The

Macedonian Problem

Boris SarafoFf, the peerless Macedonian leader.

The

Macedonian Problem
AND

ITS

PROPER SOLUTION

BY

GEORGE

N.

CHAKALOFF, M.

D.

AND

STANISLAV

J.

SHOOMKOFF,

PHILADELPHIA
1904
\.

Ph. D.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGB

Introduction

CHAPTER

I.

Macedonia as a Landmark in History

CHAPTER

II.

Territorial and Ethnological Relations

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

17

IV.

Five Centuries of Oppression

ai

CHAPTER

V.

The Strife Among the Balkan States

CHAPTER

28

VI.

The Treaties op San Stbfano and Berlin

40

VII.

The European Concert and Reforms

CHAPTER

la

III.

TUREaSB MiSCOVERNMENT AND IxS CaUSBS

CHAPTER

46

VIII.

The Insurrection

57

CHAPTER
The Reign op Terror

IX.
69

(3)

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

X.

PAOB

82

The Austro-Rxtssian Project of Reforms

CHAPTER XL
Macedonian Autonomy

CHAPTER

XII.

Macedonia, the Nucleus of a Balkan Federation

CHAPTER

97

XIII.

French and Anglo-Saxon Manifestations of Sym104

pathy

CHAPTER
An Appeal

XIV.

to Christendom

LIST

OF ILLUSTRATIONS*

Boris Sarafoff, the peerless Macedonian leader

Frontispiece

0pp. page

Major-General M. Savofp, Bulgarian War Minister, at a parade

Leader of a Revolutionary band
Bulgarian soldiers returning from drill
Ruins of Krushevo, bombarded by the Turks ....
Turkish officers of Monastir, with trophies of
their military valor
The "White Tower" in Thesalonica, where 500
Bulgarians were confined after the massacres.
Refugees from the district op Raslog

14

26

44
58

70
78

88

INTRODUCTION,
The

object of this book

is

not to advocate the

cause of any particular race or nation in their strug-

mould the future destiny of Macedonia.

gle to

On

the contrary, in view of the conflicting pretensions

of the Balkan States, as well as the unjust designs

of the greater Powers of Europe with respect to the
ultimate apportionment of this province, it
that the

most equitable solution of

would be

to enforce Gladstone's

Macedonia for
once espoused,

the
it

first

this

assumed
problem

memorable dictum

Macedonians.

This principle

becomes necessary to discuss the

preliminary steps whereby

The

is

it

may

step in this direction

be realized.

would be

to check

the deliberate and systematic extermination of the

Macedonian people by the Turkish

Then, in the second

authorities.

place, to provide the

means

for

the immediate relief of thousands of Macedonians

who

are perishing from hunger and exposure in

consequence of Turkish plunder and depredation.

And,

lastly, to institute

reforms

in the

government

of this people which shall conform to the require-

ments of

civilized

communities.

During the past few years the Macedonians have

is)

INTRODUCTION.

discovered, to their sorrow, that

possible to bring about

it is

well-nigh im-

any amelioration

in their

wretched condition solely through revolutionary tacbut that they must

tics,

first

obtain the united co-

operation of Christendom, before they could hope

to

throw

off the

Conscious of this

and

yoke of the "unspeakable Turk."

fact,

the Macedonian benevolent

patriotic organizations

have deemed

it

dient to send out representatives throughout

and America to

enlist

expe-

Europe

sympathies in behalf of their

suffering countrymen.

The Macedonians

are well aware of the great part

which, in recent years, the American Republic has

played in the liberation of oppressed nations.

have they spared any

among

Nor

efforts to create a sentiment

the freedom-loving Americans which shall be

favorable to the emancipation of their ill-fated coun-

They

try.

recall the invaluable services

American people have rendered

the Hungarians,

Cubans,

which the

at different times to

Finns,

Armenians and

other down-trodden nationalities in their struggle

for independence, and are firmly convinced that a
clear

not

and impartial presentation of

fail

half of

Macedonian autonomy.

their cause could

Americans

to arouse the interest of

in be-

Hitherto the main

drawback to the dissemination of

this

much-needed

information has been the comparative absence of

unbiased data respecting Macedonia and the conditions prevailing there.

INTRODUCTION.

Many

friends of the

movement

in this

have urged the necessity of publishing a

country

treatise that

would bring out the most important facts relative

Macedonia in a brief and concise form. It is

to

to

supply this need that the present task has been undertaken, aiming, as
sition of the

it

does, to

make an

Macedonian question

impartial expoin

its

varying

phases.

In view of the divergent sentiments of the nationalities directly

concerned in the solution of the Mace-

donian problem,

it

has been considered proper to

adduce some of the expressions of foreign and

interested writers

who have

dis-

travelled extensively in

Macedonia, have investigated the subject critically,

and are well able to

The authors
S.

I.

treat

it

with authority.

desire to express their thanks to Mr.

Tonjoroff for his valuable assistance

in the

preparation of this treatise and to Mr. Frederick

Moore

for the use of

some of the

Philadelphia, Augvist, 1904.

illustrations.

CHAPTER

I.

Macedonia as a Landmark in Histoty.

Macedonia

is

not a

new name

in history.

eral centuries before the Christian era

it

Sev-

flourished

as one of the

most powerful States the world has

Ancient and modern writers have depicted the valor and brilliant exploits of Alexander
the Great. He was unquestionably the first man to
grasp the conception of a universal dominion. Today the power and glory of that great empire are
faint memories.
Macedonia, like Babylon, Persia,
Greece and Rome, succumbed to the inevitable fate

ever seen.

of the mightiest nations ultimate disruption.

However, with the decline of the Macedonian
empire, the historic importance of the country did

not diminish,

for,

while under

Roman

domination,

Europe

to receive the doc-

trines of the Christian religion.

Apostle Paul, in

it

was the

first

section in

his epistles, speaks highly of the loyalty, benevo-

lence and piety of the ancient Macedonians.

In subsequent years, during the reign of Constantine the

Great, Macedonia, which formed a part of the East-

ern

Roman

Empire, was

among

acknowledge Christianity
the people.

It

as the

the

first

countries to

supreme religion of

was then considered a centre of

cul-

ture and civilization.

During the seventh century the Slavonic invasion

of Macedonia gave a totally different aspect to the
(9)

lo

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

racial affiliations of the people.

The

original inhab-

itants, who were under the sway of the Byzantine

kings, were an intermixture of Romans, Greeks and
Barring a few commercial centres along
Illyrians.
the coast, the people of Macedonia were soon assimilated by the Slavs, who became the predominant element of the province. The Bulgarians, who a little
later crossed the Danube and overran the Balkan
peninsula, penetrated into Macedonia and estab-

lished themselves as far south as Epirus.

In the days of the old Bulgarian kings Macedonia

formed an integral part of the Bulgarian State.

Tsar Simeon, who reigned from 893 to 927, had

completely subdued the Greeks in Macedonia, the
Pope of Rome addressing him as the "Tsar of the
Bulgarians and Autocrat of the Greeks." At the end
of the tenth century the Bulgarian King Samuel
had made Macedonia the centre of his empire and
transferred his capital to Ochrida. In 1018 the Byzantine

Emperor

Basil,

known commonly

as the

Slayer of the Bulgarians, defeated Samuel and restored the province to Hellenic influences.

But the

second Bulgarian empire in 11 86 again included

Macedonia within the sphere of its domain. With
slight intervals of time this rule continued to the

end of the thirteenth century.

The Servians also have certain historic claims
upon Macedonia. In 1279 Urosh II. invaded Macedonia and took possession of it as far as Serres;
while the great Servian King Dushan, in 1346, besieged Salonica, conquered the whole of Macedonia
and established himself in Uscub as the seat of the
government. He then assumed the significant title

MACEDONIALANDMARK

IN HISTORY.

of the "Tsar of Macedonia and

ii

Monarch of Ser-

and Western
was shortfor wath the death of Dushan Macedonia suc-

vians, Greeks, Bulgarians, the Coast

Parts." This expansion of Servian power

lived,

cumbed

to

the

rule

of

its

present

masters

the

Turks.

The

brief review of the foregoing events will en-

able the reader to understand the heterogeneous

character of Macedonia's population.

shall discuss

more

Later on

we

specifically the respective claims

of the various nationalities.

It is

significant that

before the advent of the Turkish hordes into Mace-

was governed by ByzanBulgarian and Servian rulers alternately and

that the mutual jealousies between these peoples
donia, this flourishing land
tine,

greatly facilitated the task of their ultimate subju-

gation by the Turks.

Whatever may be

said of the primitive state of

things in Macedonia before

it is

its

Turkish occupation,

quite certain that under Christian regimes

it

had

never reached the deplorable condition for which it

has become proverbial since its conquest by the Ottoman Power. The familiar saying among the Christian peoples in the East that "no grass will ever
grow where Turkish foot has once stepped" grimly
indicates the devastating influence of Turkish domination.

Despite these trying circumstances, the Macedonians may well boast of having remained loyal
to their Christian religion and of having served,
in a peculiar sense, as the

bulwark of Christendom

against the encroaching tide of

Mohammedanism.

CHAPTER

11.

TefHtorial and Ethnological Relations,

almost impossible to form a definite idea as
to the extent of territory which the name of "Macedonia" would imply. The Turkish authorities are
discouraging the use of that appellation, fearing it
It is

might suggest historic events that will awaken the

dormant aspirations of the Christian nationalities
and might have the tendency to foster a spirit of
They insist
rebellion against Turkish domination.
districts
comthree
names
of
the
calling
it
the
on
by
Salonica,
of
Vilayets
Macedonia,
the
prising modern
Monastir and Uscub.
The Greeks, likewise, have their own interpretation as to the meaning of the term Macedonia and
speak of it as consisting of the districts of Salonica
and Monastir alone. To the Bulgarians the designaIt embraces
tion conveys a different conception.
all the territory which was included in the greater
Bulgaria of San Stefano, with the city of Salonica
in

addition.

Thus the

territories

known

as

Old

Epirus and Constantinople form

separate geographical units apart and distinct from
Servia, Albania,

Macedonia proper.
It has been deemed advisable for
poses to adhere to a

practical pur-

new demarcation which

purely technical and includes

all

is

the sections in-

volved in the solution of the so-called Macedonian

(12)

TERRITORIAIy RELATIONS.

13

question, namely, the Vilayets of Salonica,

Monas-

Uscub and Adrianople.

Macedonia is one of the most

tir,

lands in the peninsula and

its

beautiful and fertile

topography is varied

by mountains, lakes and disconnected

natural resources are inexhaustible.

plains.

The

Its

climate

is

healthy and temperate and

its inhabitants strong and

long-lived.
Nature has richly endowed this fair
province which Turkish misrule has turned into the
poorest and most wretched section in Europe.
The ethnological problem of the country presents

many

hard to analyze satisfacnot for this peculiar conglomeration of races, the Macedonian question might have
been solved long ago.
diversified aspects

Were

torily.

it

In order to arrive at an impartial and just conclusion as to the character and

donian population,
of foreign writers

number of the Mace-

we must resort to the testimonies

who have travelled through the

country and are competent to give accurate information.

must be remembered at the outset, however,

that there is no such race as "Macedonians," if we
It

mean

to describe the national affiliations of the peo-

In this province we find people

themselves and are known to be Bulgarians.
They are the same people, speak the same language
and cherish the same ideals from a standpoint of
nationality as their fellow-countrymen in free Bulple

by that term.

who

call

Then, again, there are quite a number of

Greeks and Grecomans or Hellenized Roumans and
And, excluding the Turks and MoBulgarians.
hammedan Bulgars, the Bulgarians and Greeks are
garia.

THE MACEDONIAN

14

PROBI^EM.

preponderant, unless we deduct from the Greek group

the Tsintsars, a Latin-speaking colony who still
maintain their own supremacy in the Pindus range
and surrounding towns and villages. Until recently
these interesting people were classed as Greeks, be-

cause they acknowledged the Greek hierarchy in

educational and ecclesiastical matters. There is also

an infusion of Arnauts or Albanians who inhabit the

northwestern fringe of the land, not to mention a
sprinkling of Spanish Jews, especially in Salonica.
In considering the proportionate distribution of
these heterogeneous people through this territory
recourse must be had to the figures which have been
formulated by foreign investigators, since the statistics given out by local authorities are intended to
support the individual claims of the nations which
they represent.

The

entire population of

Macedonia proper

versally conceded to be about 2,000,000.

is

uni-

Of

this

number, according to statistics based on Turkish

figures in 1881, the Greeks had 57,480. Herr Ritter,

German geographer, has placed the number of Greeks in Macedonia at 59,833. Baker has
made a very liberal estimate of them at 100,000.
the noted

The

Servians, Albanians and Tsintsars, occupying

the region from the Drin to Prisrend, according to

Herr

Ritter,

number 422,357,

the majority being

There are also 360,000 Mohammedans,

many of them being Bulgarians who have adopted
the faith of Islam and are known as Pomacs. The
remaining part of the population, i. e.j 1,117,643, are
Albanians.

Bulgarians. In support of this statement it is only

necessary to refer to the following authorities

TERRITORIAL REI.ATIONS.

15

Mr. William Miller, in his admirable work on

"Travels and Politics in the Near East," page 372,
writes

"Of the Christian races of the Balkans, the Bulgarians at present hold the strongest position in this
debatable land.

Historically, there is

despite the endeavors of Greek

little

doubt,

and Servian writers

minimize their claims, that at various times in

the days of the old Bulgarian Tsars Macedonia was
almost entirely under their sway."
to

More recently, Mr. Arthur J. Evans,

don Times, of October i, 1903, writes:
"The fact is that even
owing to interested efforts
tion
in

in this

in the

Lon-

largely

country

to disguise the true situa-

the great preponderance of the Bulgar element

Macedonia

only say as

is

my

only imperfectly realized.

can

personal experience after exploring

almost the whole interior of the province, that outside the fringe already referred to, and some small
urban centres, practically the whole mass of the
population is Slavonic, speaking characteristically

Bulgarian dialect."

The

question as to the preponderance of the Bulgarian element is an important factor in the situaFor the present it is well to remember that the
tion.

only reasonable basis on which any nationality can

its claims to Macedonia would be to prove that
it forms the majority of the population of the province; but as this rule does not meet with the approval
build

of the European concert and the rival nationalities

in the Balkan peninsula, which are directly inter-

i6

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

ested in the solution of the Macedonian problem

it
has been deemed practicable, in order to eliminate
further complications and to avert the threatened

European conflagration, to promulgate the new

Macedonian leaders Macedonia for

policy of the

the Macedonians.

CHAPTER

III.

Turkish Misgovernment and

Its

Causes*

No one will deny the fact that, of all countries in

Europe, Turkey is the only one which has failed to
provide what may be called a fair government for
the administration of justice to

all its

subjects, re-

gardless of faith or nationality.

In order to understand why the Turks have been unable to profit by

the lessons of the past and why they are averse to
the introduction of reforms into their government,
it

is

evil

only necessary to point out the source of

Mohammedanism.

the unfitness of the

European

Therein

Turk

lies

all

the secret for

to participate in the life of

nations.

Mohammedan

intolerance of other faiths

greatest cause for the incessant strife that

on between the Turks and the

non-Mohammedans being

is

is

the

going

so-called infidels, all

classed as infidels

adherents of the Prophet of Mecca,

It will be seen that a profession of

by the

Mohammedan-

an implicit obligation to humil-

ism carries with it

and persecute the "unbelievers," wherever they
may be found. It is also true that the Turks would
not amalgamate with the conquered races, so long
as these refused to embrace the Islam faith; consequently, to this day, the Turks remain strangers
We thus have the
to European environments.
that,
while
the Turks have
anomalous circumstance
iate

(17)

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

i8

name

given their

arable part of the

which the Franks

and have become
Moreover, the
European Turkey
This

manently.

to Turkey, they are not

to the present day.

on the Asiatic

an insep-

people of the land in the sense in

have given their name to France
one with the people of France.
Turk is himself conscious that
is not and cannot be his land perfeeling lingers within his breast

He

always prefers to be buried

side of the Bosphorus, as if ever

is an intruder within
European
continent.
the borders of the

mindful of the fact that he

Allusion has already been
practice in

from

made

to the invariable

vogue among Mohammedans to

refrain

unnecessary intercourse with Christians,

nor will they confer upon the rayahs the ordinary
all

rights of citizenship.

It is

seldom that Christians

are allowed to occupy important positions in the

government.

Stranger

enlisting as

common

entire State

machinery

of the Turks.

still,

they are debarred from

soldiers
is

in

the army.

The

under the absolute control

Besides, the

Koran expressly

pro-

any dealings between believers and unbelievthat would bring them together on a basis of

hibits

ers

equality; hence the organization of a strong, har-

monious government under Turkish control becomes

So long as the Turk adheres to

Mohammedanism, the subject races will
upon him as a tyrant, not a fellow-citizen.

utterly impossible.

the tenets of

look

In dealing with Christians the Turks generally

apply the rule of force, not that of law.
What
a source of injustice it would be to the non-Christians if the governments of Europe were to make the
Gospel the sole administrative law, as is the Koran
in

Turkey

TURKISH MISGOVERNMENT.

all

19

In the Ottoman empire the Sultan is supreme in

State matters, and as a successor of the Prophet

he is bound to see to it that his mandates conform

with the precepts of the Koran otherwise, he would
be deposed. The testimony of a Christian against
a Mohammedan is not legally valid; neither could
an unbeliever expect at the hands of Turkish magistrates the same protection which is accorded a Mo;

hammedan

in a Christian country.

