The chronicle=news., 1914-10-30
TURKEY M VAR. : :.
A!lyy " E.14iaAl
Ement on the merits Of the case.
tcoatiasea frsa sAss l.,

Pbelteved from the outset that ~ soon
'Fas Turkey had fully prepared her
arny and navy for the conflict she
would cast her die for war. Great
Britain. Russia and France have,
through their an1bassa fors, made 1t
plain to Turkey. 1t is understood,
what the consequences Of her entry
might be. The Anglo-French fleet,
(which has been comparatively unoc-
cupfed in the Mediterranean. would
bombard the ports Of Asiia Minor
and the Balkan states drawn into the
general imbrogl!o. with the prospect
that italy might be found fighting
Turkey as we'll
That the conflict might extend to
Egypt. Persia or Arabia with the pos
sibility Of the Jaoanese fleet support
ing operations Of the allies. has been
discussed here.
The Greek navy with It's two Amer.
fcan-built battleships. formerly the
Idaho and the Mississippi. which
must be reckoned with, are superior
to the Turkish cruisers in ,armor and
armament. +"
i From military point of view it Is
believed that Russia would have lit
tie to fear from an attack by the
Turkish army. 1t is regarded as GER
tain that such action doubtless would
Immediately be followed by declara-
tions Of war against Turkey by sever
al Of the Balkan states.
From naval viewpoint Turkey
cannot work much mischief experts
here say. Her navy has been in
icreased by the addition of two Ger
man armored cruisers. the 3reslau
fand the Goeben. but the Russian
Black Sea fleet is regarded as more
than match for these.
Because of persistent rumors OF
possible anti-Christian uprisings as
result Of general disturbances, Am
! bassador Morgenthau at one time ad-
vised that an American warsh.p be
present in Turkish waters for sa1,,-
tary effect and to lend aid to
Americans in case of an emergency.
The cruisers North Carolina and Ten
nessee which were sent to Europe
with gold for relief purposes. are
now and probably will be main
tained in the eastern Mediterranean.
The policy OF Greece. as previous
ly announced by Minister Sch1iemanu
here. would cause Greece to enter the
war In case any of the Balkans
should take Up arms. The full war
strength OF Turkeys army In 200, 900
trained men. according to statistics
here. hut in addition 1t is believed
that there are about 100000 irregu.
lars available.
Turkeys naval strength consists OF
three battleships. four cruisers, three
torpedo gunboats, ten destroyers, ten
torpedo batteries. 2s small gunboats
and coast defense shin and some
Auxiliary craft. The battleships are
old and none has guns larger than II
inches.
Earlier in the war 1t was generally
assumed that the entrance of Turkey
on the side Of Germany and Austria
would force italy to assist the al
lies. The opposition Of Greece to
Turkey and the sending Of Greek
troops to Albania. where Italy feels u
special interest. might alter the sit
Nat!On, IN view OF uiDiOmatlbtN mere,
tausins Italy. oerhaps. to resent the
approval which the Triple Eentente
is said to have given the Greek Oper-
ations In Epirus. --
London. Oct. 3O.--The view has
been expressed In official circles that
the Turkish government conceirably
try to disassociate itself from the ac-
tion OF its warshins in the Black Sea
in bombarding Russian. ports. in
cludink Odessa. II is suggested that
the Porte when It hears the COM
ment of the allied governments may
throw the onus for this course on the
/ shoulders Of the German command
ers of Its warships and declare they
acted without orders. the retort. to
this. It ia said in London. will be p
I,demand that the German officers and
crews now in the Turkish na~y be
sent home within 24thours.