The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-08

Copyright, 1912, by Curtis Brown)
 A TEENS, December If the in
 "A side history of the Balkar \ alliance and the remarkable mil itary events that followed so closely rpon it is ever written, the name of nc single actor in the drama will sta,d out more prominently more gloriouslS than that of Eleutherios Venezelos, the soldier-statesman of Greece. For if the truth be told, his has been the brain which brought together the widely di- verse factions of the Balkan states framed the secret agreement making common action possible, withstood the disruptng influence of actual warfare and by wisdom and farsightedness en- abled the little states to present unit ed front to the eoercing powers.
 venezo.os, the strong man of Greece. '' as he Is frequently called, is the idol of the people. Furthermore. he is trusted by King George, the crown prince and other members of the royal family 8 is no other statesman or politician in Greece. This is all the more remarkable when it is recalled that he was heart and soul in the military league move ment that aimed at the downfall of the Crown Prince Constantine and the oust- ing of him from the position of com mander-in-chief of the army to which he had been appointed by act of parliament. Indeed, at one time Nenezelos was locke l upon by King George as one of his most dangerous enemies
 1t is an open secret that this taciturn little man with mild blue eyes twinklng behind gold trimmed spectacles has even bigger schemes in his great head than the Balkan alliance and the Turkish war. They are to be but milestones on the road to his ideal-a great federation of the Balkan peninsula binding and so just to all concerned that it will result in lasting settlement of the problem that has baffed European statesmen for half a century.
 >The man who seems in a fair way to ac- complish this hitherto impossible task was born in the Island of Cerigo in 1864 He comes of old Hellenic stock, some of the branches of which settled in Crete sitter the siege of Athens by the Venetians. The father of Eleutherios-which, by the way, means the liberated one"-fled to Cerigo Island from the Turks. having compromised himself in the revolution of 1858
 When the future premier grew to early manhood. his father wishing him to have the benefits of a good education, sent him to Athens to study law. From the Greel; city he went to Lausanne, Switzerland, to finish his studies. Upon his return to Crete he immediately became prominent in politics. From all accounts he was an uneommonly gifted young man and his assistance was sought by every man of prominence in the affairs of the unhappy island. He early became the trusted lieu tenant of pr. Sphakianaki. one If the most influential of Cretan public men, and when in 1898. the crown prince of Greece NSas sent out to Crete as high commis- sioner and pr. Sphalianal1 did not feel that he could serve under him, his young aide volunteered to carry on the work and became one of the council of the high commissioner. By rapid stages, he rose to the position of prime minister and the most powerful figure in the af- fairs of the island.
 During all this time his activities were not confined to the council room. He also found time and occasion to earn a reputation as fre-eater and when, in k96 the combined fleets of France and England appeared to coerce the belliger- ent inhabitants, Venezelos was leader among the small band of brave men vho manned the guns of the fortress of Cape Malaxa and defied the laundering guns of the great powers.
 His wise administration of affairs il Crete and his reputation for integrity made his name almost a household one