Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-07-10
THE D1sMEMBERMENr OF TURKEY

THE DlSMElW BEh1HENI OF IOHAEY
The complete obliteration of the Turkish
empire from the map of the world has been
practically accomplished. Under the plea of
maintaining her integrity, the congress has
proceeded to parcel out her territory just as
suited the caprice of the members. Russia
has received full compensation for her war
expenses in the retrocession of Bessarabia,
which gives her control of the mouths of
of Asia Minor lying north of the River
Aras, including the cities and Notifications
Of Kars, Arabian, and Batoum, the latter
commanding position at the head of the
Black Sea. She has, besides, secured the
organization of Bulgaria and Servia upon
such terms as guarantee their active CO.
operation with her in case of any future
war. Austria has been granted protec-
torate over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which
gives her full command of the eastern coastof
the Adriatic, and control of a great proper
ton of the Sclav population of European
Turkey. The occupation has already begun,
and ere many days seventy thousand Aus
trian troops will have crossed the border,
and the annexation of these provinces to the
Austrian empire will be practically accom-
plished. The States of Roumelia, Bulgaria,
Thessaly, Crete, Montenegro, and Epirus are
guaranteed autonomy by all the powers, and
Turkish domination over them will be
merely nominal. The complete
independence of servia, Roumania,
and Wallachia has been assured,
and all that now remains Of Euro
pean Turkey under the absolute control of
the Porte is the small territory south of the
Balkans and east of a line running nearly
north from the Gulf of Salonica-an area
not greater than that of Switzerland.
Here Great Britain steps in, and as usual
claims the lions share of the feast. With
the disposition of European Turkey, except
so far as it affects the control of the Mediter-
ranean through the Bosphorus, the Sea of
Marmora and the Dardanelles, she has little
interest. She has succeeded in maintaining
the sway of the Porte over these important
stragetic points. This done she has seized
upon the island of Cyprus, and by treaty,
offensive and defensive, with the Porte, has
Asiatic Turkey not included in the cessions
to Russia, covenanting t. resort to arms, if
need be, to protect the territory from inva-
sion. The island of Cyprus gives her a still
more absolute control of the Mediterranean
than heretofore. With Gibraltar at the en-
trance, Cyprus at the eastern end, and Malta
in the center-all three next to impregnable-
she can exercise absolute sway over the COM
MERGE of the sea. From Cyprus she can
guard her interests at the Suez canal, and
make it the initiatory point for the occupa-
ton of Egypt, an event of which the near
future gives promise. From this point, too,
she commands the valley of the
Euphrates and the Tigris, and the
terms of the treaty give her the privilege of
building railroad down the Euphrates from
point opposite Cyprus to the head of the
Persian gulf. This road will afford her
speedy, short means of communication with
her Indian possessions, and enable her to
transport troops and stores to OF from that
region with the utmost celebrity.
The assumption of a protectorate over
Asiatic Turkey by England amounts SUBJ
stantially to its absorption into the British
empire. The Ottoman government owes the
British fabulous amount, which it is una
BILE to pay. The obliteration of this debt
will probably be accepted by the Porte as an
equivalent for the substantial cession of the
whole of its Asiatic possessions. And while
England guarantees nominal empire to the
Porte she will in reality be the controlling
power, the Sultan merely her viceroy. She
will have an empire extending almost con-
tinuously from the Mediterranean southeast
ward to the Indian Ocean, in which her
power will be absolute and enduring. Then.
through her treaty with Turkey, she will be
able to command the Sea of Marmora and
the Dardanelles, the key to the Black sea,
and can perpetually hold fin check thesambi-
ton of Russia to become naval power .by
locking her feet within the narrow confines
of the Black sea.
It will be seen that the sssick man of
the East is practically no more. What
was once great empire is
now q mere skeleton-a principaiity. The
Sultan holds nominal sway over small
territory, snd exacts tribute from few