Evening star., 1917-11-04
ny CHARLES M. PEPPER.

ruGARIA,S peace attitude is the
I'D latest aspect Of the Balkan puz-
i'm xle. The Balkans always are
~ presenting puzzle whether in
peace or In war. Some day the rest OF
Europe may solve 1t, but that day Is
likely to be remote. The difficulty Is
that the Balkan states themselves fail
70 solve their own problems. and until
they do this there is not much pros
pect that outside powers will be able
to do it for them
Bulgaria herself is a riddle. Elder
ly readers who remember how they
were horrined by the Bulgarian atroc-
tiles committed by the Turks have not
been able to understand why the coun-
try should have arrayed itself on the
side of Turkey as an ally of Germany.
In the United States the horror and
Indignation excited by the Bulgarian
atrocities were the echo Of the cam
patgn waged in Great Britain by Mr..
Gladstone against the policy OF the
Beaconsf1eld government, which main
tnined the historic attitude as the pro-
teetor of the Turks. because of British
interests which were assumed to be
involved in the need of keeping Tur-
hey as 4 buffer against Russian in
koence. At that period Germany hard
IL was considered a hostile factor and
the DisraeH-Salisbury policy aligned
conference of 1876.
Gladstone succeeded in arousing the
moral sense of the English people. and
the Disraeli policy was moderated.
Bulgaria owed to the great English
man, backed by this aroused moral
sentiment, a mitigation of the atroci-
ties, and even a considerable advance
In the creation of the kingdom itself.
II gratitude alone moved peoples and
nations. there was every reason why
Bulgaria should have refrained from
becoming an ally Of Germany.
r. Bulgaria. however, at the outbreak
of the European hositlities was nour-
tshing deep grievance against her
Balkan neighbors. They had taken ter
ritory which she insisted that racially
and otherwise belonged to her. Small
states are just as apt to be greedy
OF territory as larger states. and Bull
Earia was no exception. The country
wanted to spread
Geographically, Bulgaria lies between
Serbia and Turkey and the Black sea as
western and eastern boundaries and
Rumania on the north. with Greece
and the Aegean sea on the south. But
not all this territory as thus bounded is
Bulgarian territory. When the great
up for herself as an independent king
dom, while the geographical extent was
respectable. it did not satisfy the ma
tional aspirations. Consequently there
always existed a greater Bulgaria party.
After Turkey had become disorganized
under the Young Turk influence and
Italy had seized the opportunity to
make war for the African territory Of
Trfpoli. the Balkan states saw their op-
portunity. Russian influence had welded
the Slav states of Bulgaria. Serbia and
Montenegro into a unit. The Balkan
League was in existence, and these
states, taking advantage of Turkeys
difficulties, were well prepared for war.
X
The great powers. speaking through
the British foreign Office, in the person
Of Sir Edward Grey. forbade the war
and declared that If 1t were undertaken
divide.
In the face Of this prohibition. King
Peter Of Montenegro started the war
against Turkey. Serbia and Bulgaria
fective blows were struck overnight
against Turkey. which was on the verge
Of collapse. Greece. although not
party to the league and not a Slav
state. saw her chance and threw troops
The outcome Of these combined mill
cary movements was the complete de-
feat Of Turkey. The great powers. be-
cause of their own jealousies, were un-
able to make good their threat that
divide. The best they could do was to
exercise. the little moral influence that
remained to them against the complete
dismemberment Of Turkey. European
Q balance Of power, whose existence
was Necessary to the peace Of Europe.