New Britain herald., 1929-08-29
BULGARIA LIFTING
 ITS WAR BURDENS
Poorest European Country Slow
 ly Regaining Its Feet
Eleven, Bulgaria, Aug. 29 P)

AO' Nilp louiS etll ltt, Aug. MI
 After many years of trial, under al most insuperable war burdens, Bull garia is regaining it's feet This be- came apparent to the many Ameri- cans who visited the little Slav king dom during the recent observances of the thousandth anniversary of the reign of Czar Simeon the Great, Bulgaria's greatest monarch. The country's progress is particularly marked in the small cities and towns.
 In and about this historic city of Eleven, from which the Russian army, led by Czar Alexander III, drove the Turks 50 years ago and thus gave Bulgaria her indepen- dence, the Bulgarians have raised many fine monuments as tokens of gratitude to their liberators. but their finest monument is the re- markable progress they have made during their half century of free dom, and especially in the decade since the World war.
 A visit to any village near Eleven brings this progress into clear re- lief. For example, in yard in the village of Trustenik there was found a "Zemlianka" or dug out" which is the kind of house in which al most all Bulgarian villagers lived a few decades ago. It consists of a little porchlike entrance, then a small kitchen with an open fire place and after that a stall for a pair of big black COWS, beyond which there is a slightly elevated section, on the dirt floor of which the family sleeps, with mats made of corn husks under them and heavy goat hair, hand woven rugs over them.
 In the whole house there is but one little window, no stove, praC- tically no furniture and no interior room divisions. The animals are placed in the middle of the hut to serve as sort of central heating system. The inmates of this dug out said that the cows kept the house as warm as a stove.
 One can imagine what life would be like in such a small, dark house as this, in which nine or ten people of both sexes and all ages, belong ing to two or more families, live with the domestic animals.
 But such places are relics in mod ern Bulgaria. They have given way to solid brick houses. with large windows. Other equally good brick buildings are being built by the thousands, for the farm animals.
 Forty years ago this part of Bull garia was thinly populated and poor ly cultivated. There were no rail roads and the wagon roads were bad. Now, prosperous villages dot the land. The fields are eXcellently cultivated with modern American and Germany machinery, supple mented by huge hoes deftly wielded by girls. The quality of the farm animals has been improved and the villages have adopted the best kinds of wheat, alfalfa, corn and fruits.
 The Eleven district is noted for its grapes and famous for it's large sweet melons. In the spring every it'HlliS lolStS SlLh NOiIl ltttlIlS them on mulberry leaves from trees which the state furnished. As a result of state supervision and dairy contests the villages have in creased the milk capacity of their COWS threefold.
 In every village there is a school, most of which are housed in excel lent modern buildings. In this area less than ten per cent of the young CT Bulgarians, including the young women and girls, are illiterate. Bull garia has the lowest percentage of illiteracy of any country in the Bal kans.
 Since 1926 forty villages have put in water systems; many have elec- tric light. In more than half of the villages there are public libraries, and in not few popular lecture courses. Most of the roads uniting the villages as well as the main roads from city to city are macada- mixed.
 There are many popular banks,