Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-19
ANARCHY IN BALKANS
Conditions Do Not Inspire
Confidence of Reform.
Special cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram to The Star.
CoNSTANTINOPLE, November ISN'T.
w. A. Moore, secretary of the Balkan COM
mittee. has Just made a report on the con-
ditions which he discovered during q jour-
ney which he recently undertook in the
Balkans with Mr. Leland Buxton and Mr..
c.. NJ. Lloyd. In this report Mr. Moore
says:
'It would be difficult to exaggerate the
misgovernment and anarchy in the Kos
sovo vilayet. the sphere allotted to the Aus
TRANS. The details of the Konopeitsa
massacre, the results OF which we saw.
have already been reported in the news
papers. The day before we saw the bodies
of the women and infants massacred by
the troops the Turkish authorities at Pa
lanka had assured us that everything was
tranquil in their district, and every pos
sible precaution was taken to prevent US
from getting any information about Ko-
nopitsa, and finally to prevent us from WIS.,
iting the church where the bodies lay.
subsequently, had conversations with the
kaimakamS of Palanka and kumanova,
the vail of Uskub and Himi Pasha as to the
affair. They all excused the soldiers, but
the reasons they gave did not agree. One
Turkish officer said the people were killed
with spent bullets. In Kumanova the day
We arrived Turk killed a three-days' old
child and every day produced murder
Servian band who had surrendered and
had been deprived of their weapons were
massacred in kumanova town in front or
the Austrian officers house In the town OF
Uskub assassinations on the streets are not
uncommon; and we heard of many cases
of murders violations and robberfes COM
mitted by soldiers and others in the neigh
borhood and In Latib. The Albanian For-
tons of the Kossovo vilayet, the north and
northwest, appear to be in a state of abso-
lutte lawlessness, and the authority of the
Ottomon empire is yearly growing less and
less. AS far as Prisrend 1t retains some
a name. and the kaimakam of LUNA has
for q year or more past resided at Pris-
rend, not daring to take up his post. The
sultan recently sent an emissary from Con-
stantinople to negotiate with the Albanians
and to hear their demands. He went In
very public manner, but his return was
hasty and transformations. Existence for
Serbs In this district has become almost
is being rapidly diminished by murder and
flight.
Turks Promoting Feud.
"In the Salonika district it Is beyond
doubt that the Turks assisting and en-
couraging the formation Of the Greek
bands to promote a feud between the
Greeks and Bulgarians. Two horrible mas
sacres of Bulgarians by Greeks took place
not long ago. and in each instance these
were made possible by the support of the
Turks. Turks are found in the Greek bands
and some of the Greeks wear Turkish uni
forms. This practice is also followed in
the Monastir district. The massacre OF
nine peasants at Mogila, two hours from
Monastir. by Turkish troops, took place
two days before our arrival The Italian
officers who visited the spot assured me
that the peasants could not in any sense
be called Komitajis.
m. Demerik, the Russian civil agent.
was of the opinion that they might be
called Komitajis. The district round
Monastir is very bad and in the streets
of the town assassinations Of Bulgafians are
seem to be in better condition. At both
Resnia and Okhrida there Is more order.
and at both Of these places we found the
Italian officers respected by the population
and very anxious to keep themselves in-
formed as to all of their grievances. At
Resnia the Italian officer had. to some ex-
tent at any rate, succeeded In stopping
the bastfnadoing of peasants by the troops
when making perquisitions for arms by
himself accompanying them. -
"No Mans Land" sfSs
1.-The GAIA of Dibra, north Of the GAIA of
Okhrida, which Is outside the sphere of re-
forms, is a no mans land full of brigands
and criminals of all sorts. All those who
have made things unpleasant for them
selves In their own ne1ghporhood take
refuge in Dibra. Albanian brigands from
Dibra make raids into the surrounding vii
lagos and carry off peasants. whom they
force to work for them. a>-.
''Some Improvement of discipline in the
gendarmerie has been effected. The Oft
GERS complain. however, that the pupils
who pass through the gendarmerie school
and there receive better notions OF their
duty become rapidly corrupted when they
are transferred to their country posts from
association with the older gendarmes, and
because they receive no encouragement
from their own officers. They are now
regularly paid. and in one instance our
genda rmerie escort refused to accept any
gift from us. But in the place of the gem
darme as a scourge to the country side
has come the soldier.
ut is difficult to hold the opinion that
the civil agents have seriously applied
themselves to the task of reform in the
sense in which 1t would be understood in
this country. Their work seems to be
chiefly of a clerical kind, and their move
ments depend entirely upon those of Hilma
Pasha. They have certainly not succeeded
in impressing the Imagination Of the popu-
iation and In the villages in general they
have not been seen, nor are their names
AVIAN