The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-01-05
A BALKAN SETTLEMENT PLAN

A BALKAN SETTLEMENT PLAN
The publication, recently of a
highly Illuminating volume of the
speeches of Eleutherios Venizelos,
brought forward view of the Near
Eastern situation that is well worthy
of the study of people who would at
tempt to think or talk intelligently
about the most difficult set of prob
lens, perhaps, that viii come for
ward when the war settlement is
undertaken.
Venizelos, himself master of the
history of the Balkans, thoroughly
understanding the religious and
racial factors, and having a states
mans vision of the future, proposed
arrangements by which there should
be actual transfer of population in
order to end the conditions that so
long have kept the peninsula in
turmoil. He proposed at one time,
for instance, that Bulgaria and
Greece make territorial arrange
ments, under which, while Greece
would grant considerable territorial
concessions to Bulgaria, it should be
arranged that the two countries
should unite in actually moving
Greeks from Bulgar territory back
into Greek territory, and Bulgars
from Greek into Bulgar lands.
It was taken up and analysed as
perfectly feasible proceeding. There
were considerable numbers of each
nationality in the territory of the
fother; and these heterogeneities of
population, religion, and loyalty
made it constantly difficult to ad-
minister these areas of conflict.
Venizelos had calculated that the ex-
change of Greek properties in Bull
garia for Bulgar properties in
Greece would in a large measure
cancel each other, leaving no very
heavy bill for either government to
pay as the net result of the opera
ton. He assumed that only those
people who expressed a wish thus
to be repatriated would be affected
by the transfer; but it appeared to be
his conviction, following. long study
of the whole problem, that sufficient
elements of population could be thus
reorganized to reduce to unimpor-
lance those racial and religious fric-
lions that have been the despair of
all Europe in Balkan affairs.
This proposal was made by Veni-
zelos at the time when Bulgaria and
Greece were still neutrals in the
great war, and both were anxious
either to maintain their neutrality
or to secure the greatest possible
advantage from entering the strug-
gle. 1t was Venizelos' profound con-
viction that the Balkan League that
had brought Turkey to its knees,
should be held together, and either
stand as a great power for neutral
ity, or, if it entered the war at all,
enter as a unity on the side of the
entente, with weight enough to have
decisive effect on the conflict. AS
time passed, his determination that
the Balkan League must support the
entente increased in firmness; but at
that same time, King Constantine
made it impossible for Venizelos to
deal with Bulgaria. Constantine
could not carry Greece into the leu
ton camp, but he was able to wreck
the Balkan League; Bulgaria Joined
the Germanic powers, and the Near
East has suffered the horrors of the
great conflict.
When time comes for remaking
Europe, the Vepizelos plan of re-
establishing national, racial, and re-
ligious communities on a logical
basis, even if it be necessary actually
to move considerable populations,
certainly deserves attention. If
Europe sincerely wants to settle the
eastern problem, to make future
wars less probable, the powder house
of the Balkans must be insulated.
It never will be safe from the immi-
nent danger of explosion at any time,
if the present awful mixture of in
eyitably hostile and hating races is
left. The treaty of Berlin, in 1878,
violated every law of humanity, ev-
cry consideration of ethnic and re-
ligious prejudice. 1t attempted to
settle the Balkan controversy on the
basis of acres, not souls; of map, not
of men; and it laid deep and sure the
foundations for the structure of