Chapter 1

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VOL. 1 MAY 27, 1897. NO. 29

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The settlement of the terms of peace between Turkey and Greece promises to be a very long and tedious matter.

It has been announced that Turkey offers to conclude peace, provided Greece pays her $15,000,000 to cover her war expenses, gives her certain strategic points in Thessaly, and turns over to her the Greek fleet until the war expenses are paid.

The Sultan has begun the negotiations by asking for everything he could think of, but this was just what people expected he would do.

England regards Turkey's demands as unfair, and will oppose them. She thinks that Greece should merely be made to withdraw her troops from Crete, and give Turkey a reasonable sum of money as war indemnity.

It is a pity that England did not show some of this sympathy sooner, instead of standing idly by until Turkey had brought Greece to her present piteous plight.

That Greece should have been so easily beaten is still a cause of wonderment.

If all accounts are true, the Crown Prince Constantine deserves a good deal of the blame of the disaster. He was not experienced enough to take command of an army in an important campaign, and should not have undertaken so difficult a task unless he was sure of himself.

It is said by all the newspaper correspondents who were with the Greek army, that the shameful flight from Larissa was the cause of the series of defeats that followed it. These men declare that after Larissa the Greeks lost confidence in their commanders, and had no hope of success.

It is claimed that if the Greeks had pushed forward instead of retreating, the Turks must have been beaten.

Up to the evening of April 23d, when the retreat occurred, the Turks were in a desperate condition. Edhem Pasha, the general in command of the Turkish army, had decided that it was impossible to break through the Greek lines, and had ordered a retreat to Elassona. That very night he telegraphed the hopelessness of his situation to Constantinople, and a special messenger left for Athens, bearing a message from the Sultan, asking for peace.

The retreat on Larissa changed the whole fate of the war.

There are many rumors why this retreat was ordered, but no one seems to understand the matter clearly.

One report says that the Turks were actually falling back on Elassona, and one of the Greek generals, seeing the movement, mistook it for an attempt to surround the Greeks and cut their army to pieces. He is said to have galloped to the Crown Prince with this mis-information, and assured him that unless he ordered a retreat they would all be sacrificed. The Crown Prince did not attempt to assure himself of the accuracy of this statement, but at once issued the fatal order.

If this account be true, the two armies must have been fleeing from each other at the same moment.

Edhem Pasha, being a good general, soon discovered what had happened. He at once saw his opportunity and took advantage of it.

The Greeks, unfortunately, had no general who knew thoroughly the art of war, and so their mistake was not understood.

In reviewing the short Greek campaign, some interesting comparisons have been made between the war in Greece and the war in Cuba. The conclusion arrived at has been that good leaders are the essential for successful warfare, and that without them the bravest soldiers are of little use.

The army sent by Spain against Cuba was about as large as that sent by Turkey against Greece, but there were only one-fifth as many Cubans to fight the Spanish army as there were Greeks to fight the Turks. The Cubans, moreover, were badly armed, knew little of the trade of soldiering, and were merely a band of sturdy patriots, fighting with a determination to conquer or die, while the Greeks were finely equipped soldiers.

One would have supposed that the Greeks would have given the Turks some hard fighting, and have been able to make their own terms in the end, and that the Cubans would have been subdued in very short order.

How different the results have been.

Greece with her splendid army had no leaders worthy of the name, and has been whipped and shamed in two short weeks of war.

Cuba, in spite of her motley, ill-armed bands of soldiers, is happy in the possession of some great leaders. Cuba had her Maceo, and has yet her Gomez and her Garcia.

What have these generals done for her?

For more than two years they have carried on the unequal war. Clever enough to avoid meeting the Spaniards in any pitched battles, that, if lost, would ruin their cause, they have succeeded in harassing their foe, wasting Spain's money, wearing out her patience, and keeping her at bay until time has made better soldiers of them, drawn more friends to their cause, and rendered the conditions more equal.

The success of the Cubans can be looked forward to with confidence, because they are well generaled. The failure of the Greeks was expected with equal certainty, when it became evident that the Hellenic army had no leaders.