Many

a Chris-

Turkey has been put to death for daring

demand his rights through judicial channels

tian in

to
as

against a Turk.

There is another gulf of separation between Turks

and Christians in the fact that all the governments
of Europe are national, whereas the Ottoman is
theocratic.
The Sultan, by virtue of the Caliphate,
is

the Sovereign of the State.

In the conduct of

public affairs the wishes of the people, whether

Christian or

Mohammedan,

are not necessarily con-

sulted.
It will be noticed that, in speaking of the
Turks, they were not called a nation, since the role
which they have played in European history has
not been strictly that of a nation, but rather that of
an army bent on conquest and extermination, and
possessing very few, if any, of the characteristics of

European

nations.

In order to demonstrate the justness of the foregoing statements regarding the influence of Mohammedanism upon the political life of a given race,

may

be well to point out the striking contrast subbetween the Huns on the one hand, and the
Turks on the other, both being descendants of the
same race the Touranian. There is an unmistakit

sisting

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

ao

able parallel between these peoples so far as they

both pressed forward into more hospitable regions,

conquered less warlike communities by the sword,

both entering Europe as barbarians. Nevertheless,
the Hungarians to-day are pre-eminently a civilized
nation, while the Turks remain as barbarous as they
five hundred years ago
ran the Balkan peninsula.

were

when they

first

over-

is such a marked difand the Turk? Why is it

that the former has become a thorough European,
while the latter still remains an Asiatic?
The answer to this important question is to be
found in the fact that the Hun was a Pagan when
he entered Europe, while the Turk was a Mohammedan. The Hun accepted the Christian religion,
and in due time adapted himself to civilization and
became a member of the European family. This

Whence comes

it

ference between the

that there

Hun

has not been the case with the Turk.

To

this

very

day he remains an intruder upon the European continent, for instead of adjusting himself to modern
environments he has only succeeded in usurping a
pl^ce therein.
It is not to be wondered, therefore, that Macedonia,
once noted for its wealth and culture, is to-day in a
state of utter poverty and desolation, very largely
through the blighting influence of Mohammedan-

ism.

CHAPTER

IV.

Five Centuries of Oppression*

To

the ordinary traveler in Macedonia, the pic-

may not appear as dark as

might, because as a rule he confines himself to
the cities and larger towns. This circumstance explains the stories of Turkish courtesy and hospital-

ture of Turkish tyranny

it

have been told by sentimentalists who have

been feasted by Turkish pashas.
It should be remembered that the great majority
of the Macedonians are agriculturists and live in
villages.
The heaviest burdens of Turkish extortion fall upon their shoulders. There are numerous
grievances to which these people are subjected, but
it would require much time and space to go into

ity that

details.

The first and most important drawback in the

economic development of agriculture in Macedonia
It is estimated that the
is the system of taxation.
can
produce only about
average peasant household
$125 per annum. Of this amount $17.50 is paid to
the tax collector and $7.50 to the resident brigand
whose nominal function is to protect the village
from other brigands, as will be shown later; $50
go to the landlord, while the peasant has to support his family the entire year for the small

sum

of $50.

Mr. John Macdonald,

special correspondent of

(21)

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

22

in a letter published in
April
14, 1903, describes the Govthat journal on
its varied restrictions upon
and
ernment's extortions
agriculture as follows

the

London Daily News,

"The tax

collector,

whose reward is proportionate

and who will not give a

to the extent of his takings,

if he can help it, is always prowling about

From the 'moreef/ or
with his armed assistant.
school tax, the Christians derive no good whatever;
they support their own schools heroically they endure privations for the education of their own children.
The *yol-parasi' is the road tax, but until
Macedonia is freed there will be no roads. Every
male pays it, from the age of twenty to the age of
sixty.
It amounts to about sixteen piastres.
The
value of a piastre is about twopence half-penny
(about five cents). The capitation tax the hated
weighs heavily on the harassed Christian
'bedeir

receipt

peasant.
is

Its legal

always higher

amount

is

sometimes

forty piastres, but

as

it

high as eighty,

for the deficits caused by absenteeism, or even by

deaths, and by descent of taxpayers into beggary,
have to be made good by the village. As soon as
the boy attains the age of fifteen, he must pay the
'bedell,' or his father will have to pay it for him.
The 'tejeret,' though a professional tax, often falls
upon the pettiest farmer. Even beggars are subject to it.
The peasant also pays a yearly tax, the
'beglick,' of about six piastres on every sheep, pig,
goat or other beast he owns, and a further tax on
every one of them which he sells. Then comes the
'ushoor,'

otherwise the tithe levied upon

wheat,

FIVE CENTURIES OF OPPRESSION.

23

The

'ushoor'

corn, barley, beans, cabbage,

has at

all

The

etc., etc.

times been the prolific cause of extortion."

police regulations in

Macedonia are abomin-

hardly more than organized brigandage.

It is vividly portrayed by Mr.
H. N. Brailsford in the Fortnightly Review, September, 1903:
able in the extreme.

It is

"Where the tax collector reaps, the Albanian

The gendarmerie, which itself is largely

gleans.

composed of brigands out of work, finds it prudent,

as a rule, to make terms with any notable robber. A
wise village will take the same course. For a certain

sum

paid annually an Albanian chief will un-

dertake to protect a tributary village

is

if

the village

outside the Albanian sphere of influence,

erally

obhged

who may

or

to have

may

its

own

it is

gen-

resident brigands,

not be Albanians.

"If the village belongs to a Turkish landlord these

men

among his retainers.

name of hekchi, or rural

are generally chosen from

They

are

guards.

known under the

They are necessary because

population

absolutely

is

the Christian

unarmed and

defenseless.

To

a certain extent they guarantee the village

against robbers from outside, and in return they
carry on a licensed and modified robbery of their
own. They support the Turkish landowner against
his Christian serfs and in a mixed village they back
;

the

Moslem

any roguery or violence

wish to practice on their Christian

villagers in

which they may

neighbours.

"There

are,

of course, honourable

men among


THE MACEDONIAN

24

PROBI^EM.

retain the old Albanian traditions of

and chivalry. But, in general, their conduct is what the conduct of armed men among an
unarmed subject race will always be the Christian

who

them,

loyalty

peasant
that

is

is

forbidden to

own

more than four or

even a kitchen knife

his services.
e.

He

ransom

in cash for

levies certain traditional

blackmail upon every maid

g,,

The

five inches long.

rural guard exacts a substantial

who

dues

The

marries.

and her
husband to pay, and in default of payment the
bekchi will exercise the jus primae noctis. Indeed,
an experienced Consul in Monastir, an able man

sum

varies with the ability of her father

has studied the country for many years, deroundly that these men simply treat the
women of the village as their harem. Beyond this,

who

clares

they take what they desire in food or in services. In

cash, their exactions vary with their reputation for
ferocity.

"It

is

The

quite easy to have precise information.

village of
parasites.

Mavro, for example, had seven of these

They received from 7 to 20 apiece.

In other words, the average household with

its

an-

nual income of 10, paid away 1 ids. to purchase

the good-will of these domestic marauders.
.

The Consuls hear nothing

tragedies

the

stolen

of these

sheepskin

little

coat,

the

village

ham-

strung ox, the shady tree cut down, the watercourse

diverted, the wife insulted, and it may be violated
while the husband is in the field! They go on un-

marked from day

when one
and overcomes
the shyness and suspicions of the owner, that one
sits

down

to day,

and

it

is

at leisure in a peasant hut,

only

FIVE CENTURIES OF OPPRESSION.

hears of them at

all.

They

25

are neither interesting

nor sensational, but it is this daily domestic oppression much more than the startling and wholesale
outrages that has ground down the peasantry of
Macedonia, crushed its spirit, its intelligence, its
humanity, and made it what it is to-day a maddened race of slaves, which is ready at length to
commit any crime, to suffer any torture, if only it
may be rid of the little tyrants of its fields, who eat

its

bread,

consume

its

labour,

and destroy

Mr. N. E. Buxton, in a pamphlet

Byron Society, 1902, remarks

its

issued

soul."

by the

"Those things from which the people suffer most

murder, rape, illegal taxation and inability to ob-

are, of course, impossible for a travbut some things that we noticed may be
worth saying. It was common to find stacks of
corn in the fields beginning to rot and sprout in the

tain redress
eller to see

because the peasants are not allowed to thresh

them till the officials have been to determine the
The
share of the tax-gatherer and the landlord.
peasants
field guards, who nominally protect the
from brigands, but are really spies upon them, are
Our escort frequently took
billeted in their houses.
fruit, etc., from passing peasants without payment.
ear,

seclusion of Christian women, and their reappearance on crossing the frontier of a liberated
State, is very noticeable.
"A friend of ours was appealed to by a Christian
woman in our presence for advice, because the village gendarme had expelled her husband and taken

The

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

26

her into his house and had now gone away, leaving
her unprovided for and in trouble. At another village it was significant that a schoolmaster replied to
our question that all was quiet, they were very happy.
But when asked for details, he said that the Sergeant of gendarmes had closed the inn every even-

ing because the innkeeper's wife had refused his advances; but he had not thought such things worth

He

added that he had also been beaten

know why.
**The use of torture on a large scale, in 1898, in
order to discover hidden rifles was well proved. A
foreigner who is friendly to the Turks was told by
them, as an amusing fact, that those who were tortured were at first unwilling to betray their friends,
but Svhen the headstring was tightened and their
eyes began to bulge out then they talked freely
mentioning.

himself, but did not

enough.'

"An

outrage of a common kind occurred while I

Uscub. A Bulgarian girl had been stolen by
a Turk, and her brother begged the Russian Consul
to give her refuge if he rescued her.
The Consul
was so far satisfied of the facts that he did so, and
sent her home with his wife to Bulgaria. Soon afterwards the brother was found with his throat cut,
close to the Turk's house.
To make a show of
justice some Christians were arrested and there, as
usual, things ended."

was

at

The above

are

some of the accounts of

reliable

Englishmen who have traveled and

know whereof they are speaking. There are many
horrors that the natives of Macedonia are experiand

influential

FIVE CENTURIES OP OPPRESSION.

27

encing that will never be

every one who will can
to-day, as in the past

known to the world. But

know that in Macedonia
years, it is common to meet

bands of Turks and Albanians roaming through the

country and ravaging the homes of Christian communes.

Has
the

the Turkish government sought to alleviate

wrongs of

its

peaceable subjects?

That

absolute impossibility under Turkish regime.

Macedonian

Christians,

who

is

an

The

are not rich enough to

purchase their own safety, must become the victims

of all kinds of money-grabbers, landlords, brigands
and even the regular soldiers. Outrages that are
committed by Turks are seldom, if ever, punishable.
This sense of insecurity to life and property nat-

and industrial stagnation

from which even the Mohammedans are not ex-

urally leads to business

empt.

The

sanctity of the

home

life

is

violated

without hope of redress.

These are the normal conditions which prevail in

Macedonia.
The extraordinary events which are
transpiring now that a state of anarchy and revolution reigns in the province will be described in
another chapter.

CHAPTER
The
One

Strife

Among

V.

the Balkan States.

of the most pertinent questions that an ob-

Near East would ask regardMacedonian problem is the following:

server of events in the

ing

the

Why

is it

that the small, struggling nationaHties in

the Balkans have been unable thus far to reach an

agreement, whereby, through concerted action,

they might put an end to the interminable Macedonian question? That is undoubtedly what many
people have been asking, being unaware of the fierce
racial

conflicts

among

the

which are going on unceasingly

different

time

being,

that

there

between these peoples.

nate could they survive
able

to

foretell

inhabiting

nationalities

They seem

Balkan peninsula.

is

to forget,

wall

Indeed,
its

it

of

the

for the

separation

would be

realization, for

fortu-

who

is

whether another State, mightier

than Turkey, may not crush them all, so that they

could never again rise as free and independent
States?
It

must be acknowledged, however, that hereto-

fore the Balkan States have never agreed to muster

their forces against the

pendence.

On

the

common

contrary,

foes of their inde-

they

have

chosen

rather to waste their resources in needless strife

and bloody wars with one another. This feeling

of mutual hatred exists even between kindred races
(28)

STRIFE

AMONG BALKAN

STATES.

29

were

it not so, the late war between Servia and

Bulgaria would have been impossible.
Nor is this wholly inexplicable when we remember that no less than six different nationaHties are
contending with one another for ultimate suprem-

The situation is still further complicated

because of the heterogeneous elements that have
settled down in close proximity in the same towns
acy.

and

villages.

One

of the elements of discord that seems to

estrange these people

is

a traditional hatred which

they cherish for one another.

The Greek,

for in-

stance, dislikes the Bulgarian because the latter will

not yield to Hellenic influences, preferring to remain

own nationality; and as long as he remains a Bulgarian, the Greek cannot hope to attain
the great ideal of Pan-Hellenism, the restoration of
the Byzantine empire. It is also true that the Greek
has no special fondness for the other neighboring
peoples, for he is looking upon them as barbarians.
The Bulgarian, on the other hand, is equally to
loyal to his

be censured for his undisguised hostility to the

Greek. He looks upon him as an eternal foe and
refuses to recognize his good qualities.
It becomes quite apparent that these racial prejudices tend to intensify the existing estrangement

between the Christian races in a way that deprives

them of the advantages which might accrue from a
united stand against their oppressors.
Moreover, the religious conflict between the
Greeks with their Patriarch at Constantinople on
the one hand, and the remaining Christians on the
other,

forms an important chapter

these nationalities.

in the history of

THE MACEDONIAN

30

PROBI^EM.

be remembered that, after the conquest of

the Balkan peninsula by the Turks, the Sublime
Porte, being unacquainted with the habits and social
peculiarities of its Christian subjects, resolved to
It will

extricate itself

from further annoyances by offering

the pontificate of the Eastern Church to the highest

This supreme pontiff was intended to bebidder.

come

the official representative of

living under Turkish jurisdiction.

all

the Christians

The Greek Pa-

secured this exalted office by selling the

These bishops in turn sold their subordinate parishes to highest bidders, while the overtriarch

bishoprics.

taxed people had to pay "the cost of this cascade

of simoniacal transaction."
The Bulgarian Church, hitherto independent, in
1767 became wholly subservient to the rule of Greek

aim was to extort money and

and their friends, A large portion of the funds thus secured from the goodnatured and unsuspicious Bulgarians was used in the
suppression of their language and nationality. The
churches, which up to this time had been using the
Bulgarian, Servian or Albanian tongues, were now
forced to substitute the Greek language.
When
early in the last century the Turkish government
ordered all communes to erect schools and the people
taught in their native speech, the Greek bishops disapproved of the plan on the fallacious ground that
schools are apt to make men revolutionists and that
it would be far better to spend the money in building churches.
There is no doubt that these selfseeking Phanariotes did everything in their power
to Hellenize the subject races under their ecclesiastical rule, but without permanent success.
bishops,

whose

chief

to enrich themselves

STRIFE

AMONG BALKAN

STATES.

31

The Servian people were the first to renounce the

arbitrary pretensions of the Patriarch by declaring
the Metropolitan of Belgrade as the sole spiritual
leader of the nation, severing thereby

all

connection

with Greek ecclesiasticism.

The Roumanians

also

found the dictatorship of

the Phanariote bishops unendurable and proclaimed

their independence

from the Patriarch.

Later on, the Bulgarians inaugurated a campaign

against their religious oppressors until at last in

1869 they regained their church autonomy. The

head of their national church is called by the name
of Exarch and resides at Constantinople. According to the imperial decree the Exarch enjoys the
right of filling the bishoprics wherever the populais shown to be two-thirds Bulgarian.
This rule
has not always been adhered to, owing to the fact

tion

Turks feared the strength of the Bulgarian

element and were reluctant to grant them prerogatives that would tend to arouse their national selfconsciousness.
This has been especially noticeable
in Macedonia during recent years.
In commenting upon the injustice of their treatment of Bulgarians in Macedonia, Emile de Lavelye,
in his comprehensive book on the "Balkan Peninthat the

sula,"

remarks

"The Treaty of Berlin guaranteed

tians of the Ottoman Empire liberty

to the Chris-

of conscience

and freedom of worship consequently it gave to the

Bulgarians the right to belong to the Church of their
;

Notwithstanding the recent arrangement

and notwithstanding the firman of 1869, which con-

choice.

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

32

tained the formal promise of the Porte, these unhappy people are still kept under the yoke of the
Greek bishops, who are leagued against them with

They shut out the schools and the

churches built with the savings of the Bulgarians;
they imprison or exile their popes * and treat their
schoolmasters even worse. All means of moral and
intellectual culture are refused them."
the Turks.

The Greeks

are bitterly disappointed in having

failed to bring all these people,

once under their

ecclesiastical control, into the Hellenic fold.

They

can have no sympathy for them in their endeavors

to obtain human rights, and are in turn hated by
them for their domineering attitude in past years.
Quite a number of Bosnians and Albanians, and
even a few thousand Bulgarians and Servians, have
joined the

Roman

Catholic

Church

in

order to

escape the tyranny of the Greek Patriarch.

