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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. |
