The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-01-04


STAFF Correspondent Of the Chicago
Record-Herald In the Balkan War.
Mustapha Pasha.-The minarets o.
Sultan Selim!
Needle-like, ! have seen them rise
over the indistinct mass of Adriano
pie from the distant hills, then as
substantial columns from the nearby
hills, and again SO close from the
shellproof of an advanced infantry
position that / could make out the
things on the dome of the great
mosque itself.
The simple grace of the minarets
dominated town, and landscape. and
siege. Weary drivers Of the weary
oxen of the transport and still wear
Ter artillerymen, bringing up add
tional guns through seas of mud, saw
them for the first time as a token OF
defiance, Of work unfinished, of bat
ties yet to be fought, and of lives We,
to be lost.
1nfantrymen in the advanced
trenches saw them as the goal
against a foe which had fallen back
without any adequate rear guard sec.
ton, but which had begun to fight
desperately under their shadows.
That Turkish garrison, as 1t with.
drew into the shelter OF its forts.
seemed to find something Of the spirit
OF old Sultan Selim the Magnificent,
for whom the mosque was named
but with this difference: Sultan
6elim was not given to falling back
on forts and minarets. He stormed
forts; he went ahead to plant new
minarets In the soil of Christendom.
Rouses Old Turks Spirit
From the first In this war the Turk
took the defensive: from the first he
accepted 1t as his part and portion of
the campaign.
In Bulgaria. where many Turks still
live under Christian rule. we had
seen the Terrible Turk, the great
lighting man Of the past whose soul
was supposed to be above lowIy toll
as newer of wood and a carrier of
water. He did odd jobs in the abb
sence OF the Bulgarian at the front.
The lion OF The past had been trained
to dog harness.
All the early victories Of the Bull
garfan army completed an impression
OF, one-time lordly race demoralized
and enervated. who retained only the
fatalism of "Kismet." in its LEXICON.
The warriors cry, For Allah" was
lost forever. But at Adrianople For
Allah! For the Minarets! For the
Padisha!" rose again to the dignity
which abandoned bravery always com
mands.
The sheer. impetuous fearlessness
OF the Bulgarian, well drilled and
coolly manipulated, was the first
great revelation of the campaign. and
the second was how. in the hour of
hopelessness. his desperation arous-
ed the old qualities of the Turk.
Every situation, every DEVELOPMENT
In the war reverted to Adrianople. It
was the nut to crack in the first plan
OF strategy Of the campaign. II how.
cred over the first army before
Tchatalja as a nightmare. II stood
In the way Of the prompt supplies OF
bread and bullets for the first army.
It delayed the signing of the arms.
tice for ten days; It has been the
main subject Of contention before
the London peace conference: It was
responsible for the treatment OF the
/ military attaches. who saw NOTHING q,
the war. and Of the correspondence
who saw little.
War Hinges on AdrIanopIe.
Even our phlegmatic little English.
speaking censor assistant at Musta.
pha would lose his temper at the
very suggestion of any peace terms
With Adrianople still in Turkish nos.
session.
we shall have q revolution II We
don't get Adrianople." l have heard
many officers say.
We shall not 90 home witbor,
Adrianople," the wounded soldiers
returning from the front kept repeat.
hg.
Such were the instructions which
DR.. Daneff. the Elihu Root of the Raj.
kans. took with him to London. "A.
rfanople was craven on the minds =,
his countrymen. BY diplomacy no
must get q fortress which was not
yet taken by force Of arms.
Glance at map and Won viii, .o.
that the whole success of the allies
depended on bottling up the Turk m
the peninsula. so that all the Other
Turkish forces from Scutari to Adri. |
anople, from Kumanova to Hassono
should be cut OF from commun,c.,
ton. The Greeks. Serbs. and Mon.
tenegrins were the backs. The Rul.
garians undertook to buck the line
Bulgaria did not have to consider
reserve army. European public
opinion and the jealousies of the now.
ers acted as efficient substitutes for
the Bulgarian military statesmanshin
understood that II Bulgaria were beat.
en- the powers would never permit
Turkey to take an inch of Bulgarian
soil 1t was a case of Heads | win.
tails 1on't lose"
Turks Awake to Crisis.
The Turks knew this. too. II was
An old situation to them. Successful
S~~.~~-~.~~~-~~~-~~~
Simplify Life. !
i do believe in simplicity. It is as.
as well as sad how mopv