| Show Round Merry-Go-Round By fly DREW OREW PEARSON and ROBERT S. S ALLEN Editors Editor's note The Washington Merry-Go- Merry Rounds Round's famous brass ring this week is awarded to the unsun unsung allies of the Greek Greel army the peasants and mountaineers of Albania WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Much Much tribute has been paid to the gallant Greek army and royal air f force for winning one of this wars war's most crucial battles battles bat bat- ties in that wildest and most remote corner of Europe Europe Albania But little has been written about the Albanian Albanian Alba Alba- nian peasants and mountaineers who have provided provided provided pro pro- vided the Greeks with the most amazing intelligence intelli intelli- gence ence service of this war so accurate that the Greeks have known down to the la last t detail just how many Italians were located behind each hill where their guns were placed and the exact nature of their fortifications An army without eyes is helpless And the Albanians who have never forgotten the manner manner manner man man- ner in which Mussolini drove their queen and her old day-old son out of the country two years ago have contributed materially to the surprising surprising surprising ing succession of Greek victories Unquestionably the Albanian is the most gallant and fearless race in Europe For years the crack personal regiments of the sultan of Turkey were recruited from Albania And on occasion Albanian armies have penetrated as far faras faras faras as Egypt and h have ve even placed their soldiers on the Egyptian throne Unique Albanians No one quite knows where the Albanians came from Their language has no root or similarity simi smi- larity with the Greek Latin or Slav languages which surround them or with the Turkish which for a long time was the official language of Albania As far as historians can make out the Albanians Albanians Albanians Al Al- are an ancient and absolutely separate race which got shunted off behind the Albanian Alps where for centuries they have lived distinct distinct distinct dis dis- from their neighbors It remains a fact that the Albanian faced with the problem of gleaning a livin living from the wildest mountains of Europe has lived more by his rifle than his plow and in ancient times comprised the backbone of the sultans sultan's janis janis- saries However modern warfare the machine gun and the airplane have kept the Albanian strictly to his mountains In the reshuffling of boundaries boundaries bound bound- aries which followed the last war the r aggressive gres- gres sive young government of Yu Yugoslavia oslavia a favorite of Woodrow Wilson was able to carve out a sizable chunk of Albania for itself It was in this borderland area of Serbia- Serbia Albania that one of the Merry Go first learned to respect the Albanian fighting prow prow- es ess Th The Yugoslav government had taken over this region in name but actually had no more cont control ol over it than Japan has over inland China Serbian officials living in these border towns sa sat at night with their shades down fearing Albanian attack Tribal Warf Warfare re When Albanians are not faced by a common enemy the enemy the Ita Italians ians or Yugoslavs Yugoslavs they they are not averse to keeping in military trim by fighting among themselves Even the Albanian costume is desi designed ned for fighting It is pure white wool with black stripes along the the colI collar r sleeve and and trouser leg a camouflage which fits perfectly into the snow and underbrush of the Albanian mountains Irony of the present situation is that although the Albanians hate the Italians no great love is lost between the Greeks and Albanians either Their present alliance is one of convenience an and what every Albanian must fear is the probability ability that Greece if finally victorious will carve out a slice of Albania for herself Sentiment between the Greeks and Albanians Alba Alba- mans is similar to that between the Albanians and Serbs When the writer finally took his depart departure re from this part of the world a farewell farewell farewell fare fare- well dinner was given by the Serbian army commander and the Albanian mayor at which tribute was paid to the efforts of the Americans to bring peace and friendship to these rival peoples Toward the end of the evening the Ser Serbian commander and Ned Nedjib jib Beg the Al Albanian Al- Al banian baman mayor had their arms about each others other's necks in tribute to their undying friendship Next morning as our party mounted its horses for the five-day five ride across the mountains mountains moun moun- to the Adriatic word came that someone had shot Ned Nedjib jib Beg Copyright 1940 United Feature S Syndicate Inc |
