Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1921-07-07

clety, washington ~ VI -.
Greece In carrying on In Asia MI
nor against the Turkish Nationalist
what may be called the only major
war now In progress, attracts atten'
| ton anew to the prolonged presencs
Of the Greeks on the world stage.
There are few parallels to the strik-
| Ing racial phenomenon Of Hellenic
continuity throughout the vicissitudaH
Of 1000 years. Modern research has
penetrated the dark byways of me-
dieval Greek history, and we now
know that the Greeks, whatever their
temporary fate, have preserved I'M
broken the thread of their national
existence.
The firmest bond which unites the
Greek of today with his illustrious
forebears of the golden age is the
Greek language, the essential ele-
ments of which remain as they were
In the days when the tongue served
as the medium of the noblest poetry
and the sublimest philosophy which
the race has yet produced. This
tongue traces Its unbroken lineage
back through medieval and New Tes-
lament Greek TO the classic speech OF
Plato and of his contemporaries.
And yet, with all this continuity
If language, there exists now In
Greece q linguistic condition of af-
fairs around which centers contro-
Versy at once comic or tragic; for
here are In Greece two languages,
,r, rather, the one language In two
forms-one written by the newspa-
,ers, spoken by the educated classes,
and used In parliamentary debates
and In public documents, including
the Scriptures, the circulation OF
which Is regulated by law; and the
sther vernacular used by the mass
IS of the people, containing many
words of foreign origin, especially
Turkish and Italian, arising from
hose periods of foreign occupation,
With much slmplified grammar rare
y reduced to writing, except for pri-
rate communications. The former Is
he cultured tongue; the latter the
popular idiom; and between the two
here RACES a merciless warfare, In
which fanatical students of the uni
rersity have lost their lives, ministers
heir portfolios, and a Metropolitan
If Athens his miter.
Greece of Today Almost New.
Greece of today looks back only
hree generations, If one places Its |
,rigin In the war for independence,
which was concluded by the protocol |
# London In 1880; and, witnessing
he progress which In that brief span |
las been made in q land of such |
parse resources, one cannot see how
raise can be withheld from peo
lie who have accomplished so much.
When the city of Athens passed
rom Turkish control and was des-
ynated as the capital of the new free
ingdom Of Greece, 1t was mere
andful of wretched huts clustered
bout the Acropolis. Today 1t is a
thoroughly modern city, with spIen-
Id streets, magnificent public build
lgs, handsome residences, attractive
arks, and most of the modern i'm
rovements of which western cities
oast. The building of this city alone
! a land of such scanty resources Is
lirly comparable to the development
Z our own rich West, and as meri-
,rious when all the circumstances
re considered Indeed, had the Greek
today nothing to his credit save
le building Of the attractive capital
! his nation, that alone would be
Efficient to rank him among the con-
ructiye agencies of the modern
orld.
In this city of old memories and
Nv hopes, Greek life centers now as
it's classic days, and here ancient
Id modern Greece are inextricably
ingled in curious medley of mo-
,rnity and antiquity, which colors the |
ost ordinary of everyday affairs. {
4 every hand arise the shattered {
of its splendid past, and {
en- the tiniest fragments which [
rye to link the life Of the present I
tn the DAYS that are gone are most |
refully preserved. I
Guards Its AntiquitIss &
The Greek government is keenly 4
we to its responsibility for the safe
arding of It's antiquities, and the t
partment Of archaeology. under the +
arge of the ministry of education z
d religion, is painstakingly organ r
ID and prudently administered. The #
Iseums at Athens are handsomely f,
used, conveniently arranged, ac- 5
rately catslogued, and open to In t
ection and study without fee, this "
ter being a point Of great pride A