The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-27
THE BERLIN TREATY
BULGARIA. HAS OFTEN svIoLATEn
Greece Has Special Inferest in the Existiag Gomtroversy--some of the Work Dsne by the
 Crecaan Goyernment.
BY ". B. ldDDLEToN

2 a
 BY ". B. LaDDLET0N.
 Athens. Dec. 2s,--There is. a luils Balkall affairs since Russia has come to an aareenent with Austria regard ing d conference No one doubts now that a conference will be held. and If 1t is held opinion iss almost nnanimous that a@reernent can only be reached at the expense of Turkey Turkey in Europe must go,' Is the slogan of the Balkans and the whiting process is already well under way. The position of Greece in the coming shake-up IS matter of considerable speculation, since she has been the civilizing agent in southeastern Europe for centuries and has. at the same time been the football of conten1ing factions and races. Her claims in the conference will 1t Is said. be considerable fac tor. The unanimous feeling of tnfiuen- ttal Greek politicians on the question of the proposed conference is that the terms should not be restricted to the recent action of Austria and Bulgaria.
 The Declaration of the Independence of Bulgaria and the high handed ac- ton of the government of King Ferdi- uand is not the only occasion within the last few years In which the Bulga- rians have deliberately violated the treaty of Berlin. and such violations have inflicted grievous hardship on many thousands of peaceable citizens whose liberties and rights were ex- pressly safeguarded by the treaty which is now coming lip for discussion. Article 5 of the treaty of Berlin pro- vtdes that "Religious differences can be alleged against no one as motive for exclusion or incapacity as regards the enjoyment of civil and political rlRhts Liberty of religion and of worship is assured in all creeds to all the Bulga- rian subjects, as well aS to foreigners. and no restriction can be applied either to the organization of the hefrarchy of the different comniunions or to their relations with their spiritual heads."F
 Five years later, when the statutes of Eastern Rumelia were dFawn up by the representatives of tho great pow l. erAI at ConstantInople, these provisions were expressly continued In Article -23s, and in Article 35s of the same statutes 1t was laid down that ':No re- sIigions community can be forced to in- troduce into its school any language other than it's own" fs,
 It is true that4by acknowledging the incorporation of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria. in the year 1885 the treaty of Berlin was virtually torn to shreds. but the statutes which governed the administration of that province were stlil held to be binding on the Bulga- rian government, yet, regardless of the laws sof notions, the Bulgarians have, within the last three years. rendered the lot Of the Greeks inhabiting the principality Virtually unbearabie.
 All the world knows that colonies of Greeks have. been settled in Eastern Rumelia for many centuries, and that these people had. even during the i've centuries of Turkish domination, been among the most peaceable and indus trious of all the subjects oftthe Porte. The city of Philipopolis, Stanimak and Varna were the centers Of these Greek colonies. and their spiritual needs were watched over by bishops nominated by the Patriarch of Constantinople as sep- arate from the bishops of the Bulga- rian church, who 'a25S nominated by the affairs was expressly guaranteed. under the terms of the treaty of Berlin. When the Macedonian troubles broke out in 1902 the sympa thies of the Greeks in Eastern Rumeiia naturally went out to their brethren in Turkey, who were not only subject to the misgovernment of the Turk. but also to violent attacks by the revolutionary bands led blythe Bulgarian Sandanski and his followers. This sympathy took the form of char itable subscriptions and meetings ex- pressive of such sympathy were held in all Greek villages, The Bulgarian Macedonian committees took umbrage at this state of things and succeeded in inducing the government to put in force the laws passed with regard to public instruction in 1891, and hitherto never made applicable to Greeks. which forbade the existence ofsGreek primary schools, compelled the Greeks to send their children to Bulgarian schools, and appropriated all educational and church buildings which were the prop eTty of the Greek communities. To appreciate the enormity of this whole sale conhseation, It must be remem- bered that these Greek colonies date back to the seventh century before the Christian era, that the colonists were among the earliest converts to Chris tianity, that the churches and schools had been in existence for centuries be- fore the Turkish conquest, and that the Bulg4rians themselves owe their conversion to Christianity to the Greek missionaries sent up by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Not content with the confiscation of the church property. the BulgaTians forbade the return of the Greek bishops. and when the Greeks endeaHored to prevent the for cible occupation of their properties by the mob-the- Macedonian committees destroyed not merely the churches and schools, but all Greek property. Thou sands were rendered homeless and were compelled to seek a refuge in the country. whence their ancestors had set forth to earn a living 2.70O years ago. Greek ships were dispatched from the Piraeus to fetch the refugees. some 4f.0O0 of whom are now beholden to the charity of the Greek nation for their daily bread.
 AnchiaIos. town on the shore of the Black Sea, which was burnt and pHlaged by the Bulgars in August, 1905. has been replaced by .Anchlalos on the shores of the Gulf of VoIe. Here 930 houses have been built by the Greek government, each standing in it's little plot ot 100 square yards of garden; while no less than 10000 acres have been placed at the disposal of the inhabitants for cultivation. Ten miles to the south a similar town. bearing the name New PhilipopoIis, has sprung up with upwards. of 1000 houses, built much on the same lines. The streets are wide and well kept; water is plene
 tiful. and the villagers have com meneed to reap a good harvest in to-