East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-05-10
GREECE DECIDING At
THE POLLS WHETHER
TO ENTER GREAT WAR
On THE SURFACE, HOWEVER
VOTING Is MERELY TO
CHOOSE PARLIAMENT
On All Sides, Elections Are Admitted
70 Mark What Is without ouestlon
INC Most Important Moment i'm the
history Of Modern Greece-Mav
Join With Vthe Allies.
BY HENRY WooD.

limited Press Staff Correspondent
ATHENS, May 1O.-Greece is TO.
day deciding at the polls by popular
suffrage whether or not she will par
teipate in the present war.
While on the surface the elections
are merely for the purpose of choos.
ing new parliament, there is no one
IN al Greece today who does not un.
derstand fully that the result will de-.
termlne whether or not Greece shall
ilnaily issue from her neutrality on
the side Of the Triple Entente.
On all sides today's elections are
admitted to mark what is without
question the most important moment
IN the history Of modern Greece.
Aside from the gravity Of the mere
question Of war there also stands
sharply out in the fight the figures
OF the two greatest personalities that
modern Greece has produeed-that Of
King Constantine and that OF former
Premier Venizelos.
The two men who worked side hv
side during the last two Balkan wars
in doubling the territory Of cmfeta
the men who put Greece back on the
map" as 1t is popularly phrased in ali
Greece-are today submitting to the
suffrage Of the Greeks their now d.
Vergent ideas as to the future policy
Of the country.
Nenizelos, who until a few years
ago an unknown deputy from the is
land Of Crete but now admittedly the
greatest statesman modern Greece
has produced, is standing out openly
on the policy that Greece should cast
her fortune with the Triple Entente.
BY entering the present war and par
ticipatlng in both the naval and mill
tary campaign against Constantinople,
Greece Is assured of again redoubling
her territory and thus becoming not
only the leading power in the Bal
kans but one Of the important powers
OF Europe. Venizelos declares it is
an opportunity that IL missed will nev-
er come again.
Against this action, at least at the
present moment King Constantine is
firmly opposed. The elections today
are a result of the break between the
king and Premier Venizelos which oc-
CURED two months ago and resulted
in the latter's fall from power. The
Triple Eptente had at that time in
vited Greece to intervene in the Con-
stantinople campaign, pledging extern
sive territorial recompenses.
A council OF the crown was at once
called and in this the views of King
Constantlnpole prevailed to the con-
trary While not insisting that
Greece must remain neutral through
out the entire war, 1t was his belief
that the entrance of Greece at that
time would be fatal TO her own inter-
ests.
Premier Venizelos resigned from
power and a new cabinet that was
in harmony with the Kings views was
formed. Venizelos at once announe-
ed, however, that he would take the
question before the Greek people at
the spring elections and that he and
his party woulr stand for reelection
on his policy which King Constantine
had rejected.
While practically everyone In
Greece today is certain of the return
to power of Venizelos as a result of
today's elections, no secret is made of
the fact that his temporary overthrow
has at least gained to a certain extent
the kings point. Greece's participa-
ton has now been delayed for nearly
three months at the very least and
even if with the return to power of
Venizelos Greece should intervene at
once, all the loss and expense of the
campaign of the past three months
that would have taken place, has at
least been saved.