The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-08-01
lErom the New York Tines. J

While the report that Turkey had
broken her connection with Germany
is certainly an anticipation. and per-
haps too credulous anticipation,
there is no room for doubt that
Turkey shares the dissatisfaction OF
the other minor partners in the Ger
manic alliance AS in Austria and
Bulgaria, there are in Turkey leaders
who are beginning to doubt whether
it is any better to be swallowed up
in all but name by Germany than to
take their chances on an accommoda-
ton with the Entente, and report has
it that the accession of the new Sultan
may have brought to places OF higher
influence some of these men who are
dissatisfied with the turning over OF
the Ottoman empire to the German
Generals by Enver, Talaat, and
Djemal.
The treaty of Bucharest. which
stirred vast resentment in Bulgaria,
did not satisfy Turkey much better
Turkey has better claim to the
Dobrudja than Bulgaria has, for the
largest element in the mixed races OF
that coast province is Turkish, ana
Turkey put in an energetic demand
for the whole district. The German
compromise which gave part OF the
district to Bulgaria and kept the rest,
for the time, under condomlnlum
of the four allies satisfied nobody.
Meanwhile there was the frontier dis
pute between Turkey and Bulgaria
over the strip of contested territory
near Adrianople, which, according to
a recent report, led to an actual armed
clash of frontier guards.
Turkish ambition, however, went
far beyond the Balkan peninsula. The
attempt of Crimean Tartars to eXer-
else self-determination for their own
benefit was hailed by Turkey as
chance to restore the Crimea to the
Ottoman fold, and the Separatist ag1-
tation among the Tartars of Trans
caucasia served to increase the
dreams of a greater Turkey which was
to approach somewhat the frontiers OF
centuries ago. The Republic Of the
Caucasus was formed last winter,
when the Russian armies were going
to pieces. as defensive league or
Armenians, Georgians and Mohamme-
dams, with an executive in which the
three races were represented. The
Georgians have apparently been dis
spiritd by defeats; the Armenians are
still fighting, though the fortunes of
the campaign appear to be going
against them, but the Mohammedans
soon deserted their Christian allies
and set up separate government
which began to negotiate with the
Turks. This is what a Constantinople
paper means when it says that the
newly organized republic of the eau
casus is turning toward ue.'
Pan Turanianism, which was fos
tered by the Germans after Pan Islam
ism failed to unite Mohammedans of
the world in a holy war under the
bounds. The Turks now claim not
only the Dobrudja and districts in
Thrace, not only the Crimea and the
Caucasus. but Egypt. Egypt is out of
reach, there are conflicting claims in
the Balkans, and the Germans I'M
doubtedly want the Caucasus them
selves. 1t may be noted that they
have seized most of the Russian Black
Sea feet-the ubiquitous Czecho-Slo-
vaks managed to get "A couple Of YES
sels-and that with this reinforce
ment they could probably keep the
Turkish Navy bottled up in the Bos-
porus in case of trouble.
In other words. Turkey, like Bull
garia. whose Car has just started for
long visit lin foreign lands to
restore his health after some mani
festations of popular dissatisfaction
with the course of the war, is ag-
grieved at not getting more of the
spoils. 1t may be that our govern
ment is right in thinking that either
or both of these nations may eventu-
ally become so dissatisfied as to
change sides. But what are the Allies
going to offer Turkey, if she decides
that the Germans are not giving her
enough? Are they going to restore
Mesopotamia and Palestine, to both
of which the British have promised