The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-03

uing their oposltion to tho P"' union and progress. in complete agreement with the Greek proposton, have now begun To Nacii- l late If Is possible that certain non- | Turkish clements among them may
 gra vitate towards the party of union l and progress. Nevertheless the ql@s-
 tion of the political grouping Of ethhfS elements, and consequently the ques i tIon of the supremacy Of the Turks themselves. has now been definitely set | forth and this fact has led to protouhd appf ahension among enlightened Iurks. Acting on the personal orders of the Car. the Russian government, Tn spi.e of all the disappointment 1t mas sui fered is working toward the restoration
 of peace between Turkey and Italy, and refuses to give up it's task as hopeless. The true function of statesmanship IS to tackle knotty problems and recon cile groups of conflicting interests, ana United Europe could settle these ltaio~ Turkish differences and bring about peace in 24 hours
 Congruously with this interpretation of public duty Russian diplomacy drew up a circular note, which was commun icated to the powers, eXhortng them to take the matters to heart, and to make ready to seize favorable opportunity for efficacious mediation whenever II presents itself. The terms on which a | formal settlement of differences might
 come will, of course. depend largely upon the moment chosen Tor mediation
 upon the events which may have taken place in the interval, and above all upon the solidarity of the powers and the | earnestness which they display in pur- ! suit of their aim,
 The two postulates which must be ac- ! cepted without discussion and reckoned 1 with throughout, intensity the diHi- cultles of dealing with the problem actorily--namely, ftaly's resolve to negotiate only on the basis of an
 rexation, and Turkeys determination never to sign away the most Mussulman province of her empire. These data
 render a formal peace treaty impossi- | ble Consequently the plan of diplo-
 matic campaign must of necessity open with an armistice to be followed by a
 withdrawal of the Turkish troops from
 the seat of war on the one hand and the
 recall of the Italian squadron on the l other hand. That Is really all. The Italian foreign office would further be l willing to pay as compensation sum varying from s10000o00 to s20,000,00o
 and also devise a formula which would
 enable the porte 10 accept the money | without loss of dignity.
 1 Turkey would not, of course, be ask ed
 10 put pressure upon the Arabs. who
 might. if they liked, continue the war, l but the withdrawal of the regular troops would convert the struggle Into
 d mere colonial war, devoid of danger
 to Europe. There would be no peace treaty, and Turkey would look upon 1 Italys action in Tripoli as II regards
 the British occupation of Egypt. The
 capitula tions, however, which have been ! ipso facto abrogated by the declaration of war, would have to be reinforced,
 but that, too, might be effected, per haps, with a diplomatic instrument or formal negotiations simultaneously with | the proclama ton Of an armistice. | Sncf, in brief. is the proposal which lis at present under consideration of the European powers. oUnity among them Is apparently the unique condition lroquisite to it's realization Turkey g
 stubbornness is ineligible. but is unac-
 ceptable to Europe, whose interest and aim is the preservation of peace. The
 sole criterion for Europe is the con ! formity of Turkeys action 10 the gen
 eral veal, and from this point of view | a continuation of the hostilties seem | tntolerable. Everybody can see how | hopeless the struggle has become. l The Sultan cannot recover his lost province, however yalian, and protract l ed resistance his soldiers may oppose
 to the Italians. For Turkey is separ-
 ted from Tripoli by the sea, and pos
 sesses no fleet to keep up communica .
 tlons That is the essence of the mat
 ter and the sooner it is realized by Flu
 rope the better for all concerned, in-
 cluding Turkey herself.