mane civilization. On the other hand the
Hoti and Gruda tribes on the north fiercely resent annexation to
Montenegro (which the Great Powers have decreed) and threaten to
summon to their support other Malissori tribes with whom they have
had a defensive alliance for several centuries. If Prince William of
Wied is unable to cope with these difficulties, Italy and
Austria-Hungary may think it necessary to intervene in Albania. But
the intervention of either would almost certainly provoke
compensatory action on the part of other European Powers, especially
Russia.

One can only hope that the Great Powers may have wisdom granted to
them to find a peaceful solution of the embarrassing problem which
they have created in setting up the new state of Albania. That the
Albanians themselves will have an opportunity to develop their own
national independence I find it impossible to believe. Yet I heard
in the summer of 1913 at Valona from the lips of Ismail Kemal Bey,
the head of the provisional government, a most impressive statement
of his hopes and aspirations for an independent Albania and his
faith and confidence in its future, in which he claimed to voice the
sentiments of the Albanian people. But, as I have already explained,
I think it doubtful whether under the most favorable external
circumstances the Albanians are at present qualified to establish
and maintain an independent state. And their destiny is so
inextricably entangled with the ambitions of some of the Great
Powers that the experiment stands no chance of getting a fair trial.
I heartily wish the circumstances were other than they are. For as
an American I sympathize with the aspirations of all struggling
nationalities to be free and independent. And my interest in Albania
is deepened, as the interest of all Americans must be deepened, by
the fact that a large number of Albanians have now found a home in
the United States.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913, by Jacob Gould Schurman

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BALKAN WARS: 1912-1913 ***

***** This file should be named 11676.txt or 11676.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.net/1/1/6/7/11676/

Produced by David Starner and Andrea Ball

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one o