ould
be added that, in the Treaty of Partition, the Czar had been named
as arbiter in case of any territorial dispute between the two
parties.
What followed in the next few days has never been clearly disclosed.
But it was of transcendent importance. I have always thought that if
Mr. Gueshoff, one of the authors of the Balkan Alliance, had been
allowed like Mr. Venizelos and Mr. Pashitch, to finish his work,
there would have been no war between the Allies. I did not enjoy the
personal acquaintance of Mr. Gueshoff, but I regarded him as a wise
statesman of moderate views, who was disposed to make reasonable
concessions for the sake of peace. But a whole nation in arms,
flushed with the sense of victory, is always dangerous to the
authority of civil government. If Mr. Gueshoff was ready to arrange
some accommodation with Mr. Pashitch, the military party in Bulgaria
was all the more insistent in its demands on Servia for the
evacuation of Central Macedonia. Even in Servia Mr. Pashitch had
great difficulty in repressing the jingo ardor of the army, whose
bellicose spirit was believed to find expression in the attitude of
the Crown Prince. But the provocation in Bulgaria was greater,
because, when all was said and done, Servia was actually violating
an agreement with Bulgaria to which she had solemnly set her name.
Possibly the military party gained the ear of King Ferdinand.
Certainly it was reported that he was consulting with leaders of the
opposition. Presumably they were all dissatisfied with the
conciliatory attitude which Mr. Gueshoff had shown in the Tsaribrod
conference. Whatever the explanation, Mr. Gueshoff resigned on June
9.
DELAY AND OPPOSITION OF BULGARIA
On that very day the Czar summoned the Kings of Bulgaria and Servia
to submit their disputes to his decision. While this demand was
based on a specific provision of the Servo-Bulgarian treaty, His
Majesty also urged it on the ground of devotion to the Slav cause.
This pro-Slav argument provoked much criticism in Austro-Hungarian
circles which resented bitterly the assumption of Slav hegemony in
Balkan affairs. However, on June 12 Bulgaria and Servia accepted
Russian arbitration. But the terms were not agreed upon. While Mr.
Venizelos and Mr. Pashitch impatiently awaited the summons to St.
Petersburg they could get no definite information of the intentions
of the Bulgarian government. And the rivalry of Austria-Hungary and
Russia for predominance in
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