176 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Macedonia through the agency of the Macedonian Revolutionary 

 Committee. 



Thus in this small territory of Macedonia we have five distinct 

 elements, each discontented with Turkish domination, and yet each 

 suspicious of his neighbor and fellow sufferer of alien race. The 

 Albanian is at present on the side of the Turk. . The Greek hates the 

 Albanian, fears the Slav and detests the Rouman; yet hopes to domi- 

 nate all three in some miraculous way from Constantinople after the 

 Turk is forced out of Europe. 



The Eouman hopes for the restoration of Eouman supremacy in 

 the Balkan states through the agency of Roumania. The Serb and 

 Bulgar are suspicious of the Greek and yet do not trust each other. 

 All these races have one thing in common — the desire to free them- 

 selves from Turkey. The sultan is clever enough to take advantage 

 of these race quarrels in Macedonia. In this game he has played 

 Greek against Slav, and the Albanian against both, and thus made his 

 own supremacy secure. 



Russia has continually stirred up trouble in the Balkans, hoping 

 to profit thereby. Each state separated from the Turkish empire 

 brought Russia one step nearer the Bosphorus. In fact, Russia if left 

 to herself would have settled the Macedonian question long ago. But 

 this would necessitate driving the Turk across the Bosphorus and 

 Russian occupation of Constantinople. 



With Russia in Constantinople, the control of the eastern end of 

 the Mediterranean sea and the entrance to the Suez canal would be 

 lost to England. The weak Slavic Balkan states would become Russian, 

 and the Slovenes and Croats, and all Austria's Slavic dominion south 

 of the Danube would probably be lost to Russia. 



England can never permit Russia to occupy Constantinople and 

 control the great waterway to India, no matter what sentimental reasons 

 might be advanced for ending Turkish barbarity. Austria must con- 

 sider each Russian advance toward Constantinople as a step toward 

 her own impending disintegration. 



Germany, with the kindly feeling engendered by liberal railway 

 concessions in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, will endeavor to strengthen 

 the sultan's failing grasp on the last European province left him. 

 Time alone can tell what action the great powers will take. Turkey 

 and Bulgaria are on the verge of war and in the event of such a war 

 European intervention would surely follow. 



It is almost certain that the powers will intervene anyway and 

 give to the disaffected provinces some form of civilized government. 

 It is very unlikely that Russia will soon occupy Constantinople. All 

 the great powers, with the possible exception of France, would be 

 against such a step. Nor is it likely that the petty ambition of 

 Servia, Bulgaria, Roumania or Greece will be gratified by territorial 

 acquisitions in Macedonia. 



