Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-23
Sympathy Turned From Allies.

moreover, by taking an active hand in
our own internal politics England and
France especially have succeeded in alien
ating an admiration, sympathy and q
devotion toward them On the part of the
Greek people that, at the beginning of the
war. was virtually an unanimous tradition.
i am soldier myself and / know nothing
about politics, but it seems to me thai
when you start with almost the whole of
country passionately in your favor and
END with 1t almost unanimously against
you. you haven't succeeded very we'll And
I quite understand how those responsible
Tor such result seek to excuse them
selves by exaggerating the difficulties they
nave had to contend with in Creece-by
talking about Greek treachery and the
immense sinister organization of German
propaganda that has foiled them at every
turn and 30 on. The only trouble with
tnat Is that they make us pay for the
Greece are paying for them now in suf-
fering and death from exposure and hun
ger, while France and England starve us
out because they have made the mistake
OF assuming that their man Zenizelos
could deliver the Greek army and the
Greek people to the entente powers when
ever they wanted to use Greece for their
advantage, regardless of the interests of
Greece as an independent nation
There are just two things about our
desperate struggle to save ourselves
from destruction that / am going TO
ask the Associated Press to try TO ma Ike
clear to the people of America. The rest
VIII have to come out some day-all the
blockades and censorships in the world
cannot keep the truth down forever
Understand / am not presumine 10 sit
IN judgment on the entente powers I
appreciate that they have got other
things to think about besides Greece
what l say is meant 10 help them do
Justice 10 themselves and to us. a small
nation.
The first point is this: We have two
problems on our hands here in Greece
an internal one and an external one
The entente powers have made the
fundamental mistake of considering
them both as one. They said TO them
selves: 'Fenizelos is the strongest man
IN Greece. and he is heart and soul with
u.s. he can deliver the Greeks when
ever he wants to. Let us back Veni-
zelos. therefore, and when we need the
Greek army he will turn it over to us
mo Man Delivers Greeks"
Well. they were wrong, as I think
you have seen for yourself since you
have been here Venizelos was PERTAINS
the strongest man in Greece. as thew
thought. But the moment he tried to
turn over the Greek army 20 the en-
tente, as II we were lot of mercenaries
he became the weakest man in Greece
and the most despised. For in Greece
no man delivers the Greeks. They de-
eide their own destinies as a free peo-
pie and not England, France and Rus
STA put together can change them
neither by force of arms nor by starya-
ton. And they have tried both. AS for
Venizelos himself-you had a man once
IN your country. very great man, who
had even been Vice President of the
United 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 ia
do thing which he never accom-
plished. Venizelos. with the assistance
of the allied powers-and he never
could have done il without them-has
succeeded for the time being in the
same kind of seditious enterprise
You called Aaron Burr a traitor Well
that's what the Greek people call Vent
zelos.
THE impression has been spread
broadcast that Venizelos stands in
Greece for liberalism and his oppo-
nents for absolutism and militarism
IL is just the other way around. Vent
Zelos stands for whatever suits his own
personal book. His idea of govern
ment is an absolute dictatorship-a
sort of Mexican government, L take it
When he was premier he broke every
man who dared to disagree with him
in his own party. lie never sought to
express the will of the people: he i'm
posed his VIII on the people. The Greek
people VIII not STAND that They de-