The Washington times., 1915-03-08
CAVOUR AND VENIZELOS


Count Cavour, the statesman of
Italian rehabilitation, is looked upon
by many students as the nineteenth
century statesman who at the end
will outrank all the others in his
tory's estimate, not excepting Bis
marck. He put together a new, pow
erful, and progressive nation out of
less promising conditions than Bis
marck had at hand; and his work
has splendidly survived his genera
tion.
It is not without interest at this
moment to observe that between the
work of Cavour two generations ago
and that of Venizelos, the Greek
premier of today, there is a paral-
lei which deserves recognition. Ca
YOUR, determined that his country
get into the councils of the great
powers, determined to win for it
the sympathy of the progressive ma
tions, deliberately plunged Sardinia
into the Crimean war as the ally of
France and England, sent an army
to the south Of Europe. and COM
PEELED Sardinia's recognition as the
leader of nationalistic aspiration in
the whole of Italy. That was the
first great step toward union and
firm establishment.
Venizelos of Greece today occupies
a curiously similar attitude. He is
determined that Greece must be one
Of the powers in the final undoing of
Turkey, her traditional enemy. He
sees the vision of a new Greece, a
restored Byzantium, Balkan penin-
sula, reunited one day as the Ital-
ian peninsula was reunited under
Cavour. He believes that aggres-
sion is the proper program for
Greece now, and he seems to have
the reason Of the situation on his
side. He was the organizer of the
Balkan alliance that defeated Turkey
three years ago, and his achieve
ment branded him as one of the big
gest men Europe has produced in
many decades. He engineered the
coalition Of Greece and Serbia
against Bulgaria later, when that
move was utterly unavoidable; and
Greece is the greatest gamer, thus
far, by these wars.
King Constantine is conservative;
he prefers to keep the peace and not
risk another war if it can possibly
be avoided. He fears that Saloniki
taken from Turkey, might somehow
be lost in another war, though to
whom is not at all apparent; for
there is going to be no Turkey left
in Europe; doubtful, indeed, if there
will be any in Asia. The Kings fam.
lily ties to the Hohenzollerns may
more likely account for his opposi.
tion to the unanimous sentiment OF
his people; in which regard his po,
sition is just the same as that of the
late Roumanian King.
Venizelos, tired of paltering ant
hesitation, has resigned with his
cabinet and has gone to the extreme
of announcing that his party will not
support any ministry that propose.
to adhere to the peace-at-any- price
program. 1t is impossible for 8
, ministry to survive with the Veni
zelos party in opposition. for it has
well-nigh the whole country at it,
back. So it is suggested that tn,
+ King may send his parliament hom'
before naming new cabinet, thu
avoiding a parliamentary crisis.
The days are full of peril and O
!, perilous uncertainty for Greece. It.
course must be determined befor,
, very long. Greek ambition i
boundless, but it is not soon to b
v gratified in the larger way, for Con
, stantinople is certain to becom
a either Russian or intenationa
q whenever the Turk goes. Perhap
Greece would prefer to see the an
cient capital internationalized;
. would at least keep Russia out an
open one more chance for Greece a
g some future time. To Venizelos
r it need not appear more hopeless
o this ambition to recover CONSTANT
: nople. than the wish to regain Venic
6 seemed to the predecessors O
e Cavour. Venice is now Italian, an
the Adriatic power of Italy is NOR
l. firm and flourishing than ever, wit
: good prospects that Trieste and tn
8 Trentino will fall to Italy's shar
e when the war ends. Saloniki ha
e fallen to Greece, as Venice fell t
l. Italy. 1t is more likely to renal
e Grecian, if Greece plays her part i
Ut the expulsion of the Turk.