STRONG MAN OF GREECE.

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 224, 2 October 1916, Page 3

STRONG MAN OF GREECE.

CAREER OF M. VENEZELOS

FOUNDER OF MODERN STATE

RJELATIONS WITH THE KING

In the present .tangle of Balkan politics there is one name that stands •jut aboyo all others, M. Venezeios, who, it is reported, has gone to Crete to' place himself at the head of the national revolutionary movement. He has been ranked as one of the leading statesmen ot the time, and tho position he occupies now is all the more remarkable when compared with that he occupied at the outset of his career.

; M. Venejselos was horn o2 years ago id Cythera. ona of the lonian Islands. Al ttie time of his birth Crete was engaged in one of her movst desperate attempts to throw, oft. th© j Turkish rule, which ended in Failure, accompanied by terrible massacres. The lather of M. Venczolos was a Cretan, rind christened his son "Eleuthcrios," signifying liberty and freedom, »s fcxpressin,"^ the hopes of all the Cretans of thai time- Of his early life little is known. He studied law in Athens and Switzerland, and .had settled down as a practising lawyer in Crete, when, a-t tho ago of twentyfive, the iniquiiy of the Turkish rule iuotiscd him, and trom then onwards ho employed his time in agitating, roth actively and passively, against thai rule. He was out as an insurrectionist op many occ.ifions, but ho. came through untouched in spite of, or moro probabiy on account .^f, his nhsohirfo recklessness of his own life. His efforts were to some extent successful, and Crete was given control of her own affairs, though not without, ihe rntervontion. of the Powers. I

Veneaelofl took the position of Minister of Finance in the local Government, but in thstt capacity he fioon came into collision with Prince George of Greece, tho High Commis-' fiioner, with whffee ideals and methods lof governance he had no sympathy. He was an advocate of Cretan autonomy, us opposed to annexation to Greece, realising that tho latter course would be opposed by^ all the Powers of Europe, 'in<l wfuld only bring about a conflict with Turkey, while autonomy was within the bounds oi' possibility. When the antagonism between Prince George and himseif became acute he took to the hills, and organised the. party of revolt to such good purpose that Prince George, in spito of the support of the Concert oi Europe, was compelled to leave tho island. Venezeios returned t<» guide the destinies ci Crete, which he- controlled with a fiiTr. and steady hand, and in doing | so had to combat the intrigues of the ' Powers of Europe. T.t was then that ho really had his first introduction to the pol'tics of Europe, find he soon showed that lie was an adept.

ON THE BE INK OF TCEVOLU-

TION

In 1909 Greece war. in a parlous state and on the brink of revolution. ?he had riot yet recovered from the fiasco of 1897, Ker administration, her army, her navy, were all sunk in corruption. Her Eoy.il Family was exceedingly unpopular,, but there

were signs that the time of regenera'lion was, ai hand. The. Military League had come into existence, and was all-powerful in the country. They demanded reforms, but wore also distinctly anti-Hoyalist. Having no distinguished leader, they invited Veneaelos to come over from Crete io assist them. Partly because of what he had aciiioved there, and also isinco he had ejected Prince George, ■ibey considered that ho would be able to- get rid of King George of Greece.

Venezeios acepted the invitation, and entered the Greek Parliament. The task before him was enormous, hut lie set to work boldly, and soon obtained the support of the peoplo. Once that was secured he never again lost it, though he often carried out :r<ensures which were against the wishes of his'supporters. He refused to overthrow the Eoyal house, in *pite of the fact that in a republic he would undoubtedly have been its first president. •He restored ihe Royal House to favor and placed it on a firm foundation. Venezeios then proceeded to a thorough reform of the internal condition of Greece, and succeeded beyond all Lhe bounds of hope. At the «.sam© time he was brought still further into contact with European politics, but his Cretan experiences stood him in good stead, and he was able to a large extent to frustrate tho attempts on the part of various Powers to keep the Balkans ; n a .'tate of ferment. !

THE BALKAN LEAGUE

In order to further strengthen the Balkans against. European intrigues he participated in the plat-, of formirg a Balkan* League. Once Bulgaria was persuaded the rest was easy, and the first Balkyn war was the result. The excellent performance of the Greek army in that **nd the second war was due r-hiefiy i.o the reiorms which Venezeios. had introduced, substituting French for German instructors. The second Balkan war followed the first, and the Treaty of Bucharest fully justiiied the methods of M. Venezeios, and confirmed him in the esteem of his people. His conduct of negotiations, both in London and Bucharest, lirmiy established him

. in the eyes oC Europe as one of her J. leading statesmen. A truly astonish-, mg career, his success in European politics is all %h& more remarkable, because he had never been out of the Balkajs until after the first 33alkan war. Hls attendance at the conference of London afforded Ids

first opportunity of visiting "France and England. French he learnt in ihe course of his 'a.w studies; of ' other languages besides Greek he had ro. acquaintance, but lie employed his spare time, while out as an insurrectionary, in teaching himself English and German, in spile of the fact that ho had no one with him who could spealc these languages.

AI.WAY 7OLD THE TRUTH

j What is the secret which has j enabled this 'iuite obscure man to i obtain this pre-eminent position? M. Take Jonescu, tho leading Roumanian statesman, once asd«jd him this question. "I have always told m3' citizens the truth and the whole truth, and I haA'e always been ready to relinquish my power Avithout the slightest; regret,'' was his reply. These characteristics mark him cif at once from the ordinary run of statesmen, and there \s nothing in his career which does not completely confirm his statement. He is inspired by one idea, to bring all the Greeks under Greek rule, thus giving Greecej her true place in the world. .He possesses an extreme broadness' of outlook, which enables him to look' far ahead, and see each crisis as it ■ appears in its proper perspective. He | is rilled with tUe true burning spiiit of the patriot, anci his wonderful 1 personal magnetism has enabled him U> inspire his people with his OAvn feelings, and to sway them to do whar he wishes. He lias given many notable examples of this power. Venezeios :s> a mixture of kindliness, and ruthlessnoss One great md almost fatal characteristic he posfesscs. which is almost inevitable to « spirit such ns his— -ho deals with la's opponents as though they were animated with tho same a.ltruistie .spirit as himself, and this has often proved almost fatal to his success. >3e is almost to'> chivalrous to his opponents whon they are down. At Ihe timci when Austria annexed Bosnia tlu> Cretans would have lec'areel their annexation to Grewe if it had not been for the opposition o( Venezolos, who considered that it whr talcing si mean advantage of the Turks to," exploit their misfortunes, tie has, naturally, made himself many enemies, chief amongst them the "Eoyal Family, who, in spite of tho fact that they owe thoir present [osition ont; rely to him, they have never fully forgiven him for driving ]-'! >:noe George out of Crete. There is no doubt that this personal ill-will has much1 to •do with the attitude Greece has taken rip in the present

crisis