We believe that there is no Greek in Chicago, even in the United States, who has not heard of the name Hearst. Mr. Hearst is the owner and publisher of a number of syndicated newspapers with a circulation of 15,000,000 copies daily.

The Greek people of Chicago as well as the large number of Greeks throughout this great country have unconsciously been forced to plunge into a fight and a controversy which should have been avoided. Saloniki has written extensively about the campaign of persecution, defamation, and false accusations, which our esteemed colleague, The Chicago Examiner, one of the Hearst newspapers, has launched against our people.

The Greek government, the Greek army, the Greek people in general, which includes us here in Chicago, have been branded with the stigma of barbarism and savagery; we are called criminals and murderers.

2

We have challenged The Examiner to produce any evidence of Greek atrocities and massacres against the Bulgarian populations of Thrace and Macedonia prior to or during the Balkan Wars in which Bulgaria was completely annihilated.

Foreign observers, like Mr. George Knapp of the Chicago Journal, as well as many officers and soldiers who fought in the Greco-Bulgarian War are witnesses to the fact that the Greeks showed a spirit of humanity and respect for innocent women and children which surpassed that of any other Balkan people.

As a true Greek newspaper, Saloniki was the first to protest against The Examiner's campaign of defamation directed against the Greek people.

We visited the offices of The Examiner and reminded them that this campaign is unfair and injurious to the Greek people of Chicago as well as to our fatherland, Greece. Our reasonable arguments and our friendly requests were instrumental in easing the anti-Greek sentiment of Mr. Hearst's press.

3

Saloniki was the first Greek newspaper that requested the active and spirited support of our most influential Greek leaders in Chicago for the purpose of enlightening Mr. Hearst's press in regard to the sycophantic and false accusations against our people. In this way it was hoped that we would become reconciled to Mr. Hearst who should have been persuaded to stop attacking the Greek name. This way reconciliation and a peaceful settlement was not only the easiest but also the most dignified one.

Unfortunately, however, cheap demagoguery which can be used so easily, and great noise which can be easily created by those who call themselves the friends and supporters of the Greek people, have led to the opposite direction. Thus, the Greeks everywhere in America have to meet the hostility of twelve powerful American newspapers that have a daily circulation of 15,000,000 copies in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and throughout the United States.

The publication and republication of anti-Greek and violently prejudiced 4articles in Mr. Hearst's papers has aroused the interest of the American public in the case. The effects of this controversy and misunderstanding will bring great harm to the Greek people in the future. The journalistic war, in which the entire Greek population of America is involved against the gigantic machine of Mr. Hearst, is an unequal one. Its definite effects will be felt very soon.

Already the Hearst press, provoked by the resentful stand of the Greeks, is raging against our people and continues to publish its well-known and shameless sycophantic and violent attacks against us. According to The Examiner the Bulgarians are the innocent victims of Greek cruelties and ferocity.

Shall we tolerate this attitude on the part of the American press toward us? Shall we have American public opinion turned against us and poisoned for no just reason? Who is in a position to protect us? Who believes that these few articles in the Greek press are sufficient and effective enough to cope with and challenge the poisonous articles in millions of copies of the 5Hearst papers? But was it necessary that we become involved in this desperate struggle?

Saloniki declares here and now that this controversy could have been avoided if the Greek press and a few Greeks had not attempted to challenge the Hearst press so violently and rudely. Instead they should have taken the whole matter in a more dignified and rational way without resorting to emotional outbursts of anger and vituperation.

A wise Greek proverb says that it is foolish to sow garlic with an older and stronger person [sic]. Unfortunately, however, we repeat that cheap demagogues and troublemakers among our people have sown the seeds of discord. Now, the Greek people of America are sorry that they have started an unequal fight into which we have been thoughtlessly and unconsciously thrown. Many of us think that we Greeks can fight Mr. Hearst because our cause is a just one. We cannot apply the principle of a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye in this case. Many times it pays to give up the fight and submit.

6

On the other hand, we should not forget that last summer some of the most flattering and favorable articles about Greece and the Greek immigrants of Chicago and other cities appeared in Hearst's press. Mr. Serviss, who, at the time, was very friendly to the Greeks, wrote a brilliant article praising the Greek virtues and commending the Greeks of old, saying that we are worthy descendants of a great people.

King Constantine himself thanked the American people for their sympathy toward the Greek people through the newspapers of Mr. Hearst.

So, we do not think that Mr. Hearst and his vast system of newspapers would ignore any reasonable and properly presented demands or protests from the Greek press and the Greek leaders of Chicago. Our protests could be presented in a dignified and courteous manner.

Unfortunately, we have been resorting to insults and revengeful language which is returned in kind. This state of affairs no doubt embitters most of us.

7

There is, however, some hope of calling a truce with Mr. Hearst's newspapers. We can appeal to Mr. Hearst in a polite, well-bred manner for a clearing up of every misunderstanding.

Saloniki requests all those who are in a position to do so to co-operate with us for the formulation of a logical plan with which we can convince Mr. Hearst that the Greek name has been unjustly and unfairly attacked and maligned.

In supporting the Bulgarians and in campaigning for refugee and relief funds in behalf of the Bulgarians, the Hearst syndicate should not attempt to attack the honor of our people and blacken our good name.

Let us hope that this violent controversy and insulting publications will cease for the benefit of both the American press and the honor of our people.