Evening star., 1897-04-05
A CRITICAL OCCASION
Greece to Celebrate Independence
Day Tomorrow.
PRECAUTIONS ON THE FRONTIER
Turkish Troops Ordered to Be
Under Arms.
BRITISH LIBERALS CONFER

ATHENS, April 5.-AIl the preparations
for the celebration tomorrow of the an
niversary of the declaration of Greek inde-
pendence, in 1921, have been completed.
A public meeting will be held here to pro-
test against the action of the powers to-
ward Greece and pledge support to the
Greek government in any action it may
think fit to take in the premises. The
At night Athens will be brilliantly IL
been a belief that the celebration of to-
ton of war against Turkey. This feeling,
however, is not general. Tuesday in
Greece is regarded as an unlucky day to
enter upon anything of great Importance,
and for this more than for other reason,
political or military, is based a hope that
the celebration will pass off without the
frontier incidents which are likely to pre-
Clpitate the struggle for which Greece has
been preparing for the past two months.
Although this week is likely to be a fate
1ui one Tor Greece, the orders of Prince
Constantine, the crown prince and COM
mander-in-chief of the Greek forces in
Thessaiy, are most strict that anything in
the SHAPE of a demonstration in the direc-
tion of the Turkish frontier must be sup
pressed. The soldiers and armed peasants
however, are II no mood to be curbed and
nobody would be astonished to hear of an
aggressive movement, at least upon the
part of the Greek irregulars
The Turkish commander-in-chief, Edhem
Pasha, is fully alive to the difficulty and
dangers of the situation, and has already
strengthened the frontier outposts, besides
taxing other means to meet any contin-
gency which may arise. Fifty thousand
Turkish troops at a few hours notice can
be sent across the Greek frontier and ac-
cord1ng to unbiased military experts the
turkish flag might be flying over Larissa
few days later. The Greeks, while ami
mated by herce enthusiasm and desire for
the Turkish troops and the German Off
GERS assisting Edhem Pasha in the cam
palSn preparations anticipate little difficult
W IN winning the first battles.
Queen Going to the Front.
1t is stated today that the Queen of
Greece has decided to start immediately
Tor Thessaly, in order to 'superintend, with
her daughter-in-law, the Crown Princess
Sophia, the field nurses attached to the
Greek ambulance corps
Inc next actual step anticipated in the
eastern game is the proclamation by the
admlrais OF the foreign fleets of the block
nave ocC urred today, but a hitch has oc-
Cured at the last moment. Nobody here
seems to doubt that the blockade of the
Gulf of Athens will be followed if nor
preceded, by a declaration of war against
Turkey
Correspondents Go to Athens
Numbers of correspondents of English
newspapers have arrived here and at Sa-
lonica, and others are at Larissa CIR at
Elassona. These are men whose advent on
any scene naturally means that an out
break of war is regarded as almost certain
Inc English correspondents who landed at
Salonica were provided with letters from
wnlie they have been accorded every cour-
tesy they have not been allowed to inspect
the Turkish Notifications
A dlSpa tch from the representative of
the Associated Press at ElaSsona the
turkish headquarters, says that the report
that the Greeks intended to mount twenty
cannon on the unoccupied point of the dis
puted territory of Milesna, three miles dis
tant from Elassona, caused Edhem Pasha
to order the Turkish officers in that vicin-
ity to fire upon the Greeks at the first sign
OF such an attempt.
Upon another occasion an explosion of
dynamite, caused by a party of Greek en-
g1neerS who were blasting rock to make
road, so excited the Turks thai a Turkish h
ofncer sent message, warning the Greeks
of the extreme danger of such proceed
ings,' and pointing out that "it might be
impossible to restrain the Turkish troops"
Later dispatches from the front say that
Edhem Pasha has ordered all the Turkish
troops on the frontier to be under arms
all day tomorrow.