The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-06
BULGARIA STANDS ALONE
Combination of Greece, Se1via, Mon
 tenegro, Roumania and Turkey

4NSW OI hJ sept O--COnSCanI1ne oL0- phanove, Professor of English 1itera- ture in the University of Sofia BuIga- ria, has written a letter to friends in New York in which he defends Bull 1=a-:a from the allegations freely made against her that she was the aggressOr in the latest Balkan war, and that Bulgarian troops have committed a series of atrocities in southeastern Europe.
 The letter is dated Sofia, where Pro lessor Stephanove resides, and was written in August, shortly after the conclusion of peace at Bucharest. The writer begins by describing the isola- tion in which Bulgaria had found her self for several weeks past. Her enc mics, SerVia, Roumania, Greece and Montenegro conspired to communicate with the outside world during the first months of the fighting, taking advan- tage of this condition to circulate abroad a number of misleading and even mendacious statements concern ing the progress of the war, all re- hecting on Bulgaria. He then out lines the secret treaty concluded last May between Turkey and Greece, by which Greece guaranteed Turky arm ed assistance for the re-occupatiOn of Adrianople, Turkey in return p1edging her support to Greece for the seizure of Thrace. The conspiracy of Ser via, Roumania- Greece, Montenegro
 
 acterized as one of the most complete recorded in history, and a distinct and notable phase of this concerted action was the circulation of baseless and lying reports, all destined to injure Bulgaria in the eyes of the world, and which Bulgaria was at, the time pow erless to refute or deny. Continuing his interesting presentation of Bulga- ria's side of the case, Professor Ste phanove writes as follows:
 "The charge that Bulgaria was the aggressor in this warfare, in which her former allies were arrayed against her. is unjust and untrie. Bulgaria did her utmost to persuade Servia to fulfill the stipulations of the Servo Bulgarian treaty for she protection of Macedonia, but withOnt success. It was for the freedom of Macedonia that Bulgaria engaged in the Balkan war. With her army still at Tchataldja and GallipoIi 1t was unthinkable that Bulgaria should declare war upon her former allies.
 "Servia and Greece inaugurated a series of cruel attacks, meanwhile, up on the Bulgarian population of Mace donia- Thousands were imprisoned, maltreated, and many even suffered death; other thousands escaped into Bulgaria. Then followed the Greek riots at Serres, Angista, Negritta, etc., in which many Bulgarian soldiers were
 
 The Bulgarian outpost at Angista re- sisted, and in revenge the Green Gen. eraI Staff planned the attack on the small Bulgarian garrison at SaIonica.
 There were other similar sxirmish- es on the border. What could Bull garia do? She appea@d to Russia. the arbiter of the Serbo-Bulgarian treaty, but Russia refused to aat. She appealed also to the powers, but her cry was ignored. Servia and Greece, fortified by their secret understandings with Roumania and Turkey, rapidly became unbearab1e in their attitude.
 Part of the Bulgarian troops at Adrianop1e and TchataIdja had been brought across the border into Mace donia by June 80. The burning and footing of the village of Zleto, by the Servians, was the first serious incident to provoke war. A Macedonian lead CT named Arbetza retaliated on the Servians for this attack, and the fol- lowing day the Servians advanced against the regular Bulgarian army. The Bulgarian troops retaliated and drove their enemies back for a dis tance of twenty miles.
 That same day the fighting be- came general all along the border. Bulgaria was attacked by Servians, Greeks and Montenegrins. Against the entire Greek army of 100000 men Bulgaria had barely 3O,OOO men un- der General Ivanoff. Nevertheless, on the first and second days of the fighting, Bulgaria routed her enemies, inf1icting tremendous losses.
 The defeat of the Servians and the Greeks was complete, when to the consternation of the Bulgarian soldiers there came orders to stop fighting and return to their original positions The order was a fatal one. The army cried bitterly when called upon to obey it. But Russia, who had prom ised to settle the differences between Serbs and Bu1gars, had to be obeyed. The Bulgarian envoys sent to tell the Servians of the order were murdered.
 Then came furious attack upon the ServianS, but Macedonian volun- teers saved the day. This was fol- lowed by general fighting, with no de- cisive results. General Ivanoff made a successful retreat. inf1icting awful losses on the Greeks. The Bulgar- ians opposed to the Servians held their own, and even captured 5000 servians Bulgaria crossed the Ser Vian border and seized Kniajevatz ZaitchaF, etc, and cut the railroad which connected Belgrade and Mace donia.
 Just as Bulgaria was about to exc cute a brilliant manoeuvre and ad- minister death blow to her treach- erous enemies, Roumania attacked her from the rear and seized northern Bulgaria At the same time Turkey sent troops to retake AdrianopIe. Rou- mania declared Bulgaria must stop her invasion of Servia- Shorn of her strength by her. war with Turkey, Bull garia had to concede.
 'The powers then intervened, and after a preliminary meeting at Nishp an armistice was concluded at Bucha- rest. It is now believed that a sub sequent conference of the great pow CTS will revise the Bucharest conven- ton, and settle permanently all terri toria1 differences between the Balkan states.
 "A foreign diplomat has summed up the situation thus: The Bulgarian ar