Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/180

176 Macedonia through the agency of the Macedonian Revolutionary Committee.

Thus in this small territory of Macedonia we have five distinct elements, each discontented with Turkish domination, and yet each suspicious of his neighbor and fellow sufferer of alien race. The Albanian is at present on the side of the Turk. The Greek hates the Albanian, fears the Slav and detests the Rouman; yet hopes to dominate all three in some miraculous way from Constantinople after the Turk is forced out of Europe.

The Rouman hopes for the restoration of Rouman supremacy in the Balkan states through the agency of Roumania. The Serb and Bulgar are suspicious of the Greek and yet do not trust each other. All these races have one thing in common—the desire to free themselves from Turkey. The sultan is clever enough to take advantage of these race quarrels in Macedonia. In this game he has played Greek against Slav, and the Albanian against both, and thus made his own supremacy secure.

Russia has continually stirred up trouble in the Balkans, hoping to profit thereby. Each state separated from the Turkish empire brought Russia one step nearer the Bosphorus. In fact, Russia if left to herself would have settled the Macedonian question long ago. But this would necessitate driving the Turk across the Bosphorus and Russian occupation of Constantinople.

With Russia in Constantinople, the control of the eastern end of the Mediterranean sea and the entrance to the Suez canal would be lost to England. The weak Slavic Balkan states would become Russian, and the Slovenes and Croats, and all Austria's Slavic dominion south of the Danube would probably be lost to Russia.

England can never permit Russia to occupy Constantinople and control the great waterway to India, no matter what sentimental reasons might be advanced for ending Turkish barbarity. Austria must consider each Russian advance toward Constantinople as a step toward her own impending disintegration.

Germany, with the kindly feeling engendered by liberal railway concessions in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, will endeavor to strengthen the sultan's failing grasp on the last European province left him. Time alone can tell what action the great powers will take. Turkey and Bulgaria are on the verge of war and in the event of such a war European intervention would surely follow.

It is almost certain that the powers will intervene anyway and give to the disaffected provinces some form of civilized government. It is very unlikely that Russia will soon occupy Constantinople. All the great powers, with the possible exception of France, would be against such a step. Nor is it likely that the petty ambition of Servia, Bulgaria, Roumania or Greece will be gratified by territorial acquisitions in Macedonia.