The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1915-12-09
|OR|ENT STAKE IN
| BALKAN CANPA|G
Allies and Germanic Powers
Really Fighting For Domin-
alton of Still UndeveI-
oped Empire.


Paris Special: The Balkan ques-
ton, formerly Internal with Macedonia
as the chief stakes and the states
ranged against each other or against
Turkey over this rich bone OF conten-
ton, has undergone completes change
within the past few months.
Some Of this Macedonian issue still
remains. between Bulgaria and Serbia,
but It is almost lost in a far greater
issue, international instead of internal,
as the two great warning elements in
Europe have suddenly recognized these
little Balkan states controlled the high
road from northern Europe to the
orient-the link between Germany and
Austria in the north and that vast
vista of sleeping power in the south
east: Turkey and the Dardanelles,
Egypt and the Suez canal Asia Minor
and the Persian gulf and the overland
route straight from Berlin to the far
east.
SO that the petty Balkan disputes
are now suddenly merged into q greater
international drama, in which the Ball
kans are a mere incident, the supreme
issues now being:
For the Quadruple Allies--to hold the
Balkan states intact as far as possible,
Austro- Germans in the north and their
imperial goal in the south; Turkey, the
Dardenelles, Egypt and the east.
For Austro- Germany-To divide the
Balkans as much as possible, state
against state, with a predominating
state, Bulgaria, favorable 10 the Aus
! tro- Germans aim OF a direct route from
| Germany to Turkey and the orient.
An international Game.
This shift of the Balkan issue, maxi
| ing 1t part of great international
| game instead Of a petty struggle or
small states, has come about within the
/ last four months. The allied powers
were slow in realizing it, and their me-
| gotiations with Bulgaria and Serbia up
| to q recent date treated the question as
| the old fight over territory In Mace
donia. But all the time Germany was
setting the scenes in the larger drama
the winning OF Bulgaria and the link
ing OF the central powers to Turkey
| and the near east
Each of the Balkan states has a
Il number OF issues involved In the new
struggle. Some explanation of these
| diplomatic Serbian, Bulgar-
ian, Grecian and Rumanian--and from
| other available quarters, showing the
/ respective viewpoints about as follows:
/ Bulgaria considers herself the ag-
| grieved party OF the Balkans. Sne
Il
/ ing against Turkey over Macedonia.
and to have received the least OF the
reward, the bulk going to Serbia ana
| Greece, which, Bulgaria claims, did not
do the hard fighting. The Bulgarian
| legation furnished the Associated Press
| with a pamphlet review Of its case.
/ showing the following distribution or
i the territory taken from Turkey:
i Serbia with the smallest territory be-
| fore the war, received $4,000 square
dlometers, of which 5000 were fertle'
/ and added LOO, 900 TO her population.
Greece next smallest in area and
1 population, gained $4,000 square kilo-
i meters, of which $4,000 were fertile,
| and added 1,600,000 to her population.
/ Bulgaria, the largest in area and
| kilometers, OF which none were fertile,
| and added only 100000 to its popula-
tion." Then follows this explosive or
ficial statement:
ais this possibIe7 Yesl And because
Of II, this is what Bulgaria demands:
"She is not satisfied with such a divi-
sion; she demands new one; she
shuts her ears to proposals of q Balkan
union in which she pays all the ex-
pense." 3
Bulgarian has issued another pamph-
let printed at the royal printing estab-
Iishment at Sofia, entitled, How the
Serbs Behave in Macedonia" giving
| detailed accounts of alleged atrocities
i In Serbia's part of Macedonia against
priests OF the Bulgarian state church.
These accounts are narrowing in the
| extreme, alleging that In some cases
BuIgarians were crucified, others
buried alive, others tortured until they
died, with names and places. This
pamphlet Is given as an evidence of
Bulgaria's claim that her people in
Macedonia are being crushed.
Another OF Bulgaria's allegations Is
l that Rumania. took 1910 square kilO-
| meters of Bdlgaria's Black Sea front
l while her hands were tied during the
struggle with Turkey. This Black Sea
| country added 100000 people to Ru-
mania's population. The people are
Bulgarians, according to Bulgaria, and
she wants them back, and the Black
\ Sea front too.
Aside from these official claims,
l there are reports Of other aspirations
of Bulgaria King Ferdinand is said to
foresee another great Byzantian empire
i'm southeastern Europe, with himself as
1 the first cZar Of ByZantium. The real
| ization of this dream would mean the
absorption OF the Balkan states into
Bulgaria, and her evolution into an
| empire stretching to the Bosphorus.
| Cherif Pasha, the Turkish agitator, has
| even asserted in a recent signed article
1 in Paris newspapers, that the young
Turk element had agreed with Bulgaria
/ to turn over ConstantinopFe to that
country, rather than let 1t pass into
| the hands of the allies through their
II nc no rdaV an .