It will

be seen that the cheif motives underlying

Greek opposition to an autonomous form of government in Macedonia arise from a consciousness that
the number of Greeks is too small to enable them to
shape the future destiny of the province. In other
words, the Greek patriots begin to realize that their
hopes for the Hellenization of Macedonia will re-

main

as futile as they did in the case of Roumania,

Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia, lands which they
claimed as thoroughly Greek but few years ago.
In order that the reader may not misconstrue the
aim of this treatise, which is to plead for a united

* Priests.

STRIFE

AMONG

BAIvKAN STATES.

33

action against Turkish misrule and in behalf of a

humane government
deemed wise

in

Macedonia,

it

has

been

to eHminate the statements of authors,

who, because of their racial affiliations to the people

of Macedonia, apear to be prejudiced in the matter.
English

savants

are

known

friendly to Greek aspirations.

to

be

particularly

They have even

or-

ganized the Byron Society to promulgate Hellenic

interests.
Yet, in speaking of Greek pretensions in

Macedonia and the hostile attitude of the Greeks

toward the Macedonian movement for autonomy,
Mr. Arthur J. Evans, in an article published by the

London TimeSj thus

characterizes the inconsistency

of their position.
*Tt

is

friends

an unpleasant duty to have to tell one's

truths, but the Greek claim to Mace-

home

donia, at least as regards the greater part of the

is a dream.
In some of the
a fair Greek population, but even in

interior of the country,

towns there

is

that case, as in Monastir, for example, the statistics

rest

on an

artificial basis.

number of those described

The

truth

is

that a large

as Greeks are really

Rou-

mans.
"Till within recent years Hellenism found a fertile field

for

propaganda among the representatives

of the gifted Romance-speaking race of the Pindus

region.

'*To-day Janina has quite forgotten its Rouman

origin, and has become the centre of Hellenism.
Athens, the nearest civilized centre, offered natural
attractions to the quick-witted mercantile element in
the towns. But, for good or evil, the tide has turned.

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

34

counter-propaganda, of which Bukarest

centre, has

made

itself felt,

is

and the Rouman

the
civil

element east of Pindus is probably lost to Hellenism, notwithstanding the fact that much money is
expended by Greek committees in the endeavor to
Parents are
gain recruits for Greek nationality.
actally

paid to send their children to the Greek

schools.

"One

of the most comic results of this competiethnography was a map published some years
ago under Athenian auspices and circulated in this
country (England). According to this, Macedonia
tive

was

two elements
and the Bulgarophone Greeks as if

for practical purposes divided into

the Greeks

some Celtic enthusiast should divide Britain between

the Welsh and the 'Anglophone Welsh!'
Macedonia, indeed,

is

full

of

artificial

distinctions, the

true lines of ethnic demarcations being continually

crossed by classifications founded on rehgious ad-

herence (for the time being) to the Greek Patriarch

or to the Bulgarian Exarch.
Bulgar village may

for political purposes be bribed or coerced into ac-

cepting allegiance to orthodox Greek ecclesiastical

superiors.

Its

inhabitants

described by those
fer

(which

who

'spiritually'

But these

are then complacently

effected their spiritual trans-

means nothing)

as the *hope

annexations do not
go very far. The language of the villagers remains
Bulgar, and the deep underlying instincts of race are
only held in temporary suspense,
"The friends of Greece can only regret that she
should be misled by such artificial pretensions that
she should grasp the shadow and lose the substance
of Hellas.'

artificial

STRIFE

AMONG BALKAN

STATES.

35

which might have been found in an understanding,

on a reasonable basis of give and take, with her
Slavonic neighbors. The late Mr. Tricoupis, to my
personal knowledge,

He was

saw things much more

clearly.

well aware that, except a narrow fringe to

the south and

some sporadic

centres of no great
magnitude in the interior of the province, the Greek
element had no real hold on Macedonia. His chief
anxiety, for which he had solid grounds, came, indeed, from that direction, but not from the Bulgarian quarter. That cool political observer would
certainly have refrained from qualifying, as did the
present Greek Premier, an exceptionally industrious
and peaceful population who for fifteen centuries
have been tillers of the Macedonian soil, and only
now, owing to the indescribable oppression have
been goaded into revolt, as 'Bulgarian wolves,* apparently recent intruders into a Greek fold!
The
Brigands of Pindus and Olimpus have been rarely
recruited from the Bulgar element.
I, myself, was
once dogged for nearly ten days by a brigand band
along the Pindus border, but they were not Buigars."

There was a time when the Greek

patriots, in their

zeal to bring into realization the great Hellenic idea,

proclaimed broadcast that the entire peninsula was

inhabited by Greeks, only when they should have
said by submissive adherents to the Greek Church.
It

was manifestly due

to this

ambiguous assertion

that a large portion of the Christian world, as well

as the entire Greek nation, have been led to the
belief that the

Macedonians are

real Greeks, speak-

THE MACEDONIAN PROBI.EM.

36

ing the Greek language and heartily in sympathy

with the idea of Pan-Hellenic union. This unfortunate blunder caused them much disappointment in
the late Greco-Turkish war, for the insurrection so
confidently expected among the Macedonian people
did not occur for the simple reason that they were
not in sympathy with Greek aspirations.
Some of the arguments which the Greeks are in
the habit of advancing in support of their claims to

Macedonia are as follows

The

"ethnocratic pre-

eminence" of the Greeks over the other races in the

peninsula.
This contention may have had some
weight in the dark ages, but will not avail them
much to-day. It has been condemned everywhere
as altogether untenable. A mere glance at the comparative progress of the Slavs and the Greek in
recent years is sufficient to stigmatize it as groundless.

Another argument which appears to be quite

ingenuous on the surface was propounded by the
Greek minister in London in 1885, and is to the
effect that,

*'As the land formerly belonged to the Hellenes,

its

present occupation by the Bulgarians does not

suffice to justify its

right of the Greeks

being adjudged to them.

is

The

imprescribable."

This claim has been refuted by the Belgian proLavelye

fessor,

"If this were true, New Holland, New Zealand,

Tasmania, having been discarded by the Dutch,
ought to belong to Holland, because these countries

STRIFE

AMONG

BAI.KAN STATES.

37

have Dutch names.

The EngHsh have colonized

them, but that gives them no right of possession. It
is difficuh to discuss such theories and distressing
even to have to notice them."
cannot be denied that there are Greeks, or,
Hellenized Christians in Macedonia, but their
number is insignificant. In Salonica and a few other
towns along the coast of the Aegean Sea the Greeks
outnumber the other races, but these sections form
but a small part of the province.
The Servians also have laid claims on Macedonia
with remarkable pertinacity. They base their preIt

better,

tensions upon the knowledge that several centuries

ago King Dushan conquered and ruled Macedonia
It is needless to enter into an
for a few decades.
exhaustive presentation of facts to prove the fallacy
of this position, since on such grounds the Greeks
have a better right to their claims on Macedonia
than do the Servians, whose rule over that province
did not last but a few years. So far as Old Servia
is concerned, no one will dispute their right to its
possession, providing under the term *'01d Servia"
are included in the districts inhabited by pure Servians, such as Ipek, Prisrend and the surrounding
territory, but by no means Macedonia proper, as
It is hard to
has been urged by many Servians,
chauvinistic
Servians
are tryimderstand why some

ing to organize a great Servian kingdom out of

provinces where no Servians can be found, whereas
they might with greater success work for the establishment of a powerful Servo-Croat State, through
an amalgamation of all the Servians, Montenegrins,

THE MACEDONIAN PROBI^EM.

38

Slavonians and Dalmatians, all speaking essentially

the same language.
There can be no question in the minds of the disinterested public that the great preponderance of the

population in Macedonia is Bulgarian, and this is a

fundamental factor in considering the present situa-

Near East. The conclusion of the Treaty

San Stefano recognizes that fact, since the war
between Russia and Turkey was carried on for the
purpose of liberating the Bulgarians, and the treaty
conceded Macedonia to the Bulgarians. Even Bismarck himself, speaking on the Eastern question on

tion in the

of

February

19, 1878,

remarked:

"The ethnographic position of Bulgaria, as I

know it from authentic sources, and as is shown by
the best map we know, that of Kiepert, is such
its national limits extend almost unbroken to
beyond Salonica toward the west and, with a slight
admixture of Turkish elements, as far as the Black
Sea toward the east."

that

From what has been

why the Bulgarians in

said

it is

easy to understand

free Bulgaria

have been

in-

tensely interested in the well-being of their brothers

in

Macedonia.

extermination
equanimity.

They could not watch

the gradual
fellow-countrymen with
The Bulgarian diplomatists are well

of

their

aware

that, owing to conflicting interests of the

great Powers, as well as the smaller ones in the
peninsula, it is imposible to expect the annexation

of Macedonia to Bulgaria.

This policy has been openly avowed by the Bui-

STRIFE
garian statesmen.
if

order,

AMONG BALKAN
They

will be

STATES.

more than

39
satisfied

accompanied with the needed reforms, were

established in Macedonia.
It is

a noteworthy fact that during the recent

Macedonia, when thousands of defense-

atrocities in

women and children were put to death and their

homes plundered, the Greeks and Servians were not
in sympathy with the sufferers and the former even
co-operated with Turks in their work of extermination. The Bulgarians, on the contrary, would gladly
consent to any introduction of reforms, under the
European control, that would insure to the Macedonians a more tolerable existence, and guarantee
them their lives, honor and property.
less

CHAPTER VL
The

Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin-

A thorough acquaintance with the antecedents

and provisions of the Treaties of San Stefano and
Beriin

is

indispensable to a correct understanding

of the Macedonian problem.

To

grasp the essence

and motives of these memorable treaties is to unravel

the mysteries of European diplomacy in the Near
East.
They represent two political movements
One is the southward march of Russian aggression
in the direction of Constantinople; the other

is

the

united efforts of the European concert to check

Russian expansion towards the Mediterranean.

Peter the Great, in his famous will, very carefully
outlined the policy for his successors by insisting
that **Russia should never cease to work for the acquisition of Constantinople."
This fateful determination of the Russian empire to obtain the undisputed control of the Bosphorus does not rest solely

upon the
It is

traditional injunction of Peter the Great.

a policy of self-preservation as well.

While it may be true that the proximity of the

Russian domains to the borders of the Ottoman
empire has necessarily brought the two countries
into frequent conflicts, it must be admitted, that
Russian diplomatists have labored under the impression that, in order to win a place among the foremost
nations of Europe, Russia must secure an outlet
(40)

TRBATIBS: SAN STEFANO AND BERLIN.

41

The best way to carry

out this cherished plan would be to absorb the
greater portion of what is known as Turkey in
into the Mediterranean Sea.

Europe.
In short, she must become the mistress
over both the Balkans and the Dardanelles.
This object Russia intends to accomplish by diif possible; by force, if necessary.
The
European Powers, on the other hand, have opposed

plomacy,

Russian aggressions in the Balkans, being convinced

undue expansion of Russian authority may

that an

destroy the balance of power

among

the great na-

tions.

But despite this strong opposition, Russia has not

abandoned her ambition to become the heir to the
possessions of the "dying man" of Turkey.
To
this end, in 1828 Russia invaded Turkey, under the
pretext of enforcing the Treaty of Bukarest, and
laid siege to many important strongholds on the
highway to Constantinople. The Turks displayed
marvelous courage in defending their positions, but
was unequal, and they had to capitulate.
Adrianople surrendered and the Russians were bethe struggle

fore the gates of Constantinople.

Europe, trembling lest the Russian arms should

bring Turkish rule to an end and thereby destroy
the balance of power, urged the cessation of hostili-

and the war was stopped. Russia was thus deprived of an adequate compensation for the outlay
of money and the sacrifice of men.
The Crimean war, in 1855-56, was another futile
ties

attempt on the part of Russia, under Nicholas L, to

assert her right to the protection of over twelve milhon Christians, then under Turkish sway. England

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

42

and France, again fearing Russia's aggressive policy

in the Balkans, resolved to counteract it by declaring
war. Thus united, they were enabled to withstand
her encroachments temporarily.
The last and most stupendous of Russia's efforts
to accomplish her design upon the Turkish empire
was made in 1877-78, when the Russian troops were
again victorious. It was at the close of this war
that the Treaty of San Stefano was concluded. By
its stipulations the largest part of Macedonia proper
was made an integral part of the new Bulgarian
principality.

Had this treaty been left in force there would

have been no Macedonian question to-day. Unfortunately for the people of Macedonia, after the conclusion of this treaty. Great Britain protested
strongly against the weakening of Turkish power in
Europe, and Lord Beaconsfield caused a new conPowers to be
where a new treaty was concluded.
In a speech delivered by Lord Beaconsfield, as the
trusted representative of England at the congress,
he said 'The events of the war and especially the
Treaty of San Stefano had led the Greek people
gress of the representatives of the

called in Berlin,

into the belief that the time for the partition of

This belief was also not

This was a complete mistake, since the object of British policy had long been,
as everybody ought to have known, to strengthen

Turkey had

finally

come.

confined to the Greeks.

Turkey

as

much

as possible."

Thus, through England's initiative, the Treaty of

San Stefano was superseded by the Treaty of Berlin,
which split the Bulgarian nation into five parts.

TRKATIKS: SAN STEFANO AND BERLIN.

43

That portion lying north of the Balkans and known

Moesia was recognized as a principahty tributary
to the Porte.
Eastern RoumeHa was organized
into an autonomous province under the indirect

as

supervision of the Porte.

Macedonia was left under the authority of the

Sultan with certain stipulations guaranteeing personal Hberty to all inhabitants alike. Dobroudja and

two districts inhabited exclusively by Bulwere ceded to Roumania and Servia respectively.
In 1885 Eastern Roumelia was united
Pirot,

garians,

to Bulgaria

through a bloodless revolution.

Objectionable as the Treaty of Berlin may be, it

contains certain clauses which provide for the welfare

of

Article

the

XXIII

Macedonian

people.

For example,

of this treaty reads

"The Sublime Porte undertakes scrupulously to

apply in the island of Crete the Organic Law of
1868, with such modifications as may be considered
equitable.

"Similar laws adapted to local requirements, excepting as regards the exemption

from taxation

granted to Crete, shall also be introduced into the

other parts of Turkey in

Europe for which no

special organization has been provided

by the pres-

ent treaty.

depute special commissions, in which the native element shall be largely

represented, to settle the details of the new laws in

"The Sublime Porte

each province."

shall

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

44

which the obHgations of

the Christians in
toward
the European
leaves
no room for any
described
Macedonia are
The recharacter.
doubt as to their extent and

The

distinct

manner

in

concert

sponsibihty for their non-fulfilment, as well as to

subsequent disorders resulting therefrom, rests
solely

and exclusively upon the Powers signatory

to

the Treaty of Berlin.

England, above all other

morally accountable for the
restoration of Turkish rule in Macedonia, after the
conclusion of the San Stefano Treaty. Hence it deIt is perfectly clear that

nations in Europe,

is

volves upon Great Britain to take the initiative in

order that peace may be established in this province.

That the European Powers have ample justificaMacedonians who

tion to intervene in behalf of the

are being slowly exterminated can easily be seen

from the following extracts of Article LXII of the

Treaty of Berlin
'Tn no part of the Ottoman empire shall

differ-

ence of religion be alleged against any person as a

ground for exclusion or incapacity as regards the

discharge of

civil

and

political rights,

admission to

the public employments, functions and honors, or

the exercise of the various professions and industries.

"All persons shall be admitted, without distinction

of religion, to give evidence before the tribunals.

"The

right of official protection

by the Diplomatic

and Consular Agents of the Powers

in

Turkey

is

TREATIES: SAN STEFANO

AND BERUN.

45

recognized both as regards the above-mentioned persons (ecclesiastics, pilgrims and monks) and their
religious, charitable

and other establishments

in the

holy places and elsewhere."

It

needs no saying that these clauses have been

This is confirmed by reports

constantly violated.

of the consuls in Macedonia as well as the accounts

that have been given by travellers, correspondents

and by the inhabitants themselves.

CHAPTER VIL
The European Concert and Reforms.
it may seem, it must be acknowledged that mutual jealousies among the great Powers of Europe have needlessly prolonged Turkish
misrule in Macedonia. For more than sixty years
the shrewdest European diplomatists have grappled

Disgraceful as

with the Near Eastern question without reaching

any satisfactory solution. Again and again they
have ignored the persistent cries of the oppressed

Macedonians for emancipation.

It seems that the great Powers of Europe are not
willing to introduce reforms in Macedonia.
They
are constantly watching each other in their dealings
with the Sultan, fearing lest some one should gain
undue influence over him and secure a bigger prize
than the rest.
This feeling of jealousy was largely responsible
for the conclusion of the treaty at Vienna in 1815,
by which England, Russia, France, Austria and
Prussia placed themselves under obligation not to
attack a lesser Power without the approval of all the
members comprising the Congress of Vienna. This
unusual proceeding was resorted to, as it will be
readily inferred, in order to preserve the balance of
power.
Turkey refused to acknowledge the authority of
this self-constituted concert with respect to her own
(46)

EUROPE AND REFORMS.

47

and henceforth became the bone of contenIt must be remembered, however,

that although nominally at first, the European conaffairs

tion in Europe.

soon commenced to exercise greater authorityover the Turkish empire until to-day it has assumed
absolute control over the destinies of the small nacert

tions

which

still

remain under the jurisdiction of

the Sultan.

Among

the Powers of the European concert Rushas played the most prominent role in the solution of the Macedonian question.
Russian statessia

men have always regarded

to

it

meddle with the internal

The traditional
Turk is due to the

hostility

their inalienable right

affairs of

Turkey.

of the Russian to the

fact that the bulk of the

Turkish

Macedonia are of Slavic extraction and

are communicants of the Eastern church, hence all
the Russians must feel an interest in their welfare,
being of the same race and professing the same
subjects in

faith.

