Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-08-30
By Henry Wood.
lited Press staff correspondent. J

Omitted Press staff correspondent.
Sophia, Bulgaria, Aug. 2.-(By mail. J
From the spick and span, but none the
less modest little Balkan capital. Sophia
has become the center of the world IS
greatest lobby, and the lobby for the
greatest thing in the world-victory in
the present war.
By the vicissitudes of the present
great European conflict and her pc.
cuiiar geographical position Bulgaria
has come more than any one other to
hold an influence over the future des.
TIMES of all Europe.
Were Bulgaria suddenly to join the
allies, and falling on the back of Tur.
key, capture Constantinople from the
rear, the allies could at last pass the
Dardanelles and carry to Russia the
help in supplies anu munitions that
might quickly turn the whole current OF
the war in their favor.
If Bulgaria continues neutral, the
possibility Of the capture of CONSTANT.
nople from the Chatalja line is removed
and the eventual passage Of the Dardan.
elles if not rendered impossible will be
so indefinitely delayed as to enable
Germany in the meantime to follow up
her successes against Russia and turn
the whole current in her favor.
This, at least, is the way the great
European powers now involved in the
conflict view the situation and that is
why the lobby is here.
In Europe they do not call it lobby
ing. 1t passes under the more polite
term of diplomacy. In reality, how
ever, there is not method nor tactic
known to the most common or the most
distinguished lobbyist at Washington or
any American state capitol that is not
being used to win over the various
members of the Bulgarian cabinet, the
members of parliament, the political
leaders, the heads of the army and even
Gar Ferdinand, the Queen and the
crown prince themselves. It may be
that diplomacy and lobbying are merely
the European and the American terms
for the one and the same thing or it
may be that the issue at stake is so
great that the exalted and dignifie'
of Europe has been reduced
to the methods and practices Of the
vulgarest and most common of Amer.
lean lobbyists. ~r-s ,. 49,.
The lobby is naturally divided into
two great camps, that of Germany,
Austria and Turkey, and that of France
Russia, Italy and Serbia. To
the regularly accredited diplomatic rep.
of these countries there has
been added whole army of special
and other agents, every one
of whom has been selected with an eye
to his special qualifications either for
winning over some special individual OF
for welding some especial influence
on the Bulgarian government as a
whole.
Both camps have now made more OF
less concrete propositions to Bulgaria
Germany, Austria and Turkey have told
her that if she will remain neutral till
the end of the war they will give her
all of Serbian Macedonia, which after
all is the one thing Bulgaria most de-
sires. This offer presumes a final vic
tory for Germany in which event Serbia
would become an Austrian province and
would have nothing to say as to the
disposition of her territory. Minor in
ducements also have been included in
the German offer.
The allies on their part in exchange
for Bulgaria's participation in the wal
and her capture of Constantinople from
the rear have offered: