The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-02
POWERS PUT "SICK MAN"
 IN SERIOUS POSITION
COULD NOT HAVE CHOSEN 4 WORSE TIME FOR UL-
 TIIATUM.

Tension Between Them and the Sultan
 Inereasing-Latter During Festival
 Weeks, Cannot, According to a Prom
 inent Turkish Diplomat, Grant Their
 Demands, at Present--Might Strike
 Rather Than Have His Hold Weak
 ened on Last of European Possessions
 Constantinople, Wednesday, Nov. 29 (delayed in transmission). Speaking to the Associated Press to-day, a promi- nent diplomat said:
 ''The people of the United States, even the people of Europe, do not realize the seriousness of the present situation. The tension between the sultan and the powers is growing daily and the gen. eral feeling of uneasiness is increasing, though there is probably no reason for anxiety so far as the safety of foreign CTS is concerned, especially in the capi- tai.
 The powers could not have chosen a worse time than the present for their ultlmatum. They might as well send an ultimatum to the pope during holy week as to expect the sultan to do any thing in the last week of the festival of Ramazan or during the festival of Bairam.
 The sultan and his ministers are this week engaged daily from o'clock in the afternoon in listening to fanatical discourses by the Mullahs Cor priests), who dwell on the past greatness of the Caliphs in a manner which undoubted- ly impresses their audience with the impossibility, certainly with the unde- sirability, of yielding to the powers.
 These performances will soon be oyer, however, when matters will prob ably assume more sane and normal issue; but there is no doubt in my mind that the sultan will need, on this occa- sion, much squeezing. He may be con- tent enough to see certain islands in the possession of the powers rather than see his hold on the last of his European possessions weakened.
 "This feeling naturally is shared to a certain extent by the higher army au- thorities, who would be very much dis inclined to see the Turkish territory ceded, or anything equivalent to such cession, without striking 8 blow. Should it be reduced to a question between Turkey and Bulgaria. Rourna- mia or Greece, or between Turkey and o II +I,oo rr,,rIyaHr 1,01,Id Yooest ocsY1Yadlu be found spelling for a fight. She has between 100000 and 100000 men in Eu- ropean Turkey to-day, and she could easily and quickly concentrate 6OO,O00 there. Although Bulgaria has a we'll drilled and well-equipped army, Tur- keys great numerical superiority would count for much.
 Turkey clearly is eager to fight on this matter with the bordering country, and every day that passes without wit messing a settlement of the present dif- ficulty makes it increasingly harder for either the sultan or the powers to give in"
 American, interests in Macedonia are somewhat inconsiderable, With the exception of a few scattered missionary establishments, they hardly extend be- yond Salonica and Dede-Agach.
 At the great reception November 2S, on the occasion of the festival of Bairam, the foreign diplomats were not permitted to occupy the usual seats, but were assigned to others from which they could see nothing. As a conse- ouence most of the diplomats, including MT, Leishman, the American minister left the hall of audience.
 According to reliable reports, there have been nine hundred political mur- ders in Macedonia during the eleven months.