New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-23

n, and soaking to massacre a much smaller
crowd of their fellow Cretans. Practically 1t
was nothing but bit Of police WORK ior 'ne
maintenance Of order. But as the aggressors,
who were fired upon by the Powers. chahceo
TO be Christian Cretans, and as their prospect
i've victims who were thus rescued from butch-
cry CHANGED to be Mahometan Cretans the cry
Is raised that the Powers are siding with the
Mahometans against the Christians and there
fore with the Turks against the Greeks. mat
this IS not strictly true far as this one incl
dent is concerned counts for little with the ex-
cited and impulsive Greeks. More serious s'iii'
and more deplorable If true. is the report
that British warship Is scscorting aueh
Turkish troopship to Crete. and that Erea'
Eritain will join the other Powers in blockau-
inc rho Creek coast That would indeed be sid
ing with the Turks with n vengeance, auu
forcibIv reimposing Turkish tyranny upon
Crete That Great Britain is thus stultifyng
herself. after her indignant refusal of last year.
sccms Incredible 1t is not to be believed uptll
established beyond all doubt
The whole situation will be. in this latter
case. a dlshcarlcning exposition of the selfish
ness and greed of the Great Powers, especial
" of Germany and Russia, which are the
D
pre;ext of intervention to save Greece from get
ting thrashed by Turkey is disingenuous. 1t
is true that without such Intervention Greece
would probably be beaten on land. But WHY
sbould not the action of the Powers be against
Turkey instead of against Greece! why
should not the Powers warn Turkey not to in
wade Thessaly. instead of ordering Greece 10
relnouish Crete? Tcchncalites aside, that
LIT, i'm Oh
instead of in the wrong way. The reason WI!
they do not is given by Germany ana hussla
themselves Germany demands that the Gre
tan question be reckoncd an integral part OF the
whole Turkish question, and that Crete be dis
posed of WITH and at the same time with' the
rest of the empire. That Is to say, Crete is not
TO be annexed to Greece as she should BE- Dut
is to be arbitrarily assigned 10 one or the treat
Powers in the final partitoning of the SICK Man
effects. To this Russia adds, with cynical dis-
regard of the most obvious fact that Crete
does not want 10 be annexed to Greece at all 10
which amazing proposition the corollary VIII
doubtless be forthcoming that the unanimous
and ardent desire Of the Cretans Is TO come IN
der the benign rule Of the Great White Car
There IS scarcely one of all the Great Powers
that would not. in resisting the annexation or
Crete 10 Greece. stutify itself ana Dene anu
condemn its own policy and record. Russia
has for years been grabbing. and Intriguing.
and fighting. in behalf Of her own race ana
creed: her cardinal principle being that every
land in which Slavs live and the Orthodox
Church exists, should come under her rule.
Germany has fought three wars to consoli-
date into one empire the whole Teutonlc race
and to gain two provinces which In ancient
times belonged 10 her France for quar-
ter of a century has dreamed Of nothing but
the reclamation of the provinces wrested from
her. in which her own sons live. Italy strug-
gled for uncounted years 10 reunite her realm,
and 10 redeem italia Irredenta' is still her
strong desire And 10 go no further aficld,
Great Britain has within a year or so been al
most at the point Of war to protect her people
settled in Venezuela and the Transvaal. Yet
when Greece aims TO pursue these same poll
ces 10 do these same things, TO reclaim her an
cent province, TO reunite her race, to protect
end succor those of her own religious faith, the
Powers say NO" and marshal their ornaments
10 hinder and crush her. And we In the fourth
wear from the end Of the Nineteenth Century
NJ tho Christian Era