Servia was said to have willfully
misinterpreted this." (No. 64.)
From these reports it appears that the differences between Austria and
Servia were on the way to a solution. Austria claimed that her demands
were just, and Servia did not deny this. Austria further claimed that
her prestige, her very existence, demanded the prompt compliance with
her requests by Servia. She explained in a satisfactory way the one
point on which Servia had taken exceptions, and Servia was on the point
of complying, and would have complied, if the powers had been willing to
let her do so. Such a conclusion of the incident would have strengthened
Austria's prestige and assured the punishment of the murderers of
Serajevo.
Russia's Remark About Austria.
The reason why Servia was not allowed to submit was Russia's remark,
quoted above, that she would not "allow" Austria to become the
predominant power in the Balkans. It was, therefore, Russia's task to
prevent Servia from accepting Austria's note. Since war was her
alternative, baldly stated to England from the first, she had to do
three things--first, to secure as many allies as possible; secondly, to
weaken her enemies, preferably by detaching from them Italy, and,
thirdly, to get as much of a start in her mobilization as possible.
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