Evening star., 1940-10-28
100000 Soldiers
And Us Warp|anes
Bulk Of Might
Old Rebuilt Cruiser Tops
Navy; Army Is Mossed
Behind Metuxus Line
Ry the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Little Greece, Britain's Mediter-
ranean friend, faces an axis on
slaught with an army estimated at
100000 men, fleet topped by a re-
built cruiser and an air corps placed
at 125 warplanes.
Much of her land force already
is massed behind the "MetaXaS
Line" of defense works which Pre-
mier-Dictator John MetaXaS had
built along the Greek Albanian
frontier after Italy first moved into
Albania.
Greece, an independent kingdom
under King George II that is in ef-
feet a dictatorship under Metaxas,
has been considered in the British
sphere of influence since April, 1889.
At that time Italy, already in a
potentially threatening position in
the Dodecanese Islands to the
southeast, occupied Albania, on
Greece's northern frontier. This
brought from Great Britain and
France immediate pledges of "all
the support in their power" If Greek
independence should be threatened.
Metaxas Minister Since 1886.
Metaxas, Minister of War in a
non partisan cabinet when the mon
archy was restored in 1885, has
been Premier since April Is, 1886.
He has been the country's strong
man" since the coup d'etat OF Au-
gust 4, 1896, by which he dissolved
the Chamber OF Deputies, announced
the suspension of civil rights ana
took for himself the portfolios OF
foreign affairs, war, marine, air and
education.
Under his rule, Greek relations
with Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey
seemed improved He introduced
a broad program of social legisla-
ton and public works. There was
general increase in wages and
the standard of living. There also
was an increase in taxes and the
cost of living.
United States interests have in
vested considerably in this program
of modernization. American firms
signed a S10,00O,000 contract for the
development of power and chemical
metallurgical plants. In order to
avoid spending s7OO0,000 year to
import coal the Greek government
signed a contract calling for United
States interests to spend S1,200,000
in developing Greek Ignite deposits.
This project was outlined originally
bv the late Samuel insult and taken
up again after the Greek govern
ment, presumably under pressure
from Washington, had ordered In
sull's deportation.
Greece, with an area of 50,527
square miles and a population of
over 100000, is primarily an agri-
cultural country. Until the out
break of the European war the
largest share of her trade, both
import and export, was with
Germany.
Foreign Trade Badly Upset.
In 1888 Germany took 38.5 per
cent of the total of Greek exports,
contributed 288 per cent of Greek
imports. The United States was
second in exports, fourth in i'm
ports.
Although her 2OOO,OOO-ton mer-
chant marine has proSpered, Greek
foreign trade was upset badly by
the war. Most of her coal had come
from Germany and Poland. Now
she must develop her home resources,
said to be sufficient for 10 years.
Germany had taken most of her
crops of Turkish tobacco.
In January of this year Greece
signed a commercial treaty with
France whereby France was to take
S7O00,000 in Greek exports and
Greece in turn would get many of
her imports from France and the
French colonies. In July of last
year, three months after the pledge
Of support to Greek independence,
Britain established credits of f2,040,-
900 (about S8,000000) to enable
Greece to purchase armaments and
raw materials.
In the World War Greece mus
tered some 10000 men to fight on
the side of the Allies. Under
Metaxas, the present-day Greek de-
fenses have been reorganized.
Hitler's newspaper, the Voelkischer
Seobachter, estimated in April,
1889, that Greece might be able to
mobilize an army of 100000 men.
Her regular army is $1,000 strong,
but she recently was estimated to
have 100, 900 men under arms. Mill
tary service is compulsory between
the ages of 81 and So
The Premier also has undertaken
to strengthen the navy. Between
1887 and 1910 the government plan
ned to build u destroyers and two
submarines. Only two had been
built by the end of last year.
Cruiser of $3.50 Tons.
For the rest the navy consists OF
one cruiser, the 9,450-ton Averoff,
built in 1910, refitted in 1927 and
carrying four 92-inch and eight
75-inch guns; one 2,ll5-ton mine
layer, former cruiser which was
built for China in 1912 and pur-
chased by Greece in 1914; four mod
ern destroyers, two built in 1881
and two in 1882; II other destroy
ers and torpedo boats, all of pre-
World War vintage, but all rebuilt
within the last Is years; six subma-
rines, the oldest of which was built
in 1926, and 13 other units.
Fewer details are available on the
Greek air force. 1t is known that
Greek pilots are trained in a school
modelled after that of the Royal Air
Force; that she has about 125 war
planes, chiefly of British and French
manufacture, and that there are
three military airdromes and sea-
plane base.
King George II succeeded to the
throne on September %, 1922. He
left Greece on December 18 of the
following year, after the revolution,
when members of the dynasty were
forbidden to live in the country.
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