The Press. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1897. WHY HAS GREECE FAILED?

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9815, 26 August 1897, Page 4

The Press. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1897. WHY HAS GREECE FAILED?

Many reasons have been given why Greece so iguominiou3ly failed in the war with Turkey. She had a small army p,nd less resources than her neighbour, but ifc was expected that the struggle would" have been longer, and that a mote determined fight would have been made. How is it that Greece so suddenly collapsed ? An article by Professor Dillon in the Contemporary, for July, gives an answer. Professor Dillon is well skilled to give an opinion. He held the position of Professor of Oriental Languages in Ivhtirkoff, he has lived in Asia Minor, in Crete, in Greece and Turkey. It is interesting to learu what the Professor thinks , is the cause.

To sum up his views we may say he attributes Greece's • failure to political comipiiion, It was that that made France such an easy prey to Germany in 1870, and Greece has had to pay the same penalty for the same misdeeds. We quote a few sentences from Mr. Dillon's article:—

" The fact is the army and navy " had always been regarded as in- " tegral portions of the electoral " machine, by means o£ whicb " Ministers kept their respective " parties in power. The nation paid " the money down, and the Premier " chose the people who spent it, with- " out worrying as to how it was spent, "on the principle of live and let " live. * * * * "In Greece the political leader " constitutes a class apart. It is " superfluous to say that he must be a " Past-master in the art of speaking. " Every Greok is a born orator, to " whom imposed silence would be " tantamount to death. But the " political leader has a command of " words which is practically inexhaus- » tible." * * *

" When he becomes Prime Minister "he is the soul of the Government, " and virtually the dictator, of the " kingdom for the time being; and the " time being continues as long as he "can satisfy the patriotic craving of " his Parliamentary friends to serve " their country in salaried post 3, " and can pull together with the " King. Then everything works " smoothly—for the Cabinet! As for " the country at large there is, of " course, a special providence watching " over it as over helpless children and " drunken men. Along with the " leader come his faithful followers, " and their name is legion. They " fill up every post of emolument, " every place of trust, every position " of power or influence, every nook, " cranny and crevice in the machine "of the State." :|: :;: *

" The relatives, comrades, acquaiut- " ances, and even the servants of the " Deputies on the right side of the " House, are the spoiled children of " fortune as long as their political day " lasfca." * * • ■ *

" The faults of the paople whose " political faith is orthodox become " virtues, their crimes amiable weak- " nesses, and justice when appealed to " against them puts the bandage on her " eyes, and becomes transformed into " mercy." * *

» There are 17,235 Civil servants " dependent for their daily bread upon " the Budget!" * * *

" In order to acquire this Ahbtman*- " like power for evil ifc is not enough " that the Prime Minister should exert " and maintain a permanent ascend- " ancy over his Parliamentary " partisans. He has to sacrifice to " the Zeus of Olympus, as well as to " the god of Hades !" * * " Whatever else may be doubtful, ifc " is absolutely certain that unless the " series of evils, which have here- " tofore preyed upon the country like " a cancer and brought it within an " ace of ruin, are speedily cat out " with whatever degree of unavoid- " able pain to the patient, Greece will " soon cease to play a part in history " as an independent State."

We have quoted enough to show "what Mr. Dillon thinks is the cause of the collapse of Greece. The opinion is that of a lover o£ Greece ■who is grieved at her collapse. And has not Greece a lesson for us that even those who run may read? The parallel is very close. Oar Pre-

mier dominates the Parliament ; our Civil servants are appointed because of their political colour. Political agitation by those of the." right colour" opens oar prison doors to convicted murderers. Our Civil Service is looked upon as au electoral machine. The interest of the Cabinet comes first, the country's weal is a long way behind. Those who are not democrats' and who believed in the old regime will, no doubt, sneer at our position and say, What else could bo expected. They will point to France, to Greece, to the United States, to New Zealand, and say the one tale is told—political corruption has ever followed Democracy and dogged its steps. Is this the end of all our Liberalism and all our freedom ? Is this the goal of Democracy? We do not believe it. We skill have faith in Liberalism and in a Democratic Government, and believe that when the people shake oft' their apathy aud take an intelligent interest in politics, corruption will cease. It is to hasten that day that we point out what has made Greece fail, aud we hope the lesson may prove useful to us.