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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1916)
THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEDRA8KA. lift A (tTQF- UaMMW kjuhkk iihili"uwdhuih W People v- TOMBIGBEE CANDLER m k w mm w a Tis M,;;;,;: rnm Mm tiSriBar ,-&&ifcniJ r' ) HWfe II Uj David Starr Jordan, noted ed ucator and pacifist tells what f right fulness has beenltorought by conflict in the tittle coun tries of Eastern Europe :: A grave problem stilt unsolved (Courtesy American Museum Journal) T WAS my fortune, not long ugo. wjth three good friends nntl two soldiers, to follow In n king's automobile inlong tlio trull of war. This wua In Mncedonln. Tho lino of nn army's march la not plonmint to look upon oven though tlio people along It tmd lint imirli in tnnn. 'I'lm nlncli of mffcrlne Is vorv real e.ven If. iih In .tho Hnltciins. folk have grown used to It. There nro two pinln raariu) by which you may recognize tlio path of war In u Innd of farmers. The one Is the charred Wage, with Its whitewashed stone walls black ened by tiro. The other Is tho presence hero and Uiero In tlio plowed Holds of three poles fastened together at tho ton. and from tho ernteh n hnhv mispended Just high cnotiKh to liunie Inquisitive dogs or gouts. Somowhoro In tho Hold, anywhere In tlio Balkan vnlloys lu May, you will see ono woman driving or leading n bullock or a buffalo, whllo unother behind her holds tho plow. The men uro In tho army or else they woro there. The memory I shall longest hold of Montenegro lis a plcturo taken by my guldo, Antonio Rclnweln, lof this land of stony graves, of tho resoluto people iof tho llmcstnno crags who huvo novel- dono horn ago to tho Turks nor to any other outside powor, It will bo remembered that all these Bnlknn folk woro for years under tho dominion of tho Turk, Htid Unit nono of them huvo been freo for luilf a century. Tho Turk was most acceptable when ho was asleep. Whon ho was nwake, lie had his own Ideas of "Union und Progress." Union meant uni formity. A iiiiUon should lmvo ono ruler, qno Hag, ono rcligton, ono language. Progress was his way of bringing about this condition. This was by tnns fcarco. And as tho uctuul Turks wero fow In num ber, ruling over un emplro of Slavs, Greeks, Ital- wis, Jews, ArmonlntiH, Albanians, Kurds, lCgyp Innn, Moors and Arabs, It demanded eternal vlg Bunco to keep them till In a stnto of union and "progress. Thoso people have had constantly before thorn tho cholco of revolt, conversion, assimilation, ban lahmcnt and inussucrc. And at ono time or nn pther, Homo of onch nice havo choseii each one of plicae, ofton two or thrco of them nt once. Mean while, following tho wicked lead of Blsmurck and JDisruoll, Europe hns kept tlio Turk alive, bocauso from financiers In each nation, tho Ottoman sultan hH borrowed conslderublo sums of monoy. I Macedonia lies along tho southorn slopes of tho JBalknn peninsula. It Is a fertile region crossed by (Chains of rounded mountains, with green valleys tond swift streams, lu physlcul conditions not un 4lko Uio south of France. It has 45,000 Bquaro italics of territory, Is about as largo as tho stnto of Mulno, wIUi n population nearly two-thirds that of tho city of Now York, and boforo the war of liberation It hud about 2,200,000 peoplo. The ma Uorlty of theso woro Bulgarian In blood and they fword allowed to havo their own churches and pchools. As to tho campaigns which havo desolated Macedonia In tho last fow years wo need say only lu word. Tho history of the two Balkan wars lu jglvon with accuracy and Justlco In the monumental report of the Balkan couimlsslou of tho Carnegie Wndowmcnt, u document of especial value In any Htudy of the conditions preceding tho "third Hal jkan war" which today has set thu world In llnmcs. Tho first Balkan wnr wus altruistic as fur as (uny war can be. Its purposo was tho relief of n distressed people, suffering for centuries from tho laxities pi! Turkish rule, always Incompetent and everywhere unscrupulous, and on tho other baud continuously overrun by tho outlaw patriots which kept Uio land In Incessant turmoil. The Balkan ullhinco was u Russian inspiration. It wus planned by Ilartwlg, Itusslan minister at Belgrade, "tho ovll genius of tho Balkans." It ended in the treaty of Loudon, whero tho blind In termeddling of tlio powers, baflled by Austrian In trigue, agreed only on tho kingdom of Albania, waving Uio states to tight it out so far as Mace donia wus concerned. This brought on tho second (Balkan war, iu which Bulgarian diplomacy mado tall tho uitstakcu it had a chauco to in like. The treaty f Bucharest loft Macedonia crossed by artificial boundaries. The effect of Intolerance, worst In Greece, bad enough everywhere, was to drive out of each nation all who belonged to the wrong language or religion. I do not say race, for they are all of tlio saino general stock, oven tho bulk of tho "Turks" and O reeks. This has filled tho region with refugees, men and women whoso fault, Is that they lived on tho wrong sldo of tho boundaries niudo for thorn lu the treaty of Bucharest. Passing down tho long highway