New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-10-25

! ~ thu eastbound trade OF Bussora and Bagdad
and the valley Of the Tgrls and Euphrates, and
~ the railroad routes which are being planned
from Asia Minor and Syria through Mesopota-
mia Great Britain herself has thought Of such
railroad 10 run along the COASTS of Persia and
Reloochistan to India from the Nile 10 the In
dus The Russian seizure Of Bander Ahhas
would forever block that scheme. And now II
Is observed that the territorial wedge which
Russia has for years been driving in the region
Of the Murghab and Hari Rud. between Afghan
istan and Persia. points not toward India. bnt
toward Bander Abbas. Her seizure of Merry
WAS the first great blow toward driving that
wedge home. dealt when Great Britain was
busy elsewhere Is the present, perchance.
time for another even the final blow
Well. there are several points 70 be considered
before that ouestion or the one about France and
Morocco is answered One pertains 10 the read
mess or the desire of the Franco Russian league
for any such adventure. We are by no means
sure that either Of them Is yet prepared To IN
dertake II Another is tho scarcely question:
BILE readiness Of Great Britain to meet any such
move As we have hitherto observed, her hands
are not tied. The power upon which she mas All
along relied for dealing with such matters, ana
the one which Continental nations have re-
garded as that with which they would nave 10
reckon. is her feet and II is to-day ms powerful
and as free for use at Tangier or at Bander
Ahbas as It was before the Transvaal war be-
gan. So we cannot see that, after all, there Is
any suspicious opportunity Just now for an anti
British movement. Nor is third point 10 he ig
nored TO wit the interest Of Germany In the
matter Our exceptionally well Informed ana
iudicious London correspondent assures us thai
there Is high authority for the belief that an
Anglo German agreement exists under which
Great Britain Is 10 have n free hand In South
Africa and Germany free hand In Asia Minor
This is corrohorated by the marked friendllness
between the British and German courts, by the
unconcealed cooperation Of British and German
authorities in Samoa and by some most signif-
can't pro- British utterances in those German pa
ners both fin and out OF Germany which, while
not ostensby official, often give most direct e1-
nresson 10 the governmental will 1t Is per
fectlv well known that for some years Ger
many has had great schemes for colonization
and commerce in Asia Her attitude toward
Turkey in the Armenian business and In the
Greek was adopted for their furtherance. The
Kaiser's visit TO Jerusalem was adroitly planned
10 promote the same ends, To-day Germany en-
lows greater favor in the Turkish Empire than
does any other Power German colonization.
German commerce and German political inhu-
ence are all not only in the ascendant. but act
uallv paramount And AnatOa, Syria and Mcso-
potamia are literally gridironed with German
railroad plans. But what is most obvious
sine qua non 10 the success OF these German
schemes7 Why. of course. that the Mediterra
mean Sea and the Persian Gulf shall remain
free For France TO acquire foothold In Mo
rocco or for Russia 10 dominate the Strait or
Ormuz would be as offensive TO Germany as 10
Great Britain. That consideration alone, II
there were no others. might well be sufficient TO
give pause to the speculative enterprises which
are now being so portentousy preached in anti
British quarters