Evening star., 1924-07-20
SERbHARSHNESS
FIRES M||NOR|T|ES
Internal Condition of New
Kingdom Far From Peace
full, Observers Find.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

Daily News.
PARIS, France, July 1.-Eecause of
the harsh measures of the Serbian
government and the demands of the
Croats and Slovenes for autonomy, a
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which /
visited recently. is in continual effer-
vescence. The position Of the gov
ernment is far from pleasant.
THE situation could be changed in
less than a year" a member of the
Serbian parliament told me. eff the
government were not SO chauvinistic.
There are minorities in the kingdom
that lead a perfectly happy life. These
are the Mussulmans and the Germans.
They are given more privileges than
any other minoritieS because they do
not ask for autonomy and their depu-
ties always support the party in pow
er The Serbs do not fear them be-
cause their number is too small to
constitute Il menace to the Serbian
nation.
Both Germans and Mussulmans in
Bosnia and Herzegovina have their
own schools where German and Turk
ish are taught. They have their own
churches and mosques. The clergy
and the Schoolmasters are paid by the
Serbian government In parliament
the German and Turkish members
vote blindly for the government"
Strong for Military.
The fact that these nationalists
have become devoted to the govern
ment which gives them religious and
cultural privileges has apparently
not opened the eyes of the Serbs to
the possibility that similar attitude
might win over the other -minorities.
-tt tao
entirely different. The Croatians and
Slovenes are more numerous than are
the Serbs. Moreover, intellectually,
they claim to be on a higher level.
were under the Turkish yoke the
Croats and Slovenes were under Aus
tria and profited by the higher stand
ard of civilization. While the Serbs
pendence the Croats and Slovenes
were enjoying almost complete tran
quillity under the protection of the
then mighty Austrian empire.
The result is that, while intellec-
tually the Serbs have remained some
what backward and the other two
Slav races have progressed, the latter
are a negligible quantity in mill
tary way, while the Serbs are prob
ably the best soldiers in the Balkans.
Because they consider themselves in
tellectually so far ahead of the Serbs,
the Croatians and Slovenes demand,
if not supremacy in the Kingdom, at
least an equal footing with the Serbs.
On the other hand, the Serbs, realiZ-
ing their shortcomings, fight against
this desire, for they believe that once
they agreed to share with the Croats
the privilege of ruling the country
ment that would be predominant in
the kingdom. They believe also that,
being better fighters than the Slo-
venes and Croats, they can keep their
military force remains the most pow
erful argument in the country.
All Try to Dictate.
The serious internal situation COM
ptlled the Serbian government TO
give up F'iume and sign treaty with
Italy renouncing all rights over that
port, in exchange for certain privi-
That treaty has the advantage of re-
moving the reason for conflict be-
tween Italy and the Kingdom Of the
Serbs. CroatS and Slovenes, but the
Serbian nation is far from being sat
iSfied with it.
IF the Pashitch government had
asked the nation whether it approved
of the treaty with Italy 80 per cent
of the people would have rejected 1t,
Serbian deputy told me. But the
government, believing that it knows
better than do the people what the
people want, accepted a humiliating
treaty and gained nothing by it. 1t
is complete capitulation before
Italy without even obtaining that
nations friendship. We have given
change The privilege of sending our
ships to a free zone in the port of
Fiume means nothing to US, for Italy,
in spite of the treaty, could bother
us enough to force US to give up that
trifiing privilege"
of Croatia" a Croatian nationalist
said to me. The Serbs, who despotiG,-
ally rule the united countries, nat
urally did not bother about our eco
nomic welfare and sacrificed US to
the Italians. The treaty may offer
stance, the Serbs will not have to
think any more about a conflict with
Italy and can concentrate their mill
tary forces on trying to denational-
ize the non-Serbian nationalities
which help form this so-called united
kingdom. But from the point of view
Of the Kingdom Of the Serbs. Croats
and Slovtnes this treaty is disastrous.
1t is a Serb-Italian treaty and moth
ing else"
Fiume Treaty Disliked.
In spite of this opposition the Ser
bian government means to carry out
the treaty. The violent language of
the press does not worry worry the Pa Pashitch
tests of the powerless Croatians. 1t
was essential for the safety of the
country that the ,Jugoslav kingdom
should be on friendly terms with its
powerful western neighbor. The
Serbian statesmen, who conduct the
affairs of the country from Belgrade.
do not claim to play significant
role in western politics, but they
want to be the leading force in the
FOUND.