densely packed about by the people, who broke forth into
deafening cheers and shouts of "Long live our national leader!" and
"Long live Venizelos!"

At about this time, on April 14, 1916, a new critical situation was
precipitated between the Allies and the Greek Government. On that date
the British Minister at Athens had asked permission of the Greek
Government to transport Serbian troops from Corfu to Saloniki by way
of Patras, Larissa, and Volo, which involved the use of the
Peloponnesian railway. This was peremptorily refused as involving a
breach of Greek neutrality.

Under ordinary conditions transports would have conveyed the Serbians
from Corfu to Saloniki, such a trip requiring less than three days.
But the German submarines had been so active in these waters of late
that the Allies desired to evade this danger, contending that it was
with the connivance of the Greek Government officials that the Germans
were able to maintain submarine bases among the islands. Moreover,
they also contended that the cases were different from what it would
have been had the request concerned French or British troops. The
Greeks were allies of the Serbians, bound to them by a formal treaty,
and though they had refused to assist them in a military sense, as the
terms of the treaty demanded, they might at least help them in their
need. Two days later, on April 16, 1916, the Chamber of Deputies
adjourned for the session, which left the whole matter in the hands
of the government. However, this question hung fire for some time, and
later dispatches would indicate that the Allies did not press their
point, for eventually when the arrival of the Serbian troops in
Saloniki was announced, it was stated incidentally that they had come
by means of transports.

But meanwhile Venizelos was continuing his campaign against the
ministry. On April 16, 1916, the Liberals had attempted to hold
several public meetings in Athens, which were vigorously broken up by
the police, or, according to some reports, by agents of the government
in civilian dress. The following day Venizelos gave out an interview
to the press in which he said:

"I beg you to bring the events of yesterday and the earnest protest of
a majority of the Greeks to the knowledge of the American people, who
have struggled for so long to establish free speech as the fundamental
right of a free people. Here in Greece we are confronted by the
question whether we are to have a democracy