Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-12
THE ITALO TURKISH SITUATION

The bombardment and occupation Of the
Island OF Rhodes by an italian fleet on
the 4th instant is proof
Italv In Now that Italy has finally
taken the bit In her
OetefWlneo. teeth and proposes to
fight the Turk from this time on. 1t is
true the Turks claim to have resisted the
italian attack with the fury Of despera-
ton and put the Italian fleet to flight, but
this dispatch is discredited.
On the 10Th Of April an Italian fleet ap-
peared on the entrance of the Dardanelles
and bombarded forts Koum-kale and To-
prakkald. The Turkish dispatches ac-
knowledge that $50 projectiles were
thrown by the Italians. but the Turks
claim that no damage was done except to
the barracks at Sedil- Bahr.
The result of the Italian demonstration.
however has been otherwise serious. On
the retirement OF the Italian fleet. Turkish
ships proceeded to sink mines In the pas
sages left open, and the government noti-
fed the interested nations that the straits
were closed to ALL The situation lis highly
prejudicial to the commercial world. and
especially to Russia, Roumania and Bull
garia.
Besides, the closing Of the straits is q
violation Of article of the convention OF
London, March 13, 1871, which supulates
that 1.-The Black sea shall remain open TO
the commerce of all nations.
War, it Is recognized, creates case
Of force majeure." Nevertheless. is
not one nation which feels the pinching
of the shoe. but all alike, and all tne
powers are in a bad humor. The Gazette
de Cologne publishes an article In which
the many Inconvenience Of neutral ma
lions are exposed in detail. The English
press remarks that England and Russia
Will suffer more from the closing OF the
straits than either Turkey or Italy. The
Gazette says:
..There are actually shut up in the
Black sea $50 ships laden with grain hall
ing from Russian. Roumanian and Bull
garian ports. The Turks cannot be
blamed for closing the straits. On the
other hand, the Italians. may not be
blamed for attacking" T.
Italy, It must be confessed. has con-
Quoted her operations, down to the past
week, with careful regard
Change Of to the sensitive feelings of
Europe, lest she provoke a
1O11Cy. general war;. and Turkey
has profited largely by her consideration
But henceforth Italy will proceed to
break something. and II Europe would
avert the much-dreaded confagration she
must interview the Turk with the view
of having him abandon TripoD and rec
ognize the fact that italy is In posses
sion Of Tripoli.
Italy. it was said by the Italian press,
after a war of six months, offered to the
world q unique spectacle-"the spectacle
of power possessing an efficient and
complete command Of the sea. but unable
for political reasons to use those ad.
vantages in such a manner as to compel
her adversary to conclude peace.
The powers have been awakened by
Italy's action to q sense of the threatened
danger. The representatives OF Russia,
Germany, Austria-Hungary, England and
France visited Assim Bey, the Turkish
minister at Constantinople. and submitted
a plea for the cessation of hostilities be-
tween Italy and Turkey Assim declared
that before any negotiations could De
considered italy must withdraw the de.
cree annexing TrpolE
Prior to this tardy. effort on the part
of the powers to induce Turkey to ac-
cept a situation that was inevitable
Mahmoud Chefket Pasha, Turkish min
lister of war, expressed himself some
what as follows:
Italy would force the Dardanelles.
The attempt would be futile. There were
thirty-six miles of submarine mines of
all kinds. It would be fleet against
a singularly interesting lesson. Let the
Italians come! The cession of Tripoli was
a religious as well as a national Ques-
ton. If Turkey handed over Tripolf the
caliphate in the eyes of the Moslem world
would be discredited and Islam consid-
cred as having been betrayed
-.
The Dardanelles dates from the treaty
Of Belgrade, in 1870. which closed the
Black sea to the Rus
Closing Of sians.- but which. thirty
five years later. were re-
UafoaneAeS. opened to them by the
treaty Of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. The
treaty of 1856 neutralized the Black sea,
and during the Franco-Prussian war
Prince Gortschakoff demanded that the
straits should be opened to Russian ships.
A commission established January II.
1871, accorded Russia only half satiseac-
ton; the neutrality was abolished. but
the key to the straits was left In the
hands of the sultan. The car. on the
other hand. was accorded the right to
fortffy the coast and construct ships.
He modernized the armament of the bat
teries at Sebastopol, which were studded
with guns on the sea front, and ships
were placed on the stocks.
During the negotiations which preceded
the annexation of Herzegovina by Aus
tria M Izvolsky attempted in vain to bal
ance the advantages gained by Austria
in that affair by securing the abandon
ment of the restraint imposed upon Rus
sia at the Dardanelles.
Since the affair at Agadir several ma
tions have had in mind the claiming OF
Spain occupied the north
of Morocco, Italy seized Tripoli, and Rus
STA, It is said, has dreamed of recovering
her liberty in the Dardanelles. The ques-
portance to Russia and weighs heavily
upon her policy. This was manifest In
the attempt of Rojestvensky with the in
congruous and inefficient vessels he un-
dertook to go to certain destruction when
for q fact there were six lronclads OF
1900 to 1900 tons shut up in the Black
sea, which, IL freed, might have con-
trfbuted to a very different story from
that which is told OF the fate of the Rus
sian fleet.
The naval demonstration at the mouth
of the Dardanelles demonstrated some of
the arguments Of the Turkish minister Of
war but not all of them. 1t caused above
all the Intervention of the powers, and
this was perhaps the main IL not the sin
gle object of the demonstration. 1t was
not possible that Italy would attempt the
passage and lose perhaps the one-half OF
her costly fleet
The occupation of Rhodes and other is
lands will prove amply sufficient to force
the Intervention Of Europe and save the
face of Turkey. Turkey has been encour-
aged until now by q garrulous and hys-
terical press in Germany, as well as In
Turkey, by the assurance that Germany
tr~1N Ixn1x