The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-16
"SICK MAN OF THE EAST.

SlCh MAN Ot The EAST
A large part of the Eagles dispatches
every morning at present are taken up
with crisis in Turkey, and the fears,
duplicity and plots of the ''sick man of
the East
Riots Of more or less extent are
| breaking out all over the Ottoman en-
pire. The sultan promises the proven
| ton Of massacres of Christian subjects
| but is either insincere or powerless to
fulfill the promise. Meanwhile all the
| powers of Europe are getting ready TO
make naval bluff These powers
! fought one another over Turkey once
and are not inclined to fall into the trap
| again. So they are working this time
in unison, and, while no war may &C.
cur or no ACKNOWLEDGMENT of Turkey
| may take place, things look very bilious
for the ''sick man."
1t was ON Jan. II. 1914. that Nicholas
L. in conversation with Sir George Sey-
mour, then representing Great Britain
at st. Petersburg, called Turkey "the
sick man of the East" Sir George re-
ported him as saying: 1--WE have on
our hands sick mana very sick man.
1t would be a great misfortune, / tell
yOu frankly, if one of these days he
should happen to die before the neces-
sary arrangements were all made
Three days later Nicholas was reported
by Sir George as saying the same thing
in another form, as follows: Turkey,
in the condition which l have describ-
ed. has by degrees fallen into such a
state Of decrepitude that, as / told you
the other night, eager as we all are for
the prolonged existence of the man.
land that l am as DESTROYS as YOU can
be for the continuance of his life beg
You to believe.) he may suddenly die
upon our hands," At later interview.
on Jan. p, 1914, the car said to the
British representative: Il think your
government does not well understand
my object / am not so eager to de-
termine what shall be done when the
sick man dies, as | am to determine
with England what shall not be done
upon that event taking place. repeat
to you that the sick man is dying. and
we can never allow such an event to
take us by surprise. We must come
TO some understanding" But no I'M
derstandfng was come TO at that time. I,
Instead of that. 'the sick man" so
played his cards that England was
brought to the belief that Russia was
bent upon aggressive action against the |
Turkish empire on her own separate |
account, with the purpose of establish !
ing herself at Constantinople. thus |
England's position in the |
Mediterranean and menacing her DOW
err in India. The result was that Eng |
land sought and secured an alliance |
with Napoleon I'LL; Germany and |
Austria staid out of the quarrel. and /
the Crimean war was fought to a con-
which postponed the death of
1.-THE sick man. and the division of his
estate for fifty years.
II Turkey had, in the meantime.
shown a disposition to reform. she
might have recuperated and remained
rs an Independent power in Europe in
definitely. But she has gone from bad
to worse. and her atrocious treatment
Of her Christian subjects has at length
filed the cup OF her transgreSsions
against humanity To overlooking. The
patience of Europe seems to be ex-
The plain meaning of Lord
Salishury's declarations is that the
great European nations have now come
10 the point Of adopting the program
which Nicholas /. proposed To Sir
George Seymour in 1874. Still the sui
an appears 10 he Of the opinion that
lie can play of Russia against England
lnd bring about another war between
lem. with The result Of again postpon-
ne the dissolution OF the empire.
I