Poor little Greece!

There is still some fighting going on.

The Turks are pressing on, and will continue to do so until the negotiations for peace are actually begun. Every Greek town they can capture, every mile they can advance into Greek territory before peace is formally asked for, gives the Turk the right of demanding better terms when the final arrangements are made.

In Thessaly the Sultan's army has occupied Volo and Pharsala, and there is no doubt that it will soon gain possession of Domokho.

In Epirus the Turks routed the Greeks when they attempted to advance after the retreat to Arta.

The army is said to be completely discouraged by the frequent defeats, and sorrow and discontent reign throughout Greece.

* * * * *

The Greeks are a very excitable people, and it was only natural to suppose that when the fortunes of war turned against them, they would seek to throw the blame for their defeat on their rulers.

Every trouble that has befallen Greece has been laid at the door of King George and his sons.

There have been wild rumors of making the King give up his throne, and it was reported that a Russian vessel was moored off the Piræus to rescue the Royal Family in case of need.

These stories have not been verified, and probably have little truth in them. When Greece calms down a little she will learn that her King has been doing the best he could for his country and his people, and their old kindly feelings for him will return.

The Royal Family have kept themselves quietly in their palace during the worries, the Queen and Princesses working unceasingly for the relief of the sick and wounded.

* * * * *

Important news has reached us from Cuba.

Gomez is in Havana Province, and it is said that the Spaniards were defeated in a battle at Guines, thirty miles from Havana.

The city of Havana is once more in a state of excitement. As usual, the authorities deny that there are any insurgents in Havana Province, and as usual the people do not believe a word of their proclamations, and are terrified lest the city be bombarded by Gomez.

The first news of the nearness of the insurgents was brought by a few Spaniards who formed part of a garrison at Bermeja, a small town on the borders of Havana Province.

These men straggled into the city with the information that the Cubans had seized the town and their little fort. They had all been captured, and had been brought before the general in command, who proved to be Gomez himself. All but ten of the prisoners were Cubans who had enlisted in the Spanish service.

General Gomez freed the Spaniards, but ordered the Cubans to be hanged on the spot, as traitors to their country.

The Spaniards reported that Gomez had a force of 2,000 men with him, and that General Carillo was following him with another party of 3,000 more. In Havana it is expected that an attempt to capture the city will be made within a few days.

It is said that the Cubans have been concentrating their forces in and around Havana Province for some time past, and that the troops who served under General Rivera, some 7,000 men in all, are waiting in Pinar del Rio until Gomez gives them the signal to join him.

Pinar del Rio is at the west of Havana Province. In Matanzas, at the east of Havana, more insurgents are said to be gathered. It looks as if the Cubans were really closing in on Havana for a definite purpose.

Spain is trying to raise a new loan to meet the cost of the wars in Cuba and the Philippine Islands.

There is a report that the health of General Rivera is failing. It is said that, for want of proper care, his wounds are not healing, and that he is suffering a great deal from them.

Senator Morgan's bill for recognizing the belligerency of Cuba has been debated in the Senate.

No progress has been made with it, however.

Some of the Senators spoke very warmly in its favor, and reminded the Senate of the time when we, too, were struggling for our liberty, and needed and obtained the support of other countries.

Other Senators tried to get rid of the bill by sending it to the Committee on Foreign Relations, which would mean a long delay before it could be brought to a vote.

The chances are that nothing definite will be done for the present, and that the Cubans will not receive any help from the United States.

The Navy Department has refused to send any more vessels to patrol the seas for filibusters.

There are now three ships detailed for that duty, and more have been asked for.

Mr. Long, the Secretary of the Navy, says that he thinks three are plenty, that the rainy season is at hand, and very little fighting will be done in Cuba after it once sets in.

* * * * *

The death of the Duke d'Aumale has just been announced.

This gentleman was a personage of very great interest to Europeans.

He was the fourth son of Louis Philippe--the King of France who was deposed in 1848. The Duke d'Aumale was trained to be a soldier. He loved his profession, and made great progress in it, winning honors for himself when but a lad of nineteen.

