The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-10-14

Attached to the northbound Coast
Line yesterday was a car containing a
score. or more of Greeks from Tarpon
Springs, on their way north. to take
ship for Greece IL war is declared by
their native land against the Turks
These men came frbm the colonies
De sponge fishers that have of late
grown to considerable size at Tarpon
and other points along the gulf coast.
They are almost without exception
good sailors, active and intelligent
men, and the measure of their patriot
ism can be judged by the fact that
they leave good positions and lives of
comparative comfort to go back across
the sea to fight an enemy that all
Christendom may hate but none can
despise.
IL wohld be pn-American not to
wish them success -all the more from
the fact that the stars and stripes
streamed In the wind from the rear of
their car alongside OF their own beau
tiful flag, which was largely copied
from ours In the days when the young
American republic was an inspiration
to every people who were striving to
Nbe free.
II has become much the fashion of
these later days to sneer at Greece as
an opera bouffe Kingdom, to cast slurs
at Its people and to praise the Turk.
This disposition is mostly due to the
English. who enjoying a large degree
OF freedom themselves have for entire
ly selfish reasons been foremost in re-
pressing the attempts of the eastern
peoples to break the Turkish yoke.
The Greeks themselves have given
US plenty OF reason for sympathy. A
the most miserable of the provinces of
the Turkish empire, trodden fiat under
the heels OF the pashas and their
Janizarles. with no government except
tyranny and no freedom except bril-
gandage. Today. their little kingdom
is one OF the best governed and most
prosperous In Europe, while the re-
msining provinces OF the Turkish en-
pire are as Ill governed as they were
I'm the days of Ali Pasha and Marco
BozzarIs. rsggstrr 4ge-sh
The kingdom OF Greece proper has
only 100000 people, and with Its al
lies OF Bulgaria, Servia and Montene-
gro can count up not more than ten
million against the twenty-five mill
ions OF Turkey. However, there are
millions OF Greeks I'm the Turkish en-
pire who are in entire sympathy with
their countrymen across the Aegean.
There are probably more Greeks than
Turks in Constantinople, which for
more than a thousand years was the
center of the Greek nation and the
Greek church, and In all the cities of
Asia Minor are large and, in some
places, preponderating colonies of
Greeks. Many of the inhabitants of
Macedonia. which will be one of the
theaters OF the war are also Greeks,
and nearly all of the people of the
Crete and Aegean Islands are of that
race and faith.
There is no discount on the Turks as
lighting men. AS individuals they
have many splendid traits, but as
nation they are a block to progress
and a blot on the map OF humanity.
Even the quarrelsome little Balkan
nations have IA routstripped them in
all that was good since freed from
their yoke.
1t will be a great gain for civiiiza-
tion IL Italy. Greece and the Balkan
nations are given a free hand and
drive the Turk out of Europe. If all
that vast stretch of country from the
Black Sea to the Adriatic, which was
once the most prosperous and civilized
on earth. but which for nearly a thou
sand years has been afflicted with the
Moslem as with pestilence, was given
a chance to recover some OF It's lost
glory. and IL all the Aegean Islands
were allowed to come under the Greek
flag. the gain would be large for the
entire world. To this there are two
barriers-one formed by Turkish bay
onets and the other by Christian sell
nshness, and the latter is the greater.
The Greek flag, which is always
much admired, will wherever seen re-
mind the American of his own. On
and field where our stars are Is the
cross OF the Greek church, one of the
oldest In Christendom. The rest of the
Nag Is composed OF stripes like ours,
only the stripes are white and blue in
stead OF white and red. In fact. the
Greek flag was copied from the Am
erican as far as circumstances would
permit. and they have always hal for
our nation a particular love and re-
spect. which. OF late years at least. we
have not appreciated at its full value.