Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-11
FLAMES RISING IN THE BALKANS

, Turkish minister of foreign affairs gave
dinner to the diplomatic corps. TO which
the representative of Bulgaria was not
| invited. Bulgaria asked for an explana-
| ton. and the Ottoman government replied
That Bulgaria being a vassal state. Its
representative could not be invited. This
| was the first incident
The second incident was over a strike
on the Oriental Railroad Company. 1856
miles of which Is operated
Railroad in Bulgarian territory. Bull
garia undertook the opera
ton Of the road within her
territory. Turkey refused and claimed
that the entire line belonged to her. ana
demanded restitution Bulgaria's fictitious
vassalage was irksome. bulgaria khe"
that Austria Hungary would soon annex
the occupied provinces Of Bosnia-Her]e-
govina.
| Bulgaria consequently proclaimed hef-
| self an independent kingdom. ana oCto
Der Prince Ferdinand was crowned KING
Austria announced her annexation OF
| Bosnia Herzegovina on the Ith. ana at
the same time proclaimed a cons..tu.iu ,a
which guarantees liberty of person and
conscience; liberty OF the press ana Tree
| dom to petition parliament.
There was an Austro-Servian conflict In
the commencement Of 1906. 1t was
question then of pork. II is question now
| Of politics. Seryia protests to the sigma
tories of the Berlin treaty against Aus
! trials breach of that treaty, and declares
| that she is being shut in to the detriment
| of her national and commercial interests.
! Servia sees in the present incidents
possible means Of liberation from Austro-
| Hungarian customs duties. which she
| deems onerouS
| There is constant trouble in Crete and
| Samos. revolt against eXtortion of for
mer Turkish functionaries. The revolts
date from the war of Greece for indie
pendence, when Gambia was occupied by
| Egyptian troops from 1923 to 1910. The
revolts were renewed in 1852 1886. 1869.
1878 1889 and 1895. The last. supported
by the Greeks, provoked the intervention
Of the powers. who obliged the sultan to
give the island Christian governor
| After seventy years OF almost continu-
Gus instruction the four powers, Rus
STA, France England and Italy. interfered
and constituted the island with adjacent
islets an autonomous state under high
| commission, subject to the suZerainty
| Of the porte. Prince George OF Greece.
! the second son Of the King of the Hell
lenes, was chosen for three years. and
on his resignation he was succeeded by
Al Zamis. the former prime minister of
| Greece.
In an article in La Grande Revue. NJ
Leon Chlumecky. deputy from Moravia
Austria, recommends his coun-
Italy's try to survey with particular
! A., vigilance the situation In AL
/ bania, where no other power
should be permitted to establish its
protectorate at Vallona. ut is for
grave reasons" he says, that we consider
with great and growing distrust the posi-
bility of the penetration of Italy into AL
bania." Since ten years, adds the author.
Italy has inaugurated policy and a COM
| mercial aim in Albania that she may be
completely cured of the wound received in
| Tun1s and at Adoua. Italy is looking to
the Balkans for an outlet in the Balkans
for her industrial population. particularly
toward "rAltra Sponda," or the south
eastern coast Of the Adriatic.
The Stampa of Turin wrote October
Z, 1905. against Austro-Hungarian am
bitions: Italy fears that Austria. in IN
creasing her ornaments against Italy,
and hopes to reduce her to immobiiity and
inaction in anticipation of the day when
| Austria is ready to march upon Salonica.'
1t will be curious to note what the
Stampa will have to note what the an
nexation Of Bosnia-Herzegovtna by Italy's
natural rival.
The Temps of Paris, in an editorial
prior to the declaration of Bulgarian in
dependence. intimated that the non-invi-
tation of the Bulgarian representative to
the official dinner was due to an intrigue
set up by the reactionary party and
aimed at the Young Turks party which
fell with both feet into the trap. The
note Is important only as showing that
the power of Yildiz Kiosk and its nest
Of intriguers is not yet entirely departed.
| without seeking to discover Germany's
| motives in the role attributed to her. 1t Is
| interesting to cite the following notes
| from IN ioI
| appeared in Deutsche Rundschau. entitled
the Finances Of the German Empire" by
Herr Won Sydow, secretary Of state:
The secretary of state confesses very
! frankly that the financial situation of Ger
many is not favorable. The consolidated
debt of the empire. which. in 1877 was
| only 12OO0.OU marks. is now 4.2jO.OOO-
600 marks. to which should be added a
large floating debt. remarking that it is
during period of growing prosperity
that the financial situation has grown
| worse And the minister adds: This
| cannot and should not continue. This is
the conviction impressed upon all par
| ties"
The Franco-Russian alliance created a
new situation in Europe. At Vienna and
at Berlin there was a
France and prompt recognition of the
fact that the axis of in
| fuence had changed Prince
| Lebanon was charged with the direction
| of foreign affairs by Emperor Nicholas
| II. but dying suddenly. he was succeed
| ed by Mouravief. Under the latter the
| Russian cabinet came to an agreement
with the cabinet at London and Austria
| to maintain the status quo in the Bal
kans.
1t is regrettable that at that juncture
when Turkey has accomplished a blood
| less revolution to the admiration of the
! whole world. and this. too. with popu-
| lations whose INSTRUMENTATION and
Mussulmans alike have had but one OBJ
| ject, to cut each others threats. that a
| European power signatory of the treaty
| of Berlin should have interviewed to vio-
late that treaty and perhaps check the