The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-02-26
King Constantine Tells
Associated Press Some
Of Troubles Of Greece

u Inc ASSOCldLSu HTOSS.)
take of assuming that their man
Venizelos could deliver the Greek army
and the Greek people to the entente
powers whenever they wanted to use
Greece for their advantage, regardless
Of the interests Of Greece as an inde-
pendent nation.
There are just two things about
our desperate struggle to save our
selves from destruction that am GO
ing to ask The Associated Press to
try to make clear to the people of
America. The rest will have to come
out some day-all the blockades and
censorships in the world cannot keep
the truth down forever. Understand
am not presuming to sit in judgment
on the entente powers. I appreciate
that they have other things to think
about besides Greece. What say is
meant to help them do justice to
themselves and to us. a small ma
ton. 5#.#
"The first point is this: We have
two problems on our hands here IN
Greece-an internal one and an ex-
ternal one. The entente powers have
made the fundamental mistake of
considering them both as one. They
strongest man in Greece and he is
heart and soul with us. He can de-
liver the Greeks whenever he wants to.
Let us back VenizeloS therefore and
when we need the Greek army he will
turn 1t over to u.s.
"Well, they were wrong as I think
you have seen for yourself since you
have been here. Venizelos was per.
haps the strongest man in Greece as
they thought. But the moment he
tried to turn over the Greek army to
fha ortorfM mara NJ ~
mercenaries. he became the weakest
man in Greece and the most despised.
For in Greece no man delivers the
Greeks. They decide their own
destinies as a free people and not
England, France and Russia put to-
gether can change them, neither bS
force or arms nor by starvation. And
they have tried both. AS for Venizelos
himself-you had a man once in your
country, a very great man who had
even been vice president Of the Unit
ed States who planned to split the
country in two and set himself up as a
ruler in the part he separated from
the rest"
"Your majesty means Aaron Burr?''
Precisely. But he only plotted to
do a thing which he never accomp-
lished. venizelos. with the assistance
Of allied powers-and he never could
have done it without them-has sue
ceeded for the time being in the same
called Aaron Burr a traitor. Well.
that's what the Greek people call
Venizelos. ~.... .a
"The impression has been spread
broadcast that VeniZelos stands in
Greece for liberalism and his oppon-
ents for absolutism and militarism.
It is just the other way around. Ven
izelos stands for whatever suits his
own personal book. His idea of gov
a sort of Mexican government, I take
1t. When he was premier he broke
every man who dared to disagree with
him in his own party. He never
sought to express the will of the peo-
pie; he imposed his will on the peo-
pie. The Greek people will not stand
for that. They demand a constitu-
tional government in which there is
room for two parties, liberals and con-
servatiyes. each with a definite pro-
gram, as in the United States or Eng
land or any other civilized country,
not q personal government, where the
only party division is into Venize1ists
and anti Venizelists. That is one
thing I wanted to say. The other is
about the effect Of the so-called Ger
man propaganda in Greece. The en-
the attitude that everybody who is
not willing to fight on their side must
be a pro- German. Nothing could be
falser in respect to Greece. There is
present resentment against the al
lies in Greece-and there is a good
deal OF 1t, especially since the block
ade is due to the allies themselves and
not to German propaganda. The proof
of 1t is that when the so-called Ger
man propaganda was at its height
there was little or no hostility in
Greece towards the allies. 1t has only
been since the diplomatic representa-
tives of all the central empires and
everybody else whom the Anglo
French secret police indicated as in
imical to the entente. have been ex-
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