The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-30

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sphere Of action. There are. IL 10 true
Isolated settlements OF Albanians all over
the country, but they are not numerous
and could be easily kept In order.
ia we'll known that CHIEF source o.
d ifiiculty in Macedonia is the rivalry 70
be apprehended between the Greeks and
the Bulgars for preponderanoe under any
scheme Of reforms that may replace tne
existing Turkish misrule. Dhe Greeks
indeed, would rather be ruled by Turks
than by Bulearians. Throughout the latest
risings OF Macedonian Bulgars the Greeks
aided the Ottoman authorities IN every
way, thus bringing down upon themselves
the vengeance Of the rebel bands, although
the Turkish troops for their part IN their
work of savage repression made little
distinction between Bulgarians and other
Christians. With regard to the number OF
Greeks In Macedonia statistics vary greauy
from so 600 to 100000; Mr.. Vllar com
putes their number at about so, 900. Inc
great weakness OF the Greek propaganda
il that IL Is spread over too wide an area
and therefore loses In intensity BY
limiting themselves to the southern and
southwestern parts Of Maoedonia-par-
tioulariy the Chalcidican Peninsula-the
Greeks might have preserved those regions
to Hell enism, but instead they have tried
To hold their own In purely Bulgarian dis
tricts on the strength Of few soattered
Greek communities. thus running the FISK
Of Iosing even what might have, been So
cured. o..
Nearly oil Maoedonians who by rsoe
are Bulgarans., and many OF mixed or
uncertain nationality also, are now idend-
fed with the Bulgarian cause, that Is TO
say, they desire the annexation OF the
three Macedonian vilaysts to the Bulgarian
principally. The object Of the propa-
ganda, which has been vigorously prose-
outed for many years, Is the resuscitation
Of the big Bulgaria, created by the treaty
Of San Stefano, which included not only
Bulgaria proper and eastern Rumelia.
but also Macedonia. It will be remembered
that the Berlin treaty reecinded the arrange
ment and limited the bestowal Of auton-
omy to Bulgaria proper. Since then
eastern -Rumelia has been incorporated
with the prfncipality, but Macedonia still
remains under Turkish rule.
" A little book which was published
on the thousandth anniversary Of st.
Cyril and st. Methodius, and which
has been widely distributed through
out Bulgaria and Macedonia, sets
forth the claims OF the Bulgarians. THE
whole of our future the book declares,
'lies In Macedonia; without Macedonia.
a Bulgarian State in the Balkans would be
without Importance or strength; Salonioa
must be the chief door Of this State; 1t must
be the chief window which is to illuminate
the building. II Macedonia does not be-
come Bulgaria, Bulgaria will never be
constituted" Other literature Of a similar
nature was scattered widecast, and has
had "a wide influence on Bulgarian
opinion in both countries. or late years,
however, another tendency has be gun to
manifest itself, especially in Macedonia,
in favor not of a union Of that country
with the prinoipaiity but Of its formal ton
into an autonomous province. The ten
dency is strengthened by the fact that the
Bulgarians in Macedonia are not quite
identical with those OF the prinoipality,
but speak slightly different dialect. Those
Slavs, indeed, who inhabit the country
east Of the Struma and most Of those be-
tween the Strurna and the yerdar are true
Bulgarians; but the rest, especially those
east of the yardar. are slightly different
In race and may be described a. Bulgaria
Macedonians. Mr.. villari says Of the
Bulgarians in general that. while less clever
than the Greeks or the Vlachs. and not
gifted with keen commercial instinct,
they make admirable farmers and peasants.
They are hard working, energetic and
have great staying power. They are silent,
unexpansiue. some might say sullen, but
they have the great merit of being truth
full. They do not talk about their glorious
ancestors, like the Greeks or the Serbs;
they think of the present and the future.
Since the Congress Of Berlin gave Austria
the mandate, to occupy Bosnia and the
Herzegovina, the Serbs have been obliged
to turn elsewhere for aggrandizement.
So they have. looked toward the south,
and conceived the idea of servian Mace
donia. with salonica as its seaport. They
put forward 4 claim, which our author
deems far fetched, that the Bulgaro-Maoe-
domains are Serbs in disguise. The Servian
propaganda however. has lacked both
the funds and the traditions Of the Greeks
and the energy with which that Of the
Bulgarians is carried on. The number Of
Serbs in Macedonia seems to be grossly
exaggerated 1T Belgrade. Mr.. VillaH says
that in the Koesovo vilayet. as far south
ss Uskub, the Serb population is numerous.
and forms. indeed. the majority Of the
Christians, but elsewhere in Macedonia
there are very few Serbs at all.
The 30 called Vlachs. or Humans, of
Macedonia, present an interesting ethno-
graphic and linguistic problem. Mr.. VII
lari accepts the theory which makes them
descendants Of the aboriginal Thracians,
who amaIgamated with the Latin oolonists
and adopted their language and civiliza-
ton. maintaining. however, some Of their
national characteristics BY retiring to tho
mountain Businesses OF Macedonia. There
Is a strong resemblance between the Ian
guage Of the Macedonian vlachs and that
OF the inhabitants Of Rumania, although
there is no political, and not much racial.
kinship between the two peoples, and they
are separated from each other BY . wide
belt of Slavonic country. Az regards their
number statistics vary. According to
some authorities, there are not more than
$1,000 Of them, but Rumanian patriots
affirm them to comprise at least half q
million; our author thinks that probably
they amount to about 100000. Politically.