Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-01-09

You may be interested to know some
thing of the political situation and how
We are living / do not know how close
ly YOU have followed the Balkan war so
you may pardon a brief sketch.
The four Balkan States that are now
at war are mortal enemies of the Turks
and with good reason. All except the
baby State. Montenegro, have served UNI
der the Turkish yoke. and in that posi-
ton have endured untold cruelties ana
persecution at the hands of their mas
ters In ls2s Greece rose in revolt against
the tyranny that she had endured since
about 1850 and Russia seized this oppor-
tunty to settle score and help Greece.
Liberation for the other two states,
Bulgaria and Servia, did not come until
1878 when the Bulgarian Atrocities"
from Mr.. Gladstonos pen set Europe In
CONSERVATION At the way the Turks
were treating the Bulgarans. Russia
took up the cause as the Slavic champion
and another TurCo- Russian war follow
ed which resulted in the defeat OF the
Turkish army and the advance of Rus
s!a as far as St. Sefano 10 miles from
Constantinople. Here peace was made
and a treaty signed which freed Bull
gara Servia and Montenegro (Which had
partially fallen under Turkeys rule).
This treaty was subsequently abrogated
by the treaty OF Berlin and Bulgaria's
limits were reduced because the powers
saw behind A bigger Bulgaria, bigger
| Russia At the signing OF this treaty
| Bulgaria was made a tributary principal
| ity while the other three States were al
together freed from the Turkish yoke.
| In 1905 Bulgaria declared her complete
| Independence and proclaimed her prince
| king. Servia and Montenegro had al
ready done the me. while Greece had
| been a kingdom to begin with. Hence in
! 1912 these four States combined to free
their kinsmen in Macedonia who have
| not been so fortunate as tc break away
from Turkey. It is only natural to ex-
| pect that if a chance presented Itself
| they would embrace It and coupled with
a thirst for revenge. that is more than
pardonahle, they have Joined hands and
succeeded IN INJECTING a crushing defeat
on the Turkish army.
| The spirit of the war is much like that
of the Russio-Japanase war Everybody
| thought that 1t was the last OF the Bal
| kan States that have made such phenom-
! email progress since they have been free
II seemed perfect folly for them t. de-
| clare war as their combined armies
numbered only half a million to Tur-
| keys million.
Victory after victory came for the al
| lies and each time we expected it would
| he the last; but they have gone on sweep
ing everything before them. only Adria-
nople and Scutari in Albania remain un-
| taken, until now the Turkish army has
! been forced to retreat into the PENN
| sula of land at whose extremity is the
| Bosphorus and Constantinople. At about
| 20 miles from Constantinople there Is a
| chain OF forts extending across the pen
insula from the Sea OF Marmora to the
! BLACK sea Behind these forts the Turks
| have made a last stand and have held It
far about two weeks. The Bulgarians
| have followed and now are reinforced by
| the Seryians and Greeks who have now
come up from Salonica. 1t is natural
| that the operations should go on rather
| slowly now as the Bulgarans are in the
omen while the Turks have their forts
to hide behind and are near to their base
| OF supplies For all the last week We
| have heard the canon roaring off in the
distance, and great battle Is in pro-
| gress. but 1t is only an artillery duel as
| vet and no real result has appeared. To-
| day there Is a rumor that the Bulgarians
| tor more properly the alles) are going
| down to the Dardanelles and try to cap
| ture the forts on the European side. 1t
Is said that the cannon can only be point
| ed toward the sea and so will he useless
in an attack from the rear, Once nav
non viii be turned on tho Asiatio bank