The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-02-23

SEATTLE, TUESDAY. FEB. II.
rrnkEY Axp GREECE.

TfHhEt AID 6AtfssE-
n sAs present trouble IA Crete should re-
saIt n an actual war between Greece aFd
Turkey. and It Is difficult 10 see hos THIS
can b. avoided. the odds are not 80 over
ahelmlngiy In favor o. the Mohammedans
a. mas been sometimes thought: although
they are eth sufieieniiy large 70 make
the task which Greece viii have TO accom-
pllsh a monumental ore.
The present standing army q Greece
nun beers bat z aao nea. bar 81 Is believed,
on var footing. that eoooo men could be
mustered into service, al more or bees ae-
castomea 20 the use Of arms she could
alzo rely for valuable assistance on the
Christian inhabitants OF Turkish prov
tnces. such a. Macedonia. and would have
certainly the sympathy OF and possibly ma
tef'al support from Bulgaria and servia-
IN the Bmgariaas should Join the Greeks
IN the hope Of further territorial extern
sions. they could render very material as
distance. as the peace footing Of the Bal
sarsan army consists OF 1900 as well train
ed and well disciplined troops as there are
IN Europe: and there are nearly 10000 re-
serves. which could he added for nearly
every male Bulgarian is a soldier By IN
stlnct.
The Turkish army Is much more for
niaahle than that OF Greece. ON the pres
,nt footing IL consists OF 10000 men. d.
vided into 6sa.2oo Infantry. $500 cavalry.
aT20 artillery and 74.so engineers. Of
these 200.ao form the regular. or standing
army. while the remainder are reserves
The Turkish army Is fairly seil organized
and armed. and individually. the Turkish
soldier IL the equal OF any IN Europe. be-
INK brave In battle. patient under hard
ship and amenahls 20 discipline. The weak
ness consists in the character OF the ON
GERS and in the further fact tina; the serv-
tee Il honeycombed with corruption. the
pay OF the troops il years Ia arrears. and
the provision OF military supplies can only
be guessed at. as there Is sure 10 be a
stupendous discrepancy between tho paper
reports 90 the subject and the actual
amount which viii prove available when
the emergency arises. Further than this.
the financial condition Of the Turkish en-
plre is one OF practical bankruptcy.
on the water. the forces Of the two ooun-
tries are much more evenly matched, and
as. II war results. Il Will at the start be
largely a naval affair. Greece viii have
fair prospects OF success. Greece has five
armor-clad vessels-the Georglos. launch
Cd IN lSsS. with two Hs-ineh guns and four
s-ineh hreechloaders. the Olga, 2,oso tons.
launched tn Isa. with six 6'6-ineh guns
and four rapid-nre guns: the sperzla. ASA
tone launched In 1850, with three l0is-inch
and five e-inch guns. the Psara. 4.sS0 tons,
Nth the same armament as the Sperzia,
There are twenty-one unprotected vessels.
all anglquatei. with batteries consisting OF
sInsii hreechloaGers and machine guns. and
about thirty-nve torpedo boats.
The navy of Turkey. while much larger
than that Of Greece. consists 81 vessels
which. with one exception. are san more
anliquAted than those Of the latter couu-
gTY.
The batteries Of the Turkish warships
consist principally OF old-fashlonea muz.
AAN7A@stAftsN - A&8s7- itH @atR NAhNA AtfftA 90
powerful baitloship. Just completed. OF
very nearly completed. Of 5000 tons. and
carrying ii-lneh steel armor; tho arma-
nent Of which consists az four il.inch six
e-Inch and ten rapl4-are guns Turkey
fosilla Of torpedo beats is also larger and
rather mare modern than that Of Greece
Little attention has ever been paid IN Tur.
key 90 naval affairs. the discipline Of th,
service &C. bad, and che officers are general
~ ranked by naval experts az Incompetent
II Is quite probable that Greece viii nors
thar hold her own iu any naval battles
which may follow. however disastrously
the land campaigns may result for her
Whether ths powers VIII permit The pa'
% natsraaliKe 81 fan strength remains q
pc seen. A. present The concert o. action
amohg the powers seems 20 be rather
mythical. fer While al or them wee per.
fcoily wslllns 20 use mora, snas.on" "a
compel Greece 90 re-e3s from ae~ ex-
pressed determination 20 annex Crete
there l. pronouncea re.scsance en- tAs
part OF several q the leading powers p,
zee force 70 accomplish iAat purpose
sines Greece has refused % Pay heed q,
TIE pspsr faininatfans.