Imperial Valley press., 1912-11-25
FERDINAND, CAR Of
BULGARIA Who SEEKS
TO Be A new NAPOLEON


hour beyond all question is Ferdinand |
Of Bulgaria. 1t seems but the other
day that all Europe was making a jest
of this petty monarch" who, frs:
prince, then king of his adopted coun
try, now wished to arrogate to himself |
the proud title of czar.
Very different is the situation today,
when the petty monarch" of yester-
day, at the head of a great and victori
Gus army. backed by a coalition of
three other victorious kings, stands at
the very threshold of Constantinoplc.
the city which the great Napoleon al
hundred years ago described as the
key of the world.
No one can smile at Ferdinand to-
day. Two months ago the powers OF
Europe were blandy talking of their
being in perfect accord in their aim
at the securing of peace. Only one or
two little matters had to be arranged
among themselves, they said in effect,
and then they would dissipate the
cloud of war that was darkening the
horizon of the near east. How Ferdi
nand must then have been smiling to
himself.
And then, barely six weeks ago, when
it was clear that war must be and the
bourses of Europe were playing, as
they always play, their part of Mother
Carey's chickens, sure foretellers Of the
coming storm, the powers bade the
world be reassured. When the war is
over, they said, and it will not be
much of a war, no matter what hap
pens, will maintain the status quo.
Everything shall be as before; not yet
have we agreed on the final answer to
the riddle of the east. How Ferdinand
must have smiled as he went on mass
ing his nren and munitions On the from
trer and little Montenegro struck the
first blow.
Today, after a bare six weeks of
ifighting, Europe is faced with an epoch
making situation. In Berlin and ST.
Petersburg, in Vienna, in Paris and in
London it is acknowledged that the
status quo" the raw material for the
pr Tocrastinating expedient with which
every fresh crisis has been lodged for
century, has disappeared forever. The
military power of the Turk IN Europe
is annihilated and the conflict of inter
national interests has reached bedrock.
The man who has effected this, who,
SO to speak, has brought Europe up on
her launches with a round turn. is
Ferdinand of Bulgaria. And what man
ner of man is this king of a little
state who now finds himself confront
ed with 50 Tremendous a problem of
his own making, a problem which is
not only BaIkanic but European?
One thing seems sure-nobody as yet
has taken the full, true measure of the
man. He has been summed up as every
thing from an astute and ambitious
schemer of no great depth, to an ordi-
nary vain prinGelet perched upon an
unsafe throne. All such ideas must
now be reconstrI cted. To what extent
can only be shown by the manner in
which he will handle the situation he
has created
Ferdinand's history so far as was
said by a writer the other day, seems
to have been Invented by Dumas or
Stevenson or Anthony Hope. This same
writer says: "As a matter of fact King
Ferdinand was invented by his moth
er." In a measure this may be true,
but however clever the mother, som.
credit must be given to the son. No
for a dullard son. Ferdinand's mother.
Princess Ciementin~, the daughter of
King Louis Philippe and the wife of
Prince Augustus of SAKE -Coburg -Gotha
used to be called the cleverest woman
IN Europe She was certainly a clever
and ambitions intriguer.
AS a widow she resolved that Ferdi-
nand, the youngest and favorite son.
should become a king. For this reason
she prepared him from the cradle. He
was taken from capital to capital
habituated te the company of princes
indoctrinated with the diplomatic sub
tleties of ''the prince" and coached in
variety of languages even in Hun
garian, for there was telling whence
a call to kingship might come
The call came one day some 25 years
ago and at the end of 25 years he
stands at the head o. a triumphant
army in a position from which he may
possibly emerge the emperor of the
Balkans king of Prussia emerged
from the war of 1870 the emperor OF
Germany.
His task has been no light one in
these 25 years. In the first place he
her recognition, and through hers that
OF the other powers. In the way of t.
stood Stambuloff, a ruthless man. set
in ruthless circumstances. He had one
passion, he sacrificed everything and
everybody-most of all he sacrificed
himself. Turkey had been driven out
Of his vineyards; but the spies of Rus
sia were oyerrunning it, He was alone
in the midst of web of plots and in
trigues.
He fought like a giant, mercilessly.
cunningly. And all the time he was
consolidating the country, constructing
railways, developing resources giving
it education, building up its army. lay
ing the foundation of that power that
is the admiration of the world today |
To him Ferdinand was only a necessary
instrument in his scheme to defeat the
Vaccinations of Russia and to establish |
the freedom of his land. And he found |
him, instead, anxious only to be ap- |
proved by Russia and the powers.