Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-01-29
Metuxus
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NlSlOAOS
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mourning The funeral was Sched-
uled for Friday and communique
said that every honor shall be paid
him as BELTS cardinal figure in
the history of the land
King George went to the MetaXas
residence to pay his respects and
offer condolences to the family
Pledged to Metaxas' Policies.
Pledging himself to follow Premier
Metaxas' domestic and military
policies. the King in his proclama-
ton declared:
Il am convinced that, inspired by
the high example of the recent
/ bright pages of our national life and
tightly unified around my throne. we
shall bring the gigantic struggle now
being waged by the heroic Greek
Army on the battlefield to success
| full conclusion"
The King, in separate proclama-
ton to the armed forces, said 1.-THE
loss is hard for us all. very hard, but
| the Greece which he (Metaxas)
dreamed of is eternal and immor-
! tai. -
! We must make up for this hare
/ loss by strengthening our will. oul
decision, our daring and our insist
ence that justice is on our side, and
/ therefore we shall win"
Dictator Since Aug. 4, 1886.
! Premier MetaXas. a veteran SOL
der and military genius. had held
pictorial powers in the Greek gov
eminent with the approval of King
| George since August 4, 1896, when
he engineered the coup d'etat which
gave his country an authoritarian
regime. He was proclaimed Pre-
mier for life" on July 80. 1888
Military men have given him
much of the credit for Greece's sue
ceSsful stand against the Italian in
vasion, which began last October
% and was turned into retreat into
Albania.
! Early in his career Premier Me-
taxas was regarded in some quarters
as somewhat "pro-German," but he
repudiated any such sympathies in
his roe as Greece's strong man and
there was no doubt of his British
leanings after the European situa-
| ton f1ared into open war in Sep
TENDER, 1889.
Known as an organizer and an
ardent patriot. he had been famed
for his driving determination to see
his ideas carried through.
The last vestige of opposition to
his regime disappeared in February
1888, when several party leaders
! favoring return to constitutional
, government were banished to Greek
islands in the Aegean.
Ruled With Iron Discipline.
He governed Greece with an iron
discipline while carrying out a
| sweeping program of social legisla-
! ton, public works, land reclamation
and road building.
He aimed at increasing Greece
industrial activity. raising wages
and lettering living conditions.
! Premier Metaxas enjoyed the un-
| divided support of the army ano
highly efficient secret police.
Premier Metaxas' determination
to pursue the war with Italy to 9
successful termination with every
resource at his country's command
was reflected in a statement issued
January f.
Our aim is the free development
of Greece and of her moral anc
material forces-not of course, al
the expense of other peoples" he
said.
I'VE will not tolerate, either, peo-
piles who covet our rights to develop
freely. These are the aims of the
war which we are fighting and fol
which we will fight until the end
that is to say the final victory which
will be ours"
Trained as a soldier and an &C.
knowledged military genius, he wa:
a confirmed rolayist, the chief hope
of the House of Glucksburg through
20 years of adbications and restora'
tons. Later he modified his view:
sufficiently to make himself persona
grata to the constitutional monarch.
lists and rode to power with then
when George II resumed the Greek
throne in October, 1885.
Then death in quick succession
took Eleutherios Venizelos, his arch
political foe, and two of his col
leagues in the new government
leaving him without rival for thu
position of strong man."
Social unrest was threatening tt
break out in widespread strikes
when the plump little Prime Min
lister stalked into King Georges pal
ace, summed up the situation in TIN
phrase growing Communist agita
ton" and received the Kings nod tt
declare martial law, dissolve Parlia
ment and use the money for dep
uties' salaries to open soup kitchens
Born in Cephalonia.
MetaXas was born in Cephalonis
in 1871, a member of an ancient
family which in Venetian times re.
ceived the title of count and played
frequent parts in medieval Ioniar
history. He had five years of study
In the Greek military college before
he entered the army and he was {
captain of engineers in the disas'
!. trous 1897 war with Turkey which
followed Greece's attempts to occup!
; Crete
That experience convinced Capt
Metaxas he needed further training
} He enrolled in the military academ.
!; at Berlin. There he acquired tn
nickname of Little Moltke," be