The Washington times., 1912-11-04
TURKEY STILL FAR
FROM DEFEATED, IS
DIPLOMATS CLAIM
Ambassador Says CONSTANT
nople Cannot Be Taken and
Decries Talk of Massacre.

Requesting the United States to sus-
pend Judgment on the Turks until att
thoritatIve reports from the seat of the
Balkan struggle are received, and de-
claring that Turkey can and will carry
on the war with the Balkan states for
an indefinite period. Youssour Za
Pacha, Turkish ambassador to the
United states, this afternoon placed
new Interpretation on the reports com
Ing hourly from eastern Europe rega -d-
Ing the struggle now transpiring there.
Asserting that the Turkish Sultan cun
within three weeks at the most draw
from Asia Minor, Il semi-isolated pos
session. n mightier and more powerful
army than the one she now Is pitting
against the enemy. the ambassador be-
lieves that the world not yet has heard
a true report OF how mis- countrymen
are fighting. and will fight before the
contest has ended.
Army in Asia Minor.
at is not known In America" he con-
tinued. that Turkey can. within three
weeks. mobilize an entirely new army IN
Asia Minor; from ouch points as Bag
dad and Yemen, equal to the one she
now has In the field. My country is
hampered by the fact that. there are no
railroads she can use for mobilization
~
least two weeks. and possibly three. to
bring a new and effective army across
the Bosporus. That this will be done.
IL the need comes. have no doubt"
lbrahim Iia Bey. second secretary
OF the Turkish embassy, declared there
need be no fear about the fall OF Con-
stantinoplc.
"Constar tinople is not going to fail.
no matter what the successes Of the
Bulgarian troops may be-" he said.
f.a-tt a. ti...a. ,..t
are so strong that the enemy will find
II impossible to penetrate them. even
II the Turkish army has been defca: ed
In battle. which we do not now con-
Cede. We have received no advices
from home indicating that our army
has been routed. The last cablegrams
received were most encouraging.
Navy to Aid Defense.
The ambassador supported the sec
retary's statements by showing that
Gonstantinople was situated at the tip
Of peninsula. and that the fortih-
cations practically enCirCled the city
like "a wall on the land side from
TChatalja to the Black sea. Further
more. the Turks have n navy to pro-
t"Ct Constantinoplc from an attack by
sea. while the Balkan states have no
navy whatsoever.
There IL no possibility either OF the
fail of Constantlnople or of a massacre
or pillaEe % the Christians and foreign
crs there" h. said. IF we have been
de cfcatcd. look for an official announce
ment ordering a fresh army from our
territory In Asia Minor I do not know
that we have been defeated. and am in
clned to doubt newspaper reports under
the circumstances, because the corre-
spondSnts are not at the front. and are
compelled 10 rely upon rumors.
Under the circumstances. II Is neces-
sary for all unpretudiccd persons to sus-
pend Judgment, for the resources OF
Turkey are not suspected by the world
at large, and have not been brought
into plav vet. Turkey If ablc to fight
Indefinitely. and personally. 7 do not
believe there Is any truth in the report
that she Is suing for intervention by
the powers or that she intends to do So