p. 1 | PORTENTS IN THE EAST

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 3, 1876

PORTENTS IN THE EAST.

The European war-cloud, which but a few weeks ago was no bigger than a man's hand, is fast spreading over the whole Eastern sky. The dispatches from Vienna, Belgrade, Paris, Constantinople, and Berlin agree in the general information that the Porte having rejected Servia's ultimatum, war between Servia and Turkey is inevitable. The Prince Milan, the reigning Prince of Servia, yielding to the popular pressure, has taken the head of the army, and the whole of Servia is under military law. The Servian army for some time past has been on the Turkish frontier, facing the Turkish army, which is commanded by Abdul Kerim Pasha.

The war movements are not confined to Servia. That province cannot go into war without dragging all the others in also. Montenegro has taken the first step by summoning all Montenegrins to arms between the ages of seventeen and sixty years. The Herzegovinians have appointed a time to meet the Montenegrin chiefs and agree upon a mutual plan of operations when Servia strikes. Roumania, although neutral at present, only awaits the signal from Russia to join the attack. Bulgaria is in revolt, and the recent horrible cruelties of the Bashi-Bazouks (Turkish irregular troops) will spur her on to summary revenge. On the South the Greeks are all ready for the contest, and will take the Turks on the flank. If the great powers keep their hands off, Servia alone is a match for the Porte. With the aid of Montenegro, Herzegovina, and Bosnia on the west, Roumania and Bulgaria on the east, and the Greeks south of the Balkans, Turkey's doom is sealed.

The forthcoming war is the most important social movement of the present century, and the whole civilized world will watch its progress with intense interest. To drive the Turks out of Europe and restore the country to its old native population, to get rid of that Asiatic nightmare which has afflicted the Sclavic Christians so long and exposed them for centuries to barbarity, cruelty, superstition and fanaticism, to release twelve millions of Christians and drive back their Moslem oppressors is a movement more important than the unification of Germany, the emancipation of the serfs, or the unification of Italy—more important even than the abolition of American slavery. We only liberated 4,000,000 of slaves. This war of religion and races promises to release 12,000,000 of Christians of the old Greek Empire and to expel 5,000,000 of the worst population of Europe, the deadly enemies of progress, of liberty, and of human thought. It will not only restore these Christians to their civil and religious rights, but will be of value to the whole world. It will prove a blessing to commerce; will open up a country rich in wine, oil, cattle, and wheat; will afford an outlet for the manufacturing nations of Europe, and develop railroad building and general improvements. It will be a war in the interest of civilization and human progress.—Chicago Tribune.