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THE POSfTION REVIEWED.
One point stands our— tho press of the
Entente Powers all agree that this adven
ture in [Macedonia, once begroi,. must be
carried out . to a ruccessful end, To do
it, action must be prompt, and suliieiont
forceu in-Hot bo poured in. But where arc
tlie (100,(100 men that four* pooixe demaird
So eome from? The French have 2.500,000
in tho fiRhtiiMj line, and M. Pichon, ri---
Koreign Ministe!, saiv that the British
lmve 1,000,000. That should be enough for
the , Western front, as there is a large re
serve .both in France and in Great Britain
tn make good thc wastage. Already the
French -forac landed at PuloniUn is con
Hidentblc; tlie British garrison in Kjtypt
is strong, and reports fay there is a strong
French resen-e force there. Italy ourfi^
to be able to spare anything up. to 250,000.
Between these three Powers . 5W),-XKl ought
to be fortheomiiiB. Thou Ilussia, now
supplied with a largo amount of nen' guns,
niunitipns and equipment, having pTcntv
of men, will be able to land a strong force
on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. Tlie
presence of a Russian army on tho Bul
garian coast will form a rallying point for
the Bulgarians who dislike the idea of a
rupture with their old friend and protec
tor, a friend to whom they own their exist
ence as a nation. The Bulgarians admit
that Great Britain has ahvays aliowit a
benevolent spirit tn them; 'therefore the
British force at Salonika, even noiV large
enough to have a jreneral ofh'eer in com
mand, may ' strengthen die pro-Knsbiun
Bulgarians of the south.
Tlie strength of Miireh:ii von AtsckoiwpnV.
army has been sueceiwl'ully concc-aied so 1'ur.
A quarter nf a million would have been
enough to force a way towards tho Bul
garian front, US' the Bulgarian sao.000
strong field force would be attacking the
Servian right Hank and' right' rear. But
the' proposed landnig of Russian troops oh
?'?'?:?'?'? ' ?''.- ? :? ?.? ~::-i*
the Bulgarian coast mid the' actual' landing '
of the Allies' troops at Salonika put a
different complexion on the military posi
tiou, and thc Central Powers will have to
find more than 550,000 men. The proper
ticm of artillery, according to Vienna ?
sources, in to he 150 batteries, bnt aa Uie i
nrl.ille:}- wiU include not only field, but
mountain hov.-jtzeni a.nd lieavy iield guns, i
tho exact number of pieces cannot be I
stilted, as tho dififoreui. types of ar«ij»wy j
have Rome ah. ami sumo four kirns per '?
tetter;-. Oil tha .whole, it lwka u, ii. rite ?
number a' -bnttRriiu' i« the prujjortioa ru- ;
t\\x\ve-l. for an v.fmy '.'JK'fiOO strong.' The j
iu-liUcky will include sumf lii-iucti mortars, i
vuich .i'niKvr a high cxpluuvc-'djcll oi1 SCO j
l'i., mid have a range ci .-.bout 7} miles. '
Ae the Balkan road* arc mostly an
apology fur such, those 'monster wcapona
?.viil T-e hard to move, even' with the great
motor power supplied. Tiic rcaa are likely
to Ivj.loo.'lyad for -fltc monster IS.S-uicli
howitzer, for often they art B'arrow and in
rocky country in v/hicfc corduroy roads
cannot tt; improvised :m ia B-utaia, where
timber is often handy and plentiful. |
A definite point of attack bis 'been dc- j
signatcd— IClcDaki a mnall town, bnt with ]
good railway communicatiou' -n-ith .the in- !
terior of thc Dual Monarchy. It', in, on j
the north banSc of the Save -Diver, obout-10 j
miles due west of Belgrade. The idea |
M-ould seem to be to detain a large Servian
force here and no weaken the' army in
tended io oppose tlie rea: crossings, ivhiub I
will take »plate about Sonieiidria and ea-rt- I
wards. At the same trine 'the force which
will hiave to guard the frontier, against the
'Bulgarians must be reduced.. In tlie angle
of Servia, opposite -Klcnaik, tho.. Austria ua
had a very rough time in the earlier part
of .the ivar.. '' ?
The Roumanianfl are tiLkiug precauinonB
along the Bulgarian frontier, 'and -at
Giurgevo (now Oiut-gia), on the Danube,
and only 30 miles south of Bucharest, forti
fications are being hastily constructed. Op
'positc Giurgia is Russe , (formerly Rust
chuk). . .
What King Oonafcantuie's action may lead
to it is impossible to Bay. The people gecin
strongly in favor of the Entente pdwera
and their policy^ The 'plain text of fho
GrTOo^ficrvian treaty is (.h«t either party
shall proeeod to the ai/1 of the other if
attacked; This surely meana that each
party is entitled, nay is raider obligations
to prqiare for eventualities, when there
ia imminent, danger, . as at present, since
otherwise action may be, too late and use
less. There is not the least doubt about
thc people -being at the bade of M. Veneze
los, but a good many'oj' thc VOTingcr offi
cers have German leanings. General
Douglis, who lets the War 'Minister in the
late Cabinet, 'carries preat weight in the
army and is Tory popular,. and he is likely
to stand by his late colleague.
'JTlic German contention that the. ?poartion
of G reeco is the same as that oi (Belgium
is cotrtTuxy to tihe truth. Belgium was
neutralised, and (Prussia (which meana Gor
nciny) was a jiarty to die i'reaty uunran1
toe;. (-roecc ia not neutralised; ?
Finally there as no enthusiasm in Bul
garia for -lAte war. It would be no iTim'pi-rsc
to tear of Kins Penfinviaid's retircmen-t to
Hungary in due time, provided. Mie is not
assassinated. ?
For Germany 'to -try to drive into the
Greeks that where . . Kn-|'jarfd twrnes sho
fitays, is nnottier example of 'Hie German
lack of. appreciation, of -t3ve common «enso
of ouher l)eo]-le. The Grecto hswc not for
gattan,- 'that England, masked a3«l ' de
cidedly against tlw -R-Jalies n! tlie local
people, who found that a British occupa
tion was profitable -and plen»int, 7ira.de. a
present of tlie Ionian inlands to Grce-jc.
The islands «re dtratcsically of vaJuc, are
productive, and 'have a situation .a-iid
climate which would Iravo made -them' by
now, iu Knglnsh Jiarfds, a grtttt wialter re
sort. ?? . ? . ?-.-?.
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