Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-05

There lis a crisis which threatens Sc
riouS unrest in the triple nation of
| Yugoslavia, yet it would be premature
to assume that King Alexander will not
be able to find a solution, avoiding re-
bellion and actually strengthening ma
tional ties, tending to reunite the three
races of Croats. Slovenes and Serbs.
The three peoples are one in blood,
but for centuries had been separated by
| political restrictions. only to reunite in
| independence during the World War.
| Theirs is tragic story: part of the
peoples are still living in the Middle
Ages of peasantry and almost feudal
conditioner were before the revolt
which came as fruit of the helpleSsness
of their oppressors, the Austrians and
Hungarians, torn by the World War in
1918. Since then the decade of indie
pendence has been filled with the strug-
giles of undeveloped peoples toward find
ing themselves.
Violence has been the rule rather
| than the exception in all their political
| efforts, and it eliminated last June 20
when a Montenegran deputy in the
| Chamber of Deputies aSSasSinated two
members and wounded four others, in
elusive of the leader of the Croat Peas
ant party, Stefan Raditch, who died
from his wounds some weeks later.
Since then the Croat members have
abSented themselves from the capital,
Belgrade. and refused to recognize the
government in any way refusing all eff
forts to negotiate compromise of diff
! ferenceS, unless the King himself would
make the overtures, with assurance that
the cabinet and its premier would be
ouSted from Office. At last King Alex
ander has received Premier KoroShetZ
in conference and informed him that
his resignation, offered last Sunday, was
accepted.
The King has requested DR.. Matchek,
leader of the Greats since the murder
of Stefan Raditch. to form a govern
ment, but DR.. Matchek has spread con-
sternation among the Serbs and Slo-
venes by announcing that the Croats
must not be considered merely a po-
litical party but nation. The Signifi-
canoe of this can be comprehended only
in the light of history
The history of the Jugoslavs in
Europe begins with their migration as
one people out of TranScarpathia in
1.-THE sixth century, when they settled in
the western provinces of the Balkan
Peninsula. Eventually they were broken
into three groups: The Slovenes became
part of the old German Empire; the
Croats, in 1909, elected the King of
Hungary to be their King. and so became
part of Hungary: the Serbs were indie
pendent 80 years longer. but in 1889
they were defeated in battle by the
Turks and absorbed into Turkey-in-
Europe.
So the three parts Of the one race be-
came three peoples, owing three differ
ent allegiances. for many centuries.
Then, in 1888, Serbia rebelled against
Turkish tyranny and gained autonomy,
under the suZerainty of the Turkish
Sultan, and in 1878 complete independ-
ence.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, with large
populations of Serbs, were still under
Austria Hungary. to which they were
annexed in 1908. Early in the World
War group of Jugoslavs from Aus
tria met in London and declared indie
pendence for all of YugosIavia. and out
of that developed the final union of all
the Croats, Serbs and Siovenes as rec
ognized at the close of the World War.
King Alexander, a veteran general of
the World War, fighting on the side of
the allies, Is a Serb. He celebrated his
fortieth birthday last week.
X X X "
In the centuries of different political
unitieS the three branches of the one
race developed quite differently The
Serbs have been independent of Turkey
since 1878, after 500 years of Turkish
oppression. They remain ignorant
peasants. WITHOUT even modern agricul-
tural implemedts, but dependent upon