New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-12
Turkeys Treaty-Breaking Coup
VIII Also Have To Be Settled For.


treaties granting extra-territorai rights 10 lo'-
eigners domiciled in the Ottoman Empire Is AL
other evidence OF the eagerness with which the
Yonng Turk military party, now in power in Con-
stantinon,e Is looking around for trouble Envcr
Bey and the politicians Of his school are ready 10
take desperate chances In the hope Of reviving the
Turkish national spirit and getting back some OF
the territory lost in the war with the Balkan
League They have been considering entering the
great European war as an ally Of Germany ana
Austria Hungary and as a means of stirring up
Moslem fanaticism they have now without notice
recalled the rights which Turkish policy has con-
.,,Ied 70 aliens ever since Turkey became Euro
lcan nation.
Theoretically a nation which wants to pass as
.,iual with its fellows should not be expected to
abate It's sovereignty to the extent of granting to
foreigners exemptions and privileges which its own
citizens do not enjoy in foreign states. Extra
territorial concessions are confession Of in
equality. Such concessions arc usually eNorted
from weak and partly civilized powers by stronger
and more advanced ones. Japan formerly admitted
the right OF foreigners to trial before consular
courtz China still admits it But these nations
we're on a peculiar footing regards foreigners
They had sought 10 live entirely TO themselves,
and when relations with the outer world were
forced on them it was only natural that foreign
tribunals should be established to deal with for
egners and that barriers should be set up all along
the line between aliens and natives When Japan
became a great power and established modern po-
litical institutions she asked that her grants Of
extraordinarily be terminated because they had
become an anachronism. The other powers adj
mitted the rcasonableness Of the request and made
treaties surrenderng their special privileges after
a ten-year interval.
But the extra territorial status was not forced
on Turkey Some Of the concessions to foreigners
now abolished date back 40 years and we're
made by the Ottoman government when it was at
the height Of its power The others date back TO a
period when Turkey was still one of the most i'm
portant of the European states They were not
cause she recognized the slngularty Of her posi-.
ton in Europe. She needed aliens in large num-
bers to conduct her commerce, her own people
being by habit and training farmers and soldiers
and averse to trade. Moreover, her courts and
administration were largely under the ecclesiasti,
cal power and could not be expected to deal i'm.
partially with aliens of other religions. Extra
territoriality tended to preserve better relations
with the other countries OF Europe and saved the
government an enormous amount of political fric
tion.
II Turkey had made the progress which Japan
has made in civilization and political adminiStra
ton she would be justified in asking for a release
from her agreements, But it is notorious that
although modern forms Of government are now il
use in Turkey the courts are still Koranc and
medieval, and cannot be depended upon to do JUS
tice to non-Mahometans and foreigners. As Mr.
Oscar S. Strauss twice our diplomatic representa-
tive in ConstantnopIG puts it, the Christian pow.
torial privileges, not because they want to keer
Turkey in tutelage but solely because of lack 81
reliance on her judicial system
The Rev. Dr. Abram w. Halsey, trustee "
Roberts College and a member Of the Presbyterian
Board Of Foreign Missions is very friendly to the
present Turkish government which he says, i,
progressive and liberal and is properly trying tc
revive the spirit of nationality. But although he
appreciates the motives of the Turkish leaders nc
recognizes the peril of an extension of the juris
diction of the Turkish law courts so as to cover
all alien residents. He describes the Turkish Jaw
as absolutely corrupt and administered through
courts which know of no other influence than the
influence Of money" Furthermore, he adds, Its
hardship upon Christians is strengthened by the
fact that It is based on the Koran and is bound up
closely With Mahometan ecclesiastics"
Turkeys normal course would have been to
negotiate with the other powers, as Japan did and
By showing that her institutions had been modern
ized to secure their consent to the annulment of
extraytsrritorial concessions after ten years or
soo other reasonable period Of probation. In that
A.