Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1919-01-31
Peace Task Not Finished.

London-The vaStnGSS OF the task
before the proposed league of nations
in restoring order in eastern Europe
and Asia is illustrated by the amount
of work which the British army still
has to perform.
More than two months after the
armistice there are in the region
beyond the Caspian inhabitants who
do not know yet that the war is over
and have been recently Informed that
German submarines have sunk 10000
British troops in the Caspian. AS .
large number of German and Aus
trian troops are there as well as a
force of bosheviki, the British have
their hands full in protecting the
peaceful tribesmen.
To maintain communication with
this force and also TO see that the ar
mistice terms are carried out, it is
necessary to keep other British garri-
sons in the region north of the eau
casus, while in Stella there is still
another force. They are needed
there especially on account of the Ar
menianS.
The Turks are showing the old
truculent spirit toward that unfor
tunate race. They do not seem to re-
alize that they have been defeated,
and it is only the convincing presence
of the khaki detachments that pre-
vents them from continuing the old
system of oppression and extermina-
tion.
Further to the southeast in MeSo-
potamia a considerable part of the ex
peditionary force remains and will
have to remain. Here, after the
lapse of centuries, good government
has been introduced as the result of
war, and it is absolutely necessary if
order is to be maintained that some
civilized nation should hold the reins
of power.
The natives are split into many
mutually hostile tribes, and even
such restraining influence as the
Turks used to exercise has been with
drawn. Moreover the British have in
the last three years made great i'm
provements. Basra has been made
into a port withevery modern facili-
5y. Navigation of the rivers has
been improved. Hundreds of miles
of railway have been constructed
Bagdad has been transformed into a
prosperous city and improvements in
Irrigation in addition to the increase
in security have enormously increased
agricultural production. If the Brit,
ish were to withdraw, all these devel-
opments would fall into ruin.
Meanwhile in eastern Europe the
British forces are engaged in inter
national police work and are occupy
| ing number of points,, the ultimate
ownership OF which will be decided
by the peace conference but will Ger
tainly not be awarded to England.
A division of the Saloniki force is
stationed near Const antinople and.
another is garrisoning Dobrudja, i'll
the zone between the Bulgarians and
Roumanians. A battalion of the Es-
sex regiment has taken temporary
charge OF Scutari, in northern Al
bania. A battalion of the Yorkshire
and Lancashire regiment is looking
after Fiume, and another artillery
company is in northern Tyrol In
addition there are 10000 British
troops in northern Russia. &
British commitments in lesser thea
tiers OF the war are, therefore, by no
means liquidated. The government
| is anxious to reduce them. but it can
not do SO until the peace conference
has decided what is to be done with
all these lands, whether British de
tachments alone maintain order.