The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-18
The Crctan War Cloud.

| fairs of Crete will be. Everything de-
Ponds upon the policy the powers OF Eu-
rope decide to pursue. The action of the
| Greeks does not appear to have excited
much, If any. interest in Turkey. The
Turkish government has concluded to let
the powers Of Europe decide whether or
not the Greeks shall retire from Crete and
permit the authority of Turkey to be
restored. Evidently the Turks are of the
opinion that the powers of Europe are
much more interested than they are in
having the Cretan question settled with
out q war.
! No doubt the powers Of Europe would
! gladly consent to the annexation of Crete
! to Greece If Turkey would consent, and It
| is probable that Turkey would not raise
! any serious objections, provided she were
/ given somewhere near what she would
consider an adequate compensation for
the island. In our dispatches yesterday
it was stated that Turkey is tired of both
ering with Crete, and would surrender It
to Greece If the Greek government would
agree not to NEEDLE in Macedonia.
1t is not probable, however, that the
powers will take into consideration the
wishes OF Greece and Turkey, but will
do what they believe to be for their own
best interests. If they think it advisa-
bic that Crete should be annexed to Greece
that island will become a part of Greece,
but if they prefer that Crete shall con
tinue to be a Turkish province, il will con-
tinue to be a possession of Turkey Pend
ing any settlement if the dispatches con-
tain correct information, the Greeks have
been given forty-eight hours by the pow
ers to withdraw from Crete.
We have received inquiries as to the act
ual cause of trouble in Crete. The cause
is of long standing. 1t is a continuation
of an old struggle. There are about $50, 600
Christian Cretans on the island, and not
more than 10000 Cretans who profess the
Moslem faith. The Christian Cretans are
subjected to various kinds of injustice
All the offices are filled by Mosems, and
there is constant discrimination in the
administration OF the laws against the
Christians. Naturally, this condition of
affairs is productive of unrest and dis
content. Perhaps there is no greater cause
for a revolt now than there has been for
many years past. No doubt the immediate
cause of the outbreak was the feeling
| among the Christian Cretans that the pow
ers of Europe, being dissatisfied with
Turkey because of the Armenian outrages,
| would not help Turkey reassert her au-
| thority in Crete-that, in fact, they would
side with the Christian Cretans, and pro-
vide either for Crete's independence or for
the annexation of the island to Greece.
Crete fell into Moslem hands in S3S, the
Arabs getting control of it then. After
! 1877 years of Arab rule it passed into the
possession Of Greece. In 1904 it was turned
over to the Marquis of Montferrat, and
! he sold it to the Venetians. In 1915 the
Moslems again acquired the island, the
Turks capturing it from the Venetans.
The Turks, however did not acquire all
the ports of the island until 1715. For
more than a hundred years after that
date the Cretans were in a chronic state
of revolt and in 1921 would have sue
ceeded in gaining their independence, in
all probability, if an Egyptian army had
not gone to the assistance of the Turks.
In 1928, when Greece became Independent,
Crete was coded to Egypt as reward
for the assistance Egypt gave Turkey in
putting down the Cretan revolt in 1921. In
1910 it was the will of the powers of Eu-
rope that Egypt should surrender the is
land to Turkey. and since that time the
Cretans have been in a chronic state of
dissatisfaction; and they have had reason
to be dissatisfied. Thirty years ago they
and while they did not succeed in getting
their independence they did succeed in get
ting some reforms.
The feeling in Crete against Turkish
rule is much like that in Cuba against
| Spanish rule. except that the religious
| factor, which is present in the case of
| Crete is absent in the case of Cuba.
The parliamentary investigators seem
| to be handling Cecil Rhodes as if they
| fear he may tell something they do
not wish to hear. 1t has been intimated
| that Mr.. Rhodes might show by docu-
mentary evidence that there was a con-
spiracy on the part of Germans in South
| Africa 10 gam d pTeuoulludtlHS influence
in the Transvaal republic as against the
British, and that the government at Ber-
lin was privy to the arrangement. That
would bring the German emperor into
the matter. and arouse bitter feeling
| in Germany. The investigators would
| probably not like any such development.
A comparison of the fighting strength
( of Greece and Turkey shows that the
/ former country has the larger number of
naval vessels, while the latter has an
overwhelmingly larger number of men in
/ both naval and land service. The Greek
navy numbers forty-three vessels Of vari-
/ Gus classes. while the Turkish navy num-
! bers twelve. The Greek naval force how
/ ever. numbers only 3165 men, while the
! Turkish naval force numbers 50 1923. The
total land force Of Greece. on war foot
/ ing, is 200 i22 men, and the total land force
/ of Turkey on a similar footing is S75 son