To

a great extent, their feeling has been re-

Balkans
have not ceased to look upon the white Tsars of
Russia as their coming deliverers from Turkish

ciprocal, since the oppressed Slavs in the

thraldom.

The

dealings of Russia with the Balkan States in

and Macedonia in particular, constitute an

general,

Her diplomatic
series of blunders.
agents have proven to be too selfish and arrogant to
merit the support of the intelligent classes among
Indeed, the disaffection
these young nationalities.
which is noticeable among the Roumanians, Serinexcusable

vians and Bulgarians has been growing so much of

late that it now forms one of the insuperable ob-

THE MACEDONIAN

48

PROBIyEM.

structions to Russian ambitions in the direction of

Constantinople.

This feeling of distrust has been roused and kept

up by repeated attempts on the part of Russia to

which
1820 Russia

dictate the foreign policy of the small nations

she has helped to liberate.

Thus

in

aided in the liberation of Servia, and later showed

herself inalterably opposed to the ardent wishes of

the Servians to obtain greater freedom and went so

far as to force the abdication of Milosh in 1857.

The same is true of Russia's treatment of KaraGeorge, since her agent at Belgrade sustained a
great many conspirators in order to weaken the
State and bring about Russia's direct supervision, if
not immediate control.
Russian intrigues are no
less responsible for the unpopularity of the late King
Alexander of Servia and his subsequent assassination at the

hands of the military

Russia's influence in Bulgaria

same

reasons.

Most of

officers.
is

declining for the

the political upheavals in

Bulgaria since 1878 may be traced either directly

indirectly to Russian machinations.
Relying
upon the kindly feeling of the peasants for the Russian people, the agents of the Tsar have gone so far
as to preach openly against the sovereign power of
the State which the Russian army created.
The late war between Greece and Turkey furnishes
another chapter of Russian intrigues. Affecting to
assume a friendly attitude toward Greece, Russian
or

diplomacy did not hesitate to resort to the most

reprehensible methods in order to baffle the just de-

Greek people. It was quite in harmony

with Russian tactics to suppress any movement in
sires of the

EUROPE AND REFORMS.

49

the peninsula that had for

its prime object the aggrandizement of a Balkan State.

Otherwise it
would have been impossible for the Russian ambassador at Constantinople, M. de Nelidoff, to protest

against

Bulgaria's

manifestations

of

hostility

to

Turkey during the progress of the war.

In short, Russia did not wish to see the Bulgarhands with the Greeks in 1897, lest Turkey
should suffer defeat at the hands of allied Christian
ians join

States in the peninsula.

The Tsar would

gladly aid

Turkey, so long as they

are willing to acknowledge his authority over them.
But as soon as these same peoples begin to feel the
need of actual self-government the Russian statesmen spare no efforts to frustrate all such legitimate

the oppressed nationalities in

aspirations.

Russia would not consent to the liberation of the

Armenians who are being slaughtered by the thousands simply because she does not wish to create
another Bulgaria in Asia Minor.
Russia's treatment of Macedonia in recent years

has been no less insincere. Professing to be friendly

to the Macedonians, Russian diplomacy has left
nothing undone to hinder their efforts toward selfOtherwise, it would be difficult to
government.
explain her persistent

demand

that the status

quo

be maintained at all cost.

Russia does not regard the present time propitious
for an offensive attack upon the Ottoman empire.
For this reason she has determined to wait for a
more opportune time. In order to avert any untoward events in the Balkans, Russia has adopted

the following plans

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

50

In the

first place,

attitude of being the

when

it is

well

she has assumed the ridiculous

champion of Turkish interests,

that the dreams of the Rus-

known

sian Tsars have ever been to supplant the Turkish

dome of St. Sophia in Constantinople

with the victorious cross of the Muscovite empire.
Turkey's experience now does not vary much from
that of Poland prior to her partition. Even though
Russia pretended to have espoused the national cause
crescent on the

it was that she might the more readily

subdue them.
The next plan toward the maintenance of the
status quo was to prevent European intervention by
entering into a compact with Austria in 1897, on the
ground that, as these two Powers were directly interested in Macedonia and were unwilling to impair
Turkish sovereignty over that province, both were
By
bent on preserving the peace in the Balkans.
well-nigh
imposvirtue of this agreement it became
sible either for the other members of the European
concert or for the Balkan States to precipitate any
movement that had for its object a change in the

of the Poles,

existing situation.
Finally, to insure against a possible understanding

amongst the Balkan States and

to avert the serious

consequences of a united insurrection in Macedonia.

Russia resorted to the old policy of divide et impera.

This plan she is trying to accomplish by interfering
in the internal affairs of the Balkan States in a way
that win keep them apart and ever unfriendly to one
another. In Bulgaria Russia upholds one principle,
while in Servia the very opposite, the idea being to

foment mutual distrust and to keep them helpless

e;urope'And"reforms.

si

and dependent. It is universally admitted that in

Macedonia there are no Servians outside of Old
Servia, and yet the Russian consuls have contrived
the scheme of organizing and supporting a Servian
propaganda in order to generate strife and discord.
England's main policy in the Levant has been to
uphold her interests in Asia and to contribute her
share in the maintenance of the balance of power.
It must be confessed that England's emphatic stand
against Russia's movements towards the Bosphorus

has more than once saved the rights of self-govern-

ment

to the Balkan States.

English statesmen have not considered it safe to
permit the rapid diffusion of Russian influence
through southeastern Europe; for, once mistress of
the Dardanelles, Russia might readily drive Enghsh
commerce from the East. To avert some such
catastrophe Great Britain has frequently yielded to
the humiliating necessity of enduring Turkish domi-

nation as the least of

many

evils.

Lord Salisbury, on October 7, 1886, in explaining

England's attitude toward the Sultan, remarked:
"Our policy must be to support Turkey whenever
her rule is beneficent, whenever mischievous we
should raise independent nationalities which would
safeguard the peace of Europe."
In
Pitt expressed himself in the same strain.
1878 Disraeli strongly opposed the creation of a
united Bulgaria, fearing the preponderance of Russian authority in the Danubian plains. The motives
of England were, no doubt, commendable, but her
methods would hardly stand a very close scrutiny.
British statesmen are convinced now that their pol-

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

52

icy in supporting

Turkey was a great mistake and

that Great Britain lost

much

influence in the Balkan

peninsula by not following the advice of the Liberal

leaders, and especially Gladstone, who urged the

organization of independent States.

The support which England has given to the Sultan in recent years should not be construed as an
approval of Turkish methods of government. The
heart-rending atrocities perpetrated upon inoffen-

Armenia and Macedonia by the

have aroused in England such a storm
of indignation that even the Conservative Cabinet
could not ignore it. Englishmen are now well aware
that it is utterly impossible to introduce any reforms
in Macedonia and that a new policy should be
inaugurated to do away with Turkish misrule.
sive Christians in

Turks of

The

late

Liberal party in England

is

generally

known

to have been in favor of the suppression of Turkish

power
in

in

Europe and the

Turkey.

liberation of the Christians

Gladstone's intercession in behalf of

Bulgaria, Armenia and Macedonia is too recent to

need any special mention. It is to be hoped that
England will purge herself of the odium which rests
upon her good name for having sustained the ignominious rule of the Sultan, when she reflects upon
the untold misery which has been inflicted upon
countless

human

beings,

many

of

whom

are

still

groaning under his jurisdiction.

Austria

is

another great factor in the solution of

the Macedonia question.

Her proximity

to the Bal-

kans has brought her to the forefront in the discussion of affairs in the Near East. In fact, Salonica
seems to be one of the goals toward which Austria

EUROPE AND REFORMS.

is

now

53

directing her attention, since she has no in-

terests in the

west and

all

greatness lead eastward.

in clearing the

way

the avenues to her future

She has already succeeded

for her industrial products over

the entire peninsula.

Some

writers in Austria have advocated the occuit would be difficult to undergovernment of Austria-Hungary

pation of Salonica, but

how

stand

the

could have seriously entertained such a proposition,

knowing

that even

total population
It

is

now

a large proportion of the

made up

of Slavs.

should be remembered that the scope of the

Pan-Slavistic agitation includes some of the provinces

now

those

still

within Austrian pale, not to speak of

remaining under the Sultan. The Tsar
considers himself the protector of all the Slavs and
particularly so of those

who

profess the

Orthodox

He

has not forgotten the annexation of

Bosnia and Herzegovina, two purely Slavonic provinces, to the Austrian empire and is only waiting for
an opportunity to resent what he regards as an
faith.

insult to the Slavonic race.

The

contention of General Fadeeff that the best

road from Moscow to Constantinople is via Vienna
is very significant and should not be overlooked by

Austrian statesmen in directing their policy with

regard to Macedonia. Besides, the risk of a Russian
occupation of Constantinople is fraught with grave
dangers for the future of Austria on the other hand,
neither Italy nor the Balkan States will permit her
;

progress in the direction of Salonica.

Germany's influence in Eastern affairs
far-reaching than

it

is

has been in former years.

more
Her

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

54

support of the Sultan does not arise from any friendliness for Turkish methods of government, but
rather from considerations of self-interest.
The German Emperor has regarded with much
disfavor the continued emigration of
the United States,

knowing

Germans

lost forever to their fatherland,

through a process

of rapid assimilation with the American people.

constant thought of

may

how

they

tion

and retain

German

into

that thereby they are

public

colonize the surplus

men

German
home

their allegiance to the

The

has been
popula-

govern-

ment.

The South African venture is being attempted in

conformity with this policy. During the last decade,
however, German statesmen have conceived the expediency of colonizing the rich and accessible plains
This scheme has so far matured
of Asia Minor.
that already a large settlement of Germans has
found its way into Asiatic Turkey and their permanent colonization is progressing rapidly.
In return for these acts of goodwill on the part
of the Sultan, the German Emperor has been giving
him undisguised suppoi't in the councils of the
European concert against the Christian subjects
Turkey.

This circumstance fully

luctance of the

in

illustrates the re-

German government

to co-operate

with the remaining Powers in their desire to establish order and peace in Macedonia.
Aside from these favors, Turkey has granted

German capitalists the concession of building the

Bagdad Railway, whose strategic and commercial
importance can never be overestimated.
In order
to utilize these advantages in Asia Minor, Ger-

EUROPE AND REFORMS.

55

many

proposes to obstruct the just aspirations of

the Macedonians with the ultimate purpose of re-

ducing the Slavic element and of turning the province into a German highway to Asia Minor.
Of
course, this can only be accomplished by pushing
Austria to the front in her claims over Macedonia
and in due time transform the whole region into a

German

territory.

Italy has been very fair in her dealings with the

Balkan States and would offer no opposition to the

urgent demand of the Macedonians for a more endurable existence. Fearing Austria's designs upon
Macedonia, Italy has watched with a jealous eye her
political movements.
She has declared that in the
event of Austria's descent upon Macedonia her
troops would march through Albania to counteract
the invasion.

France

may be

said to have pursued a well-defined

Near East and in the main

has been very generous to the Christians in Turkey.
In consenting to join England in the Crimean War,
France departed from her traditional policy the
emancipation of the rayahs. Although an ally of
Russia, in matters pertaining to the Near East,
French interests are diametrically opposed to those
policy in the affairs of the

of Russia.
The Republic of France could ill afford to surrender Constantinople to Russia and to permit her
to become eventually the dominant power in the

more so

France contemplates controlling Syria, as has been claimed by

French diplomatists. The Tsar would not tolerate
the possession of Holy Land by a Roman Catholic
Mediterranean, and

all

the

if

THE MACEDONIAN

56

Power
tically

PROBIvEM.

if he can help it, so that France has pracagreed not to interfere with Russia's plans in

the Orient,

if

the latter will facilitate the restoration

of the lost provinces to France.

It

will

be seen, therefore, that the keynote of

European diplomacy has always been

self-interest.

by no means
overdrawn "Everyone wants what he has not got,
and the difficulty is to arrange to get it and to keep
it.
In private matters it would be brigandage; in
Clemenceau's characterization of

it

is

international matters
it is

it is

called politics.

Hitherto

might that has decided among nations, not

or justice."

right

CHAPTER
The

VIII.

Insurrection,

Those who have seen the Macedonian peasant,

and submissive, are wondering at his
resolution to take up arms against his oppressor.
That a peaceful race which has been crushed down
for centuries has at last determined to do or die, in
a common effort for emancipation there must be
important causes. The condition of the people must
have become desperate beyond measure.
There have been uprisings before, but none as
bold and extensive as the present. For many years
gentle, patient

the inhabitants have been preparing to rise en masse,

and had organized revolutionary centres throughout

The schoolmasters became the leaders
of this general movement and were themselves assuming the command of the insurrectionary bands,

the province.

so that the entire population, representing

all classes

taking part in the uprising.

and
The rebellion in Macedonia is not without precedent among the provinces that were the first to reconditions,

volt against

is

Turkish tyranny and to throw

off the

unbearable yoke. Their example was later, in the

seventies, followed by Bulgaria and Montenegro.
The Roumanians, Cretans and the people of Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, once powerful subjects of the Sultan, also passed through the baptismal

fire

of revolution before they could obtain

(57)

58

THE MACEDONIAN

their liberties; so that

similar

insurrections

most unfortunate of

it

is

PROBIvEM.
but natural to expect

Macedonia, the last and

Turkish dominions in
all

in

Europe.
After describing the fundamental reasons that
underlie Turkish misgovernment and showing the
unparalleled facts of Turkish oppression, it would

seem superfluous to dwell at any length upon the

chief causes which have led to the present upheaval.
Nevertheless, some of the provocations have been
so flagrant that their mention at this time would be
most appropriate.
Those who are intimately acquainted with the
economic state of Macedonia bring appalling accounts of suffering and destitution. Owing to the
lack of security to property, no foreign or local capitalists have deemed it safe to invest their money on
commercial enterprises. As a result, poverty and
stagnation reign supreme throughout the province.
Large bodies of Macedonians have left their families at the mercy of Turkish officials and brigands,
and have gone abroad, visiting even the remotest
ends of the earth, in order to earn a livelihood for
their loved ones at home.
The failure of Turkish government to institute
much-needed reforms has driven the peasants into
despair, since both the officials and Turkish soldiery,
instead of being paid by the government, are left to

from the people. Travelling in

Macedonia is unsafe because numerous bands of
Turks and Albanians are ravaging the country in
every direction, killing and robbing the defenseless
Christians.
Brigandage has become a settled proextort their living

fession within Turkish provinces.

THE INSURRECTION.
The Porte

59

has been unscrupulous in

its treatment
Pretending to encourage
the organization of schools and churches, the Sultan
has placed insurmountable difficulties in their operations. Thousands of Macedonian teachers have been
imprisoned on the false accusation of being propagators of revolutionary ideas, simply because the
text-books happened to contain the words liberty,
independence, or civilization. No history that has
any relation to the events outside of Turkish
achievements is permitted in the schools.
The churches have been interfered with by the
Turkish authorities in the most arbitrary manner.
Bulgarians have been forced to acknowledge the
jurisdiction of the Greek Patriarch, and the Greeks
that of the Bulgarian Exarch, in order to generate
strife and hatred between these two subject races
and to keep them in a state of weakness and dependThe whole population is
ence upon the Porte.

of educational institutions.

subjected to systematic tyranny.

But however unendurable maybe the above restricnothing is more revolting than the brutal way
in which the Turks of all classes are allowed to desecrate the honor of Christian homes. The most beautiful and the most cultured young women in Macedonia have been mercilessly abducted by Mohammedans and forcibly led into the abominable haunts
of Turkish lust and depravity. The Christian people, it would seem, have been entirely excluded from
tions,

the pale of civilization.

can censure the Macedonians for their boldness in taking up arms against their relentless op-

Who

pressors?

Have

the European Powers done their

THE MACEDONIAN PROBI.EM.

6o

duty in safeguarding the honor of the Macedonian

women and the right to tolerable existence? Deserted by the Christian governments, signatory to
the Treaty of Berlin, which promised the Macedon-

and protection
and property, the Macedonians have at

ians the liberty of conscience

to their

lives

last de-

termined to seek redress in the use of their own

strength in a common and resolute fight for the
acquisition of their legal rights as
It is far preferable to die

ized

human

beings.

together in an organ-

and united combat against the

eternal foe than

to submit to a gradual extermination

for the Turk-

government has resolved upon

only alternative in its desire to retain permanent
this course as the

ish

control over the country.

The

wholesale massacres

Macedonia have no other object but to depopulate

the province from its Christian inhabitants and to
replace them with Mohammedan settlers.
The spirit of revolt has ripened and nothing short
in

of actual reforms can suppress

ists

it.

The

Revolution-

are fighting with hope and enthusiasm because

they are fighting for the most elementary human

rights and honor of their sisters. The policy of exasperation on the part of the

Ottoman government

could no longer be endured. The tottering empire

of the Turks after a restless and bloody career of
five

centuries

dying, since

is

it is

fast

crumbling down.

so constituted that

it

It

is

not

will not die a

it has refused to lead a normal life.

must be crushed to pieces in order to be destroyed.
The Macedonian insurrection is not confined to

natural death, as
It

one nationality only, although the Bulgarian

ment naturally

directs the

movement.

