The record-union., 1897-05-11
A WORD FOR THE KING.

In the humiliation of Greece and the
threat to depose the King it must not
be forgotten in common justice that
George and ali his family We're aVerse
to taking up arms against Turkey.
They wished to confine operations
strictly to the island of Crete. That
they finally fell in with the clamor for
an advance upon Macedonia was due to
the irresistible pressure the people
themselves brought to bear upon the
throne. The spirit of war was so hot
and turbulent that, it will be recalled,
the King was denounced in mass
meetings held in front of the Govern
ment House. and days before any or
der issued for movement of the troops
northward Greek irregulars had in
vaded Macedonia and precipitated the
conflict.
A fatal error of the King was not so
much in yielding tothe epopulardemand,
but in failing To place Smolenski or
some other skilled warrior in command
of the Greek forces. We confess to
great deal of sympathy for King
George. since it is undeniable that
the war with Turkey was not to his
desire. and since it is probable that he
realized fully what its outcome must
be- But it is the same old tale to be
told over again. Forced to order an
advance. failure resulting, the populace
10 and hpra =
him for what he must have fOreseen
would happen We recall now and un
derstand the full meaning of the re-
mark of the King when the Crown
Prince went to the front and an advance
to the support of the irregulars be-
gan: 1T is to save the Government"
That is to say, if he had longer re-
fused the Government would have been
overthrow, and the nation have be-
come the easy prey of the Turk.
The King knew. and he so hinted to
the people that he was not ready for
war He had at the central depot of
supplies no more than / 200 rounds of
shells. The arsenals on the frontier
We're almost devoid of ammunition.
Hospital supplies had not been gath
cred, much less stored. and there We're
not cartridges enough 10 supply the
army for a month. True. near Athens
there is a large powder factory, but its
capacity is not equal to supplying an
army for more than a few weeks.
There had been ordered from Austria
a large supply of cartridges. but for
delayed in transportation. and we have
no intelligence that they have even yet
arrived 1t is. indeed, shrewdly sus-
pected that they We're held up en-
route by Austrian orders. The Scotch
shell foundry at Piraeus is equal TO
the production of shells in plenty. but
coarse powder was not on hand or to
be made rapidly enough for them.
Something of these conditions pre-
vailed in France in 1870. when popu-
lar clamor. coupled with the mistaken
ambition of the Emperor. drove that
nation into an unequal conflict with
Germany France was not. of course,
so wholly unprepared as was Greece.
but while her resources for supply of
war material were equal to the de-
mand. there was lack of storage and
surplus of material essential to the
prosecution of such a war as was in
prospect. The "On to Berlin" shout
overrode prudence, and the world
knows the result. There was ineffi-
cheney in France in 1910. a corrupt
Ministry and an incapable military
board, but that inefficiency and inca
pacity were as nothing compared to the
deplorable conditions in Greece when
King George was driven by the elamor
of his people into war.