on. But France, anxious to increase
her hold on the land, sent out, with the usual pretexts, an unnecessary
expedition to Fez. Had an international tribunal with an adequate force
behind it been in existence, France would have been called upon to
justify her action, and whether she succeeded or failed in such
justification, no further evils would have occurred. But there was no
force able or willing to call France to account, and the other Powers
found it a simpler plan to follow her example than to check it. In
pursuance of this policy, Germany sent a warship to the Moroccan port of
Agadir, using the same pretext as the French, with even less
justification. When the supreme military power of the world wags even a
finger the whole world is thrown into a state of consternation. That
happened on the present occasion, though, as a matter of fact, giants
are not given to reckless violence, and Germany, far from intending to
break the world's peace, merely used her power to take advantage of
France's bad move. She agreed to condone France's mistake, and to resign
to her the Moroccan rights to which neither country had the slightest
legitimate claim, in return for an enormous tract of land in another
part of Africa. Now, so far, the game had been played in accordance with
rules which, though by no means those of abstract justice, were fairly
in accordance with the recognized practices of nations. But now another
Power was moved to far more openly unscrupulous action. It has long been
recognized that if there must be a partition of North Africa, Italy's
share is certainly Tripoli. The action of France and of Germany stirred
up in Italy the feeling that now or never was the moment for action, and
with brutal recklessness, and the usual pretexts, now flimsier than
ever, Italy made war on Turkey, without offer of mediation, in flagrant
violation of her own undertakings at the Hague Peace Convention of 1899.
There was now only one Mohammedan country left to attack, and it was
Russia's turn to make the attack. Northern Persia--the most civilized
and fruitful half of Persia--had been placed under the protection of
Russia, and Russia, after cynically doing her best to make good
government in Persia impossible, seized on the pretext of the bad
government to invade the country. If the Powers of Europe had wished to
demonstrate the necessity for a great international tribunal, with a
mighty force behind it to ensure the observance of its