Among

ele-

the

THE INSURRECTION.

6i

insurgents there are Roumans, Servians and even

Greeks. Not a few foreign sympathizers have been

seen in the ranks of the insurgents, notably Tchecks,
Russians, English and Americans.

During the preliminary stages of the Revolutionary organization, its headquarters were stationed
at Sofi^, the capital of Bulgaria.
This was due to
the fact that nearly 200,000 Macedonians, most of

them representing the flower of the Macedonian

population, had sought refuge from Turkish persecution within the hospitable shore of the free principality.

Patriotic societies
cipal

towns and

were established

in the prin-

villages for the purpose of collect-

The leaders were

ing funds for the revolution.
Although the people
native-born Macedonians.
sympathized with and assisted the committee, the
Bulgarian government openly discountenanced its
operations.

Simultaneous with these proceedings in the prinwere actively engaged in formcentres

throughout Macedonia
ing revolutionary

cipality, the leaders

and arming the Christian population. The money

which was needed to accomplish this task was gladly
furnished by the Macedonians, whether they lived
in Bulgaria or Turkey. Mr. Boris Sarafoff was the
leading spirit of the Supreme Committee in Sofia,
while Delcheff was the genius who prepared the
ground in Macedonia.
Until the year 1901 peace and harmony prevailed
in all the ranks of revolutionary activity.

Congress of 1901 the chief

command

preme Committee was entrusted

At

the

of the Su-

to General Tson-

62

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

who was not a native of Macedonia and transformed the organization into a Bulgarian propaganda. This policy met with the unequivocal oppocheff,

who highly disapproved of the

tendency
and
new
worked under the motto Macedonia for the Macedonians. Henceforth the Central Committee severed its relations with the Susition of the leaders,

preme Committee

at

Sofia

operations in Macedonia.

and localized

all

the

Subsequently the Bul-

garian government abolished the Supreme

Com-

mittee, so that all the officers of the insurrectionary

movement were

left in the hands of the Central

Committee.
It will be seen, therefore, that the revolution is
the outgrowth of local discontent and has absolutely
no relation with any supposed propaganda from
Bulgaria, as has been charged repeatedly by the enemies of Macedonia's emancipation. It is true that
in the fall of 1902, General Tsontcheff, and some of
his adherents, who were Macedonians, attempted
an insurrection in the district of Palanka and Kastoria, but its results were only injurious to the cause.
Colonel Yankoff displayed marvelous skill and
prowess in directing the operations, but barring
some individual instances of heroism the whole undertaking proved futile because it lacked the sanction of the Central Committee.
This premature effort occasioned indescribable
losses to the movement, because it precipitated a
general search for arms on the part of the Turkish
officials and the imprisonment of the foremost citizens and peasants who were known to be enemies
of Turkey,
During the winter and spring follow-

THE INSURRECTION.

63

ing the abortive uprising the prisons were filled

with notable Macedonians who were locked up without being sentenced by the courts, simply on suspicion.

Among

these prisoners there were

many

merchants, priests, teachers, professional men and

peasants, whose only fault was that they were influential Christians.

in

Another injurious effect of the partial uprising

1902 was to force upon the Central Committee

the necessity of a speedy revolution before

all

plans

had been matured and preparations completed. The

extent and character of the outrages that were committed upon innocent Macedonians by the Turks,
under the pretext of searching for arms, will never
be known to the world. Rape, plunder, insult and
imprisonment were the order of the day. The people clamored for revenge. The general insurrection
could no longer be postponed.
The Macedonians
were goaded to revolution and the insurrection was
proclaimed in the summer of 1903. Its results and
the subsequent reign of terror will be described in

another chapter.

The insurgents have been accused of being a conglomeration of cut-throats and evil-doers, whose
only object is to subvert Turkish rule in order to
become the functionaries of the State. This charge
was reiterated by the Russian consul in Monastir
in his report to the government.
Those who have
watched the resignation and self-sacrifice of the insurgents will not need further refutation of the
slander.
official

The

fact that the

same

consul,

who

in his

capacity defended the beneficent rule of the

Turks, became a victim of Turkish assassins

last

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

64

summer

in

Monastir

is

enough

to disprove his view

of the matter.

The heroism

of the insurgents thus far has given

indisputable evidence of their self-abnegation in the

struggle for better existence.

They

fully realize the

tremendous odds against which they were fighting,

and yet some of the noblest sons of Macedonia have
fallen dead in their crusade for freedom.
Their
heroism has startled the world; for were it not so,
the dynamite explosions in Salonica last summer
would not have occurred. They knew that certain
death was their fate and yet they did not hesitate to

Whatever may be the demerits

execute the plan.

proved that the insurgents were

They felt that Europe
had become accustomed to read of Turkish outrages
with equanimity, and that something extraordinary
should be done to arouse its attention and force it
of these methods,

it

not criminal but desperate.

to intervene.

That the insurgents were unwise in selecting these

methods, no one will question, since the dynamite
explosions in Salonica repelled rather than attracted
European sympathy for Macedonia.
One thing
must be conceded, however, that so long as the
Macedonians are placed outside of the limits of
law as they have been, by the fact that the stipulations of the Treaty of Berlin have been ignored
it cannot be expected of them to adhere to lawful
methods. And yet, to the credit of the insurgents
be it said that they have never attacked the defenseless Turks or outrage their women as the Christians
have suffered at the hands of the Turks.
They
have fought only with armed soldiers and Bashibouzouks, never with peaceful Mohammedans.

THE INSURRECTION.

65

No

popular agitation for better rights can be carThe people must either endure Turkish misrule or rise against their tyrants.
It has been claimed that the balance of criminality lies with the insurgents rather than the Turks.
In response to this accusation, the Balkan Committee in London, presided over by Hon. James
Bryce, M. P., writes

ried on in Macedonia.

"We are told that as between the Turks who are

engaged in exterminating the Christians of Macedonia and the insurgents who are protesting against
Turkish misrule, the balance of criminality lies with
the insurgents.

"Perhaps

it is

true that the insurgents have done

things repugnant to European sentiment.

else could

we expect?

For

centuries the

Powers which have been so busy

in

What

European

maintaining the

status quo in Turkey, have excluded the Sultan's

Christian subjects from the pale of European civilization.

"We

are told that the insurgents have committed

outrages in order to attract the attention of Europe.

If that is true, who is to blame?
have refused
to listen to their prayers and petitions, and now they

We

are cutting themselves with knives as the priests of

Baal did to attract the attention of their deaf god.

"We are told that they provoked the Turks to
indulge in massacre. You cannot start a constitutional agitation in Turkey. You must either endure
If you rebel, no matter how discreet or
or rebel.
humane you may be, the Turks will always retort
by massacre. This the insurgents knew and fore-

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

66

saw.

knowing

If,

sacre they

still

that any rising

rose,

what

must lead

the conclusion?

is

to

mas-

Surely

They
that these men found life unendurable.
No race ever
are gambling with death for liberty.

it is

women

to outrage and its children to

by so doing it hoped to free them
from a tyranny which is worse than death.
"What precisely is Turkish misrule? The Turkish government leaves undone the things it should

exposed

its

starvation, unless

do.

It

provides neither roads nor schools, or honest

law courts, nor security for

life, property or honor.

should not do. Its agents, who
are seldom paid, live by plundering the Christians;
its tax gatherers reduce them to the verge of starva-

It

does the things

it

tion.

"But worse even than this political tyranny is

the domestic despotism which reigns in every village, where the Moslem landlord and his armed
retainers live on the toil of the unarmed peasants.
No woman's honor is safe, no man's labor is his
own. A Christian cannot revenge his wrongs and
The
there are no courts which will redress him.
peasants are serfs, poor in a rich land, enslaved

under an idol-ruling
rors,'

caste.

'Better an end with hor-

says the Macedonian proverb, 'than horrors

without an end,'
"This despair is our work.
liberate

Macedonia

in 1878.

We forbade Russia to
We have refused to

execute the promises of reform which Lord Beamade at Berlin. The insurgents are fighting only for their legal treaty rights. Where now
does the balance of criminality lie? Perhaps with
consfield

Europe."

THE' INSURRECTION.

67

The above

quotation comes from English source.

pronunciamento of an authoritative bodycomposed of pubHc-spirited and influential Englishmen. It cannot help but produce a lasting impression, since of all countries England is the most
blameworthy for the present chaotic state in Mace-

It is the

donia.
It

who

does not require

is

much thinking

to ascertain

guilty for the provocations of the

Mace-

donian insurrection and its attendant evils.

The
revolutionists could not be accused of lawlessness,
because they are fighting for the restoration of law
and order, according to the provisions of the Treaty
of Berlin.
They are none other but the fathers,
brothers and husbands of the outraged daughters,
sisters and wives.
The honor of the Macedonians

makes

it

imperative for them to rise in defense of

the sanctity of their home.

To-day, to use the words of an American philanMacedonians may be described as beTheir

ing either prisoners, exiles or insurgents.
cause is exalted, and cannot fail to touch a sympathetic chord in the hearts of all liberty-loving

thropist, the

people.

Neither

is it

right to attribute the responsibility

for the scenes of cruelty and annihilation which are

being enacted to Turkish malevolence. In slaughtering the Christians and plundering their homes
the Turks are fulfilling their duty as loyal Mohammedans. Their conscience does not reprove them

and no one is justified in condemning them for the

acts of murder and rapine to which they are treating the Christians under their rule.

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

68

No

one will dare accuse a tiger within the cage

for being ferocious

that

his nature.

is

It is the

keeper who is responsible for allowing the beast to

destroy the lives of defenseless beings that may be
entrusted to his care.
The Macedonians find no

Mussulmans in their crusade

That is what their
religion commands them to do and what, under
normal conditions, would be expected of them. The
responsibility rests with Europe for setting the
Turks loose upon the inoffensive Christians in Macefault with the fanatic

of pillage and extermination.

donia.

When

the

cluded from
rule of the

Powers
selfish

Macedonians

the responsibility for

to follow.

at the

Treaty of Berlin con-

consideration to hand back the

all

to the Turks, they assumed

the horrors that were bound

In response to the clamorings of out-

raged Christian conscience,

the

European

diplo-

matists at Berlin vouchsafed certain guarantees for

Macedonian rights which were

never enforced.
The balance of criminality does not lie with the
insurgents. It most assuredly rests upon the Powers
signatory to the Treaty of Berlin.
the protection of

CHAPTER
The Reign

IX.

of Tetr or.

Allusion has already been

made

to the period of

on the part of Turkish officials

against all Macedonian Christians since the partial
revolt in the districts of Palanka and Kastoria in
the autumn of 1902. The Turkish pretext for indiscriminate arrest and plunder was to search for
hidden arms. The object was to cow down the
population; while the result was to hasten the in-

ceaseless persecution

surrection.

The
whole

revolution could no longer be averted.

The

world understood the inefficacy of

the projected paper reforms and expected a mascivilized

sive insurrection early in the following year.

first

The

signal for the final struggle of the Christian

was given on
July 20, 1903. This was followed by the immediate
capture by the insurgents of the strategic city of
Krushevo. The Christians of all nationalities took
active part in this uprising throughout the Monasagainst his tyrant of the Islam faith

tir

Vilayet.

The

reign of terror which followed this outbreak

parallel since the wholesale massacre of the
no
has
Armenians. For four months the Turkish soldiers,
assisted by the savage bashi-bouzouks, continued their
fearful work of carnage, rapine and devastation;
or. to put it in the words of English correspondents
(69)

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

70

"Morning after morning one's feelings are harrowed by the spectacles of villages set on fire and
the inhabitants, fleeing from the flames, shot down
like wolves,

men and

houses of innocent peasants looted, old

children butchered, wives and daughters

dishonored, crops deserted, fields

left

without hands

to reap or sow, trains passing hither

and

thither

of prisoners with chains round their necks, convoys of prisoners murdered by their escort in
full

short, horrors

and miseries so shocking

as to stagger

human comprehension."
more specific. The revolt which started
Monastir province soon spread throughout
Central Macedonia, and later broke out in full blast
It must be rememin the vilayet of Adrianople.
bered that the insurgent bands were fighting for a
lofty purpose. The Turks, on the contrary, unable to
cope with the brilliant guerilla warfare of the bands,
have sought to retaliate upon non-combatants,
mostly old men, women and children. The result
of this policy of extermination, which received its
sanction from the Sultan, is vividly and accurately
portrayed by Mr. A. G. Hales, in the London Daily
But

to be

in the

News

of

November

i6,

1903

"Just glance down this awful list which I append,

and the hst is true as far as it goes, but I know that
This list does not
I have not obtained all the truth.
go back over years; it commenced only as late as
the 20th of July of this present year not four

months of time, and yet crowded into that brief

space lies crime enough to damn any nation that the
world has known.

RKIGN OF TERROR.
"In some cases

71

have been unable to obtain the

from
their peaceful homes, and I have left the spaces
blank. Later on I may be able to fill them up that
the world may know the full measure of the crimes
I

correct figures in regard to people ravished

Here

of Abdul the Despot.

is

the

The names

list.

of the villages of each district are given, with the

number of houses

either

burned or pillaged, and

the date of the occurrence

VILAYET OF MONASTIR.

Kaza

Moghila, 89 houses pillaged

and half burned; Smilevo, 430 burned, August 15;
Metimer, 25
Svinichta, 9 burned, August 14
of Monastir

burned, August 14; Rakovo, 74 burned; Bitocha,

40 burned; Zagorichte, 13 burned; Tzapari, 250

burned; Dihovo, 60 burned; Ghiavato, 240 burned,

July

13-

old men, women

and children were massacred.
Nahi of Resna Krouche, 84 houses burned,
July 21 Levareka, 61 burned, July 21 Boino, 117
burned, July 24; Doupeni, 93 burned; Podmotchani,
118 burned; Tspishta, 42 burned; Ehla, 86 burned;
Petrino, 13 burned; Ezerini, 55 burned; Sapotsco,

At Moghila and Smilevo many

:

118 pillaged, August 17; Perovo, 105 burned, August II.

In the town of Resna, 15 houses were burned.

At Sapotsco, 100 of the houses were Bulgarian.

Nahi

of

Demir-Hissar

Jourtche,

58

houses

burned; Sveta, 57 houses burned; Rastoitza, 32

burned; Tzer, 202 burned; Beltche, 7 burned.
Town Krushevo, 1,667
Nahi of Krushevo
:

THE MACEDONIAN

72

PROBI.EM.

houses partly burned, August i; Brino, 35 burned;

At Krushevo only 370 of the
Diviatzi, 65 burned.
houses burned belonged to Bulgarians; 55 men and

women were

killed.

Nahi of Presba: Luboino, 85 houses, August 13;

Braitchino, 33 burned, August 13.
Kaza of Okhrida The Kaza of Okhrida suffered
:

The Albanians destroyed nearly all the

Christian villages.
From 4,000 to 5,000 men,
women and children were massacred. More than
2,000 others have come from the mountains, destitute of everything.
The names of 37 villages are

terribly.

given, in which 2,287* houses were burned and 125

pillaged.

Kaza of Debre: In the Kaza of Debre Yablomixed population, had 137 houses

nitza, a village of

burned, of which 123 were Christian, and

Christian village had 143 houses burned.

Seltzi, a

Kaza of Lerin (Fiorina) Lubetino, 40 houses

burned, August 18; Bouh, 218 burned; Neokaza,
Precopana,
115 burned Armensco, 180 burned
burned,
28
and
Nevoliani,
July
1 75
29
340
:

burned; Urbeni, 75 pillaged; Voshtareni, 235 pillaged

Ivonia,
Krapeshtina,
115 pillaged
50
burned, July 28 and 29,
At Armensco, 75 persons were killed, 9 burned
to death and 70 women and girls violated. At Precopana, the old men, women and children who could
not escape were massacred. At Voshtaremi 6 per;

sons were killed, 30 women violated and two girls

were converted* to Islamism. At Krapeshtina all
* The correspondent evidently means forcibly converted.

REIGN OF TERROR.
the men,

women and

children

who

73

could not escape

were slaughtered.
Mocreni, 183
Kaza of Kostour (Kastoria)
houses burned, August 16; Bobishta, 115 burned,
August 16; Zagorichani, 476 burned, August 16;
Tchereshnitza, 80 burned, August 16; Smrdesh, 295
burned; Lichishta, 100 burned, August 15; Kossinetz, 200 burned, August
Dambeni, 260
15
burned, August 15; Joupanishta, 123 burned, August 15; Lobanishta, 64 burned, August 15; Shestovo, 130 burned, August 15.
At Mocreni and Smrdesh nearly all the villagers
were killed.
Kaza of Kitchevo Karbounitza, 50 houses pil:

laged.

VILAYET OF KOSSOVO (uSCUb).

Kaza of Uscub: Kojle, 90 houses pillaged and

140 partly burned, August 3; Nerezi, 38 pillaged.
Kaza of Shtip: Kneje, 60 houses burned, August
i; Nemantzi, 180 burned, August i; Dolno TroAugust 15;
Kaza of Veless (Keuprulu)
burned, August 15.
gartzi, 31 burned,

Karbintzi, 26 burned.
:

Vetersco, 13 houses

VILAYET OF SALONICA.

Kaza of Enidje-Vardar
Kriva, 193 houses
burned, August 10.
Kaza of Melnic: Pirim, 250
:

houses pillaged and partly burned, September

2.

