The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-03-15

/ pose, there were not wanting evidences
i that she sought to open 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
ia territory and prestige and was com
| PEELED to abandon the claim to a pro-
tectorate over the Greek Christians in
| Turkey, to whom, however, and to All
other Chris tians in her realm as WELL
the sultan promised to &;ii;>,I., more ia
vorahle terms. How we'll lie has kept
that promise is amply revealed il the
Long and bloody chapter Of Turkish
| CutIages upon Christian subjects COY
eriug all the years from the SIGNING OF
the treaty &c Paris il 1875 to the pres
ent time.
There wou;C, however, be no such
alignment of the European powers in
the event of a Russo-TurkiSh war ROW
as there WAS in the t'rimean war in
1850, nor in the Russo Turkish war in
1S!7-1S, and it is doubtful if any one OF
them would lift a finger to help the
Turk in such a present emergency.
Certainly Great Britain, even at the
risk of permitting Russian territorial
aGGra Indictment in the Levant and the
orient-One Of the things least desired
by BritOns-is in no mood to repeat the
costly experiences of the Crimean war;
nor would She again, to save the face
OF the unspeakaDle Turk, interpose as
she did in 1878, when Dy threatening to
bring her powerful Mediterra mean fleet
up to Constantinople she stopped the
Russian advance at San Stefano and
prevented the Turkish capital from
falling into MuScovite hands and thus
induced Austria, Italy, Germany and
France to unite in the Berlin confer
ence to preserve III a measure the in
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
out question depend upon the French
men to support him in whatever he
may undertake to do in the Balkans.
The position Of Austria is, of course,
well understood. Having united with
Russia in the original demands upon
Turkey administrative reforms in
Macedonia. she could not if she would
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 sneaking fondness for Abdul
Hamid. German public sentiment
would not allow him to waste a single
German soldier or even a 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
powers against the sultan. In short
The sultan would have no friend in Eu-
rope and would be left to his fate.
But this does not signify that the
ask of driving the ''sick man. from
Europe would be an easy one. He is
not so sick but that he can put I'D a
rigorous fight. The Turkish army Is
'ne of the finest fighting forces in the
world
Of course with the principal Euro
,ean powers in an alliance with Rus
ia the Turk would be defeated and
'orced out Of Europe, but it would not
De without a long and sanguinary
struggle.
In such an event the future status
# Macedonia would be only incidental