The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-02
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, good fortune to meet former lAlllls S, ter a very intelligent man with soou command of English, and learned Iroii run him that there is 8 strong DethocI ..ls tiS sentiment in that country ana thae tne people are making constant progress in the matter of educatioh anu p'A-s' cal intelligence.
 He said that during his ministry ne had introduced into Bulgaria tne American homestead law and that ~ had resulted in an increase in the number of peasant proprletors' II was gratifying to know that AllleLi- can example had been helpful to peo- nla so remote from us. He also spoke of inc establishment in his country or state insurance against hail., that De- ing one of the greatest perils the farh- CT has to meet He said that the sys- tenn had worked well. The rallroads and telegraph lines are also owned py the state in Bulgaria anu are opeEateN very successfully.
 The capital, Sofia, is prosperous looking clty, viewed from the railroad, and has an elevation of some l'ooO feet.
 We crossed the Balkan mountains and the second morning reached Bel grade, the capital of Servia. The city has a fine location on bluff at june ton of the Save with the Danube. A days visit here gave an opportunity to see something of the population, as 1t was Sunday, and the streets and parks were filled with well-dressed' well-behaved and intelligent-looking people. The Servians, who are also Slavic in origin, are members of the Greek church, and at the principal church of this denomInation there was that day a large congregation and an impressive service.
 King Peter, it will be remembered is the present ruler, having been called to the throne three years ago when his predecessor was assassinated. The brutalities attending the murder or King Alexander and his wife were widely discussed at the time, the bodies of the king and queen being thrown from the window of the palace into the park. While the new sov- ereign was recognized by most of the powers of Europe. England refused to send a representative 10 his court be- cause the king retained some high of- hcials who participated in the assas- sination.
 As Servia has a parliament which controls the ministry. and as this par liament was hostile to the former king. King Peter was powerless to comply with the conditions imposed by Eng land-at least this was the explana- tion given me. I heard next day at Budapest. however, that some satis- factory settlement had been reached and that England would soon be repre- sented at Belgrade. King Peter Is not of humble ancestry, as I had supposed, but Is a grandson of a former king who was conspicuous in the war for independence. Peter himself was in exile in Switzerland at the time of his elevation to the throne. and having during his residence there imbtbed something of the spirit of constitu- tIonal liberty, Is much more popular than was his predecessor. There Is quite a close connection between Ser via, Roumania. Bulgaria and European Turkey, and 1t will not be surprising if the last remnant of Turkish terri tory in Europe is. before many years. released from the suitan's rule and federation of Balkan states created. A majority of the sultan's European subjects belong to different branches of the Christian church, and but for their quarrels among themselves they would long before this have been able to initiate Servia ana Bulgaria in emancipating themselves.
 The ride up the Danube valley from Belgrade to Budapest and from Buda-