The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-06-09
|GETS Her revenge
BREAK OF BALKAN LEAGUE LED
TO The GREAT WAR
some SECRETS slip OUT

some Secrets slip OUT
Diplomatic Game at Rome Shows
How Bulgaria, Wronged and Rob
bed by Her Confederates, Holds in
Her Hands the Balance of Power
Which May Decide European War.
Remarkable revelations as to late
Balkan history have been made dur
ing the negotiations conducted by the
Italian government So deep and
fa:-stretching are the great interest
involved in these negotiations to as
sure the future status and action OF
Italy. so numerous have been the
diplomatic particulars in the game.
from many states, and so frenziedly
have they played it as the decisive,
eliminating days approached, that 1t
was inevitable that various secrets,
as to past events and as to future
plans and desires, should have reach
ed the ears of a few near enough
placed to hear and to understand.
From what those few pass On to
their intimates, we learn enough to
be able at last to construct true,
connected. understandable account of
the late Balkan conflicts, and the
present situation in that peninsula
and the Aegean: light is thrown for
US, where it was lacking, upon the
inner springs and diplomatic wheels
which moved the variegated Balkan
drama and reveals the real attitudes,
demands and intentions of the con-
tending forces to-day.
The drama is disclosed as%now
fully engaged, with its whole caste,
in demonstrating the working of the
ineXorable law that a wrong deliber-
ately committed upon ones neigh
bors sooner or later will recoil upon
its perpetrators. Bulgaria being the
person upon whom the wrong was
committed, Greece acting as. the chief
villain, and Serbia as the second vii
lain, backed and instigated by the
heavy plotter in the background,
Russia. The great wrong consisted
of the appropriation OF Bulgarian
Macedonia, together with Salonlkl,
Kavala and their hinterlands, in
contravention Of the solemn treaties
and agreements by which they had
induced Bulgaria to eXpend her man.
hood and her wealth in defeating the
Turk for them.
Role Played by Bulgaria
Of course, it is true that King Fer
dinand began the second Balkan war.
in the sense that his troops initiated
the open hostilities, and on that ac-
count he and his people have re-
ceiyed all the blame for it, and scant
sympathy in their troubles. The
whole truth that is coming to light
puts another aspect on the matter.
Bulgaria went into the war against
Turkey for the express purpose OF
freeing her oppressed people in Mace.
donia, and assuring their future pros
perity by securing for them outlets to
the sea in the ports of Saloniki and
Kavala, the natural historic harbors
of Macedonia, and likewise chiefly
Bulgar, outside of their Jewish popu-
Ilation.
| Bulgaria by that act assumed the
grave onus of confronting and de-
feating the whole martial power OF
Turkey, aside from the three Turk
| ish armies in Macedonia which were
small enough to be handled by Serbia
and Greece without risk or much
loss. and she did this upon signed
treaty with serbia, guaranteeing her
a main part of Macedonia and agree
ing to leave the rest of it to the ward
of the Car, also upon an under.
standing with Greece based on agree
ments and undertakings partly ver'
bal, and partly evidenced by writings
| These last. it seems, were not re-
duced to single compiled treaty. be-
cause Greece before the war never
raised any claim to Saloniki, or Kav-
ala, or to any part of their hinter-
lands or of Bulgarian Macedonia;
and the Bulgar statesmen conceived
it to be thoroughly understood and
agreed that Greece was to ind ample
satisfaction in her extension over
Greek Macedonia, Epirus and Greek
Albania, besides Crete and all the
islands of the Aegean.
Eenezelos first showed the cloven
hoof when his generals tricked the
Bulgars out of the prior occupation
Of Salonili; both of the allied armies
lay before the city, the Turkish
forces for its defense having been de-
feated, and their general had made
an agreement that neither should
move for twenty-four hours: never.
theIess the Greek moved secretly in
the night, and took possession of the
great port, whence he could never be
dislodged.
The Bulgars. however, went on to
perform rightly their part of the
main pact-the crushing of the Turk
ish power; and while they were en-
gagged in sacrificing themselves to
this end, Venezelos took advantage
Of it, as now appears, to broach to
the Serbs his secret design of divid-
ing between them the Turkish spoils
l-of robbing Bulgaria of her Mace
donia and its ports. alleging that they
had to do it because the powers
! would not give them Albania.
Russia's share of the guilt came
in when the Czar-as he unwisely let
| it be known to his intimates-deter-
mined to approve of Serbia's holding
on to the territories she had occu-
pied. to recompense her for losing
northern Albania.
| When this reached King Ferdi-
nand's ears-as it was bound to-he
saw that the only chance left for him
of getting Rulgaria's due was to
fight for it. and to strike before Rus
sia openly espoused Serbia's side. and
so felt obliged to assist her. If he
could recover by force. and at once,
Macedonia and its parts from his
treacherous allies, he felt sure that
Russia and Europe would let the
matter lie there.
| But Bulgaria had been too weaken
ed by the terrible struggle against