The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-09-01

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81SUS (1NS9 soldiers, to follow In a kings
W&5kT0 ENtS3 automobile along the trail of
M&ZN E&XS war This was In Macedonia.
62EXN bTf5AJ The line Of an army's march Is
kGHN1cT3AoN not pleasant to look upon
Es1&S0EZT14G1 though the people along IL had
not much to lose. The pinch Of
suffering Is very real IT, I'm the Balkans,
folk have grown used to 1t. There two pain
marks by which you may recognize the path of
war In land Of farmers. The one is the charred
village, with its whtewashed stone walls black
ened by fire. The other is the presence here and
fhere in the plowed fields of three poles fastened
together at the top. and from the crotch II baby
suspended just high enough TO battle inquisltive
dogs goats Somewhere in the field, anywhere
In the Balkan valleys in May, you will
woman driving or leading Il bullock n buffalo,
while another behind her holds the plow. The
men are In the army-or else they there.
The memory l shall longest hold of Montenegro
Is picture taken by my guide Antonio Renwen,
or this land OF stony graves of the resolute people
OF the limestone crags who have never done hom-
age TO the Turks nor to any other outside power.
1t will be remembered that all these Balkan folk
were for years under the dominion of the Turk,
and that none of them have been free for half
century. The Turk most acceptable when he
was asleep. When he awake he had his
ideas of "Union and Progress" Union meant uni
formity. A nation should have one ruler, flag,
one religion, one language. Progress was his way
scarce And as the actual Turks were few In num-
ber ruling over an empire Of Savs Greeks, ltal-
tans, Jews. Armenians, Albanans Kurds Egyp-
tians, Moors and Arabs, 1t demanded eternal Wig
dance to keep them all in a state of union and
progress.
These people have had constantly before them
the choice of revolt conversion assimilation ban
sshment and massacre. And at time
other, some of each race have chosen each one OF
shese often two or three of them at once. Mean
while, following the wicked lead of Bismarck and
Dsraell, Europe has kept the Turk alive, because
Crom financiers in each nation, the Ottoman sultan
has borrowed considerable sums of money.
Macedonia lies along the southern slopes of the
Balkan peninsula. It Is fertile region crossed by
chains of rounded mountains, with green valleys
and swift streams, In physical conditions not un-
like the south Of France 1t has 5000 square
miles of territory is about large the state of
Maine, with population nearly two-thirds that
Of the city of New York, and before the war of
liberation il had about 2,250,000 people. The ma
Jority of these were Bulgarian in blood and they
allowed to have their own churches and
schools.
AS to the campaigns which have desolated
Macedonia In the last few years need say only
a word. The history of the two Balkan wars Is
given with accuracy and justice In the monumental
report Of the Balkan commission of the Carnegie
endowment. a document Of especial value In any
study Of the conditions preceding the third Bal
kan war" which today has set the world In flames.
The first Balkan altrulstic as far
any can be. Its purpose the relief of
distressed people. suffering for centuries from the
laxities of Turkish rule, always incompetent and
everywhere unscrupulous, and on the other band
continuously overrun by the outlaw patriots which
kept the land in incessant turmoil.
The Balkan alliance was Russian inspiration.
It was planned by Hartwig Russian minister at
Belgrade. "the evil genius of the Balkans" II
ended In the treaty of London where the blind in
eermeddlIng of the powers, bafled by Austrian in
txizue, agreed only the kingdom OF Albania,
leaving the states to fight IL out so far as Mace
donla was concerned. THIS brought on the second
Balkan war, In which Bulgarian diplomacy made
ali the mistakes II had q chance to make
The treaty Of Bucharest left Macedonia crossed