The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-06-24
sERVIA and ITS PEOPLE.

Servia, which is kingdom of the
Balkan peninsula, is compact terri
tory with an area of over $4,000 miles,
and the surface is, on the whole,
mountainous. The mountain groups
are mostly clothed with fine forests. It
is essentially an agricultural country,
the principl crop being wheat, maize
and other cereals, and grapes for
wine. Fruit trees, especially plums,
abound and from the plums the brandy
of the Seryians is made. Great num-
bers of cattle and sheep are kept, and
there are -four mills, breweries, coop
erages and similar works in opera
ton. Clothing apd carpets are made
by the women in their own homes.
The Servians are a we'll built,
stalwart race, proud and martial by
temperament, with warm love Of
home and country, of dance and song,
hospitable, brave and energetic, but
at the same time quick-tempered and
prone to violence. They are primitive
people, and cling to old customs and
beliefs. and are thoroughly democra
tic in their institutions. The most
striking feature of the social life is
the family community, or zadruga.
There are no paupers, no asylums, no
''homes'' in Servia.
The capital is Belgrade, a city of
nearly 10000 inhabitants. Tho coun-
try was formerly an autonomous depen-
dency of Turkey, but since the treaty
of Berlin in 1878, it has been an inde-
pendent constitutional monarchy. The
population in 1884 was 1,901, 1856; in
1890 it was 2, 1852, 759, including $50, 000
Roumanians, 81, 900 gypsies and 25, COO
of other nationalities. Besides there
are about 250, 600 Servians in Montene-
gro, 1,3o0, 600 in Herzegovina, and
q $50, 900 in Austro- Hungary.
The people of Seryia belong to the
Greek Catholic Church. The highest
authority of the Servian Church is the
National Synod, consisting of the
Archbishop of Belgrade and the Bish-
OPS of Nisch and Zica. Education does
not reach very high standard and is
not generally difused, although atten-
dance at the primary schools is free
and compulsory. Besides a university
at Belgrad, with less than 800 stu
dents, there are military academy, a
theological seminary, an agricultural,
commercial and some technical
schools. The elementary schools num-
ber nearly 700 and are attended by
about 50, 600 children.
Servia is constitutional and here
ditary monarchy. The king acts as
sole executive through eight ministers
foreign affairs, war, france, justice,
interior, political economy, public
works. religion and education. The
legislative power is vested in the king
and the national assembly. The de-
puties of the latter are elected by the
people every third year-one for every
4, 500 votes in each province. Besides
this body there is senate Of sixteen
members, eight chosen by the king and
eight by the national assembly. The
body acts as permanent state council.
The army embraces all men capable OF
bearing arms between the ages of 20
and so, divided into three classes-the
standing army, with peace total Of
14,COO and a war total of 10000; the
second and third class each numbers
55, 900. The French merrical system of
weights and measures is in use, and
the coinage system Of the Latin union,
though the franc is called dinar and
divided into 100 paras.
The language of the Servians be-
longs to the southern division of the
Slay tongues and has for its nearest
congeners Bulgarian, Slavonian and
Russian. Although somewhat infu-
enced by the Turkish, it is the softest
tongue of all in the southern division,
has complete grammar and readily
lends itself to poetic composition.
Some of the native literature has been
translated into English.