Various - The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 25, April 29, 1897

The troubles between Greece and Turkey are still unsettled, and though the war clouds look lower and more threatening, the storm has not as yet broken.

Several matters have, however, been made clearer to us.

The first and most important is that there is no such thing as a Concert of the Powers.

It has been hinted for some time past that the Powers were not agreed as to the course they should take with Greece, but it is now openly known that there is no prospect of their agreeing at all.

This was found out when Greece refused to obey the Ultimatum of the Powers and withdraw her troops from Crete. The Powers threatened to blockade the Piræus and the ports of Greece. The reply of Greece was to charter every possible ship, and send men and arms to the frontier, and to tell the Powers that she would declare war on Turkey the moment her ports were blockaded.

Then the world waited to see what the Powers would do. But the Powers did nothing. There was no blockade of Greece, and according to the latest accounts there is no chance of one for the present.

It gradually came out that the Powers had had a serious disagreement—England, France, and Italy standing out against the proposed forcing of obedience from Greece.

It was even said that the Admiral of the Italian Fleet had asked to be exchanged from duty in Crete, because by reason of his having served longer in the navy than any other officer of the various fleets, he had been made Admiral of the Allied Fleets, and it was his duty to give the orders for any action that was taken against the Cretans or Greeks. He liked his work so little that he asked his Government to recall him, and send some one else in his place.

It would seem that the trouble with the Powers is that they cannot all be brought to see that the Turkish Empire is really in such a state of decay that nothing can keep it from falling to pieces.

Germany, Russia, and Austria believe that the Empire is still strong, and can be held together by the powerful arm of Europe. To do this they are willing to crush and sacrifice noble little Greece.

England, France, and Italy, on the other hand, do not believe in the saving of Turkey. They refuse to allow a brave Christian people to be martyred for the sole purpose of shoring up an Empire that is a disgrace to civilization, and had much better be pulled down, so that a new and more creditable sovereignty may be built upon its ruins.

The work of the Powers has failed in every direction.

The Admirals of the Allied Fleets which are blockading Crete, received orders from their governments to spread the news through the island that the Powers offered Crete home rule under a European Prince, and to assure the Cretans that the blockade would be removed the moment the Greek troops were withdrawn from the island.

The Cretans would not listen to this. They sent replies, signed by nearly forty thousand men, representing the entire Cretan population, declaring that they wanted no such arrangement.

Not one of the signers approved of the idea of home rule. The Cretans are determined to be reunited to Greece, their own mother-country, and they intend to fight until they gain their point.

This action on the part of the Cretans turned every one's attention back to the frontier of Greece and Turkey. It seems that the question of Cretan liberty must be settled there.

The war fever is running very high in Greece, and King George is being urged to declare war, and let the Greeks show the Powers they are able to settle their own affairs for themselves.

The 6th of April was the anniversary of the first national rising in Greece, when, in 1821, they determined to throw off the rule of Turkey, under which they had suffered for so many long years.

This day is always celebrated in Greece as a holiday and fête day. Coming as it did this year in the midst of such angry feelings against the Turks, it was feared that the soldiers on the frontier would lose control of themselves, and that their officers would not be able to prevent them from crossing the frontier and attacking the Turks.

The Crown Prince issued a General Order to the soldiers, commanding them to preserve order, and, possibly in consequence of this, the day passed without disturbance of any sort.

But it was not likely that the Greeks and Turks could remain long on the frontier facing each other, without trouble of some sort arising.

Both countries have been massing their armies on their side of the border, in readiness for the declaration of war, and in some places the opposing forces are so near together that the block-houses are only thirty yards apart.

It was only a question of time when the first blow would be struck.

On the 9th of April, three days after the great fête had passed over, and just as Europe was praising Greece for the behavior of her men, the fighting broke out.

Great excitement prevailed when it was learned that a body of Greeks, one thousand strong, had invaded Turkey, and was holding the Turkish army at bay.

War had not been declared, so the news of the fighting surprised everybody very much. But it was soon learned that the Greeks engaged in the fight were not soldiers of the regular army, but were described as "brigands."

They were, however, a body of men who were armed by a powerful Greek secret society, which is at the root of that enthusiastic demand for war which is echoing from every quarter of Greece.

This society has been gathering men into its service for years, and making them swear, on joining, that they will do all in their power to restore to Greece her old possessions in Macedonia, Epirus, and Thrace, and that they will bring these Greek peoples once more under the rule of Greece.

For years the Greeks have been in the habit of putting all the money they could spare aside, for the use of this great League which was to free them. Even the little children have devoted their banks and money-boxes to the cause of liberty. In this way a large sum of money has been gathered together, and this society, which is called Ethnike Hetairia, has been able to arm men, and send them to the frontier to fight for their country.

King George was well aware of the existence of this society, and probably that its members were on the frontier waiting for their chance to overrun Macedonia and reconquer it from the hands of the Turks.

He therefore sent a message to the Turks, warning them that bands of armed men, who did not belong to the regular army, were on the frontier, and that he would not be responsible for any of their acts.

On March 8th, fifteen hundred of the members of this League crossed the frontier, and were met by some Turkish soldiers, who fought them and drove them back again.

But this band was not the only one. Another column of Leaguers made a raid into Macedonia, took possession of two towns, and established themselves in a strongly fortified spot.

Yet another attack was made on the Turks at Mount Olympus, and after a struggle the Greeks succeeded in planting their flag on the sacred mountain.

Mount Olympus was supposed by the ancient Greeks to be the dwelling-place of the gods whom they worshipped.

You have all of you heard of Jupiter, Juno, Cupid, Venus, Diana, Minerva, Apollo, and Neptune. These were all Greek gods, and there were many, many more gods and goddesses besides, whom the Greeks worshipped, and whose deeds have been sung for us by every poet since the great Homer. The faces of these fabled personages are even familiar to us, through the beautiful Greek sculpture and through the art of famous painters, until the names and stories of these gods and goddesses have become household words to us.