The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-19
by A. G.. GARDINER.

Formerly Editor Of the London Daily
Neics.
Special Gable to THE NEW YORK HERALD.
Copyright, 1890, By THE NEw YORK HERALD.
LONDON, Dec. 1S.-King Constantine
is back in Athens but no one antici-
pates that he will remain there. 1t is
bitter pill for the Allies. There are
many things they have not agreed
to, but they were agreed that whoever
else was restored to a throne, Con-
stantine would not be. Whether he
Is pro- German in sympathy or not, it
is certain that the clever part he
played for nearly three years enor-
mously hampered the Allies and enor-
mously helped the Germans. Now of
all the monarchs who fed harelike he
is the first to return. And he returns
to Athens with the almost unanimous
vote of the Greek people.
1t is a rather startling shock to
those persons who thought the war
dealt a final blow to the king business
in Europe. One fact, however, seems
to be outstanding. All despotisms have
vanished like snow in May. The Con-
tinent from Calais to the Urals, Is re-
publican. New States have been Gre
ated, but no new kingships have been
set up.
Crowns are cheap to-day" as Lord
Fisher said they would be when the
war ended. There are more than TWEEN
ty German monarchs or princelings in
exile and retirement. Those Emperors
who formed the European pyramid are
all gone. The only King of any con-
sequence who remains is the King of
England whose power is nominal--an
expression not Of his own will but the
will of whatever Government is in
power. For the rest of the monarchs
who remain decorate the fringes
of Europe-Belgium, Holland, Spain,
Sweden. Italy and so on. The great
bulk of the Continent is republican.
Now the restoration of Constantine
has revived the hopes of the mon
archists in all countries. 1t is taken
to indicate a monarchical reaction in
the mind of Europe which promises TO
return the old gang everywhere.
do not think it means the old gang
that went, because they made the war:
Constantine has come back for one rea-
son only-bccause he kept Greece out
of the war. The moral in the incident
is not that the Greeks are infatuated
with monarchism, but that they are
sick to death of war and mean to have
peace, no matter what form of Gov
eminent is necessary to obtain it.
That is the frame of mind of peoples
everywhere. With the exception of Mr..
Lloyd George, there is not now in power
in all Europe a single statesman who
was responsible for the war or who
had anything to do with carrying it on.
In all of the defeated countries there
has been an absolutely clean sweep of
both men and systems. In the vic
torious countries the men are gone,
but the systems remain. The Govern
ments are still saturated with the
spirit of the war. dragging Europe
down deeper and deeper into the pit.
The meaning of the Greek decision is
not that the kings are coming back,
but that the anti-war tide in Europe is
rising and will sweep away every Gov
eminent, whether monarchical or re-
publican. which is blocking the way to
peace.
How far this tide has risen in Eng
land and In France is shown by the
helplessness of the Allies in the face
of the Greek action. 4 year ago the