Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-13
Germany Coveted Bagdad Line.

At the outset OF the present war Ger
many Hoped 70 make use of the Bagdad
railway. both to 5pproac On the rronliers
of Egypt through Palestine and 10
reach the Persian gulf below Bagdad.
Near the head OF the. Persian gulf.
north Of the port of Basra are some
of the greatest oil. districts of the world
and these were the prizes for which
the first yeas al. the conflict but, de-
spite their disaster at Kut-el-Amara,
the British won and the oil fields re-
manned in their hands.
AS the war progressed the British
from India and from Egypt took the
offensive in Mesopotamia and in Pal
estine. and Bagdad and Jerusalem
are now in British hands, together
both cities. Temporarily the German
advance along the Bagdad railroad TO
the Persian gulf and along the syrian
andtHedjaz railroads TO Egypt is block
ed fAs IT now stands the end of the
war is likely to see the British well es-
tablished in Arabian Turkey.
Result of Daring Y ntwe-''
Failed in their original intention. the
Germans have now turned the British
flank by one of the most daring of
ventures. With the creation of the
independent Ukrainian state and the
fall of Runania the Black sea has be-
come German lake-that Is, it is DOM
mated by the allies of the kaiser Con-
stantinople, Contanza and Odessa. the
great European ternini of railroad
lines coming down from central Eu-
rope, are practically in German
hands. The Russian Black sea feet
will unquestionably fall to German
control when the Russian situation is
Gquidated
Possessing these railroad lines to the
Black sea, dominating the Black sea
and holding the entrance. through the
Ih%r rl1tN
is free to transport troops and war ma
teria1 across this sea without fear OF
Interference by her enemies. And from
Batum she has open to her the rail
road leading eastward through Tifiis TO
the Caspian sea, and beyond the Cas-
plan that other railroad going stra light
down to the frontiers of Afghanistan
and pausing within a few miles of He
rat itself. East of Merv the main stem
OF this line goes on TO Bokhara and
Smarkand in Turkestan. still following
the Afghanistan frontier.
Further Purpose Of Scheme.
Nor does the German scheme halt al
the seizure of the railroads. All this
region, TranscaucaSia Persia Turk
estan, is included in the panturan mar
mover ent Here the Germans with the
assistance of the Turks hope to or
ganize the Mohammedan populations
of Turanian stock in common league
the Russians 10 the north, and thi:
Panturanian League, alliance, coalition
is to be the basis of an eventual Ger
man advance through the Hindu usf
to Kabul and kandahar.
The scheme is far from being as fan
taStc as IL seems. The railroads exist
Unlike the Bagdad and Hedjaz rail
ways, they are beyond the reach of al
lied armies operating either from
Egypt or India Just as long as tn.
Black sea is dominated by the German.
and Turkey remains a German ally
there is nothing of a military characte
to interfere with the transportation o
German troops across eastern Asia {,
AfghaniStan. And, If they choose. tn,
Germans can, as a prelude to their ad
vance upon India, send troops through
Persia to turn the flank of the British
in Bagdad, attacking them both by al
advance down the Tigris and Euphrates
along the Bagdad railroad and on tn
flank from Tabriz.
Hope of Accusing Mohammedans.
But more than. all else, German,
hopes to arouse the millions of Mo
hammedans in this region and I,
spread an unrest and rebellion which
will precede her armies on the rnarcl
to India The seizure of the oil we'll
of Baum is an important econorni
step, but the political design surpasse
the economic. Germany is opening
ish arm fes She is making sure he
comrnunica lions by crushing Rumani:
and binding. the Ukraine to her by spe
cial treaties She has broken Russii
and seized Russia's eastern roadway
She has acquired those Russian ambi
lions of a quarter of century ago an,
means to use the machinery created b,
the Russians to realize those Sla,
dreams.
Such is the true significance of tn
latest Russo-German treaty, a meaninj
now proclaimed by Berlin frankly.
opens a new page in Anglo-German ri
valry. Unless German power over Tur
key is broken and German control o
the Black sea abolished any peace vii
be but prelude to a new war be
tween Great Britain and Germany, TO
Germany has now laid hold of deadl
weapon which threatens the safety o
the British empire and menaces BIRTHS
rule in India However one may loo
ut II. this latest German move opens
new and Wider horizon, but the pros