The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-11-27

fresh blood. Upon the floor in the corner
OF the room was the mutilated body OF a
young peasant, the face hacked by sci
metars until il was beyond recognition,
while the abdomen had been ripped up I'M
III the bowels protruded. The woman was
evidently insane from fear and grief, ana
strued Dy the guide TO mean that she was
absent when a troop of Turkish soldiers
passed by and stopped at her home long
enough to murder her husband and child.
Inc cause could only be inferred. The man
was said to be an Industrious. honest, we'll
to-do peasant, who had married the comely
daughter of a prosperous %neighbor about
three years before. The ~neighbOrS dare not
discuss the occurrence. but from the little
information he could obtain it was not I'M
usual The people are accustomed to such
tragedies. The man was a member of the
Greek Church and the Turkish soldiers
killed him and his child because he either
refused TO r%enounce his faith or because
they supposed he had hidden his handsome
wife at their approach.
AS l told you in a recent letter much Of
the trouble is due to the desire of Turkish
off1clalS and soldiers to secure the daugh-
tiers of Christian families for their haremS,
and is ii any wonder that the women of
Bulgaria and Macedonia have taken the
sword in their own hands and defended
their homes and their persons with the
courage and the strength of men? We
read of a band Of Bulgarian AmaZons who
performed such ~proUlgies of valor In one
of the revolutions years ago that, when
bAAtg NtIG UitdllN ONtLtOlnt. lie L III NJ iii
paled them alive before the gates of the
governors palace and placed their heads
upon the town walls.
Macedonia has a population of ABOUT
4,OOO,O0O; three-fourths are Christians ana
ole-fourth Turks. Nearly half are OF Bull
garian ancestry, and, naturally, the people
of Bulgaria have a deeper sympathy for
them than have those of other nations. A
portion of Macedonia formerly belonged to
Servia and the remainder to Bulgaria III
1t were understood that in case of emancl-
patton from Turkish rule the province
would be divided upon the ancient lines,
the Serbs would doubtless lend their as
sistance and reinforce the Bulgarlans,
but unless some such understanding can
De reached in advance the SERBS wouIu
resist Bulgaria because of neighborly
jealousy and aid Turkey to suppress the
revolt by making war upon Bulgaria. The
present committee advocates Macedonian
independence on the same lines as rhat or
Servia. Bulgaria and Roumania, and Its
local newspaper organ asserts that 1t would
be the crime of crimes to involve those
three young and prosperous nations IN a
war. But Turkey, with wicked cunning,
has always played upon the Jealousy OF the
neighboring nations. and will doubtless
continue a policy hat has thus far been
successful.
WHAT MIGHT BE DONE.
Entirely disinterested judgment would
suggest that the Macedonian province
should be placed under the protection Of
Austria, Germany or England; or, If that
could not be permitted, that it should be
governed by the Swiss, the Danes or the
Dutch, who nave no political interests at
stake. The Macedonians are not fit for
self-government, and the old policy of re-
forming the Turkish administration is
criminal folly. Austria has demonstrated,
in Bosnia, with most extraordinary sue
cess how easy ii is to govern a province
OF Turks and bring peace and prosperity
out of disorder. The rapid advancement
OF Bulgaria as an Independent p~r1nclpanty
ought to leave no doubt as to would
occur if the MacedOnianS were given a
similar opportunity. The Improvement will
appear the moment the curse of centuries
is Withdrawn and the ground left free for
wise, honest and just administration.
Peaceful MoSlems would, of course. be per-
mitted to pursue their vacations and prac-
tice their religious rites, as in Bosnia. Re-
ligious freedom should be the fundamental
condition, but the Turkish bashas and
bashi-bazouks and every official of Islam
faith should be compelled to disappear,
never to return.
h greatest difficulty lies In the jealousy
between the neighboring nations. Austria
and Germany both feel the pressure of
Russia upon their frontiers, and will resist
every extension of Russian influence in the
Balkan The Austrians would prefer, of
course, to control the territory, but as that
is impossible they desire to create a series
of buffer states beyond the eastern bound
dAgs lhC CdlIZ AhdI II - 10 &AAONCd
to annex or control Macedonia she Will
covet Dalmatia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bos-
MIA and Herzegovina.
If Russia could be induced to extend her
influence in Armenia, which no other power
can approach without crossing foreign ter
ritory, and permit Austria to control the
Balkan peninsula there might be peace,
but Russia is Indifferent to the Armenians
because they do not belong TO her race or
profess her religion, while the population
of the Balkan states are almost exclusive
ly Slavs and members of the Orthodox
Greek Church.
Whatever may be said of the political ag-
gressiveness of the Russians, it cannot be
denied that the rulers, statesmen and peO-
pie of that empire have always shown
active sympathy for oppressed Christians,
and there is not the slightest doubt that
Alexander III entered upon the war with
Turkey in 1877 as if it were a holy crusade.
The religious relation gives Russia an adj
vantage over Austria because the latter is
a Roman Catholic country, and very few
members of that faith are found in Bull
garia or the Turkish provinces.
Neither Russia nor Austria would con-
but they might yield their own claims in
favor of a protectorate by one of the small
er nations. such as Switzerland, Denmark
or the Netherlands.