Evening star., 1915-09-12

Byzance. which has guarded the name
'Konstantinou polls in the Greek-then
became for the Ottomans 1stamboul. or
the City Of Victory. Istamboul. since
four and half centuries. is the para
doxica1 seat of Islam-seat situated on a
strip of Christian soil-paradoxical be-
cause the religious pre-eminence Of the
sultans at Constantinople reposes on a
doctrinal fiction to which the true, be.
levers of Islam have never accored but
a mere formal submission. For the true
believers the principal seat of their
faith is Mecca and the veritable family
of the caliphs is the koraischites. There
is little in common between the Semitic
is fragile and holds only so long as the
latter may continue the warlike tradi-
tions of the ancient caliphs:
The safeguards OF Christian nations
ventions known as the capitulatione.
which from the sixteenth century Gre
ated privileged situation for the
Christian foreigner. The most cele-
lished by the diplomatic relations OF
the King of France. Francis ], with
Sultan Soliman II, the Magnificent
Since that date 1535) they have had
the force of law. and not only have
been respected, but successively con-
firmed and amended under Louis XIV.
Louis XIV and Louis XVI. Also in 1902,
1888. 1851 and 1867. despite the efforts
OF the Turks to have them abolished
The Globe of London in September
1914, wrote of the partition Of Turkey:
The partition of Turkey will not be
delayed by quarrels between the testa-
mentary executors of the suicide Eng
land VIII admit without the least pro-
testation that Armenia and Constanti-
nople may pass to the government of
the czar: France will be satisfied to
acquire Syria and the protectorate Of
!ne noiy places; the attribution Of the
lsiands or the Aegean sea and of the
coast of Anatolia to Greece would ac-
cord with historical and chronological
truth. England would reserve. natu-
rally, for her part Ara bia and the valley
OF tne Euphrates. which constitutes a
section of her route to India. and the
Mussulman world would be. let M
think, very happy to see Mecca and Me-
dina as well as the pilgrim routes in
the hands of the greatest Mussuimafl
power in the world
/, The 100000 souls distributed in
thirty groups Enthusiastically or. re-
ligiously. from the Bay
a Land OF of Adana to the frontiers
Mixtures or Egypt. from the Her
mon (GebeI ell oi,eikh) to
the deserts of Syria, present many diff
ficulties to overcome their hostiIities
nor France contemplates the creation
Of an autonomous Syria. A French
writer, indeed. NJ. Charles Vincent. de-
clares that all Syria from the Taurus
to Mesopotamia and Egypt should go
to France because Maronites, Druses
and the Syria of Beirut and Damas-
Gus aspire to such conclusion
england in taking Cyprus took all
she could take in the Mediterranean
In adding Arabia and the Persian gulf
she completed the vast littoral belt
which a continuous railway will unite
to India and the Cape of Good Hope
Her domain is gigantic and she will
have enough to do to enrich this CO.
lossa1 possession.
The rights of France in Syria and
Palestine are not only real, but they
are historical as well. Count Cressaty,
a learned Syrian, asks: The crusades.
were they not enterprises eminently
French? The Kingdoms founded in
Palestine and Asia Minor-were they
not French? Was it not France who
checked the march of the Moslem and
permitted the states not yet wholly
civilized in the center of Europe to at
tain maturity? Since the crusades
France has provided modus vivendi
have been difficult of commerce. These
provisions consisted in the capitula-
tions. which were followed by the
treaties of Paris, London, San Stefano.
Berlin and the circulars of Leo XIII
in 1885 and 1898. Do not these acts
consecrate the rights and prerosatives
of France in Syria and Palestine2
There are economical conditions which
make the argument still more forcfble.
The billions of francs spread through
out the Ottoman empire; the thousands
of kilometers of railways constructed.
with Quays. phares, schoolhouses, hos
pitfalls, etc.
The European and American schools
frannenf0d
61,62S students. OF these the French
schools count 3S,43S students. plus TO-
900 who frequent the native schools.
The Arabic is the language of the peo-
pie of Syria and Palestine; the Ian
guages of the educated classes are
Arabic. French and Italian.
X <
History establishes that Syria and
Palestine formerly nourished more than
2O,000,000 inhabitants.
Now immense spaces
of Millions remain uneultfvated-
VI HAAAAoAS' Syrians have emigrated
en- masse to avoid the exactions of the
tyrant ruler under the regime of rent
tithes or the one-tenth tax rent. The
productive capacity of the soil is i'm
mense.
All the fruits of Europe are found in,
Syria: the vine fourishes marvelously.
so also the olive, banana and orange.
Who has not read of the celebrated Or
ange groves of Jaffa? Cotton and sugar
culture promise wonderful production
in Palestine and in the valley of the
Jordan.
In the matter of minerals. gold and
silver are found in the Ozonte and
Haouran regions, lead. iron. copper,
nickel. coal, marble. salt mines, bitumi-
GUS, bromide and petroleum. The coun-
try is rich in thermal sources. The in
dustries are abundant: silk culture.
carpets, jewelry, brass work (very
highly prized), perfumery and the es-
sence of flowers.
AleXandrette, as well as Jaffa. Saint
Jean d. Arc, Tripoli and Beirut, is an
important port and naval base. 1t is
will connect the Mediterra mean with the
Persian gulf by the Bagdad railway
and the navigable Euphrates. All the
interested powers have access to the
Bagdad road, considerable part of the
stock of which is in the hands of
French capitalists. Alexandrette has
always been considered a faubourg OF
Aleppo. city of 135, 900 inhabitants. one
of the most active of the commercial
capitals Of the country.
Syria and Palestine have been called
sulmans and Christians. Seminite and
Chittite Mussulmans, Druses and Ans
arick. orthodox and Catholic Christians.
The orthodox are Greeks, Armenians.
Childeans, Syrians; the Catholics, Lat
ms, Melchites, Maronites, Syriacs. Chal-
deans and united Armenians. and final
ly the Jews. Roughly estimated these
aggregate 1 5000 Mussulmans, a mil
lion Christians, 100000 Druses, 200 900
NJ ln