Kaza of Razlog: Mehomia, 940 houses burned

and pillaged, September 14; Batchevo, 250 burned
and pillaged, September 14;
September 18; Godlevo, 160

Belitza,

540 burned,
September

pillaged,

THE MACEDONIAN

74

PROBI^EM.

At
i8; Dobrinishta, 320 pillaged, September 22.
Mehomia, 250 persons were killed, 80 of the houses
Many women and girls were viobeing burned.
lated.

Kaza of Nevrokop Obidim, 280 houses burned,

September 15; Kremen, 190 burned, September 15.
:

"We

have thus particulars of 115 villages burned

From Eastern Macedonia there have

or pillaged.

come
are

into Bulgaria

all

destitute.

more than 15,000

From

fugitives

who

the vilayet of Adrianople

more than 20,000

fugitives have been received. The

Bulgarian villages of the Kazas of Lozengrad and
Malco-Tirnovo have been three-fourths destroyed
and more than 5,000 of the inhabitants massacred.
'Death has come to men, women and children in
Macedonia, at the hands of the Turk, in thousands
during the last three and a half months. How many
have actually perished, no man can say positively,
but it is beyond question that since the 20th of July
fully eight and thirty thousand souls have perished,
*

and of these nine-tenths are women and little ones,

and their blood cries aloud to God for vengeance.
We know for an actual certainty that in the mountains there must now be from 60,000 to 70,000 people roaming wild and homeless, existing how they
can, dying where they must.
They will not rot in
the snow, the wolves will be the sextons."

The foregoing account

of the slaughter and de-

predation has only reference to Macedonia proper

the vilayet of Adrianople being excluded; and yet

some of the most shocking tragedies of Turkish

REIGN OF TERROR.

75

fanaticism took place in this unfortunate district

during the months of August and September, 1903.
The same correspondent gives the following description of the scenes he witnessed in this valley of
death

"The massacres of the Bulgarians commenced on

They included in part the Greeks.
the 24th inst.
The murdered are so many that it is impossible to
The forests, the valleys are
give them by name.
with the trunks of the killed and murdered Bulwho flee to the forests are pursued
Wherever a Bulgarlike hares and are murdered.
ian is met he is killed.
Should he flee he is shot
full

garians; those

down.

"The authors of
diers

they

kill,

these crimes are the Sultan's sol-

women and girls. Girls

women with child have in

they outrage

of fifteen years of age and

cases been violated. The villages Coriata and

Derikein are burnt; while Cadievo has been twice
sacked, on the 24th and 25th of last month.
"Women, girls and children at the sight of their

many

villages

burning on

all sides,

fled to the forest for

Those who fled to the

hunted
down
by the soldiers.
forest have been
"The carrying off of girls presented heartrending

safety.

Many

scenes.

The

arrived here.

cries of the girls filled the forest, but

their fainting

and despairing appeals

the hearts of the savage soldiers,

failed to touch

who

like

a pack

upon them and carried them off into

more secret places to outrage them. Those whom
they have not killed are still in their power. Those
who fled to this town were searched on their way
of wolves

fell

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

76

by the soldiers for money.

They have been robbed

of everything.

"Numberless unhappy girls are naked, barefoot

and hungry. After three days spent here they were,
by order of the government, driven out of the
houses and streets, and packed off like sheep to their
villages arnid screams and loud lamentation. Their
villages they will find to be dust and ashes, the remains of their burnt homes and household goods.
Those who were driven to Cadievo will find their
houses as blackened walls. Four gendarmes accompanied them.

The

procession was heart-rending:

children, babies at the breast, the miserable

little

mothers,

all

weeping.

All are menaced with death.

The government has not taken

the least trouble to

help them.

"An

was

incident with six girls

They had

fled

to

related to me.

save themselves from outrage,

were discovered by the brutal soldiers, who seized

them, but they finally escaped from their ravishers
and concealed themselves in a ravine, when they
heard the creaking of carts returning from Malo
Tirnovo where they had carried government stores.
out and begged the drivers to take them
up and carry them to this town, but their ravishers
were after them, and carried away their victims into

They came

the forest again.

hair

from

They

cried,

screamed, tore their

was no help from

their heads, but there

anywhere.

"The number of ravished women and

round

girls

Similar outrages are the usual thing

great.
:

is

all

the plundering also continues, as also the

murdering.

Not a

village

is left

which has not been

RBIGN OF TERROR.

77

sacked nor a church which has not been desecrated.

Sheep, cattle and horses are brought in droves into
this town and are sold pubhcly.
Nothing Bulgarian
unplundered.
is left
On the 2d, during the night,
about twelve in the night time, the village Rakitza
fired, about forty minutes walk distant from the

was

The

town.

soldiers set fire to

it

led

by the Suliman

Tchaoush (sergeant).

"The church, the school and ten houses alone remain whole, everything else is burnt to the ground.
The following men, women and children were burnt
( here
follow the names )
in the conflagration
Those who had escaped from the fire told me the
names I have given. There must be many more,
but those who spoke were terrified and beside themselves, and could only tell me what first came into
their

The

minds.

sheep, donkeys

cattle,

cows,

horses, buffaloes,

and

pigs, all

were driven into the

are

devouring

fire.

"The

Women,

dogs

the

dead

children and the survivors of the

bodies.

men

are

here in the streets, hungry and naked. They wander about until they are driven away, as was done

The Bulwith those of Cadievo and Koritchani.

same treatment and are

garians here are waiting the

in constant fear of

being massacred.

While

am

writing, the survivors of the village Rakitza have

come

in.

"I have just heard that the priest of the village

Ouroumbegli was killed while being brought to the

prison here.

The Turks

are pressing the population

It
they wish for quiet lives.
will not be astonishing if they hstened to this proposal, for they are in despair."

to turn

Moslems

if

THE MACEDONIAN

78

PROBI^EM.

acknowledged that the insurgent

whose number and equipment were far infer-

It is universally

forces,

Turks, fought with bravery and

enthusiasm, maintaining the strictest discipline. In
proportion to their many advantages the Turkish
ior to those of the

were incomparably heavier than those of the

The Turks seemed demoralized by the
fearlessness and resolution of the bands.
In most
cases the Turks purposely avoided fighting with the
losses

insurgents.

revolutionists.

The whole world marvelled

at the heroism displayed by these patriotic bands whose members were

the fathers, husbands and brothers of outraged

women. They had unnumbered grievances against

the Turks and fought with desperation. A French
journalist remarked in commenting upon the sellsacrifice and determination of the insurgents that,
unlike the Greeks, they had learned

how

to die and

deserved the freedom for which they were fighting.

There can be no question that the daring onslaught of the bands and consequent defeats of the

Turkish troops were largely responsible for the

fiendish acts of the latter

upon defenseless Christian

communities. This is readily seen from the following account of the London Times correspondent
**0n August 17th

last

two

battalions of Turkish

troops marched from Fiorina to attack the insur-

gents in a strong position on the neighboring hill of

Pisoder. The Turks were defeated and lost heavily.

Within sight of Fiorina and visible from the railthe little Greek village of Armensko past
which the troops had to march. With no possible

way was

REIGN OF TERROR.
justification, the inhabitants

79

being Greeks and not

Bulgarians, this village was suddenly surrounded,

sacked and burnt; not a villager escaped and many-

were burnt alive in the flames. This feat of arms

was witnessed by a foreign officer who had left the
railway station to watch the fight at Pisoder, and
his evidence is

unimpeachable.
"Five days afterwards certain Sisters of Mercy
were permitted to visit the village. They found
about thirty of the wounded still living, mostly
women and children, the dead still unburied and
many of the bodies completely or partially burnt.
They also found evidence of other things which cannot appear in print. The corpses may be seen still
lying in the village, but some of the wounded are
now in the Greek Hospital at Monastir. The description of their wounds would hardly bear repeating.
One little girl about ten years old had eight in
different parts of her body.
They appeared to be
mostly from swords or bayonets, and it is interesting to note that only Turkish officers carry swords."

The Balkan Committee has kept

in close touch

with recent events in Macedonia and gives out some

startling incidents of Turkish brutality, for whose
accuracy

lowing

it

can vouch.

Among them

are the fol-

"We

are constantly hearing of cases where one

hapless woman is brutally violated by a dozen men.
The other day a priest related how seven soldiers
to his house, bound him fast to a tree and
then in turn outraged his wife in his presence.

came

THB MACEDONIAN

8o

PROBI^EM.

peasant from the burnt village of Armensco tells a

His own brother was
horrible story which is true.
massacred among the first and his brother's wife,

while holding her infant to her bosom and resisting

outrage, had both arms cut off, also her breasts,
while her head was slashed open on one side. The
little

was killed
young Greek

child

*'A

in her arms.

priest

on seing the Turkish

troops enter the village, rushed out to bid them

welcome, supposing they would molest the Bulgar-

He was instantly killed, and his wife

was outraged a number of times, and after she was
dead, both she and her husband were outraged. It
ians only.

hard to believe such things could be possible, even

Macedonia. But there were many such cases in
Armensco carnage. And not only men and women,
but girls of eight and nine years of age were diaboliis

in

cally forced."

The American Board

of Commissioners for For-

title, "Suffering and Death

European Turkey," publishes the following statement
"The Turkish troops turned their cannon
the
halfforsaken, defenseless homes instead of
on
Maidens
attacking the insurgents in the woods.
and fair women were subjected to heart-rending
treatment by their oppressors. Often men, women
and children were cruelly killed together. One company of 200 was overtaken and all slain; children
were thrown away by their mothers in the wildness

eign Missions, under the

in

of the flight."

Lady Henry Somerset,

"Can

asks the question:

in the

Woman's Journal,
women of

the Christian

RBIGN OF TERROR.

8i

the world read unmoved the story of children

thrown into the flames at Monastir, of one village
alone where two hundred women were murdered by

who

the Bashi-bouzouks

who

set fire to the houses, shoot-

women gathered together in a house soaked in petroleum and

fired by the soldiers, of women who have met a fate
ing everyone

that

is

alone,

tried to escape; of

indescribable, of 65,000 people in one place

wandering

roofless,

starving and homeless

in the hills?"

The Macedonian

horrors, which have been but

above quotations from rlismore beyond any

reasonable doubt that with the Mussulmans the
sword still is the only means used in the pacification of the Christian subjects, that the great majority of butcheries were committed by the regular
soldiers of the Sultan, acting under orders from
Constantinople; and that women and children have
suffered the most shocking outrages.
Can anyone wonder at the fact that many of the
Macedonian women joined the insurgent bands
against the savage hordes of Bashi-bouzouks ?
Let it be remembered that the Macedonians were
well aware of the carnage and devastation that were
to follow if they should rise against their oppressors.
The fact that they rose up in arms against insuperable forces is a cogent proof that even under normal
conditions their existence was not worth living.
faintly pictured in the

interested sources, establish once

CHAPTER
The

X.

Austro/'Russian Pi'oject of Reforms,

The European Powers, believing that Russia and

Austria are more directly interested in the solution
of the Macedonian question, soon after the partial
revolution in the
tv^o

Powers

donia.

fall

of 1902, authorized the latter

to draft a

scheme of reforms for Mace-

The Powers promised

forms, but

left

to support the re-

the responsibility for their expedi-

upon Austria and Russia. England alone reserved the right to supplement and modify the
scheme in case it did not meet the requirements of

tion

the situation.

These mock reforms were framed by the governments of the two Powers and were presented to the
Sultan, who received them most cheerfully.
This
earnestness on the part of the Porte arose from the
knowledge that no security for their application was
demanded, leaving them in charge of the Sultan's
nominee, Hilmi-Pasha.
ject of

The

provision of this pro-

reforms called for mixed poHce system of

Christians and

Mohammedans

in proportion to their

numerical strength, substitution of the Turkish rural

guards by Christians, wherever the latter element
predominated, and general improvements in all departments of the government.
But neither the Sultan nor the authors of these
reforms had any illusions as to their fate. They
(82)

PROJECT OF REFORMS.

knew

83

Turkey are fictitious, unless

they are subject to European control. This essential condition was lacking, and therefore the whole
that all reforms in

more than useless.

Speaking of the attitude of Austria and Russia
and the results of these paper reforms, Mr. Arthur
J. Evans in the London Times, of October i, 1903,
writes
"The Powers knew and discounted the consequences of their schemes an insurrection of despair outrages by a small minority of desperadoes,
such as long misgovernment cannot fail to breed;
counter excesses; finally the organized application

project proved

of the

Armenian policy of extermination, partial

unarmed peasants and wholesale de-

slaughter of

by a much
from famine and exposure.

struction of their villages, to be followed

heavier harvest of deaths

"Unfortunately,

there

Abdul Hamid*s solution

is
is

every indication that

that which best suits the

convenience of the Imerpial Powers.

Of

course

it

cannot be avowed. The thinning down of the Slavonic population of Old Servia (the Kossovo vilayet)
has already been watched for years by Austria-HunThe wholesale disapgary with cynical inaction.
pearance of the Bulgar population from Macedonia
would considerably facilitate the realization of certain ambitions."

M. de Pressanse, Deputy for the Rhone, in a

"The isolated action of
public declaration said:
Austria and Russia is inadequate to the establishment of peace and order, even if that action had
been designed for that end only, and if the Cabinets
of St. Petersburg and Vienna had displayed as much
energy as they have of indifference.

The

conscience

THE MACEDONIAN

84

PROBI^EM.

of Europe has been

ill at ease since the moral and

bankruptcy of the Armenian Vespers."
Following the sad events in Macedonia during the
latter part of 1903, the emperors of Russia and Austria met at Multzcheg and there they agreed to present a new plan of reforms.
This new project, it
must be acknowledged, is far-reaching in its scope
and embodies in a large measure the recommendations made by Lord Lansdowne in his diplomatic
note concerning the extension of Macedonian re-

political

forms.

In justice to the authors of the

sian

program be

it

new Austro-Rus-

said that this time they have

made one step forward. This new document may

many faults, as it will be shown later, but if

contain

applied honestly and faithfully, must be considered

a great improvement over the former and will

doubtless meet with the approbation of the Mace-

donian people, as a temporary

relief

from

their des-

perate condition.

The

objectionable part of these reforms

lies

in

the fact that their application was entrusted to the

present Inspector-General, Hilmi Pasa,

of necessity be the tool of the Sultan.

in the first clause of this project there

of European control.
that Hilmi Pasha,

cruelty

and

who

But
is

is it

who must

It is
is

true that

a mention

plausible to suppose

guilty of countless acts of

injustice in his capacity of Inspector-

General in Macedonia, will suddenly turn into a

humane and benevolent ruler as long as he derives
his inspiration from the Yildiz-Kiosk ? Not by any
means. To make it effective, this scheme should
provide for a European Governor who could not be

PROJECT OF REFORMS.

85

removed by the Sultan and whose control over the

application of the reforms should not cease with the

expiration of

two

years, as

is

now

contemplated.

by Russia and Austria alone

inadequate
in
view
of
the fact that these Powers
is
entertain selfish designs in the Balkans and are
looked upon with a great deal of suspicion by the
Macedonian people. If the plan were at all sincere
in its aims it should have included the Western
European Powers, which are neither as reactionary
in their tendencies nor as hostile to Macedonian
aspirations as Austria and Russia.
England, France and Italy should have been
represented in this so-called European control, if it
had been desired to pacify the Macedonians. As it
is now stipulated the civil agents of the two reforming Powers have no authority of their own, but
must depend upon the Sultan for instructions in the
Besides, the control

performance of their functions.

Another radical defect in the proposed reforms is
the intended readjustment of the territorial boundaries, to

conform more

closely to the national affilia-

This is undoubtedly an obscure

clause, and the Bulgarians do not conceal their suspicion as to the real purpose of these territorial
changes, which must necessarily be effected at the
expense of their nationality.
Clause 5 proposes that mixed commissions of
Christians and Turks be appointed "to investigate
political and other crimes committed during the disObviously there can be no justice in
turbances."
this measure so long as the educated minority
among the Bulgarians is either rotting in Asiatic
dungeons or exiled in the free principality.

tions of the people.

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

86

There

a special clause devoted to the repatriaand the relief of the villages

whose homes were ruined by the Turkish troops
and Bashi-bouzouks. An exemption from taxation
is

tion of the refugees

likewise provided for repatriated villages, the dismissal of the bands of Ilavehs and Bashi-bouzouks,
but there is absolutely no guarantee for the execution of either of these beneficial measures.
They
are bound to remain dead letters, as all such reforms
is

have been

One
scheme

of

in the past.

the

gravest omissions

in

this

reform

the exclusion of Adrianople vilayet, where

the scenes of plunder, carnage and desolations have
is

been as rampant as in Monastir. If the Imperial

Powers have been honest in their desire to eliminate
further disturbances in the Balkans,

it is difficult

to

understand why the benefits of the new reforms

should be withheld from the people of the Adrianople vilayet, whose grievances are identical with
those of the other districts.
This deliberate omission does not augur well for the people of that vilayet, who have been placed in the sphere of different political influences.

Moreover, the failure of this program to exact

a general amnesty for all the people who were involved in the insurrection offers insurmountable
difficulties in

the realization of

eyes of the Turks

all

its

object

In the

the insurgents have committed

crimes liable to death penalty, and yet no revolution

in the history of the world

is

as justifiable as the

Macedonian; consequently,

it

becomes altogether

impossible to pacify the country as long as these re-

forms are not modified and extended in

their scope.

