The Washington herald., 1918-11-07

sNdett dshtu ilt
TO visit the Dardanelles. He still fn-
sisted that the fortiications were
lmpregnable and he could not in-
oerstand, he said, the panic which
was then raging in Constantinople.
he had visited the Dardanelles him
self, had inspected every gun and
every emplacement. and he was ell
tirely confident that his soldiers
could hold off the allied feet indefi-
nitely. He had taken Talaat down.
and by doing SO he had considerably
eased that statesman's fears. 1t
was Enver's conviction that. IL ]
should visit the fortifications. ]
would be persuaded that the fleets
could never get through, and that
l would thus be able to give such
assurances to the people that the
prevailing excitement would sub
side. I disregarded certain natural
doubts as to whether an ambassador
should expose himself to the dangers
of the situation-the ships were
bombsrding nearly every day-and
promptly accepted Enver's invita-
tion.
On the morning of the 18th. we
left Constantinople on the Yuruk
Enver himself accompanied US as
far as Panderma, an Asiatic town or
the Sea of Marmora. The party in
cluded several other notables: Ibra-
him Bey. the minister of justice
Husni Pasha, the general who had
commanded the army which had de-
posed Abdul Hsmid in the Young
Turk revolution. and Senator Cher
iff Djafer Pasha, an Arab and a d.
rect descendant of the prophet. A
particularly congenial compa nior
was Fuad Pasha, an old field mar.
shall. who had led an adventurous ca.
reer; despite his age, he had i'm
mense capacity for enjoyment. was
huge feeder and capacious
drinker. and had as many storils &c
tell OF exile. battle, and hairbreadth
escapes as Othello. All of these mer
were much older than Enver, and al
of them were descended from far
more distinguished ancestors. yet
they treated this STRIPPING with the
utmost Difference.
Enver seemed particularly glad OF
this opportunity to discuss the sit
ustion. Immediately after break.
fast he took me aside. and together
we went up to the deck. The day
was a beautiful sunny one, and the
sky in the Marmora was that deeT
blue which we find only in this par
of the world. What most impressed
me was the intense quiet, the almost
desolate inactivity of these silent
waters. Our ship was almost th'
only one in sight, and this INLAND
1@h -
one of the worlds greatest com.
mercial highways. was now prscti,
cally a primeval waste. The Who'll,
scene was merely a reflection of tn,
great triumph which German diplo'
macy had accomplished in the Neal
East For nearly six months not &
Russian merchant ship had passed
through the straits. All the com.
merce OF Rumania and Budlgaria
which had normally found its way
to Europe across this inland sea, HAD
long since disappeared. The ulti
mate significance of all this desola
tion was that Russia was blockadeC
and completely isolated from her ar
lies. How much that one fact he
meant in the history of the world il
the last three years, And now Eng
land and France were seeking q
overcome this disadvantage; to linl
up their own military resources
with those of their great Easter:
ally. and to restore to the Darda
| nelles and the Marmore the thousand
/ of ships that meant Russia's eNis
tence as a military and economic
and even. as subsequent events hav,
shown. as a political power. W.
were approaching the scene OF on
Of the great crises of the war.
"wouId Allies succeedf-
Would England and her allies sue
ceed 10 this enterprise? Would thei
ships at the Dardanelles smash tn,
fortifications. break through, ant
again make Russia a permanent fore
in the war? That was the mail
subject which Enver and l discussed
as for nearly three hours we walked
up and down the deck. Enver again
referred to the silly panic" that hat
seized nealy all classes in the capI
! tai. Even though Bulgaria ant
| Greece both turn against u.s." h.
said. I'VE shall defend Consta ntino
pie to the end. We have plenty o
guns, plenty of ammunition. and w
have these on terra firma, wherea
the English and French batterie
are floating ones. And the natura
advantages of the straits ar s.
great that the warships can max
little progress against them. d.
not care what other people ma!
| think. l have studied this problem
more thorouhgly than any of them
and feel that I am right. As loI 1
as l am at the head of the war de
partment, we shall not give up. In,
deed, do not know just what thes,
| English and French battleships ar,
driving at. Suppose that they rusl
the Dardanelles, get into the Mar
mora and reach Constantinople.
what good will 1t do them? The,
can lombard and destroy the city
1 admit; but they cannot capture it
as they have only a few troops t
land. Unless they do bring a larg,
army, they will really be caught II
a trap. They can perhaps stay her,
for two or three weeks until theil
food supplies are all exhausted anC
then they have to go back-rush tn,
straits again, and again run the risl
of annihilation. In the meantime W,
nave iepdlIeu lne Iorts, Drougnt II
troops. and made ourselves ready fol
them. 1t seems to me to be a very
foolish enterprise"
1 have already told how Enve,
had taken Napoleon as his model
and in this Dardanelles expedition
he now apparently saw a Napoleon,
ic opportunity. AS We were pacing
the deck he stopped a, moment
looked at me earnestly and said:
II shall go down in history as tn,
man who demonstrated the vulner.
ability of England and her fleet.
shall show that her navy is not in.