Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-01-17
INV William G. shepherd.

Salonlka, Dec. lI.-fOf nine uayS
have been watching the SalonSka re-
|'treat of the allies.
From the front trenches, back to the
harbor of Sllonika, a strip of land
sixty miles wide, | have seen the
thousands of demonstrations and to-
kens Of retirement.
/ have talked to General Sarrail the
leader of the allied forces here, and to
General Baillaud, in the field to ma
tiors, captains and privates Of both the
French and British forces and they
have, more or less, admitted that re-
treat is under way. But one man whom
| believe more than all the war de-
partments and chancellories Of Europe,
is the man, who with his family and
his few household goods loaded on a
little rafting wagon, hauled by steers,
is coming to SalOnika today He is
here for the first time; he is here in
hundreds; in Gll the phantasmagoria
Of wagons, horses, steers, motor buses
and limousines, which fill the foggy
water front streets Of Salonika today.
He lends a new and somber color to
the brown Of the Greek, the grey of the
French, and the khaki of the British
and green of the Serbian soldiers He
has done little talking His very pres
cnce here with his detected family and
his pitiful little possessions speak
louder than anything he could say. He
is a refugee from Serbia. Not from
northern Serbia where the Germans
and Austrians have been sweeping
Serbia clean, but from the Serbian soil
that borders on Greece only twenty
miles from here. The Germans and
Austrians have not driven him out
from his home; it is the work of the
Bulgarians.
An Unfailing Sign.
The patter of his oxen s feet and the
creak of the rough wheels of ais
wagon say louder than any commuique
or any nice words of generals that the
Bulparians are driving the allies back
toward Salonika. You can always be-
leve him, this man with his family,
travelling out in the cold and the mud,
with the worried face and the perplex-
ed soul, he doesn t leave mis- home and
his farm until ne must; until the guns
are booming and the shells are plough
ing his farm for him. When che"
goes you may be sure the enemy is
coming on behind him and that the
army Of his country is in retreat. I've
seen MIN in Galicia France Italy, Ser
bia, Greece. He has never lied. His
D., presence always means "retreat." " Be.
; ing a Serb, his Chistmas will come on
January 7. Small chance Santa Claus
will have to get down the chimney of
this man S home this year. On the out.
skirts of Salonika this afternoon men
are erecting tents, ina muddy field for
, the Serbian refugees and their fam
lies. Within the past six weeks nearly
, Ealf million dollars Of American and
, British money has been sent here for
, such an emergency and today for the
Z first time, the money is being put to
use.
The aHrbor Is Empty.
, The harbor Of Salonika is almost en-.
PITY of boats, though usually it is full.
, For several days, forty.six transports
loaded with troops who had newly
come to Salonika and who had not dis.
. embarked lay in the harbor. Now they
. have gone, troops and all. No one in
: Salonika knows where.
People are speculating about the
! possibility that the allies may be driv.
. en- clear back and out of Salonika and
forced TO leave Greece It will take
at least three weeks to get away from
Salonika on ships. There are hun.
dreds of tons Of wagons, cannon, am.
munition, foodstuffs, shovels, lumber
:, horses, portable houses and camp fit.
!, tings to be loaded onto the boats, as Il
= ten thousand circuses, rolled into one
y were moving. And there are tens OF
q thousands Of men-perhaps twenty OF
> them-who must be embarked if the
: allies should decide to withdraw.
7 If this thing should happen there
I will be three weeks full Of fighting, the
- Bulgarans pressing against the allied
lines trying to interfere with the EN-
barkaton. Salonika must be ringei
with ally trenches and ally soldier,
= must be fighting to hold back the Bul
: " gars while other ally soldiers work lk,
: bees at loading the ships. All this, II
y the Bulgars continue to press on to
y ward Salonika. Just at present tn,
Il allied retreat is in full tide. The Bul
" " gars are nearing the borders of Greec,
4 not much more than 25 miles from Sal
u onika.
Along Line Of Retreat
: To have view of this sixty mil,
strip of retreat; to near the Bulgarian
guns booming and to stand beside tn,
French and British guns as they ans
wer; to sit beside the temporary camp
tire of retreating French soldiers an,
talk to them Of home and Of what th,
. future holds for them and their coun
try; to sleep in tent beside rail
road where, throughout tae night tn
:, thunder Of trains carrying supplies an,
!. wounded soldiers back to the safety o
Salonika, shook the ground to eros
Q bridges where "loadedu with dyna
/ mite and were to be blown up within
n twenty.four hours; 70 chat with groul
y after group Of steel casqued Frencl
y zouvaes, who came, on foot, trudginI
3, slowly but steadily toward Greece will
grim faces but affable greetings /,
e chat with British soldiers wao knew
y that the next day would see them NOV
e ing in that direction which Britisl
d soldier hates-the direction away from
the enemy-snine days Of all this Asso
H