The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-03-19

contention and framed a democratic con
stitution, but in spite of all he stead
lastly set to his task of making th'
Greeks seli.governing.
The man who rode safely so many
storms must have had great qualities
Above all, he must have had qualities
that take hold ON the imagination and
the sympathy OF the people. These quail
tiles King George had in no common de-
gree. Most democratic and accessible oil
monarchs, his people came to him win
their grievances rs children TO a father
and always left the royal presence
soothed, II not convinced. His unruilled
serenity, his genial humor, the smile, and
the warm hand clasp were powerful sol
vents for popular discomfort, IL has
been well said that the most contagious
thing in Greece, except the fever, was
King Georges good humor.
A Sovereign OF Simple Life.
The modest and simple life to which
he was accustomed in early days never
lost its attractions for the sovereign
Tourists who happened upon him in Il
restaurant in Athens, slipping his coffee
or watching a game of draughts, might
find it difficult to realize the divinity
that doth hedge king But the
Hellenes were under no delusion on that
score. They knew their sovereign as
men know their intimate friends, and
saluted him with the Greek equivalent
to GLOW do you do king"
King George always retained his early
love of the sea---a taste shared by his
queen, a cousin of the late ear, who CON
ferred on her majesty the unique dis
tnction of admiral OF the Russian navy.
Like the late king of the Belgians he
was fond OF travelling unfettered by the
of state. His favorite resort
was Ais les Bains, and his favorite COM
panion was dog, without which he re-
fused to enter a restaurant. The KING
Of the Hellenes may have lacked the i'm
lgination which makes politician in
Greece; he may have saved more for the
Individual than for the citizen. But. as
he once said-and the saying became
Greeks are not Danes.
And he was yet Dane with the charac-
.eristics of the race-clearness of vision
md simplicity and directness of method.
TO these attributes of their sovereign the
1reeks must ascribe their escape from
many of the consequences OF their own
impulses and violence.
No other monarch of their own choice
ould have saved Greece from the disas-
ers of the war with Turkey, or from
he risks of nationalist ambitions TO
Irete. Ingratitude asserted that immu-
-, ,x3g IS raxraI rnla itrnu fnhfG
influence no doubt was powerful, but it
ould never have been exerted with any
OF permanent success had it not
,een moved and sustained by universal
onfdence in the capacity OF King
gorge. To this confidence and to this
apacity the Greeks owe not merely their
and their democratic con
titution, but their progress in material
For his presence gave sta
ility and credit to the kingdom. When
e came to the throne there was not a
lile of railway in the country; the
'iraus was almost desert; brigands
ook toll unchecked, and the people were
oppressed with dire poverty. King
ieorge's reign has witnessed the end |
( most of these evils and the mitigation |
others.
The name of King George was promi
emily mentioned after hostilities broke |
Mt in the Balkans as candidate for |
he presidency OF a permanent fedora
ion OF the Balkan states, consisting OF |
bulgaria. Serpla, Montenegro and Greece.
ut up to the present time the failure OF
he combatants to reach a settlement |
cid this in allegiance.