Bisbee daily review., 1915-12-16
BALKAN WARFARE is
FURNISHING some
STRIKING LESSONS
Characters of Districts Of Cities
Change Overnight; National
Claims Become Intensely Ex-
traVagant; Expedient Changes

traVagant; EXnedlent Changes |
SALONIKI, Greece, Dec 15.--It is !
)ne of the daily lessons of the war
IN the Balkans that the character Of
no city or district is so definitely fixed
that It cannot be altered almost over
night Few things became more
gearisom to students of Balkan poll
4 tics than the historical monographs,
| charts of race migrations, ethnologic-
| n maps in several colors (the maps,
not the races, constantly being is
ued by one Balkan state or another
/ prove that virtually all the Balkans
/ as well as d considerable share Of the
rest of the world is and has for cen
uries been inhabited almost exclusive
by Greeks, Serbs, Bulgars or
Austrians as the case may be.
The Greeks are probably the worst
blenders at least i'm respect of the
,xtent of their claims. According to
hem. certainly all of the litoral and
/ an of the Islands of the Aegean, and
probably a very large part of the
EASTERN Mediterranean basin as well
including by all means Alexandria
hould be Greek Towards the north,
| lore than half of Albania is claimed
| md a goodish bit has already been
eized. Old Serbia, including even
rskub: Roumelia, out of Bulgaria
md as for Turkey in Europe, the
iraeks laugh at the idea that the lit
lie that is left of the Western Otto
nan Empire should fall to anyone but
ne Greeks. from Kirk-Tlilisse and
Adrianople to and including Constan-
inople. For in the Greek mind, any
,tber disposition of Constantinople
han TO place the Moslem city under
}reek rule would be the rankest IN
ustice under which Greece would
ever cease to complain-until properly
compensated.
In view of the extravaganza OF these
national claims. it rs most interest
ne to watch the change worked III
E salonH,i in the course of comparative
g few weeks since the allied troops
nave begun to land there. 1t is true
hat Greeks. also, have poured in I'D
, ven greater numbers than the allies;
put the original population stood at
about 10000 inhabitants, Of which
5 number 10000 ere jews OF Portuguese
z md Spanish decent still speaking a
.9rt of bastard Spanish, in which sew
raj newspapers are printed though
o trangely enough, the Hebrew charac
ars are employed to spell out these
beriau words Next in number came
me Greeks themselves. totalling will
ulcers. garrison and everything only
s. 900 or less. while the Turks ran then
close second with between 3O,OO'
and 10000. The remaining popula
ion of normal times was that cosmo
II ,o1ifan mixture so characteristic %
10 a,crp port. but especially of q por
ike Saloniki or Rotterdam, where th
b erritorv served by the port and Tn
d mort itself are i'm different countries
Tere. however instead of simply nav
ing one other country as hiterland' a
rotterdam has Germany, Salonih ha
wo. Serbia and Bulgaria. Their
0' we're always. therefore many serb
Sc and not few Bulgars to be found II
,e Saloniki. For the same reason AusJi
ans were frequent in normal times
bough less so since the war has ca
el Austria-Hungary of from SalonlA a
81 A port OF outlet.
To a population so divided ther
" was FIRST suddenly added about 200
l0O Greek. Macedonian and Tracia
ny -eflrees-more than double the no
q. NAL population of the city itself.
new CITY was built in the shape
or b,ick barracks out at the edge Of tow
he where the refugees are housed IN W
30 utmost saualor and the most increo
ble conditions of crowding. Naturah
is bev prefer to spend most OF the
am lime 10 pick up a few pennies aroun
.u, fbe streets OF the city to sitting Iu
In the stencil and Nth Of the barracF
" M day. - "a.
,se Scarcely had the population oil 9a
OIL Jnl,i in a way disposed OF TINS Suuu'
.naux of strangers, when the Gree
sm nobilization was ordered and soldie
mt from ali over Greece began to aIrN
al the appointed trysting place-noi
other than SalouikL Following u
"n last two Balkan wars, Greece mad
he creased her population, by territorl
NO acquisitions. over so per cent II
I1oubfful il even the Greeks quite re'
il' ized that this increase would mean
the fhe shane Of the increased number
II troops mobiIized. In a few weeks
almost IN "a few days-the populatl
lsS of saloniki which had been hrst 10
ich 400. then 100000, suddenly Decai
100000 As many as possible ne
commers we're quartered on the
res habitants of the city; the REMAND
len erected tent city at the edse
Re fown-but an spent their time IN
borrow. n-payed streets OF salon
which began TO resemble coui
seat during fair week.
,os And then, out of clear sky fIen
ave- and British troops began TO JOIN
or throne. Al first the number v
,me email: now it has passed a hupp'
a. bousand. II is true that most
:, h,,.a zone on up into SeIp