PROJECT OF REFORMS.
It is idle to

87

suppose that the Macedonian insur-

has been suppressed.

The movement is
latent for the time being, but unless substantial

rection

guarantees of a general amnesty and the appli-

European control are

must break out anew in the near

cation of real reforms under

given, the revolt
future.
it is

But even inadequate

as these reforms are,

unlikely the Sublime Porte intends to put

The

into practice.

them

negotiations for the appointment

of reorganizer of the gendarmerie

(police force)

have been going on for

months, but as yet nothing definite has been accomand

his

European

assistants

plished.

The Sultan
crastination

is

and

following the old policy of proit

is

the opinion of those

who

are

well acquainted with his tactics that he never in-

tended in reality to introduce reforms that would

place the Christians and Mohammedans on a footing of equality.
pied in the

The

fact that Russia

is

preoccu-

Far East has so emboldened the Turkish

authorities that, according to the latest advices the

Sultan has positively refused to permit even the parcontrol of European officers over his domains.
The only thing that can induce the Sultan to yield
is force.
Will Europe agree to employ force for the
introduction of urgent reforms in Macedonia? That
is the question that agitates the mind of the Sultan

tial

just

now.

"But," to quote the words of the Balkan Com**it is necessary to look beyond this to the establishment of a new regime on a permanent basis.
And to this end it must never be forgotten that we
mittee,

THE MACEDONIAN

88

PROBI^EM.

have at hand another instrument, hitherto neglected, indeed, but never abrogated, and itself more
solemn and collective than the Austro-Russian note,
namely, Article XXIII of the Treaty of Berlin. By
that article, Macedonia, together with the other
provinces of Turkey in Europe, was to secure a
government analogous to that conceded to Crete by
the Organic Statute.
In other words, the Macedonians have a treaty right to an elective assembly
with legislative powers, a Governor General (who
might be a Christian) with a tenure of office lasting

still

good behavior) at least five years,

reformed law courts and a large measure of financial autonomy.
If on such a scheme were engrafted
(subject to his

the reforms that are

now

proposed,

it is

obvious that

the Macedonian problem would be largely solved

under the collective guarantee of the Powers.

"Whatever means are taken to supplement its
omissions, it is clear that the Austro-Russian reform
scheme should be received as an instalment of what
must be eventually demanded. The task of the

moment
as

it

is

that the present installment shall, so far

goes, be

made a

reality,

if

necessary by the

armed co-operation of the Western Powers. All

that can be done by intrigue or by actual threats on
the part of what is still a great military Power will
be brought into play to thwart and delay the introduction of even this measure of relief. The authors
of the reform scheme itself have yet to convince
Western opinion that they are more than half sincere.

The moment was never more

ground that has been gained, largely

of British diplomacy, must be held."

critical.

The

by the action

PROJECT OF REFORMS.

89

From

the foregoing statement it is easy to infer

Austro-Russian
reforms are not of a nature
that the
to satisfy the Christian people of Macedonia, even
that it is highly improbable the imperial
if applied
Powers intended to pacify Macedonia, when they
framed the reforms; that the Sultan will not voluntarily introduce any reforms unless forced to do sOj
;

by the intervention of the great Powers; and that

the only satisfactory solution of the problem is the
application of the twenty-third article of the Treaty
of Berlin.

CHAPTER XL
Macedonian Autonomy.

The aim of the insurrection has been to draw the

attention of the civilized world to the unendurable
state of affairs in Macedonia and to evoke European
intervention.
There can be no doubt that the ultimate solution of the Macedonian question rests with
the European concert.
Therefore, it becomes the
duty of these Powers to devise such readjustments
of difficulties in this province as would be acceptable to the vast majority of the people and would

cause the

minimum

of discontent.

For reasons which already have been considered,

the Austro-Russian reforms are not calculated to

bring permanent

relief

to

the people.

Once

the

principle of intervention in the internal affairs of

Turkey is admitted by the Sultan, as is certainly

implied by acceptance of the Austro-Russian program, it would be no more than right to go a little
farther in order to effect a permanent solution of

This plan consists in the appointment

of a European governor, with unlimited authority
over civil and military administration. This action
the problem.

would be

in

harmony with precedence and would

prove satisfactory to

all

the people of Macedonia,

irrespective of their national leanings.

This policy

seems to be most feasible under the circumstances

(90)

MACEDONIAN AUTONOMY.
and

less liable to

91

involve dangerous complications

than any other which

may

be contrived.

That a European intervention is inevitable sooner

or later no one will dispute. Why should the selfish
interests of Austria and Russia be allowed to interfere in the speedy pacification of Macedonia?
The
Macedonian are only insisting on European control
with a Christian Governor who shall be responsible
This alone would relieve the
to all the Powers.
people and transform Macedonia into a habitable
and prosperous land.
Further delays would only
tend to reduce all the villages into cinders and turn
Macedonia into a wilderness.
The Macedonian Committee has projected a settlement under an international control which has
been sent to the Sultan and submitted to the approval of all the European Chancelleries, the purpose being to obtain autonomy for Macedonia, Albania, Old Servia and Adrianople.
The articles comprising this document are as follows:
I.

There

shall

be formed instead of the vilayets

of Salonica, Bitolia, Kossovo, Adrianople, Scutari

and Janina, four provinces, one of which will take

the name of Albania, and the others that of Macedonia, Old Servia and Thrace.
These provinces
shall remain under the direct political and military
authority of H. I. M. the Sultan, under conditions
of administrative autonomy.
II.

The province of Albania

cially the territories

will

include espe-

of the vilayets of Scutari and

Janina; the province of Macedonia, the vilayets of

Bitolia

and Salonica; the province of Old Servia,

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

92

the vilayet of Kosovo; and the province of Thrace,

the vilayet of Adrianople.
III. The Sultan shall have the right to provide
for the defense of the frontiers by land and sea, by
fortifying these frontiers and guarding them with

troops.

Interior order shall be maintained in each

province by an international police, and a native
police, assisted

by local militia. In the composition

of the native poHce and the local militia account will
be taken, according to the various localities, of the
nationality and religion of the inhabitants.
The
regular Turkish troops destined for the frontier
garrisons shall not, in any case, be quartered in the

houses of the inhabitants.

inces the troops shall not

IV.

In crossing the prov-

make any

stay.

High Commissioner of European

origin

and nationality shall be appointed by the six Great

Powers for a period of three years. He shall have,
for the maintenance of the interior security of the

four provinces, a body of international police.

Governor-General of European nationality

for each of the four provinces by the
Sublime Porte, with the consent of the Powers, for
a term of five years.
VI.
European Commission shall be formed
which shall be assisted by a native delegation composed of representatives elected by the population,
according to the different nationalities and religions.
The commission shall, in accord with the

V.

shall be

named

Ottoman

Porte,

four provinces.

work out the organization of the

That commission shall determine,

within a period of six months, the frontiers between

the four provinces, the powers

and attributions of

MACEDONIAN AUTONOMY.

^^3

the Governor-Generals, as well as the administra-

and financial regimes of the four provtaking as a point of departure the regulations
formulated by the International Commission which

tive, judicial

inces,

assembled at Constantinople, in June, 1880, having

regard to the religious liberty of all cults, and considering the principle of equality before all judicial

and

administrative

authorities

of

the

languages

by the population of the four provinces.

The whole of the measures fixed upon for
these provinces shall be the subject of an Imperial
firman to be promulgated by the Sublime Porte, and
of which communication shall be made to the
usually spoken

Powers.
VII. The Commission will be charged with the
autonomous administration of the four provinces
until the accomplishment of the new organization.
An army corps of occupation of 45,000 men, divided into four divisions of infantry and one division of cavalry, and consisting of international
troops, will be recruited by voluntary enlistment.
The personnel of this army will consist of European officers and men under the command of generals belonging to one of the neutral States of
Europe. This occupation corps shall be kept at the
country's expense.
to be fixed

The duration

by the duration of the

of the occupation

work

of the

Com-

mission and the necessity of maintaining order, after

which it will be reduced by one-half and remain

under the name of international police, at the disposition of the High Commissioner.
VIII. The Sultan shall undertake, as soon as the
occupation corps

is

formed, and on the date

when

THE MACEJDONIAN PROBLEM.

94

its works, to withdraw all

both regular and irregular, except those

the Commission begins

troops,

required for the garrisons of the frontier fortifications

mentioned

in Article III.

IX. The elections for the native delegation mentioned in Article VI. shall take place fifteen days
after the evacuation of the territory

by the Turkish

troops mentioned in Article VIII.

X. All international treaties, conventions and

arrangements, of whatever nature, concluded or to
be concluded between the Porte and the foreign
Powers, shall be applicable in these four provinces
in the same manner as in all the Ottoman empire.
All immunities and privileges, of whatever nature,
acquired by foreigners shall be respected in these
provinces.

XL All rights and obligations of the Sublime

Porte concerning railways shall be strictly maintained.

XII.
of the

The four provinces having to support a part

public Ottoman debt and contribute to the

civil list

of the Sultan and to the Imperial

Navy Budget,
in

Army and

the Commissioner shall determine,

accord with the Porte, and on equitable basis, the

amount

of these contributions.

The foregoing

articles in the

represent the actual

proposed settlement

demands of the Macedonian

people with respect to the political freedom, expressed in the form of an autonomy and applied

and guaranteed by the Great Powers.

The conglomeration of
in

the diverse nationaHties

Macedonia under the common autonomous gov-

MACEDONIAN AUTONOMY.

95

ernment has already been expounded by the great

Englishman, Mr. Gladstone, in his famous formula,
Macedonia for the Macedonians. That has been
the cherished ambition of all Macedonians, whether
Bulgarians, Greeks or Roumans, who have entered

the ranks of the insurgents, because they firmly

believed that they are entitled to some measure of

self-government.

Europe, which
in the East,

is

so anxious to preserve the peace

must choose one of two

alternatives:

either to grant the wishes of the

Macedonians, or to
permit their extermination by the Turks.

That the intervention of Europe in behalf of a

Macedonian autonomy will prove a great blessing
to the people and remove the danger to European
tranquillity can be judged from a similar proceeding
in Lebanon in i860, and Crete in 1897.
It will be
remembered that in Lebanon the Drusses, who were
the oppressors of the Maronites, as the Albanians
are in Macedonia to-day, had the unqualified sup-

government and committed

upon the Christian inhabitants.

port of the Turkish

frightful outrages

France and England, with the consent of the remaining Powers, intervened and organized as in
dependent States under a Christian governor,
policed by the natives. The result was that Lebanon
has made great advancement in its commercial ana
political development and its people have lived in
peace ever since.

The same may

be said of Crete, where in conse-

quence of European intervention and the appointment of Prince George as its Governor the people
have enjoyed comparative security to their lives and

96

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

Such are the moderate demands of the

Macedonian people to-day.
It is no more than just that England, being the

property.

Power to the Treaty of Berlin,

should assume the initiative and call upon the other
Powers to unite in asking for the withdrawal of the
Turkish military forces from Macedonia, for the
principal signatory

immediate appointment of a Christian Governor

with full control over all civil and military administration, and for the organization of a gendarmerie
commanded by a European officer. It is almost
certain that France and Italy would gladly support
England's proposition in this direction, while Austria and Russia could hardly oppose it without betraying the insincerity of their own diplomacy with
respect to Macedonia.
To further postpone the final settlement of this
urgent question would mean to expose the Christian
population in Macedonia to a complete extermination with the prospects of a conflict between Turkey
and Bulgaria and in the end to run the risk of a
general European conflagration.

CHAPTER

XII.

Macedonia, the Nucleus of a Balkan

Federation,
It cannot be denied that the present stage of development in the political life of the people in the
Balkan peninsula would hardly justify the volun-

tary federalization of the several nationalities there,

even though their interests are known to be identical.

The people are not sufficiently advanced in the art
of government to appreciate the benefits that would
follow from political union of one kind or another.

The most
would be

desirable thing under the circumstances

to encourage the establishment of inde-

pendent States. Let these people shape their own

destinies and they will gradually rise to a higher
Indeed, the adplane of political development.
vancement made by the Balkan States has far surpassed the expectation of their most sanguine
friends, even though they have been harassed by the
domineering attitude of the great Powers,
construction of railways and telegraphs, the
opening of schools and churches, and the adoption

The

modern civilization, attest in

the most emphatic manner the ability of these people
of

the agencies of

all

to govern themselves.

Now

that

Roumania, Ser-

Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro have been

recognized as free States, why not allow similar

via,

rights to the people of

7

Macedonia?
(97)

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

98

The suggestion made by some interested governments that Macedonia be divided among the pretending States, whether in the peninsula or outside of it, is totally unjust to merit any consideration. The Macedonians themselves would resent
the partition of their country, which is in itself a
separate geographical unit.

Besides, such a course

would be contrary to the spirit of existing international treaties and would presuppose the final disruption of the Turkish empire.

This could only be

accomplished through a general European war.
The distribution of the various districts of Macedonia among the neighboring Balkan States could
not be effected in a peaceable manner and without
a gross violation of the ethnical principle, since the
Bulgarian element, which is by far the strongest in
the province, will resist most strenuously such an
immoral act on the part of European diplomacy.
Neither is it possible to annex Macedonia, as a
whole, to one of the Balkan States without disregarding the rights of the rest. And as the liberation of Macedonia has become indispensable, there
is no alternative left but the creation of an autono-

mous

State.

no other reasons, then, the very fact that

an autonomous regime is the only practical and
moral solution of the Macedonian problem is suffiIf for

Macedonians in defense of their

be they political or economic.
the Macedonians who sincerely ad-

cient to unite all the

common

interests,

Those among

here to this view of autonomy are also convinced

that their country, now the bone of contention between the neighboring States, may become the nu-

THE BAI.KAN FEDERATION.

99

of the future Balkan confederacy and may

serve to strengthen the peace in the entire peninsula.
When the various races in Macedonia find favorable
conditions for their own free development and when
cleiis

the seaports are once opened to the commerce of

neighboring States, it is easy to foresee how auton-

omous Macedonia

is

bound

to

the intended federation, which

preservation of the balance of

of Europe.

become the centre of

is

so essential to the

power and the peace

This beneficent result could never be

attained through the retention of Turkish authority

in

Macedonia.

It

would only be

realized through

the establishment of an autonomous form of gov-

ernment.

A few years of free and independent existence will

bring about the second stage in the process
This consists, first of all,
in the unification of all southeastern Slavs into one
powerful State. The beginning in this direction has

suffice to

of political development.

already been

made by

the mutual understanding of

Servian and Bulgarian people for a combined action

in behalf of an autonomous Macedonia.
Why not suppose that ere many years have
elapsed public sentiment will have been created favoring the organization of a strong South Slavonic
This has been the ideal of the most
federation?
enlightened people in the peninsula. Speaking practically the same language, they could gradually unite
What they need above all things
into one State.

a deep-rooted conviction that they have a community of interests and that it would be to their
advantage to fuse into one State. The spread of
education will in due time remove many of the difficulties that now seem insurmountable.

is

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

loo

was
mind of Prince Bismarck, whose policyhas been to detach Austria from her union with
Hungary and annex her to the German Empire,
planning at the same time the organization of a

The

idea of the South Slavonic federation

also in the

powerful South Slavonic State with Constantinople

for

its capital.

The

object of this policy

was none

other than a desire to counterbalance Russian ag-

Such a combination would

by no means be difficult, in view of the reluctance
of both Croatia and Slavonia to unite with the Hungarian Kingdom.
There is a strong probability
gressions in the Balkans.

that the Southern Slavs will find

it

to their advan-

tage to unite and live happily under the same government.

On the same ground there is no reason why Greek

communities may not unite under the one rule. The
Pan-Hellenic movement is to be commended whenever it seeks to bring together the Greek people.
The late Greco-Turkish war had its beginning in a
strong desire on the part of the Cretans to unite
It is a justifiable demand,
themselves to Greece.
because the large majority of the Cretan people insist on such a union with the Greek Kingdom.
But it does not seem right for the Greeks to claim
a whole province simply because a given city within
its borders happens to be Greek in its sympathies,
If, instead of propaas is the case in Macedonia.
gating Hellenism among the Bulgarians, who have
a fixed national character, the Greeks had centered
their propaganda in Albania, their efforts might
have been crowned with greater success. But now
it is too late to transform even the Albanians into

THB BALKAN FEDERATION.

loi

Greeks, although there is no reason why they could

not join hands under the same government, especially so since in the event of South Slavonic understanding it might prove to be the most expedient
thing that they could do.
It has been assumed from the first that no foreign
intervention in the internal affairs of the Balkan
States should be tolerated, if their proper and orderly development is desired. Liberty once assured,

would be apt to cement friendly

between these different peoples. Moreover, they
would soon be enabled to see the defects of their
own government and would gladly co-operate in a
complete reorganization.
They will begin to feel
the crying need of a united stand in their foreign
relations.
This transition into a stronger bond between the small States may be described as the Balkan Confederation.
"Confederate government," according to Profesin course of time,

ties

form in which, as to territory

and population, the State is co-extensive in its own
sor Burgess, "is the

organization with the organization of the local govThis principle may be applied in the
ernments."

formation of the Balkan Confederation.

will retain the control of

referring
tral

all

questions of

Each State

own local government,

common interest to a cenits

government composed of representatives of

all

This is
what was done in the United States at the time of
the adoption of the federal form of government.
Signor Crispi, the Italian statesman, expressed a
wish to see a confederation of the Balkan States with

the States entering into the confederation.

