The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-16
THE WORST CONFESSED.

THE WORST CONFESSED.
A dispatch from Paris, supporting
others from various European capitals,
on the progress and probable termina-
ton of the Graeco-Turkish war, con-
firms the worst that we have said of
the Internal animus of the powers Of
Europe. Let this sentence be written
as the fms Of the most Ubiquitous chap
ter from modern history: "The powers
are trying to make arrangements to
enable Greece to meet the demands of
creditors of Greece" There you have
it stated in a nutshell. 1t is a bond
holders war. 1t is the creditor of
Turkey and the creditor of Greece who
stand behind the scenes and pull the
wires that move these puppets. 1t is
at their behest and for their saliva
ton that men go forth to battle and
bloody death, and that women and
children at home bear the pangs of
physical suffering and of mental agony.
This whole melancholy drama that has
passed before our eyes for the last two
weeks is regarded by the powers and
their official hirelngs as only a fitting
part of the pageantry of commercial
ism. They know nothing of patriot
the only immortal declaration ever
committed to paper is a coupon in
scribed with a promise to pay. In
their eyes men and nations were de-
signed by Providence to play no nobler
part than that of the slave who serves
master whose relentless demands he
can never satisfy.
The peace of Europe, forsooth! That
is what we have been told for weeks
the jealous powers were guarding. It
was to save conlmotion in Europe
with the indescribable horrors that
would follow the clash of arms among
the great nations Of the earth, that the
powers took a hand in the dispute be-
tween Greece and Turkey. What a hol-
lie upon their lips do the rulers of the
nations come before the world. 1t is
all a question of debtor and creditor.
1t has been from the beginning. The
powers permitted and encouraged the
assault of Turkey upon Greece because
they thought it necessary TO secure the
repayment of the sums that they had
loaned to the sultan for the worst
abuses known to man. They took
counsel together and signed COM
pact that this turbaned brigand
should be allowed tc kill and spoil until
he should be in a position to pay them
interest and give some guarantee of the
repayment Of the principal That is
what this war means as far as Europe
is concerned.
Now that heroic little Greece has
yielded to the allied arms of the great
powers, what rule is to determine the
indemnity she must pay and the sever
ity of the terms that Turkey shall inn
pose upon her? Only the same old
calculation Of bondholders' profits.
There are creditors of Greece as well
as creditors of Turkey. The war in
demnity that Greece has to pay must
be borrowed somewhere She must be
made to give up enough cash to make
good the Turkish bonds, she must be
compelled to borrow it from the same
she must not be required to borrow so
much as to make impossible the salts
faction Of her already existing debt
Wherein does such calculation and
such policy differ from the barbarous
era Of slavery? Did the most cruel
taskmaster ever do worse than to make
chattel of human life, and abide by
the rule Of working his slaves to a
point that would stop just short of alb
solute physical exhaustion and conse-
quent death? Was a lower or a more
savage view Of life and it's purpose
ever taken than that which determines
the dealings Of man with man by au-
thorizing the stronger to levy upon the
weaker tribute just as heavy as can
be collected without determination?
We see in this brief sentence from
the press dispatches the whole policy
Of Europe enrolled Behind each of
these waiting powers there stands the
usurer with his strong box, moving the
Lend that holds the musket and guild
ing the pen that writes the commands
to cabinets and emperors. He ordain-
ed that war should cone, because the