The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-02-18
Prince fIicholas of Greece Pub.
fishes Open Letter
ADDRESSED TO PARIS PAPER
Failed to Agree to Respect Territorial
Integrity IL King Constantine
Declared Himself Ready to
Fight for Entente.


ernor of the interior zone, has auth
orized the Associated Press to publish
an open letter addressed by him tC
Emil Hebrard, of the Paris Temps
under date of Feb. 9, with view tC
clearing up the grave mlsunder
standing which has arisen precisely
at the moment Greece might have
hoped to see the fact recognized that
she does not forget debt of graft
tude sacred TO her"
Greece has remained neutral,
saws the letter. she has never de-
clared herself unwilling at any point
to abandon neutrality. The contrary
is proved by several propositions
made during the course of the pres
ent war to the entente powers, which
are well known i'm the European chan
celleries.
Those persons have been mistak
en- who have claimed that Greece $
pretensions were exaggerated. Such
certainly was not the case in the con
dition of Greek participation in the
war imposed by the Gounaris cabinet.
namely, that the territorial integrity of
the kingdom should be respected dur
ing the war and until the signing of a
peace treaty by those very powers
at the side of whom Greece declared
herself ready TO fight.
"The condition was not accepted,
as such promise at the juncture was
capable of offending Bulgaria. Is it
the fault of our Government and
therefore OF Greece of the negotia-
tions fail?
AT the beginning of the war one
group of belligerents-the central
powers begged for Greece's partici-
patton in the war, while the entente
powers insisted that she remain tran
quill so as not to extend the conflict
TO the Balkans. Later, the situation
changed Numerically. The second
group asked Greece to join with it,
while the first group desired her to
continue her inaction. Greece still
remained neutral.
us il just to insnuate that she did
SO through pro-Germanism, when ii
is evident that she simply followed
her almost original course toward
two groups of belligerents?" After
reciting the benefits to the entente Of
Greece's benevolent neutrality
Prince Nicholas continues:
IF it is considered for a moment
what the operations of the entente
powers would have been without this
elasticity. given TO the notion of neu-
trality, il doubtless cannot fail to be
understood what Greece has been to
the cause of the entente during the
war.
But there have been reproaches
that Greece did not keep her engage
ment with Serbia, that she deserted
her ally at critical moment, despite
the assurance of all these governments
that the terms of the Greco Serbian
treaty would be complied with. L
personally have very special reason
to appreciate our alliance with Serbia
as l myself took an active part in the
negotiations leading TO the alliance.
II can affirm that the treaty did
not bind Greece TO enter a campaign
10 defend Serbia, simultaneously at
tackled by Bulgaria and the central
powers. II is a Balkan treaty, apply
ing only to Balkan policy
The Prince goes on to say that the
treaty engaged Serbia to furnish GER
tain forces under conditions which
proved materially impossible OF full
fillment, and observes that the en-
tente powers failed to make up the
deficiency.
Had Greece participated" he con
tinues, "she could not have saved the
Serbian army operating at such
distance that our forces would not
have been able TO effect junction i'm
time. The Greek army would prob
ably have suffered the fate of the
Serbian army, and the Bulgarians,
with the Austro-Germans and Turks,
would today, as enemies, be in our
territory. Would Greece, weakened
to this point, be of any use to Serbia.
and. therefore, to the allied cause?
The Entente press repeats on
every occasion that we ought to en-
ter the struggle to save the Balkan
equilibrium. The equilibrium is as.
necessary to us as to the other Balk-
an peoples. We shall do all possible
to preserve 1t. But would il be any
better maintained were we beaten
and crushed? Was this equilibrium
always so dear TO the Entente pow
ers, which sometimes employed pres
sure on US. and even their ally Serbia
to break II up in favor OF Bulgaria ?"
After referring to the "humiliations
and gratuitous insults" which Greece
has suffered at the hands of the En-
tente powers. Prince Nicholas makes
especial complaint OF "the doubt ex-
pressed in the Anglo French press of
the good faith and sincerity OF our
King and his government and OF the
sentiments of the Hellenic people to-
ward the allied troops"
mo suspicion" he says, could
more deeply wound the national pride
OF the Hellenic people than mistrust
OF their traditional hospitality and the
word Of their sovereign"