Evening star., 1935-10-27

self in Greece. The cycle Of repub-
icanism. personified in the venerable
Cretan statesman and politician,
Eleutheros Venizelos, in the last two
decades. has been completed. Gen.
George Kondylis. erstwhile Democrat
turned MonarchiSt, has shelved Presi-
dent Alexander zaimis, driven Pre-
mier Panagiotis Tsaldaris from Offices
and invited George to return home.
George, who ruled for short IS
months after the volatile Hellenes had
chased" his unluCky father from
the throne for the second time, has
been living, haphazardly, in Paris,
London and other European capitals
in honest poverty for 10 years.
When he donned the royal purple in
1922. after it had been snatched from
Constantines trembling shoulders, he
said of the kingship:
II loathe it. I hate it. I despise
it, I would like to get rid of it, but
what can I do about it?" Now, 1t
appears. he has changed his mind
a kingly prerogative.
Kings by Fate.
Being Kings for the heterogeneous
family from which Constantine and
George sprang appears to be an in
eScapable fate. Although the dynasty,
which descended from George I, scion
of the once-Danish Duchy of Schleis-
wig -Holstein, has not a drop of Greek
blood in its veins, its deStinieS have
been bound ineXtricably with the tenn
pestuous political history of Hellas
since 1868, when the Greeks went
shopping for a successor to the un-
fortunate Otto of Wittelsbach. Prince
of Bavapia. Otto had ruled-or, rath-
er, misruled-Greece for 80 years be-
fore the Athenians rose in their wrath
and turned him out. His successor,
the present Georges grandfather, was
chosen to occupy the Greek throne
after two Englishmen, the Duke of
Edinburgh and Lord Derby, had re-
fused the honor.
The first George ruled q half CEN
tury. An assassin's bullet toppled him
from the throne in 1918. His son,
Constantine, took up the scepter. to
wear it more or less precariously until
1917. Angered at his pro-Germanism,
when all Greece, including the crafty
VeniZelos, was pro-allies, the Atheni-
ans, with the assistance of French
marines, whose machine guns were
mounted on the historic Acropolis,
sent Constantine into exile. In 1920
almost Is years ago to day-the
Greeks recalled "Tino." In the pop
ular plebiscite more votes were cast
for him than there we're legal voters
in the nation-more votes by a full
so per cent.
Took His Sons Place.
Constantine returned to take the
place of his second eldest son, Alex
ander, whom Venizelos and the allies
had placed on the throne. Alexander
had superseded Crown Prince George
because the latter, like his royal
father, whose wife was the Kaiser's
sister, was allegedly too sympathetic
toward the Central powers. A mon
keys bite-providentially, or with the
connivance of mortal factors-removed
the unhappy Alexander from the
scene.
Poor boy" said King Constantine
to the writer, in reminiscing about his
dead son, che did not know what he
was doing. They made him take the
throne which rightfully belonged to
me-" Constantine was dry-eyed when
he discussed Alexander's tragic fate,
which rcorened the road to Greece
for him. He might have said more
frankly what he felt; i. e., "It served
him right" Tinos encourage ex-
pressed that sentiment openly.
Although the republic has been
scuttled by Regent" Kondylis' recent
bloodless revolution, the cabinet dis
solved and Parliament eutlawed.