New-York tribune., 1916-07-27
TO the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: The letter you published yesterday
from DR.. f. G. Tabet is most vividly illustra-
tive Of Turkish methods and Turkish ven
geance. 1t is all true, have not the slight
est doubt, only he might have written much
more along the same line. This is not the
first time the Turks have broken American
consular seals or insulted American rights in
the past two years. They broke the seal at
Harpout; and more recently they have seized
and occupied American property at Marsovan
and Svas, on the fimsy pretext that these
places are in the zone Of war, whereas there
is no fighting within a hundred miles of
them; and they have brutally driven out the
Americans from these places
An error crept somehow into your editorial
comment on DR.. Tablets letter, for you there
state that the Turkish authorities broke into
the American Consulate at Beirut, whereas
Dr. Tablets letter. as well as the previous
| dispatches state that it was the French Con-
sulate that was broken into. There is an
/ important difference here; and our position
in the argument will be stronger if we stick
to exact facts. By some carelessness on the
part Of somebody, the important documents
committed to the care of our consulate by
the French were not transferred, as they
should have been, TO our consulate, but were
allowed 10 remain in the deserted French
Consulate, though they were placed under
| the protection Of the American Consular seal.
This does not mitigate the Turkish guilt; but
it does somewhat modify the nature of the
crime in relation to the United States
| sympathze also with your sense of in
tolerable injustice and outrage in your last
paragraph. But, Mr. Editor, have you tried
to follow out the consequences Of more dras-
tic action on the part of our State Depart
ment? You say very truly, at is time to call
the Turkish government to account; and
you say, LET US hope, also, that our duty
will not be held to be discharged by the
mere writing of another strict accountable
4 ity' note"
/ Now. what is the best alternative? How
shall we call the Turks TO account? Threats
alone will accomplish nothing, now that the
Turks are so cocky after beating off France
and England at the Dardanelles and captur-
| ing Townsend and his nine thousand at Kut-
el-Amara Shall we sever diplomatic rela-
]
walking papers and recall our embassy and
all our consular staff? Or shall we declare
war on this miserable empire? Supposing
we declared war. Either We should be the
laughing stock of the world, or else we
should have to send over navy bigger and
stronger than the combined British and
French navies. which. led by the ffteen-inch
guns of the Queen Elizabeth, failed to re-
duce the fortifcstons Of the Dardaneles.
We should have TO transport an army over
there bigger than the 100000 whom the Al
lies sent TO the Gallipoli peninsula, and we're
forced to withdraw. Have we the navy or
the army?
Or what if We merely severed diplomatic
relations7 Nothing would suit the Turk
better. American Ambassadors have long
been a thorn in his side. As soon as we
withdrew onr Embassy the Turks would
seize every piece of American property in
the whole empire. In seeking to avenge the
forcing Of the French Consulate at Beirut.
we should give the Turks carte blanche to
seize the magnificent property Of the Syrian
Protestant College there, with its dozens of
fine stone buildings, its great Libraries, fine
apparatus, and priceless museums
The same fate would befall the Interna-
tional College at Smyrna, st. Pauls College
at Tarsus, Central Turkey College at Aintab,
and Robert College and the American Col
lege for Girls at Constantinople All the
property Of the MacAndrews & Forbes Lie
orice Company, the American Tobacco Com
pany, the Singer Sewing Machine Company,
! the International Harvester Company, the