Chicago Record Herald    12 Dec 1910

VOW WAR ON TURKS

Chicago Bulgarians and Macedonians Parade and Raise Battle Cry

REFUGEES AT A MEETING

VIEW SCAN OF ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Chicago became the American center yesterday of a revolt against the renewed depredations of the Turk in Macedonia, and the Bulgarian flag was unfurled in the streets of this city for the first time.

Several hundred members of the Bulgaro-Macedonian league paraded the West Side and met in Bricklayers' Hall, Peoria and Monroe streets, where fiery speeches were made against the outrages committed in their native land.

A majority of those present were refugees who had fought as insurgents in the Macedonian mountains against the Turkish soldiers, and they raised their battle cries again in a pledge to return this summer and join the revolt which is being started.

TO FREE MACEDONIA
The Bulgaro-Macedonian League is an organisation formed to free Macedonia from the Turks, and this was the first meeting of its members in the United States. The league will endeavour to induce United States intervention.

The ingratitude of the Young Turk party, which the Bulgaro-Macedonians helped to overthrow Abdul Hamid, was scored by Dr. D. Dosef, one of the speakers.

"Many of the men before me are carrying bullets as the result of fighting the Turk. You helped the Young Turk overthrow the old regime and get a constitution. Your people were treated well for a time after the revolt. But today Macedonia is where she was in the reign of Hamid, in the hands of mercenaries; women are being outraged and men tortured and thrown into prison."
The speaker explained that no help could be expected from European powers because of their selfish interests, but that America was in a position to make an effective protest.

BISMARCK IS BLAMED
I. N. Mustreff, President of the Chicago branch of the league, said the jealous fear of Bismarck was responsible for the loss of freedom to Bulgaria when at the conference at Berlin he had demanded that that country, be divided up between Turkey, Servia and Roumania, leaving but a small part of it free. He said that Gladstone had been a true friend of Bulgaria.

"America" and the national hymn of Bulgaria were sung.

The Bulgarians and Macedonians are of the same race and speak the same language. Bulgaria proper now is free but Macedonia is under the rule of the Turk.

The meeting in Chicago will be followed by others in New York and other large centers throughout the United States.

HOME