The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-04-18
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fianked the Balkans and adjacent
lands; it went around them. Now. when
II turns back upon them, the clash
comes.
Where peoples meet in conflicting
stages of development friction is in
neiEhbors and more with the Mex
leans: The friction on Europe's east
ern border has ignited many. many
wars in the course of the centuries
and finally this greatest Of wars.
Western Europe, therefore, finds its
frontier today behind rather than be-
saw arc the outposts of u vast region
lying to the north Of the Adriatic. the
Lonian and Aegean seas: which still
The contrast is sharpest and tho
most abrupt between Italy and the
opposite, shores of Dalmatia and Al
and Florence and Venice. only 100
miles of water flows between social
and political conditions that are CEN
turtles apart.
The Romans and the venetiar-
stamped themselves on the Dalmatian
coast. ii is true, but II is only a beau
tiful veneerinG. \ short walk back
from the shore are communities al
most untouched by outer influences.
with a people nearly as strange to the
the arts and in most of the standards
of every day life as the dwelie-s in
some distant parts OF Asia.
Our Forcfnthers In the Flesh.
Yet the Balkan peoples are only our
forefathers in the flesh. There is no
better stock in the world: no better
blood than theirs flows in human
veins. for after all there is only one
kind and il is all red. They differ
from us merely in experience and
circumstances beyond their control.
Issues now long dead in other lands.
but which once filed Western Europe
with frightful wars. remain to he set
embroiled in religious and racial
strife. grouped in clans. split up into
relinG ove- their boundaries. They
cannot yet agree even on an alphabet
or a calendar. but employ no less than
three varieties of each.
Happily the difference between them
is growing less and less. The anthro-
poloEist still delights i'm III" Pal
kans as his favorite chronological mm-
scum or laboratory. There he may row
Ell in fine variations in hues. heads,
noses and eyes. Nevertheless. one Sla-
vic type and the Slavic tongue have
imposed themselves on much OF the
peninsula.
From the top OF the Austrian prov
inCe of Bosnia through Montenegro.
Serbia and down into Bulgaria, at the
foot of the peninsula. the Scrbo Croat
prcdominates. The Albanians. with a
race and language all TO themselves.
regard themselves as Hellenes and
pattern their language on tho classic
model. while Roumanians, assuming TO
be Romans have 4 Latin speech.
The little nations have drawn to-
gether even more closely at tho altar.
While Rome and Mecca each have
many adherents. the Greek Catholic
communicates are most numerous. This
latter is the state religion in every one
of the Kingdoms. although. Bulgaria
has set up Greek church of its own
and rejects the authority of the Pat
riarch at Constantinople.
The whirIwind.
with all the points of contention
between them. the Balkan countries
probably would have fought out and
settled their differences by now had
it not been for the interference of
edy OF that peninsula is one long ar
raignment OF the soulless. idle chat
fering which passes in the chanCeI-
leries of Europe for diplomacy and
craftsmanship. an Indictment. written
in blood. of mans inhumanity to man.
The utter failure of il ali is con-
fessed from every lannon's mouth in
turkish policy of the powers stands
self-condemned before the world.
When the diplomats in the Congress
of Berlin gave back to the Turk the
entire bottom of the peninsula they
perpetuated a breeding place of pes
tilential strife. IL that territory could
have been fairly divided then between
might not now have fighting men
abroad and weeping maids at home.
Copyright. 1915. ty James Mor.anJ