San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-04-19
TURKEY IS THE AGGRESSION
WITH GREECE ON THE
DEFENSIVE
Turks Have All Advantages Bnt
Find The Little Kingdom Ready
For Them Fierce Fight,
ing In Progress Along
The Frontier.

New York, April ia dispatch to
the Tribune from London says:
The sudden change in the situation
in the east has come when the foreign
office is without its chief and under
secretary and when every political lea
der of eminence is away from London.
A Turkish declaration of war would
have caused no surprise a week ago
when the Greek irregulars crossed the
frontier, but when day after day pass
ed and the Sultan seemed. to lack cOur-
age and hesitated to give the signal
for which Edhem Pasha was waiting,
the opinion was general entertained
that the concert had proven useful for
once and that the powers were pre-
venting an outbreak of war. This
opinion which was expressed in nearly
every daily and weekly journal
yesterday, was shattered after mid
night by the news from Constantine
pie that a state of war had been de-
clared and that the Turkish army was
advancing toward Larissa.
Easter being one of the quietest
Sundays of the year and the west end
being now empty and the principal
has not caused any excitement here.
The foreign office staff admit that the
action of Turkey is decisive and that
serious fighting on the frontier has al
ready begun. What is now evident to
everyone is that the concert. instead
of triumphing and indicating it's util-
ity as was supposed twenty-fOur hours
ago, has utterly failed to prevent any
outbreak of hostilities and is now in
danger of breaking down altogether.
'Sir William Harcourt, who speaks
this week in Wales, will have a fine
opportunity for emphasizing his re-
cent criticisms of unionist diplomacy
and for criticizing the government in
his most aggressive style. Massing-
ham and La Bouchere have shown
themselves to be sagacious prophets
and Sir William Harcourt probably
now regrets that he did not take a
holder course and move a vote of CEN
sure.
Greece has carried her point of COM
polling Turkey to be the aggressor
Her own campaign is defensive and
this has an important bearing on the
action of the Powers. Turkey makes
war on Greece and forces her to defend
her territories. Greece consequently
is not making war on the Powers and
the combined blockade and other coer-
Give measures cannot be maintained
after an outbreak of hostilities. This
is a great advantage and one well
worth waiting for. But with the eX-
ception of a righteous cause, it is al
most the only thing which the Greeks
have. The Turks have heavier battal-
ions, a fiercer and more warlike spirit,
superior facilities of transport and
more accessible base of operations. If
Macedonia remains quiet behind them,
they will possess all the advantages of
numbers, discipline, leadership and po
sitiOn in the campaign now opening. If
Macedonia revolts there will be appal-
ling massacres and the Balkan states
will be on fire.
THE Powers will now devote their
energies to localizing and restricting
the area of the conflict but when the
resources of the concert have already
been exhausted in diplomatic misman-
agement little dependence can be plac-
ed on their efforts. Five powers are
committed to defensive campaign by |
their alliance and a sixth, England, |
mas Ifldue lllllt use 81 leil vi tic Ob-
portunity of independent action. 1t |
is amazing that in a crisis fraught |
with monotonous consequences for Eu-
rope the foreign office should be with
out captain or lieutenant and the Brit
ish cabinet scattered over the CONT
nent.'
Island of Corfu, April 10 The Greek
troops, as This dispatch is sent, are
advancing on F'ilipianda, northwest of
Arta. A detachment of 800 Greek
troops is in readiness to land at Pre-
sava, the Turkish fortified position
north of the entrance to the gulf of
Arta. The Turkish forts at that place
are almost completely destroyed by
of the Greeks. Many
forts have been reduced to ashes.
H'dq'rs. Turkish army in Mcedonia.
Elassona, April 1S.(Evening).- Copy
righted by Associated Press, 1S97.-The