Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-09-19
MACEDONIAN SITUATION
Greek Editors Explanation of
the Eastern Trouble.
BEGINNING OF THE INsURREoTIoN

/
| Constantine ID. PhassOuIarides Says
Reliance on Russia Is Responsible
For the Revolution and That Mac
edonians Are Satisfied With Turk
ish RuIe-GreeIs Population and In
terests Far Exceed Bulgarian.
1.-THE New York newspapers do not
seem to understand the Macedonian
situation said Constantine D. Phas-
soularides, the editor of Thermopyle,
the Greek newspaper, recently to a
reporter of the New York Commercial
Advertiser.
"The trouble in Macedonia began
about two years ago, when the Bull
garian revolutionary committee of
Sofia was organized. Its object was
to expel the Greeks from Macedonia
To carry on the conflict they obtained
from wealthy Greeks, by force and
blackmail, revolutionary funds. To
quote from a pamphlet issued last May
by the Society OF Hellenism of Athens,
From December, 1901, to the end Of
| 1902 the Bulgarian committee assas-
sinated about GOO Greek merchants and
other wealthy Greeks Of Macedonia,
and from others by threat and black
mail they raised from ESQ to $1,000
$3.50 to $4,000 each
"By the latest statistics which the
Greek government sent to the powers
about the racial population of Mace
donna, as reported in the Nea Hemera
of Triest, Austria, on Aug. 20, the
total population in the vilayet Of Mon
astir, which consists of the districts
of Koriza, Dibra, Sores and Elbasan,
! is 1853, 100, of whom there are 309.7S2
Greeks, 174,O11 Bulgarians. 14,6O0 Ser
vians, 1900 Roumanians, 344,7 66
Mussulmans and 1880 Jews.
THE viIayet of Salonika, which con-
sists of the districts Of Sierra and
Drame, has a population of 1,04O,22O,
! of which number there are 34S,05O
| Greeks, 205,SS6 Bulgarians, 225,514
| Mussulmans and 6O,7TO of other ma
| tionalities, of which number there are
| Of 900 Jews. Thus it is seen that al
though the Bulgarians lay claim to
| Macedonia they are decidedly in the
minority.
According TO the statistics of the
| Bulgarian exarchate itself, there are
| %, 633 Greek pupils attending the
schools in Macedonia and 1884 Bull
garians According to the statistics OF
the Turkish government, ffty-three
Greeks to one Bulgarian pay taxes.
1.-THE Greek population is not only
the largest but the most progressive
The British consul in Salonika, writ
ing to his government, said: Generally
II, g., To-
higher in numbers and education than
| the Bulgarians. They also surpass the
| Bulgarians in business and commerce.
The Greeks, however, are quiet and
avoid trouble, hoping that they will
get benefit by peace, while the Bull
garians are always ready to commit
any crime for their own benefit
"Of the Bulgarians fighting in Mace
donna today not one has been born in
Macedonia. They all make inroads
from over the frontier. The people
generally are peacefully inclined and
prefer to remain under the Turkish
protection rather than under the GRIM
inaI rule of the Bulgarians.
"'Of course behind Bulgaria is Rus
STA. who wants to grab everything to
quote from an article written by Prince
Mestsersky in the Graschdaum of st.
Petersburg. If there were not Rus
sian consuls in Macedonia there never
would have happened these pitiful
things. 7 am very sure that the revo-
lutiOnary movement would never have
risen so strong in the absence of Rus
sian consuls. We must not forget that
Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria are
using every means to force Russia to
go to arms against Turkey. 1 am ask
ing our government, when things are
in this condition, what is the use for
us to have consuls in Macedonia. If I
had the power in the government L
would recall all our consuls from
there
when the actual revolution began
about q month ago in Krushevo, ac-
cording to the Acropolis of Athens and
other Greek newspapers, 400 Greeks
were slain and the city was ruined.
According to the same paper, about
thirty Greek villages were destroyed
in the vilayet of Monastir During the
conflict of course some of these viii
lagos were destroyed by the Turks,
who found it necessary TO lombard
them in order to drive out the Bull
garian revolutionists who were defend
ing themselves there.
According to the papers published
in Philippopolis, none of the Greek
merchants there can easily escape the
blackmail of the Bulgarians who are
practicing the money or your life
game.
I'VE find, then, that the Bulgarians
have no right to Macedonia by either
numbers or commercial interest. The
real wealth Of the country is with the
Creeks