Daily Kennebec journal., 1919-09-15
HASTEN
ARMENIA
MANDATE
Or viii Be No People
Left Belief of M.
Venizelos
Would Be GLAD TO
SEE U. S TAKE OVER
ITS ADMINISTRATION

Kept in Close Touch with Sit
uafi0n In Asia Min0r-PrOb-
lem Requires Prompt and
Radical Remedy
Paris, Sept 14.-fBy The AssuciRt-
ed Press. Tenizelns,
prime minister of Greece. today told
the correspondent that ne would be
glad TO see the United States take
The mandate for Armenia. He assert
ed that unless the question Of The
mandate was soon settled there
would be no Ar,menians left when the
administrators arrived N Armenia.
III. NeniZeios. who, though not Il
member of the Supreme Council, has
been one Of 1he more conspicuous fg-
ures in the peace negotiations during
his II months Of continuous absence
from Greece has kept in particularly
close touch with the situation in
Asia Minor. In his opinion this prob
lem requires a prompt and radical
remedy.
The Turks do not consider them
selves beaten," he said. In Asia
minor. as well as Armenia, they have
| taken every opportunity 10 demon
sIrats II
They are continually harassing
The Greek outposls. Conditions in the
territory occupied oy the Greek
troops are satisfactory, but I cannot
| say the same fnr the forts of Asia
| Minor where there are no allied
/ troops
Great numbers of former Turkish
soldiers organized in cumitadjis
! froTing bands) invade unoccupied
territory and fall upon the unarmed
populations. The primary thing for
Asia Minor is TO settle the question
definitely and fumediatsly. We have
a large force there. capa bic of es-
tabhshing order and protecting the
menaced Christian population were
II not fnr the restrictions imposed
upon u.s."
| Asked regarding Greeces attitude
on the question Of Thrace. and with
reference to the argument advanced
de al
ffonRl city requires the largest possi-
bic f1nterlRnd to support it, the
Greek statesman recalled that he
I mad renuunced Greece's claims to
Constanrinuple in order to facilitate
durable settlement Of the Balkan
cpestion
Rut would il not be CRYING injus-
uce. he cont uued. ''if in cunseuuence
OF that renunc alton. the Greeks. wbo
form majority of the population of
Ihrace. should be asked I'd support
that International city, Constan1innpit.
really needs no hinteriand beyond the
line of TchatalJa tabout g miles north
west of Cons nstantinpple}. Il has its upr..
and its straits from which ii may de-
rive substantial income"
Turning to the question of Greece :
Chronological and historical claims on
Thrace. NJ. Venizeios said:
"A part OF Three has heen given the
buisarians VIM. curipuslv enough
made themselves witnesses TO the Juc-
,, tics OF ciaimsvof the Greeks In book
published by them in 1877 for urupa-
Eanda purposes. circulated bv Berlin
Tor the Bulgarian government. there
iS series Of maps showing the mod :
ifcatiuns IN the Balkans since the be-
ginning OF history. They show that. ex-
cepf for a short Interval Of six years
Greece uninterruptediy held the entire
Aegean coast for nearly % centuries
They show that Bulgaria never had an
outlet to the Aegean. and that the pup-
ulation of Thrace was overwheIminglv
Sn hn.v -
after 1g7S
Greeizs remained and today are the
predUminating nationality throughout
the province II Thrace is mt given
TO Greece II viii be Migrant violation
of the principle Of self-determination =
The premier pointed out that the eth
meal principle had been applied in the
case of the JuEo- Slavs. the Czecho-
siovaks. the Poles and the Rumanians
in such a way that less than par cent.
OF their nationals were left outside their
territorial boundaries.
"Greece will be the only country M.
Venizelos declared. Sin which no large
proportion as 40 per cent Of nation
ais will he left under foreign rule IN
case Thrace = denied us. Thrace mot
only belongs TO Gresce ethnicaliy and
historically .hut we have stronger eco
numic claims upon II than has the hy-
pufhefical International city Of Constan-
finDple-
Our country has birth rate which
in exceeded by only one or two couD-
TIRES in the world. while the larger part
Continued on Pass 7-coI. 81