New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-18
TURKEYS TERMS OF PEACE.

Turkey has made answer to the request OF the
great Powers for an armstice. She has shown
her light esteem of them by making 1t very
much at her leisure, and she further emphasizes
that attitude by proposing terms which in Rus
sla are called excessive and unacceptable and
in England are called insolent. Briefly stated,
She demands the abrOgation OF the Treaty OF
Berlin, so far as it affects her relations with
| Greece, the cession to her Of Thessaly, and tho
| payment of a cash indemnity OF about $44, OOO,-
| 00-proportionately one Of the largest ever ex-
| acted Such demands might be regarded in tho
same way as the prices a Turkish shOpkSeper
puts on his goods, which are three timeS as
high as those which he expects to receive and
with which he will be well contented. But
CEd this Is the crux of the whole matter-the
Porte adds that 10 armistlcc for discussion will
be granted but that until its terms are accepted
by Greece and by the great Powers the Turkish
armies will press on toward Athens. And 1t
emphasizes that statement with an attack upon
the Greeks at Domoko and all along the line.
That is its answer to the request for an arms-
tce. That it is which in England is called In
soent and which must certainly be deemed
| defiant. It must also be reckoned serious
| r,enace to the general peace Of Europe.
For, If we are TO believe the spokesman OF the
| Concert danger lies In coercion OF Turkey. The
| great Powers can agree in doing nothing, or In
| merely requesting the Porte to do this or that
| But the application Of force would develop
| divergence Of interests that would destroy the
| Concert and probably precptate war between
the great Powers That is why no force was
used TO impose the will Of the great Powers in
| Armenia and In Crete. Now, however the APP
pcaton of force seems well-nigh inevitable;
the alternative being the submission of all
| Europe 10 the will OF the Turk For the six
| great Powers have requested and urged Iur-
| key, in the strongest way. to grant an arnistice
and Turkey refuses In the terms we have
| quoted There seems nothing left, then, but FOR
| the Powers TO intervene with force OF arms
| And that would be no small matter; for Turkey
| las n mighty army in the field, and the old
Turkish war spirit Is fully reused and the cpl
| tlct sick Man Of the East" now three centu-
rios old is n sad mlsnomer. or course. the
great Powers could subdue Turkey. AT Tho cost
| of a considerable war; but there is little reason
| TO think they could agree 10 do so. Perhaps
| one of them could do il snglc-handed hut there
| is no reason to suppose the others would per-
nit H. The situation u.s. therefore, one of grave
| embarrassment for the Powers.
The impartial outsider will doubtless conclude
| that II serves the great Powers rightly to be in
| such fix. The whole problem Is one OF their
| own creation. or, at any rate, Of their own de-
yelopment. For threequarters Of century
| they have been managing. mismanaging. the
affairs OF the Turkish Empire They have
| failed. when they had the power. TO reform
| abuses; they have tolerated and actually en-
couraged them. They have played the part of
marplots. And now their own i'll deeds return
| TO plague them. The only pity is that. in the
| settlement which must come n some time and
| in some form, innocent mutitudes will suffer
| for the faults of selfish or dishonest states
men, general European war might be re-
garted with equanimiiy if its burdens could
| bc restricted to Emperors and Ministers. But
| tley cannot. The common soldiers get killed
| end their families widowed and orphaned, and
| the common people have TO pay the bills. II Is
| that which makes humanitarians dSprecate
| war even righteous war, such as that would
| be which ended the despotlsms which blight
more than one European land.