New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-24
Cut Off from World by
blockade and Censor
ship, Ruler Declares
ASSERTS VENlZELOS
IS PAWN OF ALLIES
Compares Rebel States
man TO Aaron Burr, but
Brands Him Worse

Athens. Jan. IA Correspondence
This is the Greek New Years Day and
King Constantine received The Asso-
.;.,eJ Press correspondent in audience
~. morning just before the writer
vas 10 leave for America.
81 an sorry you are leaving US
virc Constantine began abruptly. Il
80 believe that there is a man or
-.onsn in Greece who does not feel
,,rv profoundly what a great thing
/, has been for us during this most
,ritieal period in our national history
"a have a correspondent of The Assoc
stated Press here to tell the world with
absolute i'm part atty the truth of what
1 taking place. They tell me, however,
that q good many of your kilograms 10
Tho Associated Press never got
through the censors." The King laughed
, little. then added: "You have nothing
On me-neither do mine"
81 am afraid there is no way" he
sent on. I'VE might as well be in a
dungeon here for all the touch we have
with the rest OF the world. The most
ridiculous. the most outrageous nom
,epse about what is happening in
Greece is published daily in the Euro
mean press. presumably written by jour
pslists VINO are not even on the spot
10 see the facts for themselves. And
when my government sends official
denials OF them the European newspa-
pers will not even publish the denials.
at seems almost hopeless 10 Try to
get the truth out Of Greece to the rest
Of the world under present circum-
stances. We have been sorely tried
these last TWO years, and we don't pre-
tend 10 have always been angels under
The constant irritation of the ever
Increasing Allied control of every little
thing in our own private life-letters,
telegrams. police, everything.
"Why. do you know that my sister
in-law, Princess Alice of Battenberg,
was permitted TO receive a telegram of
Christmas greetings from her mother
IN England only by courtesy of the
British Legation here?
Says Allied Diplomats Bungled
Il am a soldier myself and | know
nothing about politics, but il seems 10
ne that when you start with almost
the whole of a country passionately in
your favor and end with it almost
unanimously against you, you haven't
succeeded very well. And | quite
understand how those responsible for
such result seek to excuse themselves
by exaggerating the difficulties they
have had to contend with in Greece.
They make us pay for the errors of
their policy. The people Of Greece are
paying for them now in suffering and
death from exposure and hunger.
France and England starve US out
because they have made the mistake OF
assuming that their man Nenizelos
could deliver the Greek army and the
Greek people TO the Entente Powers
whenever they wanted to use Greece
for their advantage.
"All the blockades and censorships
in the world cannot keep the truth
down forever. The Entente Powers
have made the fundamental mistake OF
considering our external and internal
problems as one. They said to them
selves: 'Venizelos is the strongest
man in Greece and he is heart and soul
with US. He can deliver the Greeks
whenever be wants to. Let us back
Venizelos, therefore, and when we
need the Greek army he will turn 1t
over 10 US
well. they we're wrong. Venizelos
was perhaps the strongest man IN
Greece, as they thought. But the mo-
ment he tried to turn over the Greek
army TO the Entente, as if we were a
lot Of mercenaries, he became the
weakest man in Greece and the most
despised. For in Greece no man de-
livers the Greeks. Not England, France
and Russia put together can change
them, neither by force Of arms nor by
starvation. And they have tried both.
"As for Venizelos himself-you had
man once in your country, very
rsst man, who had even been Vice
President Of the United States, who
ilanned TO split the country in two and
sst himself up as a ruler"
Your majesty means Aaron Burr T.
Precisely. Yenizelos, with the as
sstsnee Of the Allied Powers-and he