South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-03-17
The Balkan Question
Continued From Page 1. This Sec

Greeks, as far as that is concerned. Actually this
is the richest corner of the whole Balkans for it
contains the districts in which the best tobacco
in the world is grown. Turkish and Egyptian
cigaret tobacco is really Kavaa tobacco.
AS to the settlement between Bulgaria and
Roumania, it seems to me likely that it will take
the line of the old frontiers of the perOd before
the second Balkan war. 1t is unjust that Bulgaria
should hold all of the ROumania seacoaSt; it is
unfair that the ROumanianS should retain that
SiliStran strip which they literally stole in 1913,
when Bulgaria was aSSaled on all sides. Final
~ there will probably be great willingness on
the part of all allied nations that the BulgarianS
should reoccupy Adrianople and all of Turkish
Thrace, at least up to the old EnOSMdia line,
and perhaps to the bases of the Chatalia and Gal
lipOli peninSulaS.
In sum, then, it seems to me that any settle
ment which is TO be made in the Balkans, on the
basis OF justice and with the idea of permananCe,
must begin with the elimination of outside inter
ference with the destruction of the Austrian
claim to a right to deny Serbia seacoaSt, and
of the Italian claim to Valona and northern AL
bahia. "The Balkans" must be the foundation
principle. But if Serbia and Greece are permitted
to realize their legitimate aspirations along the
Adriatic, both can be asked to make concessions
on the eaSt--the Serbs in the Nardar valley, the
Greeks about Kavaa. Such concessions would
go very far to giving Bulgaria what she is Justly
entitled to, while the restoration of the SStTian
strip and Adranople would put in her hands all
she could Justly hope to acquire in any Balkan
settlement which did not seek to give her the hege-
m0ny of the Balkans and make her the overSeer
of the central powers on their road TO Turkey and
the near east.
The four states thus ananged-Serba, Bull
garia, Greece and ROumania for Montenegro
would in any even by closely associated with Ser
bia-would thus be compact relatively equal in
size and in population, and if this arrangement
we're guaranteed by all the great powers, these
states might accept the arrangement as definite
and proceed to their Self-development, aided by
the tinancierS of the great powers. Then in no
distant time prosperity would come to some of the
richest lands in all the world.
Moreover, once the lines of the several front
ierS had been fixed and accepted all riValTieS
would begin to die out and it would be but
step to restoration and expansion of that Balk
an confederation which in It's brief existence de-
StrOyed Turkish rule i'm Europe, and raised
spectre of Balkan unity which afrighted the cen
trail powers, whose ambitions were for the Berlin
tO-Bagdad railway and for an Austrian SalOnica.
twenty-five millions of people. living in four
states whose combined area would amount to that
of Spain and far exceed that, of Italy, could, if
they agreed among themselves protect each 9th
er against interference by either group of great
powers if the old system of alliance survive the
war or against any single great power il it does
not.
And this, think, is the idea of Prest Wilson.
he hopes TO see a settlement WHICH VIII give eaCn
of the Balkan states the territory and outlets ne
ceSSary to existence and prosperity as a nation
He hopes TO see these Balkan states each guaran-
teed against interference from without; he hopes
to see such settlement made between the sew
eral states as will put an end to the ealouSies so
brutally exploited by the great powers and enable
the formation of some sort OF Balkan COnfeder-
acy recalling that Of i9t2 which liberated the
Balkans, only to fall a victim 10 the intrigues Of
Austria
The present world confagration took fire in the
Balkans. Unless there be an honest and fair set
Element now the eastern question will remain, to
produce more wars and new unrest Il cannot
be settled save as the rights of the little Balkan
peoples are recognized AMI Safeguarded. When
this happens the eastern question Will he abolish
ed. at least SO far as the Balkans are concernei
and-hardly less imporant-the ghost of Nj
teeurOpa will be laid forever
Copyright 1919