The Austrian Emperor visited the German Emperor at his headquarters
last Sunday and accepted some new agreement for the " extension and deepening of the existing alliance." A semi- official telegram from Vienna says that this " defensive " alliance " fits in well with a League of Nations." It is stated in the Frank- fort Gazette that the negotiations had reference to "a pragmatic alliance, a military union, and a Customs union," and that it was doubtful whether a two-thirds majority of the Austrian Reichsrath could be obtained for the proposed arrangement. Presumably Austria, who is in desperate straits, is being forced to accept a still larger measure of German control with a view to her ultimate incorporation into a " Central Europe " directed from Berlin. The difficulty is that the Slav majority in Austria-Hungary will object even more strongly to the rule of Berlin than to the rule of Vienna. The episode illustrates anew the folly of looking for a separate peace with Austria. There can be no peace until Austria is broken up and the Czechs and Southern Slays are freed.
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