The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-03-19

pose. there were not wanting evidences
that she sought TO open a way to Con-
stantinople and the Dardanelles.
Through an alliance with Turkey Of
Great Britain. France and Sardinia
Russia lost even more than she gained
in territory and prestige and was com
PEELED to abandon the claim to 4 pro
tectorate over the Greek Christians in
Turkey, to whom, however, ;tliN to AL
other Christians in her realm as We'll,
the sultan promised to Gt;..t more IA
vorable terms. How Wei i!e las kept
that promise is amply reEtAI>'l IL the
long and bloody chapter OF Turkish
outrage upon Christian suUi IS COY
ering all the years from tle Sizzling Of
the treaty q Paris in 1916 70 tie pres
ent time.
There woulC, however, be no such
alignment OF the European powers i'll
the event Of a Russo-Turkish war low
as there was in the Criuisau war in
1886, nor in the RussO-IJ.rhish war in
1S77-7S, and it is doubtful If any one Of
them would lift a finger to help the
Turk in such present emergency.
Certainly Great Britain, even at the
risk Of permitting Russian territorial
aggra Indictment in the Lcvunt and the
orient-one Of the things least desired
by BritOnS-is in no mood to repeat the
costly experiences Of the Crimeun war,
nor would she again, to save the face
Of the unspeakaDle Turk, ilIteIpOse as
she did in 1878, when by threatening to
bring her powerful Mediterra mean heet
up to Constantinopie she stopped the
Russian advance at San StefaHo and
prevented the Turkish capital from
falling into Muscoyite hands and thus
induced Austria. Italy, Germany and
France to unite in the Berlin confer
ence to preserve il Il measure tic III
tegrity OF the Ottoman empire and to
deprive Russia of the fruits Of her
hard earned Victories
In view of the close relations of
France and Russia the car may with
men to support him in whatever he
may undertake to do in the Balkans.
The position of Austria is, CT course,
we'll understood Having united with
Russia in the original demands upon
Turkey for administrative reforms in
change front or take any other course
than that of loyal support Of the car
in any emergency. Besides, Austria is
anxious to secure the full proprietor
ship of the two Turkish provinces of
Herzegovina and Bosnia, which, though
governed aud administered by her
since 1878, still nominally belong to
the sultan.
Neither could Germany help the sui
tan, even though the kaiser is said to
have a sneaking fondness for Abdul
Hamid. German public sentiment
would not allow him to waste a single
German soldier or even dollar from
the imperial German treasury in be-
half of the Turk.
Italy, remembering the cost of Sar-
dinian blood and treasure in the Cri-
mea, would be in line with the other
the sultan would have no friend in Eu-
rope and would be left to his fate.
But this does not signify that the
task of driving the ''sick man" from
Europe would be an easy one. He is
not SO sick but that he can put up a
vigorous fight The Turkish army is
one of the finest fighting forces in the
world.
OF course with the principal Euro
pean powers in an alliance with Rus
STA the Turk would be defeated and
forced out Of Europe, but it would not
be without a long and sanguinary
struggle.
In such an event the future status
of Macedonia would be only incidental