Evening star., 1932-02-21
Continued From Third Page.)

II successful. would have plunged the
kingdom into anarchy because it would
have meant the end Of the dynasty,
then the only existing element of ap-
parent unity. 1t was then found out
that the Would-be murderer was backed
by the new rulers Of Russia.
On August 16 of the same year the
aged King Peter died and Alexander
ascended the throne Of his father. He
had to face a multiplicity of difficult
problems, both internal and external
The uniflcation Of Southern Slavs
seemed an almost impossible goal to
reach. At the same time. certain for
eign powers were jealous of the new
state and used all means in their pos
session not only to weaken It, but also
to diScredit it in the eyes of the world.
On June 8. 1922, Alexander married
Marie Of Rumania. thus consolidating
friendly relations between two neigh
boring states. On September 6. 1923,
an heir was born and received the name
Of Peter in honor of the founder of the
new dynasty. A second son received
the name of TomiSlav after the first
King Of Croatia, a concession to the
second most important element in the
new kingdom.
Labor without Result.
The first years Of Alexander's reign
were marked by never-ceaSing energy
Of the new ruler to smooth down the
differences still existing between the
Serbs. Croats and Slovenes However,
1t seemed that no human force could
obtain any tangible results so long as
prejudices, cultural and religious an
tagonlsm, rested on the territorial di-
visions Of the new state. The future
Of Alexander's kingdom seemed gloomy
and dead impaSse was obviously
reached when national antagoniSm
manifested itself in the shooting of
Radio, the leader Of Croatian radicals,
by an unbalanced deputy Of old Serbia
during the session and in the building
Jugoslavia. 1t was then that Alexander
decided to take entire responsibility for
the future of his kingdom on himself
He disbanded the Parliament abro-
gated the constitution, ordered Gen
Jivkovic, commander Of his personal
guard, to form cabinet. and proceed
ed to rule as an autocratic king. Two
years have passed since and extraordi-
nary results have been achieved through
the daring measure Of King Alexander
Not only political peace within the
state has been obtained, but the inter-
national prestige Of the young kingdom
has grown considerably. The economic
situation has improved in an almost
unbelievable degree: It was not
lister. Gen. Jivokvic. was only the ex-
ecutor Of the Kings orders. Therefore.
1t was to Alexander's personal credit
that the pacification Of the country
should be laid.
A number of important reforms have
been put into life during these two
years. First of all. the very name of
the kingdom has been changed. In
stead Of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes." a term which perpetuated
the division, the Kingdom Of Jugo-
slavia' became the official name Of the
new state Then, too, the territorial
administrative division which was re-
tanned after the merging Of the three
parts of the kingdom has been abol-
ished. The kingdom is at present divid-
ed into nine bonats or provinces, the
limits of which do not coincide with
the geographical frontiers Of Serbia,
Crotia and Slovena. Another impor-
tant reform was the unification of the
language. The Royal Academy had
smoothed down the differences between
S6TDldu anu SIOdtld1l. ulllcIcIlCco WAiSu
were not generic. but had been ac-
cumulated during the years of separa-
tion-mainly as the result of foreign
influence.
Tw0-Year Peace Reign.
Notwithstanding the terroristic ac-
tivity Of Croatian radicals evidently
supported and financed by red Moscow,
peace reigned in the Kingdom Of Jugo-
slavia during the two years Of Alexander's
personal rule, and now, celebrating the
tenth anniversary Of his accession to
the throne Alexander has announced
to his people that the regime Of autoc-
racy which was necessitated by cir
cumstances Is over and that the King
dom of Jugoslavia is to return to q
parliamentary form Of government,
based on q new constitution.
The manifesto of King Alexander Is
q characteristic document revealing the
high sense of duty Of that able mon
arch:
"To my dear people: The mainte-
nance of national unity and of the
states indivisibility, which is my duty
principal problem Of the regime which
I have instituted on January g. 1929
At that time in my address to the ma
tion which was dictated by my love for
my country, frankly told my dear
people about all the difficulties and
daneers which threatened our national
life and our states entity. These dif-
fefmcee were % gfeat md the dancers