he verge of economic, material and moral bankruptcy. This policy,
unhappily, is not a dream, but downright folly." He further laid great
stress on the Bulgarian peril, pointing out that the utmost to be
gained by the present policy would be to leave Greece the same size,
while Bulgaria, flushed with victory, trained for war, enlarged by the
addition of Serbia and Macedonia and allied with the Turks, would not
wait long before falling on her southern neighbor. "Who thinks," he
continued, "that under these conditions that Greece, unaided, could
drive the Bulgars from Macedonia, once they have seized it, is a fool.
The politicians who do not see this inevitable danger, are blind, and
unfortunate are the kings following such politicians, and more
unfortunate still the lands where sovereigns fall their victims."

And, indeed, the ex-premier's references to the economic ruin of the
country were strongly supported by the dispatches that had for some
time been coming from the Greek capital. "Greece," said a prominent
official to a press correspondent, "is much more likely to be starved
into war than Germany is to be starved out of it."

The deficit in the Greek treasury for the previous year was now shown
to have amounted to L17,000,000, or $85,000,000. The budget for 1916
authorized an expenditure of $100,000,000, which was double the entire
state revenues. For the masses the situation was daily becoming more
difficult. The streets of Athens were said to be alive with the
beggars, while the island of Samos was in a sporadic state of revolt.
At Piraeus and Patras there were disquieting demonstrations of popular
discontent with the increasing cost of living. Many commodities had
more than doubled in price. This situation was largely due to the
mobilization, as in the case of the fishermen. As most of them were
with the colors, the price of fish, which had hitherto been one of the
main food supplies, had become prohibitive to the poorer families.

The sentiment of the people was further expressed on April 7, 1916,
when the Greeks celebrated the 100th anniversary of their national
independence. On this occasion Venizelos appeared in public for the
first time since his retirement from political life, after he had been
obliged to resign by the king. When he left the cathedral in Athens,
where services were held, thousands of persons followed his motor car,
cheering enthusiastically. Finally his car could proceed no farther,
being