Evening star., 1938-04-03

Whlle the country over which he rules
Is only the size of New Hampshire and
its population of 100000 is smaller than
that of Manhattan Island, it occupies
strategic position in the diplomatic world
1t lies within the Italian orbit separated
from Mussolin;'s realm only by the narrow
Otranto Straits. Protected on three sides
by rugged mountains. it has remained the
last feudal outpost on the Balkan Peninsula.
Although the distance between its capital,
IIrana, and Paris is less than that between
New York and Minneapolis. as the airplane
flies it is innocent of railways and has
no telephone connection with the outside
world
The people Of Albania take pride in
being the oldest race in Europe. Their
history is lost in time. Shepherds. noun
talneers. robbers in good standing semi
nomads, they cherished their primitive
tribal customs until King zog acquainted
them with the iron fist in an effort to
westernize the country. The progress he
has made with them in the last 10 years
Is spectacular. but the end of the road is
not yet in sight
Contradiction Personified.
Shy and smiling, King zog is contradic-
tion personified. Slim, good looking, of
medium height, he looks anything but an
autocrat and appears younger than his AZ
years. For several years he has been re-
ported in the marriage market, but eligible
= young women may have been unwilling to
incur the tribal wrath. At one time it was
reported that insurance companies declined
the honor of writing life policy for him.
Princess Maria 24-year-old daughter of
King Victor Emanuel III of Italy, not long
ago was reported to have been the object
OF zog's long distance attentions. The
young lady may have been unwilling to
face the tribal vendetta, or the romance
may have been doomed-if romance it was
because of the religion of the Albanian
King, Mahometan. A dark-eyed Egyptian
, princess was subsequently said to meet all
requirements. but these plans did not ma
terialize either
The Kings red-roofed palace in Tirana
Is provided with a shelproof underground
shelter. If popular belief may be trusted.
a subterranean passage affords the roval
resident safe access to distant mountain
Jungles. A large contingent of the Albanian
Army seems to be concentrated in the vi
clnity OF the Kings home, which in the last
seven years he has left only for his summer
residence in Durazzo
The shrubbery along the Tirana-Durazzo
road has been cut in such way as to afford
scant security to potential feudists. At the
time OF royal travel, the highway is cleared
OF all other traffic. The summer bungalow
on the seacoast is protected by electrically
charged wire entangements, artillery and
torpedo boat In order to fr,lstrate at
tempts to poison the King, his meals are
cooked by his six sisters. taking turns. It is
three OF these sisters who recently came to
New York to see the sights of America.
King zog is an indefatigable worker
whose torrential energy finds outlet in end
less hours at his desk. To outside visitors
he talks in good German. What Mustapha
hemal Ataturk has done for Turkey, he is
trying to accomplish for Albania. The
KING knows that an Oriental country such
as his can hope to survive only by assuming
Western ways
The primitive feudal tribal economic
system must yield to the Goth century. The
social habits of the mountaineers must be
adjusted to those of the West The coun-
try's natural resources-metals and oil
must be exploited
Bone Of Contention.
Being small and weak. Zogs country
became the proverbial bone of contention
for the control Of which several neighboring
powers were scrapping. He had to use one
of them to keep away the others, and this
country was Italy, the richest among the
suitors 1t has been suggested that Albania
is little more than satellite of Mussolni's
But we must remember that although his
aims are Occidental, King Zog is shrewd
Oriental, and there is little doubt that he is
playing the game his own way.
zog's story is the living history of his
country. When he was born there was no
AlPania-merely . Turkish sanjak. His