Evening star., 1917-11-11

~ UROPEAN echoes Of Turkeys
In desire for separate peace
rumble across the water. In
e@ the United States. while credit
may be given to Turkey wanting peace.
not much heed Is apt to be paid to
the possibility of her achieving it.
Congress has not declared that a
state Of war with Turkey exists. Dip
lomatic relations, however. have been
suspended. The Turkish ambassador
in the earlier period of the war made
himself persona non grata through
some indiscreet criticisms of this coun-
try. Turkey took the blunt hint given
her and kept him at home. the Wash
ington government continuing to MAIN
tain the embassy at Constantinople
until the actual breaking out of hos
tilities with Germany.
There were many reasons for this
course. one of which was that the am
bassador at Constantinople was able
to do something to mitigate the awful
suffering of the Armenians and SyrianS.
But when war with Germany became
q fact there was nothing else to do but
to withdraw the ambassador from Ger
many's ally.
Il \
It was urged by some persons that
a declaration of war should be made
against Turkey, too. but the policy
which avoided a declaration against
Germany's other allies. Austria and
Bulgaria, was strongly reinforced by
the special circumstances relating to
Turkey So long as the United States
and Turkey are not formally at war.
this country. indirectly, may do what
previously it was doing directly and
H~lnA n
conditions of the surviving Armenians
and Syrians.
Intimations which have come from
Constantinople have been that the
to be at war with the United States.
and hoped that it would not be drawn
into actual hostilities. This was inter-
preted to mean that the good off1ces OF
this country, when peace negotiations
came, would be sought to save some
thing of the remnants of the Ottoman
empire and possibly to use its influence
toward Turkey remaining a European
as we'll as an Asiatic power.
All things are possible in war settle
ments and it is possible that in this
country the outrages on the Armenians
and other innocent and helpless popuia-
tions since the war began could be dis
missed as mere incident of hostilities.
and the good offices of this country
exerted for Turkey. But it is not prob
able. Turkish atrocities have become
Identified in the American public mind
with the Turkish government, and no
national administration is l1kely 10
have popular support In sustaining the
program Of the present government or
Turkey.
The disappointment in this country
was almost as keen as in England over
the failure of the Young Turk move
ment to develop an enlightened Turkey.
When the cruel and corrupt rule of the
Sultan Abdul Hamid was overthrown
by the Young Turks the generous I'M
pulses of the United States went out TO
the new Turkey that was assumed
would follow the overthrow of the old
regime. After time 1t was seen that
this sympathy was undeserved.
The Young Turks showed themselves
as hostile to the Armenians and other
Christian populations as the old dy.
nasty had shown itself. Their policy OF
reconstructing Turkey and making her
a genuine political power in European
councils contemplated the subjectton.
and almost the obliteration. of the
Christian populations. When the Young
Turk government, under the leadership
of Envers Pasha, aligned itself with
Germany, 1t was seen how hollow nad
been the pretenttons of an enlightened
spirit. The massacre of hundreds OF
thousands of the Armenians and syr-
little enlightenment there was.
The old Turks. as represented by the
Sultan Abdul Hamid, and the Young
Turks. as represented by Envers Pasha
and his puppet sultan, having shown
themselves Of the same ilk. 1t would be
extremely difficult for the American
people to take any interest in saving
Turkey when the new world map is
made at the peace negotiations. Yet II
is apparent that something OF this sort
vanced Turks It Is said for them that
they did not sympathixe with the per-