which leads over 200 miles from Soflu to Samokov and Dubnltzu In old Bulgaria, then across tlio border of Macedonia, down tho Struma river past Dzumnlu to Petri tch, wo found overywhoro tho Bulgarian refugees from tho Snlonlkl district In Greek Macedonia, Theso huvo boon roughly estimated at 60,000 In number. Somo of theso havo been given farms or houses abandoned in Mncedonln by Turks who followed tho Turkish army away. Others received farms loft by Greeks when ttio Greok army went back after tho treaty of Bucharest. Tho government grants each person somo fourpenco a day. Somo find work, hut after tho war tlioro uro few employ ers. The cost of living has doubled, tlio means of living bus fallen. At Petrltch, near tho present boundary of Greece, there wero hundreds of theso watting about on tho stono sidewalks day by day. They woro waiting for tlio powers to revlBo the treaty of Bucharest and give them buck their homes In the region nbovo Sulonlkl. Somo local Journal had said that this revision was coming soou. It was my duty to assure them that It would novor como. Tlio plirnso In Soflu, "Europe exists no more," is tho truth so far as Balkan affairs are concerned, Tho reason for that Is clearer now. Eavopo was paralyzed by tlio great terror which tun since como on It In nn unthinkable eutostrophu. Thcro wero somo In tho "concert of powers." who were striving to bring on this catastrophe Th "war of stool and gold" was about to givo place to real war, which would end, they hoped, In spcdy vic tory and world power. It has not ended In tiiat way. It lias not yet ended nt all. But thoso who most looked forward to war wero tho ones who hud least conception of Its certain consequences. In the wholo length of tho Strumn valley In western Mncedonln, towns havo been burned In wholo or part by thq Greek army which pursued tho Bulgnrlans as far us the old border of Bui giirlu, In Greok Mncedonln, nt tho hands of somo ono or nil of tho three, successlvo nrmles--TurkUh, Bulgarian and GrGok most of tho towns between Sulonlkl and Drama havo suffered tho sumo fate. Each of these towns has now Its slinro of Greek refugees from Turkish Tlirncc. Thoso liuve been estimated by Greek authorities as numbering JI00, 000. They havo como by railway from Adrlnnoplo In box cars bolouglug to the Greok government. Theso cars are left at the various stations, u dozen or moro lit each. In these the peoplo keep their bedding and their scanty effects. The government of Greece allows them two or threo sous u day, with rice which they cook on Arcs of thistles and other weeds.- In a Turkish Journal, vigorous complaint wus mndc ngninst the Allmniun refugees In Thrace us .more "proficient with the Mauser thun with tho plow, und skillful only us cuttle thieves." A plea was mado for bringing back tho Bulgarian farm ers as far more desirable neighbors. "Tho Bul garians uro now our friends." In tho larger towns, ns Sulonlkl mid Kllkush, tho refugees nro ranged In tent cities, ten thousnnd or moro In ono encnmpnient. There wero porhnps 00,000 Greek refugoes n llttlo more than u your ugo along the rood from Drama to Sulonlkl, Whon I wus nt Snlonlkl tho Turks wero leaving In grout numbers: 212,000 took steerage passage for Stomboul In ono month. Snlonlkl (Thcssa lonlke), beautifully sltuntcd, In full fnco of Mount Olympus nnd with n noble harbor, should bo one of tho grent cities of the weld. In the nt'terninth of tlio second Balkan wnr It lost half Its popula tion. It Is no hotter off todny than In tho times when St. Paul called out for help in Macedonia. Harsh und often terribly brutal operations In Serbia and Greece result from tho unchecked operations of the military element. Tho soldier, as such, considers neither economic conditions nor tho soul of man. It was claimed that tho two wise ministers Pashltch In Belgrade and Venlzclos In Athens wero both opposed to tlio policy of repres sion. Both would, If they could, havo proclaimed religious linguistic tolerance In thoso parts of Mnc edonln turned over to them by tho trenty of Bucharest. But the fact of victory, nnd especially victory over their sister state, Bulgaria, Intoxicates tho military, nnd fills the mob with the "east wind." In such times Uio civil authority cannot hold Its own against tho military. Bulgaria recognized better tlio vnluo of toler ance. A Greek church and school stand undis turbed In Sofia. In tho Bulgarian nntlonnl assem bly there ar about n dozen Turkish deputies, rep resenting Thrnce. These Turks, supporters nil of Uio king, hold the bulnnoo of power against the combined democrats and socialists, tho group op posed to all war. The spirit of hnto is still very strong among tho peoplo of Bulgaria. They hnto Rotimnnln, ns tho robber-stnto who hns dono them the most harm. Thoy hnto Greece. There ran -never bo settled quiet In tho East until the Bnlkuns belong to tho Bnlknns," unUl civil authority everywhere dominates tho mtlttnr) and unit customs unions nnd other unions cnuse these peoplo to renllzo Unit ono fate befalls them all and Hint tlio welfare of each state Is bound up In that of its neighbor. Zeke Candler, representative