The French people idolized him, and declared that he would some day be to France what Wellington was to England.

His father was then King, and the Duke induced the King to send him on active service, and for six years he was in various campaigns, always distinguishing himself for his bravery and soldierly qualities.

At the end of this time there was a revolution in France. The King was deposed, a second republic declared, and the whole Orleans family exiled.

The King and the princes went to England, and purchased some fine property near London, at a place called Twickenham. Here the Duke lived, devoting himself to literature and study.

The ungrateful French Government, forgetting the services he had done for his country, not content with banishing him with the rest of his family, took from him a famous estate called Chantilly, which had belonged to his ancestors for centuries.

Despite this treatment the Duke's love for his country never changed.

When the Franco-German war broke out in 1870 he instantly offered his services to France.

Napoleon III., the same Napoleon who sent Maximilian to Mexico, was then Emperor of France.

He declined the help of the Duke d'Aumale, fearing to allow any of the princes of the royal blood to serve in the army, lest they might endeavor to influence the soldiers to bring about a new revolution.

After the battle of Sedan, when Napoleon was taken prisoner, and France once more became a republic, the Duke returned to France and took an active part in the affairs of State, and Chantilly and the greater portion of his lands were restored to him.

The other Orleans princes also returned to France, and remained there until 1883, when the Minister of War, following the policy of Napoleon III., declared it undesirable to have the princes serving in the army.

The Duke's name was struck off the army-roll by that General Boulanger who made such a stir in France at that time. All the commissions held by the Orleans princes were cancelled, and the whole family once more banished from France.

A few weeks after the Duke had left France, the French people were somewhat ashamed to learn that this man, whom they had twice hounded out of the country, had returned good for evil, and made a present to the nation, or rather to the Institute of France, of his beautiful chateau of Chantilly.

The Institute laid the matter before the Government, and asked that the decree of exile be revoked.

After some time this was done, and the Duke returned to France to live in Chantilly, which, by the terms of his gift, he was at liberty to use during his lifetime.

The Duke was seventy years of age. His death was caused by the news that the Duchess d'Alençon, a favorite niece of his, had been burnt to death in a dreadful fire which has just occurred in Paris.

Some charitable ladies organized a bazaar for the benefit of sick women and children.

The great ladies of France were interested in it, and its opening was one of the fashionable events in Paris.

One afternoon during the progress of the bazaar, when the place was full of visitors, and many of the greatest ladies in French society were in the building, buying and selling, a cry of fire was raised, and it was found that one of the stalls was in flames.

Unhappily, there was but one exit to the building, and the fire spread so rapidly that it was impossible for all to escape. A number of the ladies were burned to death.

All Paris, indeed all Europe, is in mourning because of the disaster, for there is hardly a noble family in Europe which was not represented at the bazaar.

The Duchess d'Alençon, one of the unfortunate ladies who perished in the flames, was not only the niece of the Duke d'Aumale, but the sister of the Empress of Austria.

This same duchess came near being a queen herself, for at one time she was betrothed to the King of Bavaria, the same King who first understood and appreciated Richard Wagner, the famous composer, and encouraged him to write the wonderful works which have changed the whole history of music.

* * * * *

Li Hung Chang has not forgotten us, though he is far away in his own country.

His regard for General Grant was well known, and when he came to this country he expressed a wish to visit the tomb of his dead friend.

While paying this visit he said that he would like to show his regard for the great man in some permanent way.

It was suggested that he should plant a tree on the site of the old tomb, and he seemed greatly pleased with the idea, but nothing further was said on the subject at the time.

The other day Mr. Yang Yu received a letter from the Viceroy, asking him to plant the tree before he left the country.

Mr. Yang Yu is the Chinese Minister who has just been recalled from Washington, and sent on an important mission to St. Petersburg.

When the Minister received the order from the Viceroy, he sent word to the Park Commissioners asking them if the matter could be arranged.

It was not possible for Li Hung to send a tree from China, but he wrote Yang Yu that he would like him to select a tree that was a native of China.

