BULGARIA. JUDICIAL PROCESS ISSUED IN BULGARIA FOR SERVICE IN THE UNITED STATES. File No. 874.0432/2. The American Chargé d'Affaires to the Secretary of State. Bulgarian Series No. 306.] AMERICAN LEGATION, Bucharest, October 11, 1913. SIR: I have the honor to report that the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has forwarded three documents to the Legation which the judicial authorities of Sofia desire to have signed by Priest Jeromonach Grigori and Evangelie Pop Stefanoff both of whom reside at 258 Franklin Street, Steelton, Pennsylvania. The Ministry requests that the documents be returned to it after they have been signed and dated by the persons named. I have [etc.] CHARLES CAMPBELL JR. File No. 874.0432/2. The Acting Secretary of State to the American Chargé d'Affaires. No. 95. Bulgaria.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, October 31, 1913. SIR: The Department acknowledges the receipt of your No. 306, Bulgarian Series, of the 11th instant, forwarding at the request of the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs three documents which the Bulgarian authorities at Sofia desire to have sent to and signed by Jeromonach Grigori and Evangelie Pop Stefanoff, both residing at 258 Franklin Street, Steelton, Pennsylvania. An examination of the documents show them to be summonses to appear before a Bulgarian court to answer to suits brought against the persons mentioned. The three papers are returned herewith in order that you may transmit them to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria with the following statement: There is no provision made by the statutes of the United States whereby service of summons or other process of a foreign court can be effected on a resident of the United States, and that you are therefore constrained to return the papers to him. I am [etc.] J. B. MOORE. EXTRATERRITORIAL RIGHTS AND MOST FAVORED - NATION TREATMENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN BULGARIA. File No. 711.743/16. No. 84.] The Secretary of State to the American Minister. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, February 12, 1913. SIR: The Department has received the despatches' of August 19th, November 12th and November 16th last (Bulgarian Series Nos. 111, 161 and 164) in which complying with the Department's instruction No. 35, of July 27th last, you reported further concerning the projected abolition of the extraterritorial régime in Bulgaria. From your No. 111, of August 19th, it appears that the tradelicense law has not yet affected the interests of the United States or given cause for complaint by its citizens, and presumably would not have upon American interests the retroactive effect which it is understood constitutes the objection to the law on the part of the British and French Governments. It would therefore seem that the attitude of this Government towards the proposed discontinuance of extraterritorial conditions in Bulgaria would not be affected adversely by considerations in connection with the trade-license law. In your No. 161, of November 12th, and No. 164, of November 16th, you indicated and commented upon the reservations which the Amer ican missionary interests in Bulgaria consider necessary or desirable; and with the latter of these despatches you enclosed a memorandum compiled from letters from Mr. Leroy F. Ostrander, of the American Institute at Zamokow, specifying the "requests to be made to the Bulgarian Government in behalf of American citizens residing in Bulgaria." An examination of the requests thus put forward in behalf of the American missionary interests in Bulgaria, and subsequently communicated to the Department in behalf of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, has led the Department to the conclusion that, save in so far as they have a basis in the principle of most-favored-nation treatment, these requests are in the nature of special privileges, not possessing such a national interest as would warrant this Government's undertaking negotiations with a view to their realization. It is therefore considered that the interests of the American missionary enterprises in Bulgaria, as well as the other American interests which now exist or which may hereafter be created in that country, may be most satisfactorily and adequately served by assuring to them most-favored-nation treatment, in the fullest and most liberal sense possible, on the part of the Bulgarian Government. These views, which are believed to be substantially in accord with those indicated by you in your No. 164, of November 16th, were explained to Dr. James L. Barton, Secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, upon the occasion of a recent visit to the Department; and there has now been received from him a letter (a copy of which is enclosed herewith) in which, in behalf of the American Board, he withdraws the requests for specific privileges previously made in conformity with Mr. Ostrander's sug Not printed. gestions, and expresses confidence that American interests would be amply protected by most-favored-nation treatment. By reason of the fact that the United States possesses no capitulatory rights vis-à-vis Bulgaria, except by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin and through the operation of the most-favored-nation principle, which the Bulgarian Government recognizes as being applicable to this country as a matter of comity, there would seem to be no necessity for any formal negotiations on the subject of the relinquishment of American capitulatory rights in Bulgaria; it would seem feasible and advisable simply to define what is understood to be the existing situation by an exchange of views with the Bulgarian Government. To this end, you are authorized to bring to the knowledge of the Foreign Office, in whatever manner you may deem expedient, the fact that this Government, recognizing that it has no intrinsic right to the benefit of the Capitulations as established by the Treaty of Berlin, stands ready to facilitate the negotiations in which the Bulgarian Government is engaged, by assenting in advance to the relinquishment of such rights as it now enjoys in this respect, at such time as the signatory Powers shall all have consented to the discontinuance of the capitulatory régime; and you will take this occasion to seek from the Bulgarian Government an assurance of its readiness to accord to the United States, as a matter of international comity, the most extensive and liberal application of the principle of most-favored-nation treatment, including the extension to American citizens and their interests, whether commercial or religious or philanthropic, of all rights, privileges and exemptions which may be granted to the citizens or interests of any other nation. There is enclosed herewith a copy of the letter,' under date of the 4th instant, which the Department is addressing to Dr, Barton in reply to his communication to which reference is made above. I am [etc.] P. C. KNOX. File No. 711.743/17. The American Minister to the Secretary of State. Bulgarian Series, No. 207.] AMERICAN LEGATION, Bucharest, February 26, 1913. