The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-11-01

banianS have joined forces
with the soldiers of democ-
racy. From the pan-Albanian
Federation Of America, Vatra, which
has it's headquarters in Boston, comes
word that the 10000 Albanians in the
United States have purchased nearly
ST, 100000 worth of Liberty bonds
through the organization. The Jews
indicates that q most ancient and
hardy nation at last has made the
proper choice, observes the New York
Sun.
Albania stretches along the eastern
coast Of the Adriatic sea, opposite
Italy, having Montenegro on the north,
Serbia on the east and Greece on the
south. Albania has a commanding
place upon the landlocked sea-, and
her harbor at Avlona, one Of the fin
est in the world, Is considered by mill
tary critics an Adriatic Gibraltar. The
country Is a rugged, wild, heavily
wooded mountain, complex, undevel-
oped and unpathed.
Albania became nominally a prov
ince of Turkey in 14GS and remained
such until 1913, when the London con-
ference granted a national ~independ-
ence under q prince chosen by the
great powers. The Albanians bitterly
complained at that time about the Dor
ders delimited for them on the grounds
that many purely Albanian districts
had been given to Montenegro. Greece
and Serbia. Albania was in q sulky
mood at the outbreak Of the great
war. However, it's isolation was char
acteristic, for Albania has stood alone
throughout its history.
III this time Of flaming national
brides the Albanian, or Shkypetar, de-
serves q fleeing notice. He has
fought the longest and the hardest Of
all historic struggles for native land
and independence, but wild, inhosplt-
able and untutored in the uses of
propaganda, his heroic story has at
tracted rare and scant attention. Un-
supported by allies, sympathy, song or
story, the Shkypetars, a "little ma
ton" with their backs to their bar
rem crags, war for freedom voiceless
throughout the centuries.
1000 Years Struggle.
Serbia's or M~ontenegro's endurance
is pale compared to that which has
preserved this remnant Of q race
against all Corners through truceless
ages. For more than 1000 years the
AIbanians have stood their ground,
yielding their patrimony foot by foot,
but guarding the fragment Of their
native land so we'll that 1t today re-
mains the least known region in Eu-
rope. They are the Oldest race in
Europe to survive upon the land
where the morning light Of history
found it and this stubborn tenure of
their fatherland has been possible
only by a longer, drawer and more in
domitable struggle than that waged by
any other Balkan people. The taciturn
and dour Shkypetar, however, has
fought silently, with mOrOse and un-
broken spirit and at lone venture. All
other Balkan peoples have continuous
" clamored for the sympathy of the
world.
Today, however, their hills, swal-
lowed up in the overwhelming mael-
strom Of world war, their land crossed
by the battle lines Of great powers,
they are living the last chapter Of
their troubled history. Whatever turn
the great battle In the Balkans may
take, 1t apparently can only mean that
the time has come at last for Albanian
submergence. Italians, Austrians and
Serbians are contending bitterly for
the last strip OF the S~hkypetar hertz
age, and 1t seems that the measure OF
qtheir existence has been reached. They
Twill emerge from this world shock
italians, Serbians OF Austrians, and
the ancient nlyrian will vanish into
the limbo Of forgotten things.
Fought Without Complaint.
"There Is no such thing as Albanian
\ nationality" Bismarck roughly ex-
claimed at the congress Of Berlin.
More properly speaking there was no
Albanian d%iplomatist, no Albanian
spokesman. There was just a little
nation to be dealt with according to
the irrefutable wisdom Of power, just
the remnants OF an ancient race that