A tree was obtained which is a native of Japan and China. It is called the Maidenhair tree, because its leaves resemble those of the Maidenhair fern.

Its botanical name is _Gingko Biloba_.

The tree was partly planted by the gardeners, and then the Chinese Minister, accompanied by some members of the Grant family, proceeded to the spot to perform the ceremony in the name of Li Hung Chang.

The Minister threw a few shovelfuls of earth on the roots of the tree, and then read some words in Chinese from a scroll he carried.

The words were translated by the Secretary, and proved to be:

"This tree is planted at the side of the tomb of General U.S. Grant, ex-President of the United States of America, for the purpose of commemorating him, by Li Hung Chang, guardian of the Prince, Grand Secretary of the State, and Earl of the first order.

"YANG YU, "Vice-President of the Centre Board. "Kwang Hsu, 23d year, fourth moon, seventh day."

This inscription is to be cut in marble, in Chinese and also in English, and placed near the tomb.

The Mr. Yang Yu who performed the ceremony is the Minister whom the See Yups came on from San Francisco to visit.

It does not seem as if he were going to be of much use to them, for instead of returning to China he is to go to St. Petersburg, and he may not see his Emperor for a very long time.

* * * * *

An amusing story comes from Victoria, British Columbia, about the Chinese special envoy, who has just arrived in New York on his way to London.

When the Canadian Pacific steamer which brought him over from China arrived in port, it was found that she had two cases of smallpox on board.

The authorities of Victoria at once ordered her to quarantine for twenty-four days.

The steerage passengers, who were all Chinamen, were taken to the quarantine station, where the usual process of fumigation and disinfection took place.

There were, doubtless, many protests and wails from the unfortunate Celestials, but nobody heeded them, and the work was carried through without difficulty.

When, however, it came to the other passengers, there was a great disturbance. The English were furious, threatening terrible things if any one attempted to fumigate them. A special company of 200 armed men was consequently detailed to guard the quarantine station, lest the passengers should attempt to get away before the twenty-four days were over.

All this trouble was as nothing, however, to that which arose when it was conveyed to His Excellency Chang, Special Envoy from the Emperor of China to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, that he needed disinfecting!

Accompanying the Envoy was his suite, which was composed of a number of Chinamen of high rank. None of these illustrious persons had the slightest knowledge of Western ways, and they one and all protested that to fumigate them, or their great Chang, was practically fumigating the Emperor of China! In their eyes this seemed the most awful crime that mortal could commit.

His Excellency Chang refused to submit to any such insulting treatment, and appealed to the Canadian Government, the British Government, and the Chinese Ministers in London to protect him.

He declared that, rather than submit, he would go back to China without fulfilling his mission,--a proceeding fraught with considerable danger to himself, as he stated that the Emperor, his master, might cut off his head, and the heads of all his suite, for disobedience to his wishes. But the noble Envoy preferred death to fumigation.

What he imagined fumigation was it is impossible to say, but he warned the authorities that if they attempted it, the Emperor of China would declare war on England.

The unfortunate officials did not know what to do, and waited in a great state of anxiety for orders from the Government.

The story does not say how the matter was arranged, but as His Excellency is now in New York, and war has not been declared by China, it is to be supposed that he was not fumigated.

* * * * *

The Japanese are a very progressive people.

A generation ago the inhabitants of Japan were not allowed to leave their country, nor were foreigners permitted to enter it.

Since the war with China Japan has taken a wonderful start; her commerce and manufactures have greatly increased, and her people have begun to seek a better market for their labors, and emigrate to foreign countries.

Japan is a densely populated land, and the inhabitants have not been slow to see that an overcrowded country, where thousands of people are constantly unemployed, is not a good place to make money in.

Since the Japanese have been permitted to seek their fortunes in other lands, they have emigrated in vast numbers.

They are now to be found all over the world.

We have spoken about them in Hawaii, but the Sandwich Islanders are not the only people to protest against them as colonists.

In British Columbia they have arrived in such hordes that the Government has been considering laws to keep them out in future.