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Show KING OF GREECE ENTERS PROTEST Summons Associated Press Correspondent in Athens for Purpose of Reaching Public Pub-lic Ear Through U. S ACTION OF THE ALLIES Monarch Declares Military Necessity Is Poor Excuse for Infringing on Greek Territory. The king of Greece late on Thursday Thurs-day night summoned The Associated Press correspondent in Athens for the purpose of making a protest through the press of the United States which he said was the only form of public opinion open to him against tho recent re-cent action of the allies in their operations oper-ations at Salonikl in blowing up the bridge at Demir Hissar, in occupying Corfu and other islands which Greece claims Military Necessity Poor Excuse. He said the situation is the same as if a foreign power had occupied that part of tho United States which had been won from Mexico after the Mexican war and that the plea of military mil-itary necessity advanced by the allies was like that given by Germany for invading Belgium and Luxemburg Tt Is the merest cant, the king declared, for Great Britain and France to talk about the violation of neutrality of Belgium and Luxemburg in view of what they had done and are doing themselves. He denied the military necessity for the blowing up of the bridge, or for occupation of Corfu and he also challenged them on the con tention that submarines of the Teutonic Teu-tonic allies are being supplied from a Greek base. Stupidity of Allies. He said that the ailies in pique over the failure of all their calculations calcula-tions in the Balkans were trying to unload on Greece the result of their own stupidity and that eighty per cent of the Greeks at the beginning of the war were in favor of the allies, but now, not 20 per cent would turn their hand to render them aid. King Constantine did not feel that he could afford to demobilize while the fate of Saloniki was undecided and while he did not think it probable that Germany would be victorious in the sense that she could take London, Paris or Petrograd, he believed !t would be difficult if not impossible to conquer Germany in a military way if economic conditions did not force her to sue for peace. He said finally In his opinion the war would end in a draw. French Takes Issue. The interview with tho king was transmitted from Athens on January 13 but was sent out from Paris on January 18 at 3:45 p m. On January 13, at an earlier hour, the highest Trench authority whoso personality Is not otherwise indicated gave an interview to The Associated Press in reply to the Ftatement3 made by the Greek king This authority denies any parallel between be-tween the German invasion of Belgium Bel-gium and Luxemburg and the temporal tempor-al use of certain points in Greece which does not constitute an occupation occupa-tion properly speaking aud which use was made for the most part with the tacit consent of Greece. The allies, he said, only went lo Saloniki to aid Greece's ally. Serbia, and to take up treaty obligations which Greece did not fulfill. Greece Permits Neutrality Violations During the recent months, he added, Hie Greek government permitted Germans Ger-mans and Austrians to violate its neutrality neu-trality by using the Greek islands aud coasts as a base for provisioning their submarines The charges about the bridge at Demir Hissar were without foundation, the French authority said and the question of the sympathies of the Greek people was proved by their action at tho recent elections and their attitude toward M. Venizelos, the friend of the entente. The authority points out that while the king declares ho cannot demobilize, demobi-lize, he forgets to add that the allies continue at his request to advance money to Greece for Its mobilization. As Tor the king's opinion regarding the result of the war, the authority says it is pleasant that a sovereign who is impressed by Germany's strength should publicly admit that she cannot be victorious which shows how right Impartial people arc in claiming that she will be crushed. |
