HENRI F. KLEIN, Editorial Staff of The Americana. 2. DIPLOMATIC HISTORY. The spark that was indirecdy responsible for the out. break of the world conflagration was kindled in the little city of Serajevo, the capital of the former Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia, on Sunday, 28 June 1914. On that day the parchduke Francis Ferdinand, nephew of the bate Austrian emperor Francis Joseph II and heir to the throne of Hapebm-g, paid an formal visit to Serajevo with his morganatic wife? the Duchess of Hohenberg. As der-m-chief of the army, the archduke had tended some maneetivres in the province, when he suddenly decided to inspect the troops in the capital. Driving slowly along in automobiles toward the Filipovitch Parade, where the troops were drawn up, a black parcel was thrown on the open hood of die archduke's car. He picked it up and threw it over the back of the car. It fell in the street and exploded in front of the second car, in which Count Boos deck and the governor's aide-de-camp were seated. Both those officers and a number of spectators were wounded. A compositor named Cabrinovitch, a native of Herzegovina, had thrown the bomb and was promptly arrested. The remainder of the party then proceeded to the town hall, where an address was read by the mayor. The inspection over, die civic thorities endeavored to dissuade the archduke from riding again through the city. They had heard rumors and had received threatening ters. The archduke, a stern, determined man, resisted all entreaties— includirw those of his wife— and insisted on visiting those who had been wounded by. the bomb explosion. On their way to the hospital along the Appel Quay other bomb fell close to the car, but failed to eicplode. Iminediately a young Bosnian dent named Prinzip sprang out from the crowd and fired at the archduke with a Browaing tol. Of three shots the archduke received two — one in the neck, which later proved fatal — and one reached his wife, who was struck in the body while attempting to shield him. The two victims were carried into the Government House, where the last sacraments were istered during a few moments' consciousness. Within an hour both were dead. The crime evoked a feeling.of horror throughout the ilized world; universal sympathy went out to the venerable emperor on the latest tragedy of his tragic life. His wife had been murdered (1898) ; his only son had died by violence (1889); his brother had been executed (1867), and now his heir had also fallen a victim of assassination. To a great extent public opinion outside of the Dual Monarchy lay with tria, especially when it was given out that the Serajevo murders had been plotted by a band of Serbian agitators, alleged to have been couraged by the Serbian government to propa gate a revolutionary. movement among the Serb
population, of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That such a movement had been in progress for many years was undoubtedly true; while the alleged complicity of the Serbian government was never established, it was suggested that it had been guilty of criminal negligence in not curbing the unauthorized activities of the se cret political societies engaged in Pan-Serbian propaganda. 'Competent observers were not slow to realize that the incideat of the murder opeu.ed the way to unlimited possibilities in bringing to a head the triangular feud that had been smoldering for years —the quarrel be tween Austria-Huwaiy and Serbia on the one part, and the conffictang Balkan policies pur sued by Austria and Russia on the other. A general outline of these different antagonisnts is given elsewhere. See HISTORICAL INTRODUC uoN in this department; also AUSTRIA-4JUN CARY AND THE WAR ; BALKAN LEAGUE; BALKAN WARS ; BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ; RUSSIA AND THE WOitLD WAR ; SEZBIA.
For many years Serbia had struggled for economic emancipation. Up to 1905 this little nation of farmers and stock-hreeders remained in industrial dependence upon Austria, for quite two-thirds of her catde, pork and odaer products of the soil went across the Austrian border. 'Austria's dream was to incorporate Serbia into her empire, and whenever the lat ter displayed signs of political independence, Austria applied economic pressure by closing her markets to Serbian cattle. In 1906 the Ser bian premier, Pashitch, began to resist the Aus trian tariff war that had broken out the pre vious you. He proposed and carried through' a customs union between the three Slav Ballcan states, Serbia, Btdgaria and Montenegro, thus laying the foundation for that Balkan League which six years later was to defy the time worn European Concert. By this arrangement Serbian livestock was partially diverted from the former Austrian routes and transported by waterways to German markets, while another outlet was procured at Varna on the Black Sea in Bulgarian territory. A treaty of commerce was next concluded with France and by de grees the old trade channel through Bosnia and to the Dalmatian Coast diminished and Serbia was disposiug of much of her cereals and pork without sending them through Austrian terri tory, La, via the Black Sea and Salonica as far as the Levant.