Constantinople for

its capital,

as the best solution of

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

102

the

Near Eastern question.

Mr. Gladstone and the

Liberal party in England have often urged the adThe same

visability of a Balkan Confederation.

view has been held by Premier Titza

in the

Hun-

garian Parliament.
The plan of a federalization of the Balkan States

meets with the approval of all

of the Balkan people at heart.

who have

the welfare

depends upon
European Powers and the individual action of the Balkan States immediately conIt all

the attitude of the

cerned in
Russia

its

fulfilment.

will,

of course, do everything in her power

discourage such an understanding among the

Balkan nationalities. Austria will also be inimical
to the unification of the small States, owing to
to

But the Western European

motives of self-interest.

Powers would welcome a confederation of the Balkan States if for no higher reason than to put an
effectual

blockade to

Russia's

aspirations

in

the

peninsula.
It

remains to be seen

how

far these struggling

States are prepared to enter into a political organ-

ism that would give all nationalities equal prerogaIt is to be hoped, however, that Greeks, Bulgarians, Servians, Roumanians and Albanians will
realize before long the importance of the proposed

tives.

federal league.

In Europe small States are seen side by side with

larger ones without there being any infringement

upon each

other's rights.

The formation

of the Balkan League

is

essential

Balkan States. Otherwise, sooner or later, they must become prey to the
great Powers that surround them.
to the preservation of the

THE BAIvKAN FEDERATION.

103

However, as there is a large proportion of people inhabiting the peninsula who are of different
races and religions it will be best to adopt the Swiss
system of government where half cantons retain the
right of self-government on the same basis as the
larger ones.
Had this agreement been reached
earlier, Greece would have had the active support of
the other Balkan States in her late war with the
"unspeakable Turk."
It has been said that experience

is

the best teacher, and

in this case,

since

it

will

it is

particularly true

prove the most effective

way

to impress upon the minds of the people in the

Balkans the imperative need of political union.

coming when these small States must

if they do
wish
the
insatiable
not
to succumb to
greed of some
great Power. The establishment of Macedonian autonomy would be the forerunner of this federation.
Then only we may hear of the Balkan peninsula,
once the garden of the world and the centre of civilization, entering upon a new era of freedom and
prosperity.
That this may soon dawn upon the

The day

is

organize the long-expected Confederation,

horizon of these much-afflicted nations

should be the wish of all freedom-loying and propolitical

gressive people.

CHAPTER

XIIL

French and Anglo^^Saxon Manifestation of

Sympathy*
It is

a source of

much

gratification to

know

that

during the last year pubHc interest in behalf of Macedonia has been aroused, not only in France and England, but also in America.
In Paris a committee of representative Frenchmen
was formed with the express purpose of creating a
sentiment among the nation for the speedy termination of the bloody scenes which are being enacted
in Macedonia and for the emancipation of its inhabitants.

This humane movement in France is being advanced by men of national repute such as Messrs.
A. Clemenceau, Anatole France, Jaures, de Pressense
and de Roberty, who are also among the distinguished members of the committee.
Their noble
initiative has met with the warm approval of all the
friends of the Macedonian cause.
Public meetings
had been arranged throughout France, and the
splendid results of thjs benevolent agitation has
greatly encouraged all Frenchmen. This committee
has appealed to European conscience and sought
immediate relief for the unfortunate Macedonians.
At an international pro-Macedonian meeting held
in Paris, on October 25 last. Deputy Clemenceau
(104)

MANIFESTATIONS OF SYMPATHY.
presiding,

105

Deputy Pressense moved the following

resolution

Resolved, That the leading Christian Powers are

criminally responsible for the unbearable condition
in

Macedonia, and

this

assembly urges upon them

the immediate realization of the Treaty of Berlin.

This wave of universal sympathy for the Maceis especially marked in England, where the
famous Balkan Committee, headed by Hon. James
Bryce, M. P., has achieved marvelous results for the
relief and liberation of the Macedonian people.
Great sums of money have been collected by numerous charitable organizations for the starving Mace-

donians

donians.

rendered by such publicNoel Buxton, Arthur

Archbishop
of
Canterbury, and the
Evans,
the
J.
members of the Balkan Committee, can never be
Indeed,

spirited

the

men

services

as Messrs. Bryce,

overestimated.

The Macedonian

will ever hold in

loving remembrance the words of kindness and

lib-

which have characterized the activity of these

Many booklets
public-spirited men in England.
have been published and scattered for the enlightenment of the English people with regard to Macedonia and its worthy cause.
erality

Among

the newspapers, the Daily

News

foremost as an ardent advocate of justice

stands

and hu-

manity to the oppressed Macedonians. Its subscriptions to the relief fund run into the thousands of
dollars, while the moral support it has given the
cause through its columns can never be measured by
It has been invaluable to the
material standards.

THE MACEDONIAN PROBI^EM.

io6

Hundreds of thousands have been

fed, clothed and shehered with funds which have
been gathered by English philanthropists.
Many Englishmen visited the scenes of desolation
in Macedonia and contributed from their own subMacedonians.

stance toward alleviation of suffering.

The English

correspondents, too, have been fearless in exposing,

through the public press, the wrongs which have

been perpetrated by the Asiatic hordes upon the innocent women and children in Macedonia.
Thousands of public meetings have been held
throughout England, at which not only statesmen,
but also church dignitaries have participated.
The
whole country was deeply stirred by the accounts of
Turkish policy of repression. The mighty voice of
Gladstone,

in

behalf of the Christian subjects in

Turkey, seemed to re-echo in the hearts of all Englishmen.

At one of the greatest assemblages that
ever gathered in St. J^mes Hall, the following resolution was unanimously adopted. Bishop of Worcester presiding
i. That the long continued and incurmisgovernment of Macedonia, and the failure
of all attempts to introduce reforms under Turkish
control, have made it necessary that the direct rule
of the Sultan should cease in those provinces, and be
replaced by an administration directed by persons
not amenable or dismissible by the Turkish govern-

Resolved,

able

ment.

And we

urge upon the government of Great

it her duty in the first instance for
the speedy fulfilment of the Treaty of Berlin.
2.

Britain to

make

MANIFESTATIONS OF SYMPATHY.

107

3. That having regard to the imminent danger of

famine among the homeless refugees of Macedonia,

relief is

urgently called

Committee be requested

and that the Balkan

fund to meet

for,

to organize a

the prevailing distress.

Not the least touching acts of humanity has been

women's petition to Queen Alexandra in behalf
of the women and children.
The text of this petithe

tion

is

as follows

''Your petitioners are deeply

woe which

moved by

the in-

being heaped upon the

women and children of Macedonia. Bereft of their
male relatives, their babes torn from them and murdered before their eyes, their daughters ravished
and killed, many of them outraged and butchered,
their homesteads burned, the case of the survivors is
describable

desperate unless

is

Europe comes

to their succor with-

out delay.

"The Turk

refuses admission to those

attend the sick and wounded, and

made most

difficult to

food and clothing.

"Your Majesty's

it is

in

who would
every way

convey to them the needful

tender

sympathy and gentle

with the crowned heads of

wisdom are
is
with
the confidence of loyal subEurope, and it
jects that we appeal to your Majesty to come to the
help of these innocent sufferers."
potent

This heartfelt expression of pity and good-will

Macedonians on the part of the women in
England has been followed by more practical expresMrs. Allen and
sions in the form of material aid.

to the

io8

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

Miss King personally visited the distressed places

Macedonia and Adrianople and distributed food
and clothing among the refugees from their own
means. The feeling of gratitude which these Christian women have awakened in the hearts of the
Macedonians will never be effaced.
Nor has this spirit of compassion and helpfulness
been confined to England alone. America, which,
for many decades has been the asylum of the downtrodden peoples, whose citizens have been so ready
in

to assist the struggling nationalities, has not for-

gotten in

its

abundance of good things to hasten to

the aid of the perishing Macedonians.

Meetings have been held in many cities of the

United States for the purpose of solicting funds for
the Macedonian refugees and interceding before the
federal government for an amelioration of conditions in Macedonia.
In the city of New York a relief fund committee was organized, composed of
prominent Americans, among whom were such notable men as Seth Low, Bishop Potter, Rev. C. H.
Parkhurst, Morris K. Jessup and Robert S. MacArthur.

This committee sent out an appeal to the American people, entitled "The Cry from Macedonia,"

which among other things says

"Everyone

is

familiar to

some extent with the

unhappy

conditions which have prevailed in this

country for the last two years and more, the active
agitation of the Macedonian revolutionists, the
rising in rebellion of a portion of the Macedonian
people, the attempt of the Turkish authorities to sup-

MANIFESTATIONS OF SYMPATHY.

109

press the revolution with the utmost severity by

overwhelming force. With the rights and wrongs

of the Macedonians we are not concerned, but we
cannot help being concerned with the relief of fellow
human beings and fellow Christians, of innocent
women and children who are perishing by the hundred and will perish by the thousand most cruelly
unless

come

To

Christian

Europe and Christian America

to the rescue."

the credit of the

American people be

it

said

that thousands of dollars have been sent in response

and much assistance rendered to the

homeless wanderers from Macedonia.
In this respect, the M^ork of the Christian Herald has been
enormous. Thirty thousand dollars have been subscribed through its columns and sent forthwith to
the grief-stricken people. Besides these outpourings
of sympathy, Senator Penrose and Senator Hoar
have done a great deal in introducing resolutions requesting the President to use the good offices of the
United States to induce the signatory Powers of the
Berlin Congress of 1878 to convene in order to see
that the provisions of the treaty which guaranteed
protection and reforms to the Christian populace of
the Ottoman empire be faithfully carried out.
Not the least important of public manifestations
of sympathy in Macedonia is the unanimous vote by
which the following resolution was passed at the
session of the Pan-American Congress held in
Washington, D. C, October 27th:
to this "cry"

Resolved, That this council desires to put on

record an expression of its horror and indignation

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

no

have been and are

still being perpetrated upon our fellow Christians
in Macedonia.
We offer our profound sympathy
in the fiery trials through which they are passing,
and we pray God in His mercy to send them delivat the wholesale atrocities that

erance.

"We would further express the hope that the

moral influence of the government of this great
republic may be thrown into the scale in favor of
such reforms as may give to the Macedonian people
the protection of law against injustice and oppression.
And where those who survived these terrible
persecutions are now perishing from disease, cold
and hunger, we commend to all Christian people
the prompt and energetic employment of whatever
measures may contribute to the succor of this
afflicted people, and especially such contributions as
may

relieve their sore necessities."

harmony with the

freedom and sympathy which characterized
the Americans in the early days of the republic for,
it was Henry Clay, who, in 1824 spoke in favor of
the Greeks against Turkish tyranny and said "Are
we so low, that we may not express sorrow at the
All these utterances are quite in

spirit of

ferocious deeds of a brutal soldiery, rioting in excess

of blood and butchery at the mere details of which

the heart sickens

!"

CHAPTER

An

Appeal

The Macedonian
should interest

all

XIV.

to Cht*istendom.

question and
the people

its

who

paramount influence of Christian

ciples of civilized

proper solution
recognize the

ethics in the prin-

government.

The Macedonians to-day are being outraged and

exterminated because they would not renounce their
faith, because they prefer to remain Christians.
The
Turks have been taught to believe that the Macedonians, being Christian people, are infidels, whom
the Almighty had surrendered to Mohammedan rule
in order to be the slaves and victims of the faithful.
Hence, it would be unjust to impute any intention of
wrong-doing on the part of the Turks when they
butcher periodically their own Christian subjects,
be they Armenians or Macedonians. They are accomplishing that which they esteem their supreme
duty as Mohammedans.

They

are loyal to their

and are in no way responsible for the

deeds of cruelty upon their subservient subjects who

Moslem

faith

profess allegiance to the Christian religion.

The responsibility for the Bulgarian, Armenian
and Macedonian atrocities rests upon the Christian

Eurobecause
self-seeking
and
heartless

world, which can and will not prevent them.

pean diplomacy

is

the Christian sentiment of the people

ciently

pronounced to transform
(III)

it

is

not

suffi-

into a just

and

THE MACEDONIAN PROBLEM.

112

merciful diplomacy.

This

is

undeniably true of the

western nations of Europe and of America, where

the voice of the people cannot be ignored in directing foreign diplomacy.
If all the statesmen of Christendom had been

animated by the exalted considerations of humanity

which characterized Gladstone's policy, viz: the
triumph of right over might, the scenes of desolation and death could not have occurred in Macedonia. More than once the grand old man of England has pleaded the just cause of the oppressed
Christians in Turkey, to whose heroism he has paid
a high tribute,

when he

"The score of

said

millions of Christians in

Turkey

have for generations enjoyed the highest of all honEver

ors they have been sufferers for their faith.
since the Turkish hoof began to lay waste their land,
they had on one side peace and freedom; on the
other the Gospel. They chose the Gospel and paid
the forfeit. And whatever may be their faults and
errors, it is not for us, amid our ease and prosperity,
our sins and scandals, to disparage the most splendid
testimony to the religion of the cross."
:

Can

it

be that the great Powers have repudiated

the precepts which underlie Christian civilization?

If not,

why

are the Macedonians left to perish by

the sword of the

Turk when united

action

would

stop their extermination?

Civilization can

make no headway

in these lands

suffering under Turkish yoke until the Christian

governments relinquish

their

warring ambitions and

APPEAL TO CHRISTENDOM.

113

mutual distrust, and show to the world that justice

a^nd truth, not
greed and jealousy, are the leading
motives of their diplomacy.
Turkish rule in Europe is doomed
It might have
been overthrown before this time had it not been
for the conflicting views as to its apportionment
!

among

the interested nations.

As

the unswerving

purpose of Christian subjects in Macedonia is to

deliver themselves from the oppressor, the struggle
will

go on

until they achieve their

freedom or die

in

the attempt.

The

civilized

world can have no possible excuse

Macedonian queshas had a fair warn-

for delaying the solution of the

tion.

For the

last

two years

it

ing of the inevitable trend of events.

aware that only through a

It

was well

direct intimidation at the

Porte could the rights of the Christians in Macedonia be secured. While the ambassadors remonstrate at Constantinople, the Turks continue their

bloody work of annihilation.

There can be no cessation from attempts at revolution and massacres in the Balkans as long as the
European governments fail to institute real reforms
by granting the Macedonians the desired autonomy.
Humanity can no longer tolerate the wretchedness
which is involved in procrastination. To insist on
the preservation of the Turkish misrule in Europe
and to uphold the policy which is presupposed in the
status quo would be no less a crime than to con-

demn

the entire Christian population in Macedonia

to perpetual servitude.

The agonized cry of the martyrs in Macedonia

should be heard by all lovers of justice and liberty.

THE MACEDONIAN

114

The Macedonians

appeal to

PROBI.EM.
all

Christendom and

ask that mass meetings be held wherever possible,

calling for European intervention in behalf of the
Macedonians and urging the establishment of an

autonomous form of government under a European

Governor-General, assisted by European officers of
gendarmerie.

The Macedonian Benevolent Committee

of Sofia,

presided over by Professor Agoura, and under the

high patronage of the Rt. Rev. Symeon, Bishop of

Varna, President of the Holy Synod, has sent out
the following appeal

"While our brethren

in

Macedonia and

in the vil-

ayet of Adrianople are struggling heroically for the

some elementary guarantees which

them a humane existence, having
eyes towards the Powers signatory to

acquisition of

could

insure

turned their
the Treaty of Berlin, with the hope that they will
decide at last, in view of the immensity of the evil
and under the weight of their obhgations, to intervene in behalf of the enslaved populations, Turkey
has let loose her regular troops and Bashi-bouzouks
upon the inoffensive people with a savage fury,
which has no parallel even in Turkish history.
"The revolted provinces present a frightful pic-

Hundreds of villages, which

have everything needed to make them prosperous,
are but ruins over which thousands of human beings
find an atrocious death.
All those who have succeded in escaping these tormentors and have sought
ture of devastation.

shelter in the forests, are

able oppressors to die

doomed

from hunger.

b}^

their implac-

APPEAL TO CHRISTENDOM.

115

"The Turkish army pursues no longer

surgents.

It

the in-

considers in fact that the execution of

the plan of complete pacification conceived at Constantinople will be easier by following the proceed-

ings applied in Ai-menia and exterminating the Bulgarian population in the revolted provinces.

"On

the other hand, hunger and misery will dis-

pose of those

The

who do

not perish by

fire

and sword

provisions are being pillaged or annihilated, the

flour mills are destroyed or occupied

"To

by the troops.

but one recent case

The inhabitants of
ruined
village
Bratoshino,
the
both women and children to the number of one hundred, driven to despair through hunger and suffering, decided to abandon the forest where they had found refuge in order
cite

go to Niakouletz, administrative centre of the

But before arriving into the village, they had
been seized by the soldiers and mercilessly slaugh-

to

nahi.

tered.

"The present

is,

as can be seen, horrible for our

fellow-countrymen it will be more so if some helping hand is not extended toward these thousands of
unfortunates left without shelter and exposed to the
;

ravaees of famine.

"Men
His

whom God has bestowed

our miserable brethren in order

of generosity, to

benefits, help

that a Christian nation which is faithful, industrious

and worthy of a better destiny, may not be allowed
to perish, and might be saved from a most atrocious
its nobler sons are fighting with a
for the human rights which were
energy
supreme
Europe."
by
them
promised

death,

while

THE

END.