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THE CHRISTIAN NATION.
Vol «i.
the instigation of her miserable king. Milan I.
The assassination of his son, Alexander I, and
Queen Olga, with all its barbarous, bloodthirsty
details, is still fresh in our minds, as well
as the events of the recent Balkan war in
which Servia so greatly extended her territory
at the expense of her ancient enemj', the Ottoman.
The comparisons of Servia with Xew Y'ork
which were given at the beginning of this article
relate to her territory before the late war
with Turkey. Just how many millions are now
under her rule it is not easy to state, and it is
still more difScult to predict the extent of her
domain when this present cruel war is over.
There is but one city of any size or importance
within her borders—Belgrade, on the Danube—a
city of perhaps 80,000 people, which
boasts some ambitious public buildings, but
wdiich is within easy striking distance of Austria-Hungary,
on the other side of the Danube.
Xisch is the next largest city, but a
poor second to Belgrade. It is on the direct
line from Budapest to Salonica., and many a
traveler doubtless remembers with anguish a
night spent in a dirty, bug-ridden hotel, while
waiting for a train for the old city (Thessalonica),
to which Paul wrote two of his immortal
letters.
. . •-
WHAT THIS WAR MAY MEAN TO SER­
VIA AXD HER PEOPLE.
Compared with her neighbors, Bulgaria and
Rotunania, Servia is distinctly inferior in civili2Jation
and promise for the future. The Bulgarians
seemed to me of decidedly finer stuft,
while Roumania, after a third of a century of
peace and prosperity under the wise and beneficent
rule of King Carlos and his queen (the
poet Carmen Sylva)^ would take rank among
the best of the smaller states of Europe. There
are few more attractive cities on the continent
in its architecture and its general appearance
than Bucharest, Roumania's capital, and
the splendid post office and other public buildings,
the well paved, busy streets, the trim
soldiers and gorgeous offieers, who swarm everywhere,
speak of a prosperity and wealth
which Servia has never known, at least since
the days of Kara George.
^Vhat will be the effect of the present war
upon the future of Ser-ria and her people Who
can tell It is, of course, possible that she
may gain in territory and importance among
the nations of the earth.
Austria-Hungary, with Russia coming
do-wn upon her from the north, and Italy neutral
or hostile on the south, as Admiral' Mahan
says she must be, evidently has more than
she bargained for. It is reported that she has
already withdrawn her troops in large measure
from Servia to defend herself against a more
formidable foe.
But what about the people, the common people,
so-called, not because they are really common
or unclean, but because they are poor and
because there are so many of them.
Alas! They must suffer in any event whether
victory or defeat perches on the banner of their
king. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of
them, will be left dead upon the battlefield,
other tens of thousands will be incapacitated
for life by wounds or disease, fields will be
left unfilled, harvests ungathered, a multitude
of humble homes will be tenantless, and the
ashes will be cold on many a hearthstone as a
result of this most unrighteous and senseless
war. Taxes will be increased, the cost of living
augmented, and the beggar's crust wiU be scantier
because some war lords of Europe thought
it an opportune time to humiliate some other
war lords.
It only adds to the horror of the situation to
remember that Servia will not be the only sufferer,
perhaps not the chief sufferer. Bulgaria,
Greece, the new and tottering kingdom of Albania,
as well as the great nations to the north
—to all will come untold agonies that we in
this favored land can scarcely realize.
WAR HARD ON IMPOVERISHED BAL­
KAN STATES.
Such a war is particularly hard on the poverty-stricken
Balkan states that have scarcely
begun to recover from the exhausting conflict
they have recently waged against the Turk.
With our boundless prairies and exhaustless
mines and our millions of laborers, recovery
from war would be a matter of months or years;
with countries like the Balkan states, recovery
will be a matter of many generations. More
than a generation ago Paraguay waged a relentless
war with Brazil and Uruguay. As a
result, only 25,000 able bodied men were left
in Paraguay at the end of the war; the women
and children outnumbered the men ten to one,
and that South American state, with its vast
undeveloped resources, was set back perhaps
100 years in its progress and prosperity. So it
may be with little Servia and any of her small
neighbors who may get involved in the present
conflict.
Comparatively few Servians have as yet
come to our shores. Nearly 300,000 emigrants,
on an average, come to America from the
neighboring monarchy of Austria-Hungary,
most of them, with the exception of the Magyars
(Hungarians) are Slavs like the Servians.
These Poles, Croatians, Slovaks, Slovenians,
Ruthenians—all are Slavs, and blood kindred,
of the Servians; so, -with this great multitude
of Servia's cousins tn one country we cannot
ignore our responsibility for at least the reflex
influences that may elevate or degrade the
Slavic races. Multitudes of emigrants return
every year to their old homes from America.
Some years of industrial depression in America
see almost as many Austro-Hungarians return
to their native land as come here. What
these people carry back with them of good will
depend very largely upon our churches and our
schools. Some sections of the dual monarchy
have vastly benefited materially by American
money and American ideals. Alas! some
places have been degraded morally by the notions
of Godless license that the returning emigrants
have brought with them from America.
Within the borders of Servia, as her boundaries
were drawn three yeajs ago before the
Turkish war, but little missionary work has
been done by Americans, but within the confines
of her newly conquered territory the Am-'
erican Board of Foreign Missions has long been
at work.
Monastir, in old Macedonia, has for many •
years been an important mission oenter, with a
strong church and Sunday schools, four Chi2-
tian Endeavor societies, day schools and a highgrade
institution for giris. Few of the people
were Servians before the war, and few are Servians
now, except - nominally, grudgingly and
of necessity, because they are not allowed to
call themselves Bulgarians and Greeks. Nevertheless,
the Servian government has not interfered
with the American work seriously in, its
new territory, and this work is perhaps ahnost
as little likely to be molested or curtailed as
when the country was ruled by the Turks. An
earnest Evangelical Lutheran teacher of my
acquaintance who lives in Agram, Croatia, has
been accustomed for two or three years to spend
his summer vacation in a Christian Endeavor
tour through Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia
and Montenegro. He is now on such a
tour, and reports a great eagerness on the pari
of the people in many places to hear the gospel.
He has founded a number of little societies
in places where no Protestant missionary
ever went, and no evangelistic work has
ever before been done.
Within three days I have had a letter from
Mm, written, to be sure, before the war began,
telling of the many openings for gospel work
he had found, and the many encouragements
he had received. Surely, no peoples more need
the prayers and sympathy of Christian men
and women than those of the Little congeries
of nations in southeastern Europe. In Slavic
veins runs the blood of ancient saints and
heroes. God grant that this strain may reassert
itself.—The Continent.
PRESIDENT WILSON DECLARES OUR NEU­
TRALITY WITH JAPAN AND GERMANY.
Special to The New York Times.
Washington, Aug. 25.—President Wilson issued
a proclamation today declaring the neutrality of
the United States in the war between Germany
and Japan. War now exists between the following
countries, as shown hy the proclamations issued
.by President WilBon:
Austria-Hungary and Servia.
Germany and Russia.
Germany and France.
Germany and Great Britain.
Austria-Hungary and Russia.
Great Britain and Austria-Hungary.
Germany and Belgium.
France and Austria-Hungary.
Japan and Germany.
The proclamation issued today sets forth thfit
"a state of war unhappily exists" between Japan
and Germany and that "the United States
is on terms of friendship and amity with the contending
powers and with the persons inhabiting
their several dominions." The proclamalloii is
identical with those previously issued with respect
to the other Governments at war.
To the above there must now be added, to Dhub
the record up to date:
Austria-Hungary and Japan.
Austria-Hungary and Belgium.