Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-04-12
"THE ARMED MAN
WITH EMPTY PURSE"
The Natural History of Bulgaria's
Policy of Keeping the Powers
Guessing-Divisions of Public
0pinion-The Coburg Gar.
BY VANCE THOMPSON

LOtt Jne laSt seven months Bulgariar-her
Il hand on her heart-has been protesting
| the sincerity of her love for the Allies. The
Bugarians are queer race. They are a
mixture of Finnish, Turkish and Slav blood
"a fact which makes for thought. The ma
ton is largely one of peasants but the city
dwellers, the over-pollshed citizens of Sofia,
| for example, arc curiously civilized. Chen
nadeff may serve as an example. He is the
| OK Minister of Foreign Affairs, who In the
| last few months has been serving as go
! between" in the Italo- Bulgarian negotia-
| tions; suave, adroit man. That Is the type
! No matter how they differ in externals, the
! Bulgarian politicians are always smooth,
shrewd, with underneath something danger
ous-a hint Of the barbaric That Is Grekoff,
the Kings factotum; and that is Radios
lavoff, tho Prime Minister. Radoslavof has
hEor and astuteness-the astuteness of the
Turk, which, based upon craft and talent
for indirection, is yet often mingled with
large measure of navete
Strange Reading
got today lot of Bulgarian newspapers
of recent dates. They mako strange reading.
They gloom and sparkle with hate for tho
Serb and the Greek; and yet they express
pathetic terror of falling into the hands of
victorious Germany and unbeaten Aus
tria. They are between the devil and the
deep sea. A couple of years ago-a bit over
in Sofia one OF their statesmen told mo
that the danger for Bulgaria, as for all the
Balkan States, lay at Berlin-"since Austria
Hungary has become the prey of Berlin,
which has arrogated the monopoly Of COM
mand in the German empires" And today
that fear Is not dead Only there Is the
hated Serb; and there are the German mil
lions What is tho poor Bulgar to do?
Being poor he takes the money, and being
honest he raids Servia; but fearing the Ger
man he sends crafty diplomatsts to parley
with the Allies. He is in bad way.
A writer in the Echo of Sofia, says
frankly: when the war broke out our first
thought was to take advantage of the con-
dition in which the servians found them
selves and-stab them in the back"
The second thought was better; it was to
negotiate a loan; and Also following tho
example of italy and Rumania to wait and
what could be gained by neutrality"
Only the people were not neutral They
had no concern in tho European war. The
educated Bulgarans, the students of the uni
versty, the "intelectuals" had ideals of
liberty and u not unnatural sympathy for
liberty-loving France and England but the
populace knew nothing-Cared for nothing
but It's keen desire to stab the Serb So far
as the popular mind was concerned there
was only one question-Revenge and Mace
donia.
The declaration of neutrality was purely
a diplomatic move. It meant wait and see
what there is in it for us" The army was
ready-and If you have not forgotten Kirk
Kilese (when Radko Dimitnieff swooped like
n vulture on the TurO you know that the
Bulgarian is a fighting man. A couple of
years had repaired all the damage caused
by the Rumanian invasion. The army was
all right. 1t we'll equipped, we'll armed |
and eager for vengeance on the Serb. The
financial situation was not good. The pub
lie debt was heavy; and there were still un-
paid the 64S millions poured out in the Bal
kan wars. The annual budget for 1915 was
270 millions-it had risen from 1S0 millions |
since 1918.
You may picture to yourself Bulgaria as |
a hardy soldier man, with ready weapons |
and empty pocket For seven months he
stood in the market place, waiting for the |
highest bidder. Germany gave the millions |
whereof you know; and the brave soldier |
man took whack at Servia and said Now |
what more do I get?" And still he waits.
BY way of small return for the Disconto |
Gesellschaft loan he has also opened a way
into Turkey (Which is of value to Sultan
ana halSer).
The Allies have not been idle. They too
have pareyed with the armed man with the
empty pockets. They have offered fair price
for neutrality; but there is only ono thing
he wants-Macedonia; and the Allies can |
hardly be expected to chase their little friend
servta out OF her dear-bought lands.
The Coburg Man Is Not Simple
The Bulgarian peasants ct is entirely an
agricultural country are simple folk even
the politicians of the Sobranje are, on the
whole, naive; but there is one man in the
land who is not simple. have seen him in
Sofia; have seen him In the night restau-
rants and on the racetracks of Paris; he
is a huge, fat, red-faced man-tall and vast
and he is the Gear of Bulgaria; and he
is the of Coburg. There is another CO.
burger his brother. That one is the ''un-
speakable Philip OF Coburg" as he is called
who boasted himself on notable OCCASION
the wickedest man in Europe.
The big and bearded Gear of Bulgaria is
not unlike his brother, save that he does not |
beat his wife or get drunk in public. He |
is a keen minded man. for all his obesity. |
and as shrewd and unprincpled monarch |