New treaty is signed in Bulgaria

Germans call up the Territorials

ACCORDING to the Daily Chronicle correspondent at Athens there is in no quarters a belief that, in signing the Turco-Bulgarian Treaty, Bulgaria has bound herself as regards her future action or policy.

Mr Renwick also claims that while German activity in Sofia has been very pronounced of late, it has had little effect on the situation and “certainly has not improved it from the German point of view”.

Despite these assurances there is a growing feeling in this country that Bulgaria is playing a not altogether commendable part, and hopes of her active participation in the war on the side of the Entente Powers are disappearing.

Yesterday’s messages announcing the territorial concessions made to the Balkan State by her Ottoman neighbors were not so disturbing as the statement accompanying them that the work of delimitation was to be entrusted to German staff officers and a further indication of the way the wind is blowing is providing in a Sofia telegram to hand this morning.

This announces that the newspaper Preporitz, containing an appeal to the Bulgarian people against the Germanophile policy of the Government, has been confiscated and suspended for an indefinite time.

The appeal in question was signed by several Generals of Reserve, politicians (not party leaders) and literary men and the renowned author, Professor Krwsted, has been thrown into prison.

If this is true the outlook is not very promising and the necessity for pushing on with our great task in the Dardanelles becomes all the more pressing.

There is evidence that Turkish resistance is not what it was, but we have still a very hard row to hoe and the revelation of our losses to date (totalling 87,630 with the huge proportion of 17,608 killed) does not encourage much hope of concluding the task without further heavy casualties.

From our own losses we may in a measure gauge those of the Turks and it is not surprising to learn that the constant stream of wounded into Constantinople, vastly in excess of available accommodation, has had a depressing effect and that despairing appeals to “come over and help us” have reached Berlin.

Some idea of Russia’s vast resources in men is conveyed in official information to hand this morning.

It had already been stated that the raising of a force of 2,000,000 was being proceeded with but an Imperial Ukase has now been issued calling to the colours the reserves of the Territorial Army.

This force, roughly corresponding to the German Landsturm, consists of two bans and the new call, if interpreted exhaustively, would mean an addition of some six million to Russia’s fighting strength.

The senate has, however, to fix the age, numbers and the districts from which the men are to be called and if we put the new armies at four million the figure will probably be somewhere near the mark.

A recent Paris estimate placed the number at 8,000,000 but equipment is the deciding factor and it is hardly likely that more than half this number can be supplied with arms and outfit in time for the spring campaign.