The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-06
The Decision of Greece to Defy the Powers Con-
firfned on All Sides
intervention by England
Would Mean Conflict
Even the Most Sanguine Admit That the Cretan
Situation Is Critical in the
Extreme,

LONDON, March SIT is generally
believed here that a war between
Greece and Turkey is imminent. The
decision of Greece to defy the powers
is conf1rmd on all sides. 1t is generally
felt in England that the dispatch, sign
ed by hundred Liberal and Irish Ma
tional members of the house of COM
mons, which was sent last evening to
the king of Greece, expressing SYM
pathy with his efforts and the efforts
of the Greek nation and government in
behalf of Crete, was a great mistake and
that it will only mislead the king and
nation into the belief that Great Brit
ain will not join the other powers in
coercive measures.
The Westminster Gazette, Liberal,
says: When the king receives this
sympathetic message he will do well
to observe that the government has a
majority of $50 in the house Of COM
mons. If he understands the bearing
Of this, and If he knows that the British
government can only be diverted from
its decision by an adverse vote of the
house of commons. which there is ap-
parentIy not the slightest chance of OBJ
ldlnlIS, ne Will uuQGTSIduQ the
value Of this message"
The Daily News expresses itself in
a similar tone and says: ARMED in
tervention by Great Britain in behalf
of Greece would simply mean war to
enforce the difference between absolute
autonomy in Crete and it's incorpora
ton with Greece
The attitude of the Greek officials
in London is most determined. The
consul general for Greece, M. Leon
Messinesi in an interview with a rep
resentative Of the Associated Press to-
day, said there was not the least prob
ability Of Greece yielding to the de-
mands of the powers. He added that
the fact that another 40 600 men of the
reserves were called out yesterday
shows that Greece means to end the
present situation. Greece has recently
spent large sums on her frontier de-
fenses, which are now in good order.
I Another official of the Greek consult
ate remarked that if the powers carry
out their threat to try and dislodge the
Greek troops in Crete they will have
to land 5000 men to do SO. He added:
Even then our troops will fight for
every inch of ground. We have stood
this as long as possible. In spite of
the Halepa pact and other schemes
the situation in Crete is worse. than
ever If Greece is bankrupt it is be-
cause she has had to support the fug1-
tive Cretans. The powers cannot Starve
out the Greeks in Crete, as the coast
is too extensive for an effective block
ade, and small vessels will be able to
run the blockade. In any case, the
Greeks have enough food for month,
and we won't be called towards even
if we are obliterated from the map Of
Europe We are prepared to shed the
last drop of our blood before allowing
our troops to Vacate Crete and leave
the Cretans to the mercies Of the Turk
ish policy"
Constantinople, March 5.-The Turk
ish government has called the atten-
ton of the ambassadors of the powers
to two declarations contained in their
note, to the effect that Crete will not
be annexed to Greece 'at the present
juncture," and that an autonomous
regime" will be conferred upon the
island. The Turkish ministers wish
for further explanation of the words
present juncture and autonomous
regime" They want precise definitions
of the terms.
The Italian embassy has demanded
formal satisfaction for the firing of a
shot across the bows of an Italian
mail steamer While passing through
the straits of the Dardanelles on Tues