Evening star., 1916-09-01
Constantine's Reign Brief.

The reign of Constantine as king of
the Hellenes has been brief. dating only
from March Is. 1918. when his father.
George /, was assassinated in Saloniki.
Brief as the reign. Constantine enjoyed
period Of remarkable popularity and
increased the territory of the Greek
monarchy by over so per cent.
Born August 8, 1858. he was educated
largely by private tutors from Leipsic,
which was said to have stamped upon
him permanent German influence. His
military education was furthered by at
tendance at maneuvers in Germany. He
became a brotherin-law of the German
emperor by marrying the latter's sister,
Princess Sophia, in 1889
His alleged pro-German leanings,
thus indicated, were not always popu-
lar with his people, and during the Eu-
ropean war a strong party antagonistic
to his desire to have Greece preserve
neutrality and in favor of joining the
allies precipitated a cabinet crisis,
which was weathered with difficulty.
Ups and Downs In Favor.
One of the interesting chapters of
rConstantine's life is the way in which
he became the peoples idol Like his
father, he had his ups and downs in
favor, the Greeks having been quick
changing in their likes and dislikes. In
1896 when he saw his country drift
ing into war with Turkey he sounded
warning that the Greek army was
utterly unprepared for a campaign. The
infantry was armed with condemned
French rifles. which had cost So each:
the cartridges were fifteen years old;
there was no cavalry; the artillery was
obsolete, and its officers few. Never
| theless. the country decided upon war.
The result was disastrous-a humiliat-
ing defeat for Greece. Immediately
the popular tide turned against its
rulers, whom it denounced as foreign
ers. who could have little in common
with the Greeks. The king and queen
were hooted in the streets, and the
officers turned their backs upon the
crown prince.
A similar spirit was reused against
the royal house when. in 1909. King
George tried to oppose the popular
clamor of the annexation of Crete,
knowing that Turkey was eagerly
awaiting such an excuse to bring
second crushing defeat upon Greece.
This time the clamor almost became
revolt, and the king was obliged to
yield to the demand of the military
league, both for the reorganization of
the army and for the dismissal of the
crown prince as generalissimo. He
thereupon decided to accept com
mand in the Russian army. but the OPP
position to him was smoothed out and
he was restored to his former dignities
National Hero in 1912.
He finally became a national hero in
the Balkan war of 1912. when he led
an army of 5000 Greeks to the capture
Of Saloniki. causing 10000 Turks to
lay down their arms. His popularity
was such, as result of this feat, that
Greeks in America raised several thou
sand dollars with which to purchase a
gift sword. inscribed, ITO Constantine.
the Liberator."
When Constantine came to the throne
it was said he aimed to restore the
former grandeur of the ancient Hell
lenic empire, and that he was be-
lever in the old national prophecy
that under the reign of Constantine
and Sophia the eastern empire would
be called into life again and the cross
restored on st. Sophia at Constantinople
in place of the crescent.
By the peace treaties signed after
the Balkan wars Greece added a con-
siderable stretch of Turkish territory
to her domain and in December, 1913,
the long desired annexation of the
islands of Crete was carried out, King
Constantine himself hosting the Hell
lenic flag over the fort.
With the entrance of Turkey into the
European war the question of the in
tervention Of Greece soon became to
be seriously considered. but King Con-
stantine insisted upon strict neutrality.
The cabinet. headed by Premier Veni-
zeios, which was for war on the side
of the allies. finally rendered its resig-
nation. The Greek attitude, at least
so far as the war party was concerned,
was largely to the effect that if Greece
had no hand in the war, her interests
might suffer when peace was arranged.
Again Refuses to Act.
The Athens correspondent of the Lon
don Morning Post, on March 20. 1915,
attempted to explain the situation in
letter in which he said that in the sec
ond month of the war the Greek pre-
mier had intimated to the entente pow