from Mississippi, worships the Tomblgbcc river so fervently that In Wnshlngtou ho Is known ns Tomblgbcc Candler and the stream is culled the Candler Tom blgbee. Each year Uio treasury opens and pours a mellow stream of gold Into tho Tomblgbee for Improvement purposes, nnd each your, In praise of this gra cious net on the part of Uncle Sam, Tomblgbcc Zeke arises in his place on the floor of the house und sings a song of praise. Tomblgbee Candler made no speech this yenr. Consequently when Uie item wns renched In the rivers und harbors bill Representative Madden rolled n Chicago stone crusher Into tho house and endenvored to smnsh the Tomblg bee's 35,000. "This is nn unimportant river," he said with a grin. "But It Is a very beautiful, one?" suggested Nick Longworth. At this point Zeke Candler arose in his might nnd delivered the ultimatum that If the Tomblgbee was stricken from the bill the measure could not pass. "Is that so?" sold Jim Munn. "Well, the senute passed a bill tho other day whero this river Is Blurrlngly referred to ns the Tom Beckby. Now I wane to, know whether tho gentleipan calls this the Tomblgbee river or tho Tom Beckby, two names." ' "Even tho sennto of the United States," replied Zeke with grent dignity, "If It were an august body of Idiots, would not undertake to change the unmo of tho Tomblgbee. because If they did it would change tho history of Uie United States of Ajnerlca." LANE AND THE SIOUX Secretary Lnne Is nearly always dramatic and some times a little the atrical In his dealing with the copper colored lnhubitnnts of the western part of the United States. Recently ho nnd a pnrty went to Yankton, S. D., to confer citizenship 1 on 180 Sioux In dluus. lie Invented a brand now cere monial nnd did things up brown, so to spenk. Secretnry Lnne told the Indlnns that the great White Father had sent him to spenk a serious and solemn word. Then ench chosen Indian was called from Uio crowd by his white nnme, handed n bow and arrow and directed to shoot it. The secretary then snld : v "You liuve shot your lust arrow. That means that you are no longer to live the life df nn Indian. You are from this day forward to live the life of a white man. But you mny keep that urrow, It will be to you a symbol of your noble race, and of tho pride you feel Uiat you come from the first of all Amerlcuns." The Indians were all given a badge of American citizenship nnd ununited States Hug. To each of tho women woro given a work bng and a purse. CHAMPION OF KANSAS II I ! I IB Representative Joseph Taggurt of Kansas is quick to resent any slam nt the Sunflower stnto and bristles up whenever one seeks to revive bewhls kered Kansas Jokes which were pop ular . (outside of Kansas) a quarter of a century ago. Knowing Taggart's re gard for the dignity of his homo state, several of his colleugues on tho house Judiciary commltteo planned n bit of fun. There was a meeting before the committee, which Tnggart was uunble to attend, on the womnn suffrugo reso lution. A Now York lawyer appeared In behalf of the "untls" and presented nn argument ngulnst nntlonnl enfran chisement of tho gentler sex. Ho spoke generally and did not refer to any stnto now boasting cqunl rights. Tag gart's colleugues, however, told him the lawyer hud lambasted Kansas. At the next meeting of the commltteo tho lawyer reappeared. Taggurt was on hand nnd grilled the New Yorker unmercifully, as best ho could under the cross-examination. When the meeting ndjourncd tho lawyer asked Taggurt why he hud been bo severo. The congressman retorted that he would not permit auy man to belittle Kansas. The lawyer insisted he satd nothing that could be considered derogntory to the western commonwealth and, In fact, had a high opinion pf the people of tho state. Tnggnrt at this moment happened to look around and caught his colleagues smiling brondly. Explunutlons followed. Tnggart apologized to the New Yorker, but Is nwnltlng-nn opportunity to get even with the practical Jokers. Tho lawyer defended himself ESTHER CLEVELAND AIDS THE BLIND Miss Esther Cleveland, daughter of tho lato Grover Cleveland and known In her early childhood ns the "White House Baby," has been asso ciated with Red Cross work and is now aiding the work of tho allies In tho care of the blind at St. Dunstan's col lege, Itegent's pnrk, London. Miss Cleveland wns born in Wash ington during her fnther'e term as president and there have been many false reports of her engagement' sinco she wns presented to society. Before going abroad to aid in car ing for tho blind she devoted several mouths to studying tho system In uso In the Pcnnsylvunla Institute for tho Instruction of the Blind, so when she was ready to offer her services sho wus qualified to render service. Miss Cleveland had previously been gradu ated nt u training school of nurses and would have been elllclent in that kind of aid, but so many men wero being blinded in the European war that assistance for Uiosq thus aflllctcd appeared moro desirable, and sho devoted her time to learning how to Instruct these Batterers before sho proffered her services. COT, JTOftt mm iwNr mv Mt""
