The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-05-12
KING OF GREECE
TALKS OF WAR
His Country Will Not Enter
Conflict Until the Nation
as a Whole, De-
mands It.
70 ! GsENT PROSPECTS
latest General In the Balkan Wars
Is Interviewed by United Press
Correspondent on Topic
Of Neutrality.

TFollowing Is the first authoritative
statement Of Greece's position In the
world war crisis. 1t comes from the
king OF Greece himself-the dominant
figure in an old world monarchy
whose history has been identified With
civilizations progress for centuries.
1t should. be of particular interest to
Americans.]
IBy Henry Wood, United Press Staff
Correspondent
TCopyright 1915 by the United Press.l
TCopyrighted in Great Brftain.1
ATHENS. Greece, May 12.-"Greece
can only abandon her neutrality In the
event that the interests of Hellentsm
as whole may at some future mo-
ment demand it. The interests or
.Hellenism as a whole have been the
ore and only policy of Greece to the
present moment. This policy she will
continue to the end
In these words, spoken In quick,
energetic English. King Constantine
of Greece. outlined to me the attitude
tof his country regarding the great
war He had received me In his study
in his palace which he occupied while
crown prince and which he now re-
tains by preference This palace Is
smaller than the main royal palace
and has a more home-llke character
and atmosphere There he lives sur
rounded by the queen, sister OF the
kaiser and their six children-three
princes and three princesses-1n per-
haps the most domestic life that any
European monarch enjoys. His ma
iesty wore the uniform Of a Greek
general and his entire manner and
conversation was essentially that or
a military man.
At all times he displayed the quick
ness of thought and action which won
him wonderful reputation during the
Balkan wars as the greatest or MOD
ern military strateg1sts.
"In the recent decision Of the
crown" he continued, that Greece
could not accept the invitation Of the
allies to enter the War at that time,
which resulted in the resignation OF
nv prime minister, I had only that
honest difference of opinion to which
every man is entitled. With Greece
situated between two contendlng
blocks of powers, have had but one
policy.' one desire for the future, and
that was to act for the best interests
of Rellenism. The moment was not
Jopportune for Greece to abandon her
neutrality nor would her interests
have been served by so doing at that
time. Should Premier Venizelos later
be returned to power, We Will work
together harmoniously as before for
the common realization or Greece's
national aspirations
What might be those. aspirations,
your majesty?" I asked.
"They are merely the desires for
national unity to which the Greek peo-
pie, by reason Of their long historical
past, believe they are entitled was
the reply. ut ever has been the mis-
sion of Greece to carry civilization to
now and in her future capacity, that
mission will be increased"
In passing from the subject OF
Greece's war attitude the king spoke
of the Greek immigration to the Unit
ed States. saying:
your capacity for absorption of the
races is marvellous. Already 100000
of our Greeks have found ample op-
Dortunity for education and develop
ment in the United States. The best
evidence of all this is the fact that
hardly day passes, but that some
of nv former subjects write me. not
in their native Greek as you would
imagine. but in English. While be-
coming good American citizens they
have not forgotten their love for the
mother-land. During the Balkan wars
everyone who could possibly do so, re-
turned to take up arms for the home
country. Those who could not come
sent their equally important moral
support.
Modern Greece has also developed
the same capacity for absorption and
has made rapid progress in the new
provinces which came back to US as
a result of the above wars There is
now hardly a single man in them who
does not speak Greek"
The king spoke with the utmost en-
thusiasm about the battleshfDs Missis-
sippi and Idaho which Greece pur-