The Washington herald., 1914-03-22
DESPERATE TASK
FACED BY prince
New Ruler of Albania Is Con-
fronted by Serious
Problems.
PEOPLE In SULLEN MOOD
Still Ottoman at Heart. Subjects Will
Rise Against William at the
Slightest Occasion.
spcci,l C.ble 10 The wa-hington Herald.

Special Cable to The Washington Herald
Rome, March A.-Late private mes
sages from several coast towns OF Al
bania depict the situation there as most
serious and defines as almost desperate
the task of working order out OF the
political and material chaos. which the
European powers have imposed on Will
lam. Prince OF wied.
The writer's add that the Prince must
not expect any sincere co-operauon pS
thu few wealthy and educated Aipaniahs.
Essad Pasha's trip to Berlin 10 oner W
the Prince the crown of Albania Is al
farce. these writers say. Essad fasha
and his peers are still all Ottoman al
heart and they will watch the Prince
with a suspicious eye. ready to rise
against him the moment the new order
of things, which the Prince, as MODERN
enlightened Christian will strive to estao'
Iish. interferes with their doings.
The most difficult and at the same time
most delicate task of the new government
will be that of disarming the Albanian
and making him live within the law.
Ottoman rule was anarchy itself. and
the present-day dweller OF the cities as
well as OF the mountain was never taught
to recognize the existence OF oreahizeu
justice or to obey the law.
Gradually Grew Poor.
The Ottoman civil officials never inter
fered with the doings of the Inhabitants
so long as they paid their taxes The re-
suit was a gradual impoverishment OF the
population and at the same time a most
painful degeneration OF the national
character.
The population of the coast towns and
cities is now In a sullen mood. ready 10
revolt IL its expectations are not imme-
diateIy fulfilled. What the inhabitants
expect from the Prince, messages from
the coast towns sum up thus: Bread
wine, arms and ammunition. and abso-
lutte freedom to act and behave as they
please, and above all. to take the law
into their own hands.
As to the actual condition OF the popu-
Iations Of the mountain and rural dis
tricts of the interior. DR.. Stefano San
tucci, head of the medical mission which
the Italian government sent to Albania
as soon as the first reports OF the horri-
BILE sufferings of the people reached
Rome. says that there are no words to
describe Il and convey even a vague idea
of II to the inhabitants OF a civilized
country.
DR.. Santucci is now on his way back
from Albania after attending and dis
trIbuting medicine, foods and clothes to
tens Of thousands of destitute and sick
peasants
Indulgence and Ignorance.
Life in the interior districts of AL
bania,'' he said, can be described in
two words-indigence and ignorance; in
digence to the point OF dying for sheer
lack OF food of any kind: ignorance to
the point of asking us for remedies
against witches and their evil work.
These people have no knowledge what
ever of remedies against diseases which
are known even TO savagcs. We found
men groaning in the agony of death in
their primitive mud huts, where fire
burned in the bare ground and with no
fiue for the smoke.
I'VE found young women killed by
their older sisters who performed on them
most horrible operations while in child
birth. We found absolute disregard of
the most elementary rules intended to
protect them against contagious diseases.
Several districts. whose soil Is most
fertile are deserted for want of inhabi-
tants who are moved down by contagious
diseases, and for the habitual laziness of
the few remaining men whose chief occu-
patton Is their gun. They have no knowl-
edge yet of the change that has taken
place in their country. They are devoid
OF national spirit. and the only authority
they recognize is the priest
1T was through the priests that We
were able to attend some 5000 sick in a
little over a month and perform some
fifty operations. beside distributing rcme-
dies for the most common diseases"