El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-09-09
TURKEY HAS ALL
To GAIN IN WAR
Porte Is Planning to Attack
Egypt and May In
wade Caucasus.

London, Eng, Sept. s.-Au to gain
and nothing to lose. That is the
status Of Turkey in the great Euro
pean war No one in touch with the
situation, military expert OF diplomat
was surprised when the Sick Nan OF
4 the East decided to take a hand In
the fracas. The only wonder was that
Turkey did not get in sooner
Doubtless the porte was waiting 70
see which way the cat jumped" II
the allies had started out victorious,
Turkey might have cast her lot with
her great and good friend, England.
France, the steady pounding OF the
German lines, daily forging aheao,
nearer and nearer to Paris, probably
convinced Turkey that the safest place
would be on the side Of Germany.
Therefore Turkey declared war
against the allies. Her objective is
supposed to be the Russian Caucasus
and Egypt, which country formerly be-
longed to Turkey.
Has Nothing to Lose.
In this wa Turkey has nothing to
lose, because the Balkan alilance
stripped her Of almost all Of her Euro
pean territory in the war that began
two years ago The government IS
bankrupt and has no money II IS
fighting on borrowed money ana
doubtless the porte thinks it might as
well be little deeper in debt as in its
present financial condition When
government is already bankrupt with
out a very flattering prospect Of pay
ing off its obligations. it may not hes
itate 10 incur a few more
Also Turkey had an army OF some
100000 men left over from the Balkan
wars She had to keep them in arms,
because Of the threatened second war
with Greece, and it may be that the
porte thought these men might as well
be fighting somebody
Persuaded by Germany.
But the most probable explanation OF
Turkeys participation IN the war IS
that she was persuaded BY Germany.
The fact that about y German officers
are with the Turkish army gave no
tice to the world early in the struggle,
that If Turkey came in. she would be
on the side Of Germany. Should the
Kaiser win out in the big war, with
Turkey as an ally. II would be an eX-
ceIlent thing for Turkey
The Balkan states that are Turkey
enemies, the states which partitIoned
Turkey-in-EurOpe, are Slavonic, and as
such are on the side Of Russia Ger
many has asserted that her principal
enemy in the great conflict is Russia,
the Germans fighting originally to pre-
vent the contamination Of the Pan
SlavOnic union.
Therefore If Turkey should be on the
winning side at the end Of the war, II
might help her considerably in regain
ing some Of her lost territory, particu- I
larry the Aegean islands, most Of which I
went to Greece at the end OF the Bal
kan war.
Plans Attack on Egypt.
When Turkey modified her troops
and declared war, it was said that she [
already had taken steps 10 attack !
Egypt That African country, which ]
formerly was a Turkish possession, IS I
now a British protectOrate, though /
nominally autonomous. under the Khe-
dive. To retake Egypt 1t would be :
necessary only for the Turks to defeat (
the small British army now in that |
country. England is far too busy just /
now on the continent to devote much !
attention to Egypt
With the car having his hands full I
with Austria and with Germany in east !
Prussia and in Russian Poland, the /
Turkish government might figure that 1
il would be a safe time TO invade the 1
Causasus and win back some OF the I
territory that Russians originally 4
wrested from the Constantinople gov
eminent.