Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1916-09-22
Roumdnid and Greece

The decision Of Roumania &c
enter the war on tho side Of the
Entente powers is likely to prove
one of the decisive events Of the
great struggle. 1t makes an i'm
pressive addition to the man
power Of the Entente Allies.
already far superior to that Of
their enemies. and it gives dra-
matte proof of the change that
has come over the military situa-
ton since last fall. Then Bull
paria threw in its fortunes with
the Central European powers
because it believed that they
We're sure to be victorious. Ron
mania, more shrewdlv, held
aloof: it has chosen to support
the Entente because it sees that
the fortunes of w0r are now in
clininP in that direction.
The Roumanian people have
sympathized with the Entente
because they are proud to think
Of themselves as Of Latin blood,
like the French and the Italians.
Rut their king is a German-a
Hohenzollcrn, even-and neither
he nor his ministers would per-
NIT the country to rush into the
war through sentiment. Rou-
mania has certain national amhi-
tons to satisfy; not until its
statesmen had made up their
minds which side was more like
" to help those ambitions along
would they take the plunge.
They hope now with Pussian
assistance to redeem" tkc dis
tricts Of Transvlvania and Buko-
wilma. in which there are many
Roumahians; to see to it that
Bulgaria is not permitted to grow
great at the expense of its neigh
bors, and to induce Russia to
pay for Roumanian intervention
with a slice of Bessarabia, which
is also full of Roumanians.
If Roumania does no more than
permit a great Russian army t.
cross it's soil and threaten the
frontiers Of Bulgaria and Hun.
gary it will perform a valuable
service to the Allies; but Rou,
mania has a good army of its
own, If it acts promptly in con
cert with the Russians in the
north and the Allied force under
General Sarrail at Saloniki, Bull
garia may be crushed in it's turn,
Serbia recovered and Aus
tria-Hungary invaded. Such a
result would rob Germany of the
conquest that promised to be Of
the most solid and permanent
advantage to it, it would close
the pathway that Germany has
hewed to Constantinople and
the east. That result cannot be
attained without hard fighting.
for Field Marshal Won Macken-
sen. the most brilliant of Ger
man soldiers, commands in the
Balkans; but if it were attained.
it would be a long step toward
the end Of the war.
The action of Roumania. to-
gether with the Bulgarian inva-
sion Of Greek territory and the
seizure Of Kavala, seems certain
to force the hand of TIE Greek
government too. We learn that
King Constantine, his policy of
neutrality no longer possible.
has withdrawn from public af-
fairs and considers abdication;
that the premier, Zaimis, is ad-
ministering the government in
accord with the views of Vene-
zelos and the demands of the
Allies, and that Greece, although
torn by fractional and internal
disorder, will openly join the
Entente. But it is too late for
Greece to expect much advant-
age of any sort from taking part
in the war. Its great orportuni-
ty came and passed a year ago.
Venezelos' dream Of a Greater
Greece went g%limmering when
Constantine decided that it would
not be safe to defy Germany
and defend Serbia. The most
that Greece can hope for now is
to keep its frontiers undimin-
ished.
TN