railway lines, the lack of which was felt acutely during the Balkan Wars and the First World War. Many normal and narrow-gauge lines had been built and proposals had been made for the construction of others for economic (exploitation of forests, natural resources, mines, etc.) and for military purposes. Stoyan Maltchankoff proposes the construction of the narrow-gauge line Sarambey (September) - Nevrokop (Gotse Delchev) for the development of the poor region of Nevrokop which had become part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria after the wars. In an extensive article from February 2, 1920 in Mir newspaper (the People's Party newspaper), he had explained in details the difficult situation in the region of Nevrokop and the lack of railway infrastructure and communications, which hindered trade and efficient use of the rich natural resources in the region such as the virgin coniferous forests on the western slopes of the Rhodopes and on the eastern slopes of Pirin, coal, etc. He had proposed: "...After all the above, the Council of Ministers (resp. Of Minister Turlakov) is to do the following in order to revive the region of Nevrokop and to feel that it is also part of Mother Bulgaria: 1. The necessary state funds should be allocated for the repair of the roads and their bridges which connect the town of Nevrokop with Simitli and Sarambey stations so that trucks and cars can drive on them, 2. A capable engineer based in Nevrokop should be appointed; 3. A law should be passed in the National Assembly during its session to connect the town of Nevrokop with Simitli station or Sarambey station with a 75-centimeter narrow gauge railway which in both cases will pass through the towns of Bansko and Mehomiya, the picturesque Razlog valley (district) extremely rich also in pine forests. The line will pass along the Mesta river without any tunnel and with an extremely small slope. 4. Daily allowance of 10 to 20 BGN should be provided for the public servants and employees especially for those from old Bulgaria in the region of Strumica (resp. in the region of Nevrokop) in order to attract in this way enough and capable officials from old Bulgaria, both for the court and for other state institutions. Nowhere in the kingdom do officials live as sparingly as in Nevrokop. Minister Turlakoff who visited the town of Nevrokop on the eve of the legislative elections has