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt today of your instruction No. 84, of the 12th instant, in regard to the effect of the "Capitulations" on American philanthropic and education institutions in Bulgaria, and to note with much satisfaction your authorization to bring to the knowledge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Sofia the fact that the United States Government stands ready to facilitate the negotiations in which the Bulgarian Government is engaged by assenting in advance to the relinquishment of such rights as it now enjoys in this respect, at such time as the Powers signatory to the Treaty of Berlin shall have consented to the discontinuance of the capitulatory régime. On the occasion of my next visit to Sofia I shall take occasion to seek from the Bulgarian Government an assur Not printed ance of its readiness to accord to the United States the most extensive and liberal application of the principle of most-favored-nation treatment to all American interests. I have [etc.] JOHN B. JACKSON. File No. 711.743/18. The American Minister to the Secretary of State. Bulgarian Series, No. 318.] AMERICAN LEGATION, Bucharest, October 23, 1913. SIR: I have the honor to report that after waiting until the Department, under date of March 18th,' had acknowledged the due receipt of my despatch No. 207, of February 26, 1913, I communicated the contents of the Department's instruction No. 84 of February 12th to the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a semi-official letter addressed to the then Secretary General of that Ministry. No reply was made to my letter, partially owing to the disorganization brought about by the conflict between the former Balkan Allies, and partially owing to the appointment of Mr. Dimitroff, the Secretary General, as Diplomatic Agent at Cairo, but I know that it was put on the files of the Ministry. In speaking of this matter with Mr. Ghenadieff, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Sofia. a few days ago, the Minister told me that Bulgaria was quite ready to accord to American educational and philanthropic institutions the same facilities as are accorded to those under other foreign (Austrian, French and German) protection. Under the circumstances I did not, however, feel at liberty to go into the matter, at length, and I merely refer to it now in order that appropriate instructions may be given to my successor. I have [etc.] JOHN B. JACKSON. WAR BETWEEN BULGARIA AND TURKEY. (See Turkey.) WAR BETWEEN BULGARIA AND GREECE, SERVIA, MONTENEGRO AND ROUMANIA. File No. 768.74/75. The American Minister to Greece to the Secretary of State. No. 107.] [Extract.] AMERICAN LEGATION, SIR: War having broken out between the Balkan allies, I have the honor to make a report to the Department on the conditions out of which the war finally developed and the real issue which it involves. [The Minister here mentions his interviews with the Prime Ministers of Servia (June 24), Bulgaria (June 27), Roumania (June 19) Not printed. and Greece (July 9 and previously). He then describes his observations of the military situation at Uskub (where the fighting began), Veles, Prilip, Monastir and Saloniki.] The vital historical movement in the Balkans since the beginning of the 19th century has been the disentanglement of the subject peoples (Slav and Greek) from Turks and latterly their differentiation from one another. With the resurrection of these long-entombed nationalities and their recovery of national consciousness have come national self-assertion, the struggle for mastery, the determination to dominate rivals, and above all the deliberate policy to appropriate to the utmost possible extent the vast domain which the palsied hand of the Turk was gradually but inevitably releasing in Europe. * * * Thrace, between the Black Sea and the Nestos River, had in the course of the war against Turkey been automatically assigned to Bulgaria, whose armies also occupied the territory west of the Nestos up to an irregular line approximately fixed by the points of Doiran, Strumica. Istip and Kochana, excepting only the Chalcidian Peninsula and its immediate hinterland which were held by the Greeks. By the same automatic process the war had assigned to the Greeks Epirus, Southern Albania and Southern Macedonia, up to the line of Koritsa, Florina and Gumendza, though the determinate northern boundary of New Greece awaited the action of the Great Powers as regards Albania and of the Allies as regards Macedonia. The valor of the soldiers of Montenegro had also marked out its field of expansion to the south and east of the present Kingdom. Of Turkey's possessions in Europe, apart from Constantinople with its fringe of hinterland and Albania with its unsettled southern frontier, there remained the territory known as Novi Bazar, Old Servia, and that portion of Macedonia lying between the provisional western boundary of New Bulgaria and the provisional northern boundary of New Greece; and this entire tract had been conquered and was held by Servian troops. To this Bulgaria objected. She made no issue over Novi Bazar and most or all of Old Servia; but in virtue of her treaty with Servia she claimed everything that was left in Macedonia north of the final Greek frontier and south and east of a line drawn from Ochrida towards the Vardar, which it intersected a few kilometres above Veles, extending thence over Ovce Polje to Egri Palanka and terminating on the present Bulgarian frontier at Golema Vrch. It is over the disposition of this triangular section of western Macedonia (which I traversed some days ago in two different directions) that the Allies have had recourse to arms; for though Bulgarians resented the Greek occupation of Saloniki, and Greeks the Bulgarian occupation of south eastern Macedonia-the Seres, Drama and Kavala district-it is improbable that either Government would have made war to alter the fait accompli in those localities. Western Macedonia is the crux of the difficulty. Servia holds it by force of arms, but the population in the triangular section in dispute is not prevailingly Servian. The Greeks can make a good ethnological case for Monastir and some other points north of their present military frontier. But as a result of my own observations and inquiries I am disposed to believe that while the majority of the inhabitants are Mussulman-Turks or perhaps Albanians--the largest element in the Christian population is Bulgarian. |