Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-07-22
THE SULTAN COMES DOWN
Sanctions the Settlement of the
Frontier Question.
DEPENDED UPON GERMANY
Thinking That Power Would Come to the
Rescue.
THE RUSSIAN BEAR GETS IMPATIENT
At the DIlatory Movements of the Porte and
Demands Immediate Acceptance
Question of Indemnity Still
Unsettled-End in Sight.

Constantinople July 21.-The sultan has
issued an trade sanctfoning the settle
ment of lhe frontier question in accord
9nce with the wishes of the powers. The
original demand of the Turkish govern
nlent submitted June 30 was for all the
northern portion of Thessaly down to
the river Penios and to a point approx
mately twelve kilome ers beyond xhe
line of the Penios (Salambria) in the di
rection of Larissa. AS the Salambria
rises In Mount Dhobini, western peak
of ,he Kthassassls and continues across
the whole of 1hessaly eastward to the
gulf Of SaIonica, a concession to this de-
ma,nd would have meant an impo1.a ant
Increase In the Ottoman territory. This
proposal the powers have refused to con-
slider for minute as practical.
In return they have notified the sui
ian all Turkey could hops for was rec
'dfication of the present mountain bor-
der for stragetic purposes only and SUBJ
mitted a lire drawn across KhassasiS
mountains which included one or two
small villages inhabited by Greeks inti-
mating to the Turkish government that
on it's acceptance of this proposal the
Greek inhabitants referred to would be
transferred at the expense of the Greek
government under lth= projection of the
powers beyond the line.
In reply to The note of the ambaSsa-
dors containing dhis proposal, a special
council of Turkish ministers drafted al
Mafbat a decision that ''the porte could
rot consider ,h= proposal of the powers,
nor any other line north of Penioe, the
natural boundary" This attitude of the
polIse was maintained for week until
Baron Won Jeltsch, the German ambassa-
dor, received preci9s instructions from
the German foreign office to insist upon
inc hy
the military attaches. This uncompro-
missing attitude evidently was the result
OF mieconception on the par: of the sui
tars who had been led to believe from
several small differences on matters of
secondary Importance that Germany was
not in the agreement with the other pow
e1s. In this he had hoped to find supporr
Tor his pretenSions and that being dis
slpated There was nothing but to accept
the proposition of Lhe six cooperating
powers. He appealed successfully to the
russian and Austro- Hungarian emperors
receiving in reply that the stragetfc from
tier was the maximum of concessions
Turkey could hope to obtain.
The sultan delayed and haggled at the
instance of the priestly and military par
ty in Turkey and the Russian govern
ment issued a circular to the powers
suggesting that steps be taken for ex-
pediting the conclusion of peace, then the
Turkish government began to give way
The ambassadors broke off negotiations
and referred the whole matter to their
respective governments with a view that
coercion might be used and notified the
porte that any subsequent decisions at
winch 1t might arrive must be continued
in writing instead of orally as heretofore.
The question of indemnity still re-
mains to be settled. The ambassadors
seem to assume that the capital sum will
reach 4,0O0,0O0 pounds Turkish money.
which is, however, highly problem atio
Financiers in London. Paris and Vienna.
consider that the ambassadors are in
olned to be somewhat too generous.
THESE pourparlers may drag on for some
time yet. 1t is regarded as certain.
however, that definite understanding
bstween the porte and Greece on All
questions will eventually be reached and
that the Ottoman troops will be with
drawn from Thessally before the rainv
season set in in October.