In the Empire of the Habsburgs some fifty-five per cent.
of the population are Slays, Roumanians, and Italians. The other forty-five per cent. are, roughly, half Hungarians and half Germans. This division of population is, of course, reflected fairly accurately in the Army. Without suggesting that all the non-Teuton and non-Magyar population are potential traitors, it is quite safe to say that at least half the Army and half the population cannot be depended upon to fight to the bitter end with the desperate courage with which we have no doubt the Germans will fight. In the latter case the hammer blows of defeat when they come will for a long time only tend to make the German people more determined. Unless Austria-Hungary has some extraordinary stroke of luck, it requires no great gift of prophecy to predict that six months hence half her population will be longing for any excuse to bring the war to an end and to save something from the wreck. The predictions of the people who are talking about Austria already seeking to make the best terms she can for herself are, of course, altogether premature, but they are good if we postdate them to next April or May.
