South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-02-18
KING CONF IDENT
ALLIES WILL WIN
Serbian Monarch Tells Why
He Thinks TeutOnS Will
be Conquered.

enemies. the eXiled sovereign grimly
| clings TO life in the hope Of par
ticipating in the ultimate triumph
| Of his countrymen.
The sorest trials have not dimmed
the spirit or clOuded the intellect Of
the king He spoke with the same
determined courage as characterized
him when he lead his soldiers TO vic
| tory over the Turks. and analysed
| the causes and meaning Of the war
with the cold logic of the man who
| translated John Stuart Mill into
| Serbian.
Though still feeble from the
effects Of the heartbreaking marches
through Albania, and unable TO walk
| without assistance, he retains the
keenest mental activity and a strik-
ing cheeriness, in the face of the
disaster which has overtaken his
family and country.
Speaks 10 America.
II have long wanted very much to
speak from the bottom of my heart
to the great heart of America. which
is so deeply moved over the fate
| of Serbia and has done so much for
our unhappy people" he said. 1T
| seems TO me that somehow your
| compatriots have been able TO di-
vine in the struggles OF a people,
simple and rugged, but stubbornly
| individualistic, the same sacred fire
which inspired the first Americans
300 years ago to leave Europe TO
| in, of ira
home for freedom They under
stand us. We speak the same lam
guage Of liberty.
And those of your compatriOts
who have come TO us as doctors,
! nurses-the American Red Cross,
| the Ser bian relief and sanitary COM
missions-all these brave young peo-
| pie, who have so gladly given their
| young lives to fight typhus and the
| sickening effects of shells and cpl
| denies. of whom not a few rest
! forever in Serbian-was it not they
who brought to us the soul of a
kindred people from America?
Above all, today, when thousands
of Serbian women and children, UNI
! able to fee, remain there deprived
of everything, dependent for bread
and shelter upon the enemies Of
their country, il is they your COM
] patriots, who at this moment have
unobtrusively set to work to sue
cor the unfortunates. who have lost
all. who have need of all"
The aged king leaned forward and
! fixed the correspondent with wide
open, almost sightless eyes.
Shows Appreciation.
May God in His mercy reward
your country" he cried and, lean
ing back in his chair, closed his eye
lids, remaining long silent, as one
dreaming.
War of Feudalism.
L do not know if il is quite un-
! derstood in America what it is all
about that almost entire Europe is
at war. But l will tell you in a
word: 1t is the supreme the last
effort of feudalism, a fight to a
finish between the feudalism Of yes
| terday and the freedom of tomor-
row. So that is why war had to
| break out on the banks Of the DAN
ube and not elsewhere, for the Dan
| ube separates by so little, the
| strongest feudalism maintained by
unworthy intrigue, like those small
er Italian states in the middle ages,
from the stubborn ideal of liberty,
| implanted in those ready to fight to
| the last man to realize that ideal.
Yet we have always wanted to
live at peace with the Austrians.
/
| but we Serbs are like you Americans
1t is a part of our creed TO live
on good terms with our neighbOrs.
often / have looked from my win
dows in Belgrade at the fields and
! mountains of Austria, and have said
to myself, how it is POSSIBLE that
we should not be able TO live and
let live as between neighbors?
But it is Of the very nature of a
! feudal state that liberty cannot and
must not flourish in the same vi
cinity. and Austria arranged all that
in the time of the Obrenovitches.
Serbia was made merely tribu-
| tary to Austria She was no longer
free at all. BY the treaty Of 1881
she renowned all her rights. To-
day again Austria still seeks 10 fol-
low towards crushed Serbia the
same policy as before-to create of
Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and
herzegovina an empire of vassal
states for the benefit Of a medieval
feudal nobility. But we cannot
stand that. We are peasants, but
| free peasants.
Proud of PeasantIy.
Il am a king. 1 come from the
people. but a heroic people who
| preferred bitter death TO comfort
able. shameful slavery. My grand
father was a peasant, and am
! prouder of that than of my throne.
Crowns are lost. but the pure. clean
blood OF those who have lived Of the
earth does not die out.
las for Bulgaria" King Peter
went on, we have proved that we
have no rancor against the soldiers
who fought side by side with US for
the liberty Of the Balkans. We
accepted that We make enormous
sacrifices that they should remain
our friends. They did not 50 will