The National tribune., 1903-09-10
THE TURKISH SITUATION.


ways ruled by terror In fact, the two
learned their ways of one another. centu-
ries ago, and so have been surprisingly
similar in many things. The Turkish
method of governing the many hetroge-
neous people in their dominons has been.
when everything else failed. to send out
soldiers into the disturbed district, and
do promiscuous shooting. until things quiet
ed down. If ringleaders could be caught,
they were executed out of hand. If the
ringleaders could not be caught. then vol
leys into the general mass had to be re-
lied on.
This is quite effective up to certain
point. That point comes when the people
get in shape, some way, to fire back on
the Government troops, and infict as much
hurt as they suffer- Then the terrorizing
is over, for it is question which side is
the worse terrorized.
Thus it looks like the end of Turkish
rule in her few remaining European Prov
inces Years ago the people Of one after
another of the Provinces adjoining Russia
and Austria got arms, organization and
Turkish troops effectively, and Turkey had
to concede their independence. Now the
Provinces nearer Constantinople are going
through the same development, and the
result must be the same. Macedonia, Ru-
meiia and Albania will go the same way
that Greece, Bulgaria, Servia, Rumania,
Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina
have gone. 1t may be that the Turks will
not be able to retain even Constantinople,
but will have to retire into Asia, as would
have been the case n century ago, if the
other Great Powers could have agreed as
to who should be the heir Of the "Sick
Mans" estate.
For years it has been looking as if the
problem was working itself out in a most
unexpected way. Each of the dismem-
bered fragments has managed to maintain
itself as separate Nation in fairly cred
liable way, and prevent absorption, as
power-Russia most feared. Greece,
| while not an exemplary style of a State,
is great deal better off than she was I'M
der Turkish rule, and the same is true of
Rumania, Servia, and Montenegro. They
| keep a reasonable condition Of peace with
| in their own borders and with one another
Why not let Macedonia and Albania fol,
low their example, with Constantinople be-
coming free city, like Hamburg, Bremen
and the others, before the German Empire
was formed? Rumania is apparently far
ther from being absorbed by Russia than
she ever was.
| 1t is not impossible that the Great Pow.
ers will take this view, and suffer the
Slavs on the lower Danube and about the
Bosphorus to do this, and form con
gerie of Slav States, which may in time
coalesce n a loose jointed Slav con
federacy, like the German Empire of the
last century, to be in time welded by some
Slav Bismarck into a well-knit Empire.
Something has to be done. "The nn
speakable Turk" has become hopelessly
corrupt, irrelnediably inefficient He car
no longer rule the Greek Catholics of Sla,
blood. The best thing is to send him bacl
TO Asia, and let each of the divisions OF
his empire set up for itself in Statehood
precisely as Greece did.
The wises statesmen Of Europe had M
4 idea that Greece would maintain herself
but she has done so for 70 years, though
she has had to weather some very SHARP
storms. In spite of their claims to Gre
clan lineage, the people of that country
are almost wholly of Slav blood. and wha,
they have done is equally possible to the
people Of Macedonia and Albania.
| D. .o,en;n. +Lo;. ni,.eo