Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-11-26
ATTAINED MANHOOD
UNDER TURK|SHRULE
M. VenizeIos' Stirring Life Be-
gan With His Election as
Cretan Deputy.
ALMOST REBUILT GREECE
Copyright, 1915,
BY HERBERT COREY.

ATHENS, September 2S-Outside the
door of NJ. Venizelos' house in Athens
a little group stood in the drizzling
rain. 1t was not a cold day nor d very
wet one. Just enough water was fall
ing to make the street black under the
arc lights and to drive the sellers of
roast chestnuts under the arches of the
doorways. Down in the meaner parts
of town the long twists of mutton
cracked merrily over the charcoal fires
in the cafes.
Just like New York" some one said,
pointing to the group standing pa
tiently in the rain. waiting to see the
great man come out"
But it wasn't like New York In
New York the hangers-on at a great
mans door would be old men and
young men, for the most part idlers
anu ne'er-do- wells. with only here and
there a man whose collar was clean and
stiff, and whose trousers were I'M
old women waited, with half a dozen
haif grown lads and a few girls. Scat
tered among them were big, fierce-eye ed
chaps. Some of them wore the white
skirts and long. white wooden tights
of the Cretan national costume Others
were in the kings uniform They
watched us carefully as we stepped to-
ward the door.
"A part of the bodyguard," said my
friend.
Lives in Almost Feudal State.
For Venizelos has been living here
for the last few months in almost feu-
dial state. Forty Cretans guard his
person and his house day and night.
Close at hand-so close that if there
were need they could be summoned al
most by cry-are more than 100 9TH
erS. There is no question in the minds
OF any Of these that NJ Venizelos' life
has been in danger at the hands of his
political enemies There is no ques-
ton in the minds of those who know
the Cretans that the man who at
tempted Venizelos' life would die i'm
mediately after. They are fanaticalIy
loyal.
One often hears of venizelos that "he
began life as bandit" That is sheer
nonsense. OF course. When he first
came to manhood his parents lived in
Crete, then under Turkish rule. The
man OF property guarded it with a gun
kish rule was not hard-measured by
the standards of Turkish rule-but it
was annoying. Every now and then
the unreasonable Turks tried 20 collect
taxes and punish offenders. Then re-
bellion broke out, which only ended
after the Turks had hanged enough
Cretans to satisfy them and had burned
few villages. The Turks permitted q
legislative assembly to the Cretans,
but the Cretans did not precisely play
the game.
The side that won the election
chased all the deputies elected by the
other side out of the chamber of depu-
ties. according to an authoritativ
publication Sometimes the side that
lost the election did"
Dared Deputies to Hear Him.
Young Venizelos was hardly twenty
years old when he was elected one of
the eight minority members in this un-
restful chamber of deputies. The other
seven knew what would happen to
them. The day the chamber met they
put on their oldest clothes and carried
green sticks for canes. They knew they
would be thrown out, but it is not in
the Cretain character to refuse a fight.
Fenizelos wore new clothes and carried
no cane. He dared the majority mem
bers to listen to him. The resolution of
expulsion for the eight guilty of being
a minority had been adopted. The ma
jority was inclined to laughter before
the hard work of throwing out the
minority began.
YOU" said Venizelos in elegant and
burning Greek, ARE not worthy of our
ancestors
There is no record that he actually
referred to Marathon or Xenophon, but
it is an absolute certainty that he did.
No Greek writes a letter or makes u
speech, it seems to me. without step
ping out of the Christian era to find a
national hero. Anyhow. EeniZelos YER
bally laced that gathering of elders
until they compromised with him. They
said they would let the eight minor
ity members remain il he would only
quit.
That, of course. made Venizelos the
big man in Crete. A little later he or
ganized the Cretan rebellion. much on
the plan of the FISHERMEN in Ireland.
They took up arms against Turkey to
get away and against Greece to get in.
At one time and another they fought
England. France. Turkey, Greece and
Italy, and were, of course, soundly de-
feated. Nevertheless they made them
selves so very unpleasant for every one
that Crete was finally admitted as an
integral part of the Grecian state.
Prince George, a brother of the pres
ent King Constantine, was sent to
Crete as governor general. but after
time Venizelos expelled him.
Feelings Toward the King.
I'VE have only the most loyal feeling
toward Prince George and the whole
royal family he explained al that
time, land we want George to stay. All
we ask is that he do as he is told"
That fairly expresses Venezilos' present
feelings toward King Constantine.
The more recent history of NJ Neui-
zelos is fairly well known. He was
taken up by the military league and
hit have made himself the dictator
of Greece-eXcept that the powers
never favor Dictatorship did take
over the prime ministry In five years
he almost rebuilt Greece. He crushed