er following the
Maritza River to a point between Sufli and Dimotika then swung in a
semicircle well beyond Adrianople to Bulgaria and the Black Sea.
Thus Bulgaria was compelled to cede back to the Asiatic enemy not
only Adrianople but the battlefields of Kirk Kilisse, Lule Burgas,
and Chorlu on which her brave soldiers had won such magnificent
victories over the Moslems.

THE ATTITUDE OF ROUMANIA

The Treaty of Bukarest marked the predominance of Roumania in Balkan
affairs. And of course Roumania had her own reward. She had long
coveted the northeastern corner of Bulgaria, from Turtukai on the
Danube to Baltchik on the Black Sea. And this territory, even some
miles beyond that line, Bulgaria was now compelled to cede to her by
the treaty. It is a fertile area with a population of some 300,000
souls, many of whom are Turks.

The claim of Roumania to compensation for her neutrality during the
first Balkan war was severely criticized by the independent press of
western Europe. It was first put forward in the London Peace
Conference, but rejected by Dr. Daneff, the Bulgarian delegate. But
the Roumanian government persisted in pressing the claim, and the
Powers finally decided to mediate, with the result that the city of
Silistria and the immediately adjoining territory were assigned to
Roumania. Neither state was satisfied with the award and the second
Balkan war broke out before the transfer had been effected. This
gave Roumania the opportunity to enforce her original claim, and,
despite the advice of Austria-Hungary, she used it, as we have
already seen.

The Roumanian government justifies its position in this matter by
two considerations. In the first place, as Roumania was larger and
more populous than any of the Balkan states, the Roumanian nation
could not sit still with folded arms while Bulgaria wrested this
preeminence from her. And if Bulgaria had not precipitated a war
among the Allies, if she had been content with annexing the portion
of European Turkey which she held under military occupation, New
Bulgaria would have contained a greater area and a larger population
than Roumania. The Roumanians claim, accordingly, that the course
they pursued was dictated by a legitimate and vital national
interest. And, in the second place, as Greeks, Servians, and
Bulgarians based their respective claims to Macedonian territory on
the racial character of the inhabitants, Roumania asserted that the
presence of a larg