Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-03-03
N|SH 0vERCR0WDED
AS RESULT OF war
Serbians Thankful to America
For Measure of Relief A.
forded BY Red Cross.

Nish. Serbia. (by maiD.-Nish.
normally Il town of some 10000 has
been transformed by the war into q
city OF more tina 1O0. 900 souls. The
stranger within the city gates wonders
where all the people seen on the streets
sleep at night. The small public park.
as we'll as the two principal shopping
streets, are as crowded during the day
light hours, as Broadway and Fifth
avenue on a late afternoon. T!he
problem of caring for the thousands
who fled here from Belgrade and the
northern communities of the country
when war was declared has been u diff
ficult one.
Every house with vacant rooms was
c-ommandeered bv the government but
even this action failed to provide
shelter for hundreds of fugitives from
in which he Serbian people oun
themselves the American Red Cross
mission came as u yeritable God send.
Everywhere the Associated Press cor
respondent has Travelled he has en-
countered evidences of good work
erywhere found grateful appreciation
OF the part of the Serbian people. This
appreciation was officially expressed
by M. Milosh Petronievitch. one of the
administrators of the diplomatic press
bureau, who speaks English perfectly.
Our constitution" said M. Petronie-
witch. IAN all of our institutions are
really modelled from those of the United
States of America, and some day we
hope to be really an American state
here at the end of Europe and the be-
ginning of Asia. That. as we'll as the
sympathy and aid for our wounded
sent us by the American Red Cross dur
ing all three of our recent wars, &C.
counts for the very warm welcome we
shall always give to any American who
cares to come out n study H. at
closer range.
W. are not so h~ospitable to all for
eisners. Serbia is more accustomed to
having enemies than friends. From the
time the Serbian empire came Under the
Turks in the Fourteenth century, until
it's liberation i'm the early part of the
Nineteenth century, Serbia was cut off
as a state from al the rest of the world
Her Turkish tyrants had but one idea,
to destroy the soul of the race, the
memory of it's glorious and martial
past. of it's aristocratic. traditions and
of it's racial unity with the other Slav
peoples. Its chivalry persisted in the
great battle of KossOva in 1889. Kosso-
va is a vast plain about 100 miles south
west OF Nish, where the battle of Turk
ish conquest between the forces of Sui
tan Murad l and the Serbian emperor,
4dAeI, was lOuSII III l1e fOGTleGnIn
century. This great battle ended with
the complete overthrow of the Serbian
empire and the 500-year domination of
the whole of outhwes Europe by the
Turks. This domination included all the
peoples now comprising; the Balkan
states. All the sons of the noble Ser
bian families We're carried off to Con-
%stantinople to form the famous guard
of the J~anissaries. They were reared
In complete ignorance OF their parent
age. and with but one ideal, the sultan.
A certain number of the great Serbian
families escaped into Russia. Austria
and Montenegro. From these and sub
sequent emigrations have sprung the
members of the race who are today put
side The kingdom of Serbia. Bosnia,
and Dalmatla are integ-
rally a part of the kingdom. though de-
tached from it by European politics at
the congress of Berlin
Mr.. Petronievitch pointed to a large
nap which hung in his office. showing
the ancient confines of the Serbian en-
pire. as we'll as the marginal line Of
the frontiers of that Greater Serbia, the
creation of which is in some quarters
regarded as the cause of the war. Be
this as 1T may. it will certainly be one
OF the most important changes In the
map of Europe if Serbia and her pow
er1ul allies are successful against the
and the Austrians.
You can See," continued Mr.. Pet
r~onievitch. how difficult has been the
position of Serbia, with the Turks on
the one hand longing to what
they had lost; the Austrians on the
other hand, urged by the Germans.
whose own expansion could only take
place by pushing the Austrians into
possession of all the Slav kingdoms OF
the Balkans, thus leaving free the
German provinces Of Austria for Ger
mary. There is no doubt to III mind
n a Germany has had the idea of
absorbing the dual monarchy of Aus
tria-Hungary. thus dreaming of a king
dom extending from the shores Of the
North sea to the AEGEAN at Salonika.
the B~osphorus and the Sea of Marmora
at Constantinople, and reaching out to
q supreme control of theM Mediterranean
and even the Black sea. No n who
mas lived on the shores of the Danube
mas any real conception of the fanatic
ism with which Austria has worked to
achieve this end. nor of the designing
care with which Germany has ever
promoted her designs. A part of the
pan always has been to keep the
states of the Balkans from any feder-
aIlon or cohesion among themselves.
rms might have been more difficult
a not several of the states had Ger
man princes for rulers. Serbia. and
Montenegro. you know, with the ex.
ception OF Italy. are the only states of
europe that nave rulers of their own
blood and faith.
Bulgaria. closely allied to servia in
1eudal times, and whose liberation from
Turkey was effected by Russia. has
EYER been the working ground Of that
Austro-German diplomacy which has
been SO active at Constantinople. TN
Bulgarian war of last year, as we'll as
Turkeys participation in the present
war. was the outcome OF this diplomacy
intrigue. Servia has been wiser
than Bulgaria or Turkey. We have not
Deen any too fond of strangers. To-