The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-11-05

Germans who urgently made the sug-
gestiOn that the Greeks be moved from
the s~eashoTe.'' The German motive,
Admiral Usedom said, was purely mill
tary. Whether Talaat and his assoct-
ates realized that they were playing
the German game | am not sure, but
there is no doubt that the Germans
We're constantly i~nstigating them in
this congenial task.
The events that followed f%oreshad-
owed the policy adopted in the Ar
meuian massacTes. The Turkish Off
Cials p~ounced upon the Greeks, hcrded
them in groups and marched them to-
ward the ships. They gave them no
time to settle their private affairs, and
they took no pains to keep families to-
gCther. The plan was to transport the ,
Greeks to the wholly Greek islands in
the Aegean. Naturally the Greeks re-
belled against such treatment. and oc-
c%asional massaCTes We're the result,
than 80 people were murdered. The
Turks demanded that all foreign es-
adjustments in Smyrna dismiss thelr
Greek employees and replace them with
Moslems. Among other American con-
Germs, the Singer Manufacturing com
pany received such instructions, and
though | interceded and obtained 60
DAYS delay, ultimately this American
concern had to obey the mandate, An
official boycott was established against
all inIlftldlS, not OILY III Asia Nllliol !
hut in Constantinople, but this boycott
did not discriminate against the Jews,
who have always been more popular
with the Turks than have the Chris
tians. The officials particularly re-
qucsted Jewish merchants to put signs
| over their doors indicating their ma
tionality and trade-such signs as
Abraham the Jew, tailor. " Isaac the
jew, shoemaker and the like. l
looked upon this boycott as illustrating
the topsy turvy national organization
Of Turkey, for here we had a nation
engaging in q commercial boycott
against its own subjects.
This procedure against the Greeks
| not improperly aroused my Indignation.
| did not have the slightest suspicion IT
tho time that the Germans had inSti-
gated these deportatlons, but [ looked
upon them merely as an o%utburst Of
Turkish ferocity and ChauVinism. BY
this time | knew Talaat well; I saw
him nearly every day, and he used to
discuss practically everyt phase of in
ternational relations with me. OBJ
jected vigorously to his treatment Of
the Greeks; I told him that it would
make the worst possible impression
abroad and that it affected American
interests, Talaat explained his national
policy; These different blocs in the
conspired against Turkey; because of
the hostility Of these native populations
Turkey had lost province after pro-
vince-Greece, Serbia. Rumania, Bull
garia, Bosnia, Herzegovina. Egypt and
Tripoli. In this way the Turkish EN-
pire had dwindled almost to the van
ishing point. If what was left of ,Tur-
key was to survive, added Talaat, he
must get rid of these alien peoples.
Turkey for the Turks" was nov Ia
laat's controlling idea. Therefore he
proposed to Turkify Smyrna and the
| lhinininp iQlandg AlrnnHU Al nnn
Greeks had left, and he asked me again
to urge American business houses to
employ only Turks. lie said that the
accounts OF violence and murder had
been greatly exaggerated and suggested
that a commission DO sent to investi-
whitewash Turkey Sir Louis Mallet,
the British ambassador, told me. True
enough, when this commission did bring
In its report, 1t exculpated Turkey.
The Greeks in Turkey had one great
advantage over the Armenians, for
there was such a thing as a Greek gov
ernment, which naturally has. a pro-
tecting interest In them The Turk
knew that these deportations would
preclpitato n war with Greece; in fact
they welcomed such a war and were
preparing for it. So enthusiastic were
the Turkish people that they had raised
money by popular subscription and had
purchased a Brazilian d~readnaught
which was then under construcliou 4
England. The government had ordered
also "A second dreadnaught in England
and several submarines and destroyers
In France. The purpose of these nava'
preparations was no secret in Con
stantinople. AS soon as they obtained
these ships, or even the one dread.
naught which was nearing completion
Turkey intended to attack Greece anc
take back the islands. A single mode
battleship like Ithe Sultan Osman-thi.
was the name the Turks had given tn,
Brazilian vessel-could easily overpoweI
: the whole Greek navy and control the
7 Aegean sea. As this powerful vesse
l would be finished and commissioned il
a few months, we all expected tn,
, Greco-Turkish war to break out in tn,
! fell. What could the Greek navy pos
sibly do against this impending dan.
! ger?
! Such was the situation whef, carly II
: Juno, | received n most agitated visitor
l This was Djemal Pasha, the Turkisl
minister of marine, and one of tn
? three men who then dominated tn
. Turkish empire. ! have hardly eve
seen Il man who appeared more utterl
{ worried than was Djemal on this oc
g casion, As he began talking excitedl
Il to my interpreter in French, his whis
kers trembling with his emotions an,
: his hands wildly gestlculating, h
knew enough French to understan
what he was saying, and the new
which he hrought-this was the frs
= I had heard of it--sufficiently explaine,
his agitation: The American govern
9 ment, he said, was negotiating wit
Q Greece for the sale of two battleships
the Idaho and the Mississippi. ii
q urged that | should Immediately NOV
I to prevent any such sale. His attitud
was that OF a %suppllant; he begged, h
Q implored that l should intervene. A
III l olnnn hA ID1H fIn Tt,v1yg ,-,.I- Al.
United States as their best friend;
had frequently expressed my desire t
o help them; well, here was the chanc
TO show our good feeling. The fact tina
! Greece and Turkey were practically o
made the sale OF the ships an unneutra
Q act, Still, II the transaction were pure
ly a commercial one, Turkey would Tx
a chance to bid. 1--WE will pay NOR
e than Greece" he added. He ende
with a powerful plea that I should q
9 once cable my government about tn
matter, and this promised to do,
Evidently the clever Greeks ha
turned the tables on their enemy. Tur
n key had rather too boldly advertise
her intention Of attacking Greece a
noughts. Both the ships for whic
Greece was now negotiating were I'm
o mediately available for battlel TIL
Idaho and Mississippi were not indis
pensable ships for the American navy
they could not take their place in tn
Is first limo of battle; they were powerf,
h enough, however, to drive the who
Turkish navy from the Aegean, EvI
. IDENTIFY the Greeks did not intend pc
q litely to postpone the impending wa
Iuntil the Turkish d~readnoughts ha
n been finished, hut to attack as $500
d as they received these American ship
II Diemal's point, Of course, had no leg.
validity, However great the threat
/ war might be. Turkey and Greece wer