San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-09
GREECE CANNOT
PAY DEMANDS
ASKED BY ROME
$2,50O,0O Badly Needed
~. to Care for Refu- a..
az gees. ~,
CRIME NOT SOLVED
Greek Official at Wash
IN ington Explains Ath-
ss ems View. ~.
CRIME NOT SOLVED
BY NJ. TASANLaD0S.
Charge D'Affaires of Greece at Wash

Charge D'Affaires of Greece at Wash
Copyright, by The san Antonio Light.
- Washington, ID. C., Sept. SIN the
excitement over the competency of the
League of Nations to settle the Graeco.
italian controversy the fundamental
causes of the controversy itself are in
danger of being lost from sight.
'~S Certain Italian officers have been
Killed in the wild, mountainous region
through which the boundary line be-
tween Greece and Albania runs, the
assault taking place so near the from
tier that it might have been the work
of subjects of either country. Up to
the present moment there is no actual
proof as to who the assassins were. al
though there is every evidence they
were Albanian subjects, who, after
committing the dastardly act, escaped
into their own. country.
Without waiting for an inquiry, the
Italian government, knowing that
Greece was impoverished and weak
ened by her long struggle with the
Turks made demands that no people
could submit to; demands even more
severe than those which set the world
aflame in 1914.
One point in these demands which
has had little attention in the United
States is the size of the cash indem-
nifty demanded and what the payment
of this sum would mean to Greece. In
the United States, where everything is
done on such tremendous scale, s.
100000 is not large sum, whereas
in Greece today it means literally life
or death to thousands.
Refugees Fill Greece.
There are in Greece at this moment
million and quarter refugees, of
whom about quarter of a million are
self-supporting and an equal num-
Der partly self-supporting, while the
balance are entirely dependent and OF
this latter number about 80 per cent
are women, children and men past
the prime of life, as most Of the able
bodied men were retained in Turkey
and are only now being permitted TO
come to Greece.
Today the people of Greece are
bearing this burden practically alone.
The American Red Cross came to us.
; Immediately after the disaster at
Smyrna but left, US July /. carrying
I with them the heartfelt gratitude OF
the Greek people. In the eight months
( they were in Greece the American Red
l Cross spent only little more than the
Italian government has asked us TO
pay for the lives of five men and
yet five hundred thousand people were
fed.
1t 10 the hope Of Greece that we
may be able to establish all of the
refugees upon farms and industries
so that we can make them happy, use
full citizens of our country. And it is
evident that the concentration of a
large majority of the Greek race with
in our own borders will remove one of
the greatest sources Of friction in the
Near East.
Survey Is Made.
In order to effect the settlement of
the refugees, plans have been made
for an international loan, and a com
plete survey has been made of the agri-
cultural and industrial condition of the
country. This survey shows that, with
time and money to reclaim the neces-
.sary land and start the necessary in
dustries, the refugees can be made
not only self-supporting but source
OF great economic strength to Greece.
! Unfortunately the preliminary work
OF draining and irrigating land. build
ing homes. furnishing farming imple-
! ments. tools. animals, etc. for such a
number OF people cannot be done over
! night, even if the money were imme-
I diately available, which is not the
case. As the laws of nature demand
that even refugees must eat, and as
under the most favorable circum-
| stances they, can produce nothing be-
fore the harvest of 1924, it is OBJ
vious that money must be found to
feed them.
The international commission which
has aided Greece in making a study
I of the situation estimates the cost OF
| feeding the refugees at 500 each per
month, SO, therefore, the amount de-
manded by the Italian government for
q crime for which the responsibility
1 has not been fixed, would care for
| half a million of the refugees for
more than two months.
About two weeks before the Alban-
( ian incident Greece, after carefully
tabulating her own resources, found
: that it would be impossible to provide
! food for all Of the refugees until they
could become self-sustaining and there.
fore, found it necessary to issue a call
for help.
Great Britain and some of tn
smaller European countries have re-
sponded and We are still hoping for a
favorable response to our appeal 10
the charitable organizations of the
United States, but if Italian aggres.
: sion makes it necessary for us to re.
main under arms, the need Of helI
will be just so much greater, while
the payment of any such indemnity as
has been asked would simply NEAR
that, without corresponding add
tional help from the outside world
thousands of refugees must starve, n,
Greece herself is spending every avail
able cent and cannot increase he
refugee allotment.