orough permeation of Macedonia by Greek settlements
my first surprise was my inability to discover a Greek majority in
Central Macedonia. In most of the cities a fraction of the
population indeed is Greek and as a rule the colony is prosperous.
This is especially true in Monastir, which is a stronghold of Greek
influence. But while half the population of Monastir is Mohammedan
the so-called Bulgarians form the majority of the Christian
population, though both Servians and Roumanians have conducted
energetic propaganda. In Veles two-thirds of the population are
Christians and nearly all of these are called Bulgarians. In Ochrida
the lower town is Mohammedan and the upper Christian, and the
Christian population is almost exclusively of the Bulgarian Church.

It does not follow, however, that the people of Central Macedonia,
even if Bulgarian churches are in the ascendant among them, are
really connected by ties of blood and language with Bulgaria rather
than with Servia. If history is invoked we shall have to admit that
under Dushan this region was a part of the Serb empire as under
Simeon and Asen it was part of the Bulgarian. If an appeal is made
to anthropology the answer is still uncertain. For while the
Mongolian features--broad flat faces, narrow eyes, and straight
black hair--which characterize the subjects of King Ferdinand can be
seen--I myself have seen them--as far west as Ochrida, they may also
be found all over Northern Servia as far as Belgrade though the
Servian physical type is entirely different. There is no fixed
connection between the anthropological unit and the linguistic or
political unit. Furthermore, while there are well-marked groups who
call themselves Serbs or Bulgarians there is a larger population not
so clearly differentiated by physique or language. Undoubtedly they
are Slavs. But whether Serb or Bulgarian, or intermediate between
the two, no one to-day can demonstrate. Central Macedonia has its
own dialects, any one of which under happy literary auspices might
have developed into a separate language. And the men who speak them
to-day can more or less understand either Servian or Bulgarian.
Hence as the anonymous and highly authoritative author of "Turkey in
Europe," who calls himself Odysseus, declares:

"The practical conclusion is that neither Greeks, Servians, nor
Bulgarians have a right to claim Central Macedonia. The fact that
they all do so shows how weak each claim must be