Evening star., 1916-01-02
BY CHARLES M. PEPPER.

~ ERMANY'S road to Constanti-
m nople does not end there.
N 81 Valuable as the route through
~ the Balkans is both for mill
tary purposes and for the economic
resources made available, the route
beyond Constantinople may prove more
valuable. 1t gives Germany. as the
ally Of Turkey. a base which COM
mands in its farther reaches the Per-
sian gulf and India, and in its nearer
approaches Suez and Egypt as we'll
Sea power. as exhibited in the allies
control Of the Aegean and the eastern
Mediterranean. is partly neutralized
by land power through Germany's mil
itary control of Syria and Mesopota-
and to Bagdad
That the ultimate German aim is to
retain possession. under nominal Turk
ish sovereignty, of a large section or
Asia Minor is not doubted by students
OF the economic resources of the near
east. That is what the German oper-
alton of the Bagdad railway means.
The concessions made to the Berlin
bankers for financing the railway put
a large part of the resources of Asia
Minor in Germanys hands AS ma
tions go, in financing other nations.
the price is not too great. England
has demanded similar compensations
in similar cases. t.
But while the permanent advantage
in opening the route to Constantinople
and beyond is in intrenching Germany
in large section of Asia Minor, the
inn fa SfrataDiC value is the
portunity afforded for menacing Suez
and Egypt A military demonstration
for that purpose, whether in earnest
or as a feint. is one means Of assuring
continued dominance of the Bagdad
railway. This will be clear from
little study of the geography OF the
near east.
Across the Bosporus from Constan-
tinople is Haidar Pasha, modern
port terminal with all the facilities
for an extensive railway system From
Haidar Pasha runs the Bagdad trunk
line to Koniah and beyond.
When the allied fleet sought to pierce
the Dardanelles, and there was con-
1dence that they soon would be IN pos
session of Constantinople, rumors were
spread that the sultan would transfer
the capital of Islam to koniah with its
sacred memories for Mohammedans
That expectation did not last long, but
Koniah, from time to time. reappears
in the censored dispatches. 1t is known
TO have become an important center OF
Turkish military operations under the
directions of the German general stan
1t might be called the hub of the
Anatolian railway system, SO that 1t is
in communication not only with Hafdar
Pasha. on the Bosporus. but with
SMYRNA. on the Aegean. since the
Smyrna line forms junction with the
main Bagdad trunk.
SMYRNA from the sea is closed to
Germany and Turkey. At one time its
borbardment by the allied fleet was
accomplished. The land defenses OF
SMYRNA are not so advantageous as the
Gallipoli peninsula is to the Oar
danelles. but apparently they were
SUFFICIENT to check any continued sea
operations by the allies.
Smyrna, as the great commercial
entrepot of the Aegean coast of Asia
Minor, offers considerable advantages
to Germany as a military depot In
the military sense control OF 1t from
Constantinople is also important as a
MEANS of multiplying the activities OF
the large Greek and Italian colonies
there, but Smyrna, from its geograpn-
ical situation. is outside the main
sphere of offensive military operations
by Germany and Turkey.
The first question which Berlin IS
likely to settle is the economic gain
from the ability to control the line OF
communication from Haidar Pasha
through to Koniah and beyond. These
are not in themselves very great There
are minerals in the Taurus mountains
and in the other ranges. but they nave
not been developed.
The real advantage from the possess
sion of Koniah is that the railway line
is prolonged from there to Aleppo Re-
cent dispatches have indicated much
military activity at Aleppo. This is
perhaps the most important railway
jusction in Asia Minor. From there the
railway stretches out toward the Ttgris
and the Euphrates, and some day is to
be met by the Bagdad line itself.
Turkish troops have undoubtedly
made advantageous use of the line so
far as completed in their march
Though Mesopotamia to meet the IN
vasion of the contingent of British
troops from India. whose repulse be-
fore reaching Bagdad was chronicled
not long ago. There are, however. no
resources of the territory traversed
which can be Communicated for pres
ent use by Germany. Their future ex-
ploitafiou possibly by means OF Ger