Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1897-05-01
THE WAR IN THE EAST.
How 1t Was Finally Brought
About.
SIMPLE STATEMENT OF THE FACTS.

Claims OF the Greeks and OF the Porte.
( why the So Called Organic Statute
Failod-The Armies. the Commanders
and the Seat of War.
The immediate cause of the war be-
jween Greece and Turkey, according to the
claims Of the porte, is due to the action OF
the Greek irregulars IN penetrating Mace
donia and attacking various minor Turk
ish posts, responsibility for which the
Greek government avows. The latter, on
the other hand, lays the onus on the Turks,
who advanced into Thessaly. This result
ed IN a sharp conflict between bodies of the
regular troops at the town OF Nezeros
which lies Immediately under the shadow
OF Mount Olympus, the tabled home of
the greater gods of the ancient Greeks.
The Greeks who must be considered the
aggressive party, say they sent troops to
the island of Crete to oppose the Turks be-
cause the latter were massacring the
Christians A further cause for the bel
lgerency is their impotence because the
reforms imposed upon Turkey by the great
powers have not been put into execution.
But it is necessary TO go back much
farther to understand the primary cause
OF this great eastern crisis. Crete was the
last of the Turkish oonquests in Europe,
having been captured from the Venetians
after a desperate struggle. Like Ireland,
Crete was imperfectly conquered at the
beginning, and the 1ame of discord has
been kept alive in the Island owing TO the
existence Of a large minority differing in
creed from the bulk of the population and
long maintained in a privileged position
by the ruling power. A disturbing influ-
LAM al end fr-r,r NIT
the Greeks of the mainland have always
fostered the revolutionary element among
their brethren.
Shortly after the Turkish conquests a
large number of the Greek inhabitants,
Through one cause or another-it may
have been compulsion, OF possibly it was
fear and self nterest-embraced tho creed
of Islam, and Of course thus effectually
dissolved eli ties of blood, language and
tradition Today the Mussulman Greek
of Crete is to all intents and purposes O
Turk and is so regarded by his Christian
kinsmen. Crete, however, played an inn
portant part in the Greek war of inde-
pendence, and it would have been made a
part of the new Hellenic kingdom If the
European powers had kept their hands Of,
but they insisted in forcing Crete back I'M
der the Turkish rule and encouraging
which lasted over three years, and which
cost the Turkish and Egyptian treasures
scrle $50, 600, 600, a scheme of reform
known as the "organio statute" was
drawn up. This measure appeared to con-
cede a large amount of self government TO
the island. 1t gave it legislative assem-
bly, and judicial system of it's own. The
latter, however, was merely n mockery,
and the former was reduced 10 impotence
by being forbidden even TO discuss any
matter which had not previously received
the sanction Of the government.
Thus the organic statute proved a fail
ure and the island became as discomfort
cd as ever. Another instruction occurred
in 1878, and in the fall of that year,
through the mediation of England, a COM
pact was drawn up which retained the
general system of tho organic statute, but
provided for its more practical application.
This was not satisfactory to the Cretans,
however, and they soon divided into two