the recent friendship with Russia. These manoeuvres were designed to check any move by Germany, and they have contributed to the peace of Europe. King Alexander was visiting France to discuss recent events and a strengthening of the Balkan Pact with M. Barthou. Both men have been removed by this mad Croatian and the result of this foul stroke will not gain anything for Croatia, except a sterner suspicion in the hearts of the Serbs, who loved the king. Serbia owed much to King Alexander, whose

firm hand on the government of Yugoslavia, will be missed. The dictatorship he exercised was not Fascist in character and the greater part of the kingdom accepted it as necessary in order to expedite the unification of the new kingdom knit together by the peace treaties. This tragedy, the latest revelation of the maniac in politics, has shocked the world. Assassination is the weapon of the madman, which succeeds in the particular instance and injures the cause it seeks to help. The murder of Dollfuss ruined the Nazi party in Austria; this murder in the streets of Marseilles will set back Croatia’s cause.