Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-06

Rulparian armies commanded by King
Lazarus. From that day until the las.
century the Ottoman empire dominated
eastern Europe and the Balkan peninsula
was turned into a second Asia Minor. 1t
is one of the prOudest boasts OF the Bull
CARS that for more than four centuries
they were the bulwark Of Europe against
the Mohammedan armies. and that Wneh
they did fall they fell gloriously, fighting
to the last.
Then Came Degeneration.
But in the cycles that came after kosovo
the Bulgar race degenerated sadly. II be-
came a race of stolid peasants. heavy,
stupid, uneducated, and so it remained
until the wave Of insurrection swept over
Europe in the first half of the nineteenth
century.
sanStefano made Bulgaria nominally
free from Turkey. She was to have almost
the whole of what is now known as
Macedonia, with a seacoast on the Aege-
an. besides the country beyond the Hno-
dopes But this did not suit Disraen he
summoned the Congress of Berlin and
| British battleships proved too much for
Russian diplomacy. Bulgaria was mack
ed, cut down, amputated into tuppenny-
ha penny principality, a vassal state or
Turkey bound to pay a fixed annual trlb-
ute to be determined later. .
And the Bulgarians were not dlscour-
aged, even though disappointed. They be-
gan their unhill fight at once. They ig-
nored the clauses of the treaty binding
them to vassalage; they ignored the trlb-
ute to Turkey, and. when the time came,
in 1885 they annexed Eastern Roumelia.
Turkish province having about the same
status as Bulgaria proper. and over
which the Prince of Bulgaria was gov
ernor-general Turkey was afraid to fight
Bulgaria then, but Servia. jealous at such
an Important acquisition by her younger
neighbor. declared war and was whipped
at SlivnitZa.
Since then Bulgaria has been devoting
her efforts to educating her people. to
building up the most efficient fighting ma
chine owned by a small power in Europe.
and to skillfully carrying on propaganda
in Macedonia calculated to advance her
interests in that country.
At the same time the Bulgarian states
men have been watching and waiting an
opportunity to proclaim the country IN
dependence. Actually. they have always
been free; nominally. the sultan has been
their suzerain. In Prince Ferdinand they
had a ready tool at hand. He is vain.
ambitious and equally crafty. AS states
man he has proved himself no mean an
tagonist during the twenty years of his
reign. and he has been willing to sacri-
flee anything for the privilege of calling
himself king.
Prince Tolerated for His Brains.
So Europe has had the curious spectacle
of a ruler selfish and bound to his own
ends working hand in glove with his peo-
Die for the same result 1t is Indifferent to
his subjects what Ferdinand of Bulgaria
calls himself. They despise him person
ally while recognizing that he Is an able
ruler, and let it go at that.
In the Turkish revolution, brought about
by the Young Turks party, Bulgaria saw
the opportunity she had awaited so long.
In fact, some extremists may be prone
to believe that Bulgaria had hand in
the organization of the Young Turks
Ferdinand saw instinctively the best
way to accomplish what he wanted. Aus
| tria, trembling over the safety of her
tenure of Herzegovina and Bosnia. was
anxious for any plan that would UNDER
| mine the treaty of Berlin. Very likely
Austria was only too happy 10 nave a
small nation like Bulgaria start the ball
rolling rather than run the risk of bring
! ing down upon her own head the wrath
| of the great powers.
Bulgarian statesmen and army officers
| have repeatedly declared that all Bulgaria
| wanted before declaring war against
Turkey was the moral and financial-par-
| ticularly the latter-bac king of one of the
great powers. Apparently Bulgaria has
| that now in Austria. If Italy, Russia
and Germany can be induced to keep
! their hands off then there is not much
chance of France and England. who. after
| ALL have few interests at stake, inter-
| fering That at least appears to be the
Can Put Big Army in Field.
That Bulgaria is prepared for war none
who has had an intimate view of the
| country can doubt. Bulgaria's army on
| a peace footing consists Of over 5000
men of all arms. According to Capt.
Mischicof of the general staff plans had
been mapped out whereby 100000 trained
men could be put in the field on the op-
posite side of the Macedonian frontier in
| two weeks. In another two weeks two
i more armies of 100000 men each could
| be placed on a war footing.
| Military service is compulsory. two years
being the minimum term. and a man
stays eighteen years in the reserve after
he has completed his time with the col
ors Consequently. the whole able-bodied
| male population Of the country has been
trained in arms.
The army is divided into nine military
districts. each of them the headquarters
of a division which. on a war footing.
would become an army corps. Similarly
the entire army is organized on skeleton
basis The regiments. whose peace foot
ing is 500 men, would be increased to
the strength of the Japanese regiments.
a trifle more than 1000 men.
Drilled on American System.
Bulgaria's cavalry has been drilled on
the American system. Shock tactics